Page 3 of Trust

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 theJakob made me do somethingtrail. 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?”

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