Chapter 1
One
L ani Kingston did everything in her power not to show how irritated she was with the interview she had been forced into. The lights were hot. She was sure she was sweating like a baboon in heat, and the host…well, he was annoying.
“So, one last question,” Devon Peters said, flashing that million-dollar smile. Lani was surprised that he hadn’t blinded her with how white his teeth were. He wore a Hawaiian shirt but didn’t look right in it. It was as if he were dressed up for a costume party. She knew he was a haole, or newcomer, to the islands, but she felt as if he looked down on their culture.
“Of course.”
It wasn’t like she could tell him to get bent. She was on camera, and one thing she would never do as head of PR at Kingston Surfing was cause a scandal.
“With your brother getting married this weekend, there’s been speculation about you and Rick Bellows.”
She held her smile even as her stomach twisted in knots. Lani knew the question was going to come, and having to deal with speculation about Rick was something she was used to. However, since her brother started planning his wedding, there had been more speculation on social media about him and Royal.
“Has there been?”
Yep, this guy always treated her like she was an idiot. Fluff reporters like him never stood a chance with her. She might run the PR for their company, but she also had a law degree.
Granted, there was no chance of a wedding—not when he couldn’t keep it in his pants. She would never again date someone like Rick. It had been her own fault. He had been asking her out for about nine months when she finally gave in. The reason for that was too embarrassing to think about.
“That’s not a no.”
That shark smile was getting on her nerves. She’d been dealing with men like him for years. Peters thought he was an apex predator when he wasn’t even a beta male.
“Was there a question? I think that was more of a statement.” He opened his mouth, but she decided to end his stupid speculation. “And besides, this has nothing to do with Kingston Surfing.”
“Rick Bellows is your top surfer.”
“True. But I didn’t ask about your latest date…or should I say scandal.”
What little color he had on his face seemed to vanish. That’s right. She never went into an interview without some information about the reporter. Not that everyone on Oahu didn’t know that Peters was going through a nasty divorce since he had been caught by his soon-to-be ex-wife with his producer.
“That’s not pertinent to the interview.”
“And neither is my relationship with Rick. I’m sure you understand about keeping things professional.”
The interview lasted for a few minutes as she answered a couple more questions about the invitational, and then they ended it.
Once the cameras were off, Peters’ stupid smile vanished. “Not cool, Lani.”
She blinked at him. “What? Not wanting to answer questions about my relationship with Rick? It’s almost like I’m held to another standard than any man.”
He sniffed—actually sniffed—at her. “Your relationship has a lot to do with the company. Your company sponsors him.”
“Then ask him about it. Or maybe you would like me to have my brother talk to you.”
His eyes widened. “N-no.”
Yeah, her brother was a massive threat, but it was just that, a threat. Her brother was too wrapped up in his wedding, and soon-to-be wife to even care what was going on with her. Although, she was sure she would get a call later from him complaining. These days, he never hesitated to blast her for one thing or another. Still, he held much power on the island, especially advertising power. Peters knew that it could sink his already dwindling career.
“Now, I have some things to do for my brother’s wedding, if you don’t mind.”
He nodded, and she headed out of the studio. Maybe she imagined it, but a few women smiled brighter as she passed. Yeah, Peters wasn’t well-liked. He had a reputation for being a slobbering drunk who couldn’t keep it in his pants.
She slipped on her sunglasses as she exited the Hawai’i Live studios. It was late morning and brighter than when she’d entered the studio. Nothing new for her, but when she realized she was looking for her little red Mustang, not the SUV she had driven in for her errands, she sighed. She hated the company car, but when she’d had issues with her brakes earlier that week, she hadn’t had a choice. Thankfully, nothing happened when her brakes failed since she hadn’t been driving. It had been in her brother’s driveway.
Now, though, it meant she had to drive around in the behemoth of a vehicle. Although, considering her next errand, it was probably a good thing. As she pulled out of the parking lot and hit Ala Moana Street, the muscles in her neck knotted. Why she had to pick up Jake, she had no idea, but her brother had insisted. The guy was a billionaire actor. She was pretty sure he could get himself to the family house. But her brother Ben had insisted.
As she sped up to take the onramp for H-1, she tried to get her nerves to settle. It was bad enough that she was pretty much acting as the contact for this stupid wedding. Now, she was saddled with the most irritating man on the face of the earth.
Most women would trade places with her in a heartbeat. The man was Hollywood gold with an English accent and a devil-may-care attitude that most people found charming. She did not. The two of them always found themselves at odds. And since he was why she had dated Rick in the first place, she was even more annoyed.
Nope. Not today. She would not go down the Jakob made me do something trail. She was a big girl who understood her own actions, and it was her fault.
She took the exit for the airport, knowing she didn’t have to rush. No, Mr. Jakob Wulf, two-time Oscar nominee and celebrated heartthrob, always flew private. Even though her family had a private plane like the Wulfs, she rarely used it.
After parking, Lani sat in the silence and tried to compose herself. Dealing with Jakob Wulf took a lot of composure, especially these days. Part of it was his personality. Another part was the embarrassment she still felt for her stupid crush. Thank God that was gone, but she remembered trying to flirt with her brother’s friend when she was only sixteen.
He was still considered one of the hottest men around. There were rumors he was going to win that magazine award again. He had it all. Wealth, looks, a great career. But he seemed so dissatisfied with life these days. Jake didn’t lash out. That just wasn’t his way. Instead, he cracked jokes.
