The Mighty Quinns: Ryan

Serena glanced over at Caroline. “What?”

“Hi,” Ryan said as he climbed the steps to the pool terrace. His gaze was fixed on her and he didn’t seem to notice the other four women there.

“Good morning,” she said. “Or afternoon.”

“Did you sleep well?” he asked, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. Her heart skipped and Serena drew a deep breath. He was so much sexier in the light of day.

“I did. Sleep. But now I’m ready for some excitement. Adventure.” She cleared her throat. “Ryan, let me introduce you to my bridesmaids. Lizzy Stanton is on the end. And that’s Arabella Moulton-Gray,” she continued. “This is my maid of honor, Cecily Winston. And that’s Caroline Pentwell.”

“Hello,” Ryan said, gifting them all with a charming smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve got a great plan for this afternoon if you’re up for it.”

Serena nodded. “Absolutely.”

“When would you like to go?” he asked.

“Now,” Serena said. “I’m ready now.”

“Let me change and I’ll meet you all out front in ten minutes. Wear sturdy shoes.” He glanced down at Serena’s feet. “Like those.”

He waved and walked to the house, five pairs of eyes fixed on his retreat.

“That man needs an agent. He is all kinds of hot,” Arabella said. She turned to Serena. “And you, my darling Serena, are smitten.”

Serena gasped. “What?”

“Totally smitten,” Cecily said. “So, how was he in bed?”

“I did not sleep with him!” Serena cried.

“Then what was all that talk about sleeping well?” Caroline asked. “And that stare. He looked like he was about to devour you.”

“In case you’ve all forgotten, I’m getting married next month.”

“Yeah, but you don’t love Ben,” Arabella said.

Serena frowned. “What—what makes you say that?”

“You never talk about him,” Cecily said. “You haven’t mentioned him once since we left L.A. We understand. It’s all for show. And it’s a great PR move. We’ll play our part.”

“I’d do the same if I had the chance,” Caroline said. “And after a while, you just get a divorce. It’s no big deal. Every great actress goes through a few marriages before she finds the one that works.”

“Besides, Ben messes around,” Cecily said. “You should be able to have some fun of your own.”

Serena scrambled off her chaise. “It’s not like that. And I am not smitten with Ryan Quinn. Now get up and get dressed. We’re going on an adventure.” She spun around and stalked toward the house. They were right. She didn’t love Ben. She’d been able to convince herself she did, at first, but somewhere between the cheating and the time apart, she’d realized what she really wanted.

She’d fallen for the fantasy, the security of love and marriage, the happily-ever-after. Her parents, both actors, had divorced when she was six and had stumbled through a long series of affairs and marriages. Why had she thought she’d be any different?

She stopped and turned around, then strode back to the girls when she realized they weren’t following. “Are you coming or not?”

Lizzy waved her off. “Let’s just say we did and stay here. I’m still working on my hangover from last night and the jet lag is starting to set in.”

“Count me out,” Caroline said.

“Me, too,” Lizzy added.

Serena frowned. “Bella, you’ll come, right?”

Arabella groaned. “Maybe tomorrow, Serena. I really want to work on my tan. A real tan is so much nicer than a spray tan, and I’m just so white right now. But you go, if you want. Sounds like...fun.” She lowered her sunglasses. “Just be careful. You don’t want a guy like that going to the tabloids and telling all.”

“I’m not going to sleep with him,” Serena shouted. “God, you are the worst bridesmaids in the world.” When she got into the house, Juni was waiting for her with a large basket. “A picnic,” she said. “In case you get hungry?”

Serena took the basket from her. “Thank you. That was thoughtful.”

“He is waiting out front. Are the others coming?”

“No, they just want to rest.”

Juni frowned, her eyebrow arching. “Not very good bridesmaids, I’d say.”

Serena laughed. “No, Juni, not good at all.”

She passed Miles in the hall. “I’m leaving.”

“Wait. Let me grab the camera and I’ll come along,” he said.

“No need. My bridesmaids are staying behind. It’s just me and Ryan.”

“Alone? Just the two of you?” Miles asked. “Wait a moment. Are you really sure you should—”

“Don’t worry, Miles. I’ll behave myself.”

