Blooming in the Wild Page 0,3

her face smoothed as if a curtain had fallen. “Mahalo.”

Joel gestured with ironic courtesy that she should board the boat first. She stepped up onto the cat and walked across to the far side. She balanced lightly, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. It shone in a last ray of sun, glossy as a bird’s wing with reddish highlights among the espresso-hued strands. “All right, everyone,” Frank called. “Welcome aboard. Let’s go to Na’alele.”

Damn straight Joel was ready to go—a mellow three-day cruise into a gentle wilderness with few bugs, no large predators or hostile natives, with full cell phone service and great food, surrounded by gorgeous women, even if one of them was by turns seductive as a hula dancer and prickly as a noni fruit. At least she didn’t smell like a noni. The small, prickly Hawaiian fruit was known for its medicinal qualities and its stench.

He didn’t know what he’d been worrying about. This gig was going to be a cinch. He’d get some great publicity, and take it back to the network execs, as proof that he was a bankable commodity. Joel was smiling to himself as he stepped onto the boat.

Bella flung herself onto the bench seat, only to recoil when her backbone connected painfully with the boat rail. She gritted her teeth against the pain and then deliberately made herself relax, letting her back curve into the railing. She was not going to allow herself to be rattled by some equipment cowboy with a macho swagger.

Although she’d had a little fun with him. She couldn’t quite believe she’d done that—stripped off her business suit right in front of him and everyone else on the dock. All the irritation and frustration of the long day of meetings and last-minute checks to ensure everything was in place not only for the store opening but for this trip had channeled into a flush of anger, and she’d sort of…snapped.

Their celebrity star had watched every move, she could tell. Bella straightened her sunglasses and eyed him surreptitiously through the dark lenses. As he sauntered past her, she crossed her legs, swiveling her knees away.

He was big enough that she’d come only to his shoulder when they’d been standing on the dock, and she’d been dwarfed by his broad shoulders and brawny physique. He certainly filled out his clinging white T-shirt, which bore the palm tree logo of DelRay’s summer line, and, his ass was tight and round under the thin fabric of his khaki cargo shorts. Although the hair curling up in loose commas from under his baseball cap was reddish, he was tanned, not a freckle in sight.

Realizing she was staring, Bella jerked her gaze away, her cheeks hot. She glanced around, but no one seemed to have noticed her interest. She blew out an impatient breath. Enough of that silliness. It was just that she wasn’t used to such strongly conflicted feelings about a guy. On one hand, any guy who called her a princess didn’t deserve a second look, even if he was drool-worthy. On the other hand, he was extremely drool-worthy. Besides, since when was she impressed with guys just because they were big? Well, since forever.

Of course, he wasn’t as big as David or Daniel. Polynesian to the core, her newly discovered Hawaiian cousins were built like the volcanic peak that loomed above the boat, the top hidden in the clouds. She wished the Ho’omalus were here now, with her two best friends. Melia had married David two months ago, here on the beach. Claire and Daniel would be married in August, on the beach at Nawea Bay, the family’s private enclave.

When this four-day expedition was over, Bella would continue on with Frank and his boat to Nawea for a few days’ visit. She could hardly wait. She and Melia and Claire were as close as sisters. Now, oddly enough, they really were going to be related, by marriage.

She sighed, rolling her shoulders to ease the tension and weariness of sitting—in boardrooms, cars and airplanes. She’d been on the islands for three days now, and all she’d had time for was meetings with the other DelRay people. Launching the new factory and store was a big venture for the Oregon-based sporting goods company. They’d made their name with eco-friendly clothing and equipment constructed of recycled and manmade fibers as much as possible.

Delton Rayburn had a second home on Maui, and he wanted his company to have a foothold there as well. Bella