The Mighty Quinns: Ryan (6 page)

He glanced up at her. “It might be a little true,” he said with a wry grin. “I don’t mean to be an arse. I just haven’t found the right woman yet.”

“Is there a right woman?”

“I hope so,” Ryan murmured. “Maybe not. Maybe I met her already and let her go.”

“What do you want from a woman? Maybe we should start there.”

Ryan squatted down beside the board and ran his hand along the edge. “I want someone who is witty and clever and spontaneous. Someone who enjoys the outdoors. Someone who is their own person.”

“Ah, no clingy types. No whiners or whingers?”

“Exactly,” he said.

“And she has to be beautiful and sexy and a tigress in bed. And she has to cook and clean and pick up your dirty knickers, with a smile on her face.”

“Exactly,” he said.

She wagged her finger at him and grinned. “See? I was right. You are a horse’s arse.”

“All right, we’re here to surf, not to tear my ego to shreds.”

On the beach over the next half hour, Ryan did his best to teach her the basics of surfing. When she’d finally mastered the little hop required to get from her belly to her feet, Ryan decided she was ready to try her first wave.

“It’s not so hard,” she said as they walked to the water’s edge.

“You haven’t gotten in the water yet.” He stopped and stared out at the horizon. “So, we can do this one of two ways. We can paddle out together on the same board, and I can help you get up so you can get a feel for the correct technique. This would require that we touch, though, in a somewhat intimate manner.”

“And what’s the second choice?”

“I’ll swim out behind the board, and I’ll give you a shove and off you’ll go. You’ll do exactly what I instructed you to do, and hopefully, you’ll get up. The choice is yours.”

“I think I can manage the first option,” she said. Serena held up her hand. “I’m wearing my magic ring. It keeps me from feeling any attraction to inappropriate men. Of course, it doesn’t work the opposite way.”

He ignored her little joke and carried the board into knee-deep water. When she’d stretched out on the board, he lay down behind her, resting between her legs, his head hovering over her backside.

“Well, this is cozy,” she said. If Serena thought surfing would be simple, she’d been woefully wrong. She could ignore the attraction she felt to him just by sheer willpower. But she’d been daft to believe that his touch wouldn’t affect her. The moment he made contact, her pulse began to race and her breath came in short gasps.

“We can stop. Just say the word.”

“I’m fine,” she said, trying to sound indifferent.

“Now paddle,” he said. “Dig hard. And when a wave comes along, hold tight to the edges of the board.”

Serena did as she was told. But it was hard to concentrate with Ryan’s body pressed against hers, the sensation sending thrills racing through her. She tried to convince herself that it was the adventure of surfing, but the feel of his chest rubbing up against her thighs was more than she could manage.

To her relief, the ride finally ended and Ryan pushed up, his feet dangling on either side of the board. “You can sit,” he said. “I’m going to show you how to pick a wave.”

She listened to him as he explained the patterns, letting his voice seduce her into a Zen-like state. In truth, she didn’t really care about the surfing anymore. It was just pleasant to spend time with him, to touch him without having to feel guilty and pull away.

“All right,” he said. “Here comes a good one. Lie down and paddle, and when I tell you, I want you to get up. I’ll keep the board stable as you do. Go, go, go.”

Serena set her sights on the shore and dug into the water with her hands. When the board was gliding across the water at a smooth speed, he called out to her and she repeated the movement she’d mastered on the beach. A moment later, he was standing behind her, his hands clasped around her waist.

They rode the wave right onto the beach, and they jumped off the board together. Serena turned and threw her arms around his neck, laughing in delight at her success. He pulled her body against his, into a fierce hug, and picked her up off her feet.

It was such a spontaneous moment that Serena didn’t even think about the consequences. But when he finally set her down, she knew something had shifted between them. Ryan reached up and cupped her face in his hand, gazing down into her eyes.

For a long time, they didn’t speak, and Serena waited for him to move, holding her breath so long that she had to gasp to draw another. A shiver coursed through her as she smoothed her hands over his chest.

“Tell me not to kiss you,” Ryan whispered, desire burning in his eyes.

“Don’t kiss me,” she said.

“I want to.”