She found Ryan leaning casually against the van parked in the circular drive. She handed him the basket, then pointed to the Jeep parked behind it. “Do you have the keys?” she asked.

“I think they’re already inside,” he replied. “But we can’t take that. There’s not enough room.”

“It’s just going to be you and me,” she said. “And I’ll drive. But we’ve got to move quick or we’ll have to take Miles.” She hopped in behind the wheel and waited for him to get inside.

He tossed his day pack in the backseat, then tucked the basket in a spot on the floor before sliding into the passenger seat.

“Forget my lazy bridesmaids.” She reached for the ignition, and the Jeep roared to life. Serena smiled. “Who cares about them? I’m going to do what I want to do.”

With a hoot, she threw the Jeep into gear and pressed the accelerator to the floor just as Miles emerged from the front door.

Right now, she wanted to forget about the wedding and Ben and the mess that she’d created. She wanted to forget about her bridesmaids and publicity photos and her career. Serena wanted a lovely day with sunshine and happiness and beauty. She’d decide about the rest of it later.

* * *

IT WAS THE perfect day, Ryan mused. The sky was blue, the air was warm and the scents of Fiji filled his head. And for once, he planned to have some fun on the job.

He was usually worried about one thing or another in his professional life, but what could go wrong today? No one was going to fall off a mountainside, no one was going to freeze to death or succumb to altitude sickness. And he had an entire afternoon with Serena Hightower.

Ryan knew he had to ignore his attraction, or at least control it. So he’d decided to admire her from a distance and keep his feelings to himself. He’d be a professional and wouldn’t let his attraction show.

He didn’t have to remind himself that she was engaged. That fact was firmly embedded in his brain. And yet the moment he looked at her, Ryan forgot all about that wall between them. Instead, his mind was hijacked with thoughts of seduction, of casting aside moral objections and letting passion take over.

He drew a deep breath and made a silent vow to behave himself.

She drove along the coastal highway for a few kilometers, then turned inland, smoothly navigating the curves as they headed into the hills. Ryan gave her directions, and they left the paved road and started down a narrow dirt track cut out of the thick rain forest.

“Sorry about the other girls,” Serena said. “They’re really not the hiking sort.”

“This is your hen party. Shouldn’t they do what you want to do? I thought that was their duty as bridesmaids and as friends.”

“They’re not really my friends. I mean, I know them, but we’re not friends.”

“I don’t understand.”

“My wedding planner picked them. Mostly because they looked great in the dresses she chose. They agreed because it’s great publicity for them. And I really didn’t care.”

Was she just exaggerating or was this the truth? Did she have no friends of her own? She was sweet and funny and seemed as though she’d attract friends as easily as she’d attracted him. But then, Ryan could answer only for the males in the crowd.

He glanced over and stole a long look. She was dressed in a simple T-shirt and hiking shorts, her hair in a ponytail, pulled away from her pretty face. He studied her profile—the perfectly set eyes, the straight nose, the lush lips. She was Hollywood beauty. But yet, in this setting, without makeup and a fancy dress, she seemed normal...approachable.

He found the contrast intriguing. Who was this woman who could so easily exist in both his world and that strange, glamorous world of the movies? The more he got to know her, the more complicated she became.

They found the trail to the waterfall he’d researched earlier, and Serena pulled the car into a small clearing and switched off the ignition. Ryan grabbed his day pack and slung it over his shoulder, then picked up the picnic basket.

Since the waterfall was a local secret, the path wasn’t well-worn, and Ryan had to watch carefully so that they didn’t wander in the wrong direction. “What about your real friends?” he asked, reaching out to help her over a muddy spot. “You must have had someone you wanted to pick as a bridesmaid. A sister?”

“I’m an only child.” She glanced over at him. “And I don’t really have a lot of friends,” Serena explained. “I’ve always been a bit of a loner.” She shrugged indifferently. He could see that talking about the past troubled her. “I know. It sounds pathetic, but I grew up with parents who were always on one movie set or another. When I was with either my mom or dad on set, I had a tutor, and I hung around adults all day long. When I was at home, I played with the housekeeper. I just never figured out how to make friends. Or maybe I never wanted friends.”

