Page 10 of Trust
Yeah, neither did Lani, but her brother was in love. “She’s stressed.”
What she really wanted to say was that Royal was a major pain in her ass, but she only had a few more days left of this. Then, she would get back to her regular work. She had a trip planned to Australia next month, and she was looking forward to it.
“What are you thinking about?”
She glanced over at Jakob to find him studying her. It always unnerved her when he would look at her so intently. “What?”
“You smiled, so I know it has nothing to do with your brother’s wedding.”
“I’ve got a work trip planned next month to Australia. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been there. I’m taking a week off for some downtime.”
“I do love Australia.”
“Why does an Englishman want to spend so much time in the sun?”
She sensed his shrug even as she kept her eyes on the road. “I never liked the cold, foggy feel of England. We get sun. But it’s different.”
“Yes. I was there one April. It was fun for the first few days, then it got really boring.”
He chuckled. The sound rumbled in his chest and sent little spikes of heat dancing through her blood. Why did the man have to be so damned sexy and somewhat charming?
“See. I love the sun here in Hawai’i. Australia is nice, but I can’t get used to the upside-down seasons or the toilet bowl water. Also, there are a lot of things that can kill you there. We had someone bitten by a funnel-web spider on the set ofWonderland.”
She nodded and said nothing. What she really wanted to say was that it had been his best work. The indie movie was released a couple years earlier. He’d been nominated for the role, and she had been so proud of him, but she said nothing. He had ensured she knew he didn’t need her approval ten years ago.
“I take it that you’ll be at dinner tonight.”
Lani shrugged. “I guess so.”
She felt his sharp study once more. He was always observant—more so than other men she knew—but this felt different. “What does that mean?”
“It was the first I’d heard of it, so I am assuming. I’ll text Royal.”
“What a stupid name.”
She snorted before she could stop herself.
“You agree, don’t pretend you don’t,” he said. “Was that her name at birth?”
“Apparently.”
“And she’s not originally from here?”
“Don’t you follow her social media?”
“God, no. I avoid social media. All my stuff is put up by my handlers. I stepped back when all that rubbish was being bandied about Jules last year. I wanted to fight everyone.”
That had been insane. She didn’t know Jules that well, but her personal sex life had been splashed all over the place. The paps wouldn’t leave her alone, thanks to her ex talking out of school about her. At least, that’s one thing she didn’t have to worry about.
“I don’t blame you. I only met Jules once before that, and I wanted to kick her ex in the balls.”
A surprised laugh exploded from him. “Same. Nicola convinced me to take a step back. I only put up quick pics or videos from sets to promote the movie.”
“That’s smart.”
“Tell me more about Royal.”
“Not much to tell. She’s a couple years younger than me. Moved to Honolulu to become a pineapple influencer.”