“I know. I want you to.”

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back as if the effort caused him pain. Slowly, he let his hands drop to his sides, then he turned away from her.

He picked up the board and tucked it under his arm. “I think you’re ready to try this on your own.”

“I think I’ll have to be,” she said.

“Go ahead. I’ll swim out with you and give you a push.”

They spent the rest of the morning trying to forget about that moment on the beach. And when Serena finally gave in to exhaustion, she retreated to Cecily’s blanket. Ryan decided to move down the beach to a better break and took the shorter surfboard.

“Where’s he going?” Cecily asked.

“To catch some bigger waves,” Serena said, wrapping a beach towel around her body.

“Can we go back to the house?”

“In a bit,” she said.

“We’ve been invited out to a club tonight. Those French guys are actually Australian, and they said we should meet them and the rest of their friends at this trendy place. An entire rugby team of hot, horny men. They’re playing in some tournament here. We should go.”

“You can go,” Serena said. “Don’t drag me along. I doubt they want to party with an engaged woman. And I don’t need a photo of me doing body shots with some randy rugby player.”

“But I told them I’d bring you. They both recognized you. They both knew Arabella, too. Apparently her last movie was very big down under. But don’t tell her that. She’ll be insufferable.” Cecily groaned. “Come on, I played nice for you. Now you have to return the favor. You don’t have to stay long. Just one drink and you can go.”

“All right,” she said. “I’ll go for a little while.”

Cecily wrapped her arm around Serena’s shoulder and gave her a hug. “We’re going to have fun.”

“I hope so.”

“You looked great out there,” Cecily said. “Adventure guy is a good teacher.”

Serena nodded. “Yes, he is. He’s a good man.”

* * *

T
HE
LIGHTS
FROM
the pool sent wavering shadows into the dark night. The ice in Ryan’s drink clinked softly as he took a long sip of Scotch. He glanced at his watch and cursed softly.

Serena and her bridesmaids had left in a white limousine at ten, headed to a nightclub at a luxury resort outside Nadi. They’d been dressed in sexy dresses and heels, in full hair and makeup, ready to seduce any man who looked interesting.

Of course, Miles had accompanied them, hoping to keep the party in hand, but considering Cecily’s excitement on the way back from the beach, he’d have his work cut out for him. Her Australian rugby players had agreed to meet them for drinks and dancing and whatever came next.

Serena had promised she’d be back early, but it was nearly two a.m. and Ryan was still waiting. He shouldn’t be worried. After all, she’d had a social life long before she’d met him, and that life had included a lot of partying, handsome single men and countless nightclubs. Serena Hightower knew how to handle herself.

That wasn’t what was driving him mad. It was all the other thoughts—of Serena enjoying herself, dancing and laughing, kissing other men. He didn’t want to feel jealous, and Ryan wasn’t convinced that was what it was. It wasn’t the men he envied, it was the time they had with her. He and Serena had only a precious few days together, and even an hour or two spent apart seemed like a forever.

He took another sip of his drink and closed his eyes, picturing her as she’d crawled into the limo. She hadn’t even looked like herself. She’d looked like what she really was...a movie star.

Was that why they were called stars? Because they were shiny and beautiful, yet untouchable? Yet he knew a different Serena, a warm, witty, vulnerable woman who wasn’t quite sure who she was or where she belonged.

“Here you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Ryan swung his legs off the chaise and stood up, watching as Serena strolled to his spot next to the pool. “You’re back,” he said.

She’d pulled her hair away from her face and she carried her shoes in her hand. “I’ve done my duty. I pretended to have a good time, Miles took photos, I danced with my bridesmaids and then spent the rest of the evening fending off the advances of nearly every single man in the club.”

She sat down on the end of a wide chaise and then heaved her shoes into the pool. “Good riddance,” she muttered.

“You look beautiful,” Ryan murmured.

“I hate this dress. It itches. I’d take it off now, but I’m too tired to fetch something else to wear.”

Ryan pulled his T-shirt off and held it out to her, then covered his eyes with his other hand. “I promise not to peek.”