“Who do you hang out with now? When you’re not working on a movie?”

“There’s Ben. But mostly my dogs.”

“And they don’t look good in the dresses?” Ryan teased.

“I have five dogs,” she said, giggling. “And I would have had them as attendants, but the wedding planner wouldn’t allow it. They’re all rescues. They live at my country house outside London. My housekeeper takes care of them when I’m gone. Do you have dogs?”

“One. Duffy. He lives with my sister, Dana, most of the time, but he stays with me or my brothers when we’re home.”

“You should get more dogs. One is not enough. Lots of dogs need adopting.”

He held out his hand to her again, to help her over a steep spot on the path. But this time, he didn’t let go. The track widened and they were able to walk side by side up a gentle rise, their pace slowing. In the distance, Ryan heard the sound of water.

“I think we’re getting close.” Serena pulled him along the path, and a few moments later, they emerged into a clearing. A soft gasp slipped from her lips and she sighed. They stood at the edge of a clear pool. Above him, water cascaded off a rock cliff and tumbled into the far edge of the pool. “It’s beautiful.”

Ryan had become a bit jaded when it came to natural beauty. He’d seen some of the most extraordinary sights in the world, and he’d always felt the need to rank them in order of perfection, rather than simply enjoy the sight. This was different. He could relax and enjoy what he was seeing. “It is bloody awesome.”

“Good job,” she said, bumping his shoulder with hers. She started toward the edge of the pond. “Do you think if we climb up there, we could jump into the water?”

“There’s supposed to be a spot for that on the right,” he explained, dropping his day pack. “But maybe we ought to leave the jumping for another day. If you crack your head, I’d have to carry you out of here and—”

“You promised me adventure. I want adventure.”

“All right, but first we should make sure the pool is deep enough.”

She tugged her T-shirt over her head, and to Ryan’s surprise, she wasn’t wearing a bikini—she was wearing a lacy black bra. Her shorts came off next, revealing a leopard-print thong. To his great relief, she didn’t remove anything else, and he drew a shaky breath as she walked toward the edge of the pool.

Serena turned around and motioned to him. “Come on.”

He had made a promise to himself, and Ryan Quinn always kept his promises. He yanked off his T-shirt and followed her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the water with her, gliding out into the center of the pool, their fingers still linked.

“Let me check the depth. I’ll be right back,” he said. Ryan dove beneath the surface, moving down, away from the light. The water was clear, though, and he could easily gauge the distance to the bottom of the pool. He came to the surface, beneath the rock ledge. “It looks good.”

She swam over to him. “I’m glad I have you to look after me.”

“Just doing my job, miss.”

“And you do it so well.”

Serena crawled out of the pool and began to scale the rocks to the right of the waterfall. Ryan climbed up behind her, watching to make sure her footing was secure along the way. She moved with an easy grace and a confidence that surprised him. That was becoming a pattern with Serena. She was always surprising him.

When they reached the ledge, Serena held out her hand. “We have to jump together,” she said.

“All right,” Ryan said. “You count it down.”

She drew a deep breath. “Three. Two. One.”

They leaped off the twenty-foot ledge and fell into the pool, the water rushing up and over them as they broke the surface. Ryan lost his hold on Serena’s hand but felt her body brush against his as he kicked toward the light. She was laughing when he came up in front of her.

Ryan stared into her pretty face, noticing the droplets of water clinging to her lashes. He reached out and smoothed a strand of hair off her cheek, and she turned into his touch, her eyelids fluttering.

Every instinct urged him to kiss her, to take advantage of the moment and forget all that was keeping them apart. But she was engaged, and until she told him differently, he intended to respect that.

“I can’t believe you made that jump,” he said, swimming away from her. “I guess you were right to ask for an adventure guide.”

“Uh-oh.” She reached beneath the surface and, a moment later, raised her hand, her torn bra dangling from her fingertips. “This didn’t survive the fall,” she said, tossing it onto the shore.

Ryan groaned inwardly. Was she tempting him on purpose? “You shouldn’t have done that,” he warned.

Serena looked at him, a quizzical arch to her eyebrow. “Everyone on the planet has seen me naked, Quinn. I’m sure you looked me up on Google and found the pictures.”

