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Zach grinned wickedly. ‘Apparently, Lucas Richards is notorious for falling in and out of love with his leading ladies, with relationships never lasting longer than the first screening of the film. It’s a nightmare for publicity because no one wants to do the press junkets with him.’

‘Oh, I see,’ said Hannah, thinking not only of Lucas Richards, but of herself and Caleb. Every day she had a hundred very good reasons not to start anything with Caleb, but then she would do something as simple as brush against him by accident and all her sensible plans evaporated.

‘Cawr!’ exclaimed Zach with a shocked laugh. ‘This is place is beaut!’

‘Thanks!’ said Emma with a breezy laugh. ‘Considering I picked it, I guess that means I’ve got great taste!’

Everyone nodded in emphatic agreement.

Caleb was stopped by a very buff man in his twenties, who turned out to be Lucas’s personal fitness instructor, and they began chatting.

Hannah and Zach walked out with Emma onto the sprawling terrace.

‘You know I’ve always wanted to see one of these places from the inside. See what all the fuss is about, and if they’re worth the huge price tag,’ said Zach.

‘And?’ asked Hannah curiously.

Zach gave a disgruntled huff. ‘Bloody hell, makes you sick.’

Hannah chuckled and wrapped her arm around Zach’s. ‘One day.’

Zach gave a disbelieving snort. ‘I doubt it. But I’m going to enjoy every minute while I’m here. You’ll have to drag me out.’

Hannah laughed and they walked down the wooden gangway and down the stairs, swinging their big beach bags as they walked. She and Zach had become firm friends in only a short space of time, mainly because he was always so upbeat and fun to be around.

The past month had had its ups and downs. She’d struggled to make friends at yoga but had fared much better at the book club, especially when they’d heard what film she was working on. The baking class had also been great, and she’d realised she wanted to keep going with that – not only to make friends, but because she’d discovered she loved baking; the chemistry appealed to her scientific mind.

Zach had introduced her to some of his friends at his surfing club and at work, and she was beginning to feel as if she could actually build a life here.

Unfortunately, all this progress had only made her obsessive crush on Caleb worse. Now that she was more secure about her independence, the little voice inside her head whispered over and over that she might as well enjoy him while she still had the chance!

After all, what would be the point of coming somewhere like this and not going to the beach or enjoying the chef’s food? Should she deny herself pleasure because it was only temporary?

But was Caleb even interested? It had been a long time since their first toe-curling kiss. Yes, there’d been some goosebump-raising moments between them, but nothing more than a lingering look or a brush of their bodies, and they were both always professional at work.

Although he’d invited her here, hadn’t he?

They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked over to a row of sun loungers with umbrellas dotted between them, the golden sand and the crashing turquoise waves of the ocean just a short distance away. Each cushioned seat had a beach towel, sunscreen and water bottle laid out for them. Which meant Hannah’s beach bag, filled with essentials, was largely redundant, and she wondered what poor employee had dragged all this down from the house. She hoped it hadn’t been Emma.

Bianca had positioned her lounger beneath the shade of her umbrella. She wore a linen shirt over a bikini and was every inch the star Hannah expected, with her petite frame and perfect alabaster skin. Dark hair rippled around her shoulders, and she wore tiny boho bracelets that tinkled with gold charms as she moved.

It was a little bizarre to see Lucas and Bianca in the flesh, especially off-duty as it were – like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs. Hannah and Zach stood to the side and glanced awkwardly at one another, unsure of what to say.

Bianca twisted slightly in her lounger and lowered her huge black shades as if to see them better. ‘Hello?’ she breathed in an upper crust English accent that seemed to say, Who the fuck are you?

‘Hey, guys, great to meet you!’ Lucas bounded out of his lounger as if he were welcoming an Australian ambassador and not two below-the-line crew. He was wearing swim shorts and nothing else, his muscular chest as impressive as Caleb’s.

‘Did you sunscreen?’ Emma asked Lucas as she lowered herself onto the nearest lounger – the one that had a little table clipped to it and was also the furthest away from Bianca and Lucas, which seemed a little odd. But Hannah had no idea how celebs and their assistants usually behaved.

‘Yes, ma’am!’ joked Lucas with a little salute.

Bianca giggled. ‘You sound like his mumma, Emma! But you will be pleased to hear he did. I rubbed it in myself.’

‘Wonderful,’ Emma replied with a painfully bright smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. She then pulled out her tablet and phone from a nearby beach bag. ‘Only, you’re playing an ancient vampire king, and a tan would mean extra time in make-up.’

‘She’s right to remind me,’ declared Lucas cheerfully. ‘And if anyone knows how much I hate sitting for hours in make-up, it’s Emma! She’s saving herself from listening to me moan for hours. Aren’t you, Em?’

Emma nodded with her brows raised as if to say, Damn right! But then her phone started ringing and she excused herself as she answered it and began chatting to someone in a professional tone of voice. Which seemed odd on a Saturday. Did Emma never get a day off?