Sighing, she slipped out of her car and headed to the terminal. The late morning sun was already beating down on her. As a Hawaiian, she usually enjoyed the hotter days. Her blood was thin, but just like Jake, she was now dissatisfied with life. Or rather, she was unhappy with the situation her brother was putting her in.
Pushing that thought away, she stepped into the terminal. He wasn’t there, of course, but she knew he would be there momentarily. With a sigh, she started to pace around. Lani had never had much patience. It was one of her biggest faults. Of course, it allowed her to graduate from high school a year early, and it only took her three years to get her BA before moving on to law school.
There was a buzz in the terminal, which caught her attention. Of course, whenever Jakob Wulf appeared, there were fans, mainly women. He pretended like he didn’t notice. She knew he did because his mouth twitched. And he didn’t have to come through the terminal because he had a private flight. He probably did it just because of this reaction.
Tall and golden. It was the way she’d always thought of Jakob. The man never seemed to have a care in the world, even though she knew he had a quick financial mind that helped with the family business. He was already in shorts and a t-shirt, with a ball cap embroidered with the Wulf Resorts logo.
As always, she steeled herself before he reached her. His eyes sparkled.
“Good afternoon, Lani.”
Damn, that accent still had her toes curling in her shoes. “It’s still morning here.”
He nodded, but his mouth tipped up in a smile. “Sorry. Good morning.”
She grunted in response, and he grinned. Why he always seemed to be amused by her, she had no idea.
“I take it you have no bags.”
He shook his head. “They’ll make it to the house.”
“Let’s go.”
He waved a hand. “You lead, and I will follow.”
She turned and did just that.
Jakob tried his best not to roll his eyes, but it was difficult. Following Lani was a mistake. The woman was…well, she was perfect.
He loved how her navy-blue pencil skirt hugged her full, heart-shaped ass. And the heels…Jakob rolled his eyes. She was trying to kill him and every other heterosexual male around.
Just that thought had him glancing around at the sparse crowd. He gave more than a few of the men mean looks. He knew it was way out of line, but so was his infatuation for his best friend’s little sister. That was the reason he had avoided the island for so long. Even when he went to Maui for Jules’ wedding a few months ago, he had made an excuse for not coming to see Ben.
Once they crossed the street and headed into the parking garage, he looked around for Lani’s little convertible. She loved that thing, and he had been looking forward to driving with the top down.
She stopped by a behemoth of an SUV. He frowned.
“What happened to your Mustang?”
“Had some problems with the breaks, so I’m driving one of the company’s SUVs.”
As they settled in the seats, he frowned. “What kind of brake problems?”
“They weren’t working.”
Alarm rushed through him. “What happened? Did you get hurt?”
She shook her head as she frowned at him. “I noticed the problem before anything happened. And apparently, I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”
“Why didn’t Ben call me?”
She frowned at him. “Why would he?”
Exactly.
“Besides, he acted like it was no big deal.”
“What the hell?”
She snorted as she started up the SUV. “But don’t worry. I know how you like the sun.”
Lani hit a button, and that’s when Jakob noticed the SUV had a sunroof.
He said nothing as they headed out of the parking garage and the airport. The Honolulu Airport wasn’t big. Only so many flights could come in daily, so it wasn’t the nightmare that LAX or Heathrow was. It was something he was looking forward to once he moved here.
He’d just signed on to the new show Task Force Honolulu . No one but the studio and his people knew about it. The announcement would come in the next two weeks. Well, he had told his family. Jules was thrilled. His mother and his sister-in-law Nicola—not so much. It was weird that within the last few years, he had gained a sister-in-law he adored and a brother-in-law he admired.
“What’s that smirk for?” Lani asked as she took the onramp to H-1 West.
“I was thinking about my siblings getting married and how I went from two to four siblings. It’s nice. You’ll see.” She snorted, and his smile faded. “What’s that for?”
“What?”
“The snort.”
She sighed. “Royal doesn’t like me.”
“That can’t be true.”
“It’s okay,” she said, dismissiveness filling her voice. “I don’t like her, so we’re even.”
“What? Why?”
Her shoulders were hunched in a little. Alarm sped through him. Lani wasn’t the type of woman to hunch her shoulders. It was then that he realized she was taking the exit for H-3.
“I thought we were going to go see Ben first?”
“We are,” she said.
“Have you moved your headquarters from the North Shore?”
That would have made news. Kingston Surfing had been around for decades. Relocating their headquarters would have sent shockwaves through Hawai’i and the entire surfing world.
“He’s not at work. He’s at home.”
He frowned, and then it hit him. “He took off this week for the wedding. I didn’t even think about that.”
“He hasn’t been working full-time for close to six months.”
Then she bit her lip. As if she revealed some big secret. He wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t been studying her so closely. “What?”
She sighed again. “I don’t want to gossip about Ben.”
Meaning that there was a whole lot more, but she wouldn’t tell him. He would find out sooner or later, but she seemed…fragile. So different from the Lani he knew. She still had that spine of steel, but he felt as if one wrong word and she might start crying. And that was not like Lani at all.
From the time he’d met her, she’d had enough moxie to match his. In fact, he always suspected she had more. But for some reason, she seemed different.
She might not realize it, but he would find out soon enough, either from her or her brother.
“I’m still surprised Ben didn’t mention your brake situation.” And he would be cornering his best friend about that.
She shrugged. “He’s been busy with the wedding stuff.”
He was calling bullshit. The guy he knew for a decade just didn’t shrug off his sister’s brakes going out. This was the guy who had threatened Jakob before he’d even met Lani.
Oh, yeah, they were going to have a chat today about that, and maybe he would discover what had Lani looking so damned sad.