“What pictures?”

“The pictures. Of me and one of my former boyfriends, having a bit of a romp on a yacht in the Mediterranean.” She frowned. “You haven’t seen them?”

“Nope.”

Her gaze narrowed and she observed him suspiciously. “How much do you know about me?”

“I know that you’re an actress and you have a movie coming out after Christmas and you’re getting married before the movie comes out.”

“Have you ever watched one of my films?” she asked.

Ryan winced, then shook his head. “I plan on watching them all when I get home. But right now...no, not a one.”

“You’re lying.”

“I don’t go to the movies much. At least not in the last seven or eight years. I spend most of my time in places that don’t have television or movie theatres—or running water.”

“Turn around,” she said, pointing at him. “Right now. Turn around.”

Ryan did as he was told. He heard splashing behind him and he smiled. He didn’t have to see her; he could imagine exactly what she looked like, emerging from the pool, almost naked, her wet body gleaming in the shafts of sunlight that broke through the cover of the trees.

Though he had vowed to fight the temptations of her body, Ryan risked a glance, then immediately regretted it. She stood on the shore, her back to him. His gaze skimmed her body from her shoulders to the sweet curves of her backside, then along her shapely legs. She was like some water nymph, a creature from a magical world.

He felt his body react, so Ryan spun away and swam toward the waterfall. He dove beneath the surface and stroked hard until he reached the edge of the pool, trying to forget the image burned in his brain.

“All right,” she called. “I’m decent.”

Ryan turned around and swam back to the other side of the pool. “Thank you.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I usually don’t have any inhibitions when it comes to nudity. When you’ve gone starkers on the big screen, there’s not much mystery left.”

“I can just imagine,” he murmured.

* * *

THEY SPENT THE entire afternoon at the waterfall. Ryan retrieved the picnic basket from the Jeep and they opened a bottle of wine and sat on a blanket at the edge of the pool, watching the sunlight sparkle across the surface of the water.

“It’s been a perfect day, Quinn,” Serena murmured, drawing her knees up to her chest and fixing her gaze on her handsome companion. “I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun, doing something I wanted to do.” She paused, then reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

“I try to please,” Ryan said.

“I wish we could stay here. You could build us a nice little hut right over there. I could raise some chickens. We could have a simple life.”

“You don’t have to stay here to have a simple life,” he suggested.

There were times when Serena thought that Ryan understood her perfectly. And then, there were moments like this one, when she realized they lived in completely different worlds.

Ben, on the other hand, understood the life of a professional actor, the choices she’d had to make, the difficulties of being a celebrity. That’s one of the reasons why she’d agreed to marry him.

“Tell me about this man of yours,” Ryan said, stretching out on the blanket. He lay on his side and watched her silently, as if he were able to read her mind.

“I don’t want to talk about Ben,” Serena said, shaking her head.

“You’re marrying him in a few weeks. I’d think you’d want to talk about him. Or the wedding. Or your plans for the future.”

She didn’t want to argue with him if he was determined to force the issue. “All right, what do you want to know? Ask me anything. I can tell you about the flower arrangements and the groomsmen’s gifts. I can describe my dress and—”

“Why are you not wearing your ring?” Ryan said, pointing to her hand.

“I—I left it in my room,” she said. “I didn’t want to lose it.”

“Is that the real reason?”

What did he want her to say? Did he want her to admit that she was attracted to him? “No,” she finally said. “I guess I just wanted to forget the wedding for an afternoon.”

“Are you having doubts?”

She laughed softly, then covered her face with her hands. “It’s too late to have doubts, Quinn. I can’t back out now. Everything is planned. And I already have a reputation as a reckless nitwit—a reputation that was well earned when I was younger. But that’s not me now. People are just starting to take me seriously.”

“Is that why you said yes?”

“I also really wanted to believe I was in love and that I could finally have something...normal. That I wouldn’t be alone anymore.”

“So call it off,” Ryan said.

She couldn’t look at him. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to resist him any longer. She was fighting so hard against this attraction. It should be easy, but there was something so comforting about him. Though she barely knew him, Serena sensed that she could trust him.