This time he kept his promise, though the temptation to catch a glimpse of her was nearly overwhelming. But he had to be careful not to court temptation around Serena. “You can look now.” She’d settled herself on the oversize chaise longue and patted the cushion beside her. “Sit,” she said.

Ryan glanced over his shoulder at the chaise he’d formerly occupied and weighed the wisdom of returning to that chair. But in the end, he accepted her invitation and stretched out beside her, careful not to make any careless contact.

“Was it any fun at all?” he asked.

“None,” she said. “There’s no fun in going out anymore. People really don’t want me for who I am. They want the movie star. They want the fantasy, especially the men.”

“The fantasy?”

She stretched out beside him. “Umm. They usually have a favorite character that I’ve played. And it doesn’t take me long to sort out which one it is. They’ll introduce themselves, using their very best come-on, and I can see it in their eyes. They want Frannie or Anna or Laura, not me. And we chat and then I start to notice the disenchantment set in. They begin to realize that I’m not what they thought I was. I’m not clever or flirtatious or ditzy. I’m rather...ordinary. And underneath all this paint, I’m not really that beautiful, either. And then they wander off, disappointed that they didn’t get their fantasy and, instead, got stuck with reality.”

“I like the reality,” Ryan said.

“You’ve never watched any of my films, so that’s all you’re left with.” She sighed softly. “This is why it’s difficult for me to trust people. I wonder if they really hear me or see me—the real me. I’m just an image to them, two-dimensional.”

“You must have someone you can trust,” he said.

Serena shook her head. “All I am—to any of them—is a paycheck. They don’t make money unless I do. And the more I make, the more they make.” She glanced over at him. “A few years ago, the director of an independent film gave me a script. I wanted to do it, so I called a meeting to discuss the project with my publicist and my manager and my agent. And by the end of the meeting, they’d convinced me that it was the worst move I could possibly make. I believed them. But when the movie came out, I went to see it, and as I watched another actress do my role, I realized they were wrong. I could have done that role and done it better—if I hadn’t let them make my decisions for me.”

Ryan saw the regret etched on her pretty face. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for her to live in such isolation and yet have everyone in the world know who she was. “What about Ben?” he asked.

“Oh, what about Ben?” she repeated in a wistful voice.

“Can’t you trust him?”

“We don’t talk about our careers. Not with each other. He’s struggled the past few years to find good roles, and it’s hard for him to watch me have more success. His ego is a bit bruised.”

“So talk to me,” Ryan said. “I might not understand, but I’ll listen.”

She swung her legs off the chaise and stood up. Serena walked to the edge of the pool, then gracefully dove in. Ryan watched her as she swam to the far end, her slender figure distorted by the light from the pool. She broke the surface, her head tipped back, the water running off her in a smooth sheet.

“Come on in,” she said.

Ryan walked to the edge, then shook his head. “I think I’ll stay here.” His fingers twitched as he imagined touching her, imagined stripping the T-shirt from her body and exploring the curves beneath. But he knew it would be good between them, even without the fantasy.

She swam toward him and then bobbed beneath the water right below him. Ryan sat down and kicked his feet in the warm water. Crossing her arms on the pool deck, Serena let her bare legs float out behind her.

“I don’t want to tell you all my problems.”

“I’m happy to listen.”

“I don’t think your job description calls for this, though. Adventure guide and amateur therapist?”

Ryan stared out across the swimming pool. “I enjoy getting to know you, Serena. You’re a very intriguing person.”

Her eyebrow arched. “I am. I was named one of Hollywood’s ten most-intriguing people last year. I have no idea what that means. I’d expect it’s yet another way to make me into something I’m not.”

She pushed away from the edge of the pool and floated out on her back into the middle, the gentle movement of her arms propelling her through the water. Ryan’s gaze skimmed along the length of her body, lingering over her breasts. His T-shirt clung to her curves like a second skin, and Ryan found the scene just as tantalizing as if she were swimming naked.

Naked, half-dressed, fully clothed. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t rid himself of this powerful attraction. She was engaged, her wedding was scheduled, and still, his body hadn’t gotten the message. Desire burned deep inside him, and nothing he did seemed to put out the flame. “Tell me about Ben,” Ryan said. “How did you meet him?”