“My life would be a shambles if I did.” She sat up, drawing a deep breath and gathering her resolve. “I’m going to get married. And in a year or two, if it becomes impossible to carry on, I’ll get a divorce. No one will be surprised. Hollywood marriages never work out the first time.”

“And that’s what you think you deserve?” Ryan asked.

“No. But it’s my fault I let it get this far. It’s a runaway train now. I can’t stop it without the entire thing going off the rails. So many people will be upset with me.”

“But it’s your life,” Ryan said. “You do what makes you happy.”

“How many people are really happy with their lives? We all make sacrifices and compromises,” Serena said. “Are you completely happy with your life, Quinn?”

Ryan considered her question for a long moment. “Not entirely,” he said. “But I’m planning to make some changes.” He cursed softly, shaking his head. “So, where should we put this hut? Over there? Or there?”

Serena lay down, stretching out opposite him and meeting his gaze. “Why aren’t you happy?”

“There have been lots of changes lately.”

“Like?”

“Both of my brothers are settling down and getting married. I’m not real happy with my job. I need a change, but I can’t afford to do what I want to do. And then, my brothers are trying to talk me into climbing Everest, and I’m not real keen on the idea.”

“Isn’t that what you do?”

“My father was a climber and he died on Everest. They found his body last spring and we’re supposed to go up there to retrieve his personal effects. But it’s opening a lot of old wounds that never completely healed.”

“Wow,” she murmured. “And I thought my wedding problems were bad.”

She placed her hand between her and Ryan, her fingers splayed across the blanket, just inches from his face. Serena wanted to touch him, to run her hand over his face. Her fingers trembled and a moment later, Ryan covered her hand with his.

It was such a simple point of contact, and yet it seemed even more intimate than a kiss or a caress. How much longer could she fight this attraction to him? It was wrong, yet it felt right. But was it real? Was she just transferring her hopes for normalcy and belonging from Ben to Ryan? Or was there something between them that went beyond a sexual attraction? That was the question Serena couldn’t answer.

“It’s feels so odd when you touch me,” she murmured, her gaze fixed on his hand. He drew his hand away, but she caught his fingers and laced them through hers. “Am I cheating?”

“I don’t know,” Ryan said. “Are you?”

“I feel like I am.”

“Then we should stop,” Ryan said.

She yanked her hand away and sat up. “You’re right. We should probably go. It’s getting late and the girls are going to wonder where we are. Miles is probably ready to call the local police.”

“Would it make it easier if I left Fiji?” Ryan asked. “I can. I’ll call one of my brothers, and he could be on a plane in a few hours, to take over. I can assure you, they’re not nearly as charming as I am.”

Serena knew she ought to accept his offer. It was the only safe thing to do. But in her heart, she didn’t think it would make a difference. She’d already started down this road—the road away from Ben and toward Ryan—and with every step, she was more determined not to turn back.

“No,” she said. “We can control our impulses. But maybe we should make sure that we don’t spend a lot of time alone.”

“You’re right,” he said. “If the girls don’t want to come along, we’ll bring Miles.”

“It’s a plan,” she said.

“There is one thing I’d like to say before we leave.”

“Do I want to hear it?” Serena asked.

“Probably not. But I’m going to say it anyway. You deserve to be happy. You deserve everything good in life, and you shouldn’t settle for anything less.”

“So you think I should call off the wedding, Quinn?”

“I can’t tell you to do that,” Ryan said.

“Of course you can,” Serena countered. “Just say it. Say ‘Serena, call off the wedding.’ It’s not that hard. Everyone has an opinion.”

“Everyone does.”

“Say it,” Serena insisted.

“I can’t. I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have less noble reasons for saying something like that. Because I want to kiss you again. I want to touch you without feeling guilty. And I don’t want to be the bloke who ruined your wedding.”

Serena stood up. “See? This is my problem. No one ever tells me the truth. They only tell me what they think I want to hear. I can’t make my own decisions. I never have been able to. I’m the princess of self-doubt. And now, when I am finally ready to make a decision, everyone is telling me not to. So just give me the truth. Tell me that I can call off this wedding and it might be messy for a while but everything will be all right.”