Loving Ashe - Book 1 of the Celebrity Series

BONUS: None Of Them Are You

If he was going to ask her to dance one more time, she was going scream and tell him she was sick of dancing - at least, not to the constant beat of techno and electronica music playing through the speakers around the pool. She was beginning to get a headache. It had been fun at first, but after one hour turned to two, and then three, Riley knew she was done. D-O-N-E. Done.

Why on earth did she have to suggest they show up at the party Ashe had been invited to, if only to make an appearance even though he had told her he'd rather stay at the villa and relax? Going to the party would mean that he'd be working, he told her, something that couldn't be helped because he'd be on.

She should also have been more specific about the length of said appearance, for the afternoon party was turning into an all-night dance-fest, with everyone checking everyone else out as surreptitiously as they could (or not), and just having all-out fun, even if it meant getting shoved (playfully) into the infinity pool where some skimpily clad women were already holding court, their waterproof make-up doing double, if not triple, duty to remain waterproof. And how was Riley supposed to know that the party was being held by a major lifestyle magazine who'd long dispatched their photographers to document who among the world's Who's Who were present. Already three separate photographers and a cameraman had asked her for her name, though their assistants simply ignored whatever answer she said and wrote down, Ashe Hunter and friend in their notes.

And now there they were, surrounded by people whose names she'd forgotten, even that of the big-name director who was telling Ashe about a movie he was putting together, and that upon meeting Ashe in person, had decided that Ashe was the actor he was looking for the lead role. The big-name director was also really drunk so Riley wondered whether half of what he said was true, and from the look on Ashe's face, that faint perma-smile at work, Riley wondered if he knew it, too.

"Say yes, man, and I'll text my guy at Sony right now," Big Name Director said as Riley drifted away from the group, finding a quiet place on the deck with a view of the bulb-lit beach. Then she leaned against the railing and turned her attention back on Ashe as he held court.

As Ashe continued to listen to big-name director, his gaze drifting towards Riley as if making sure she was within sight, women and men surrounded them, absently swaying their shoulders and hips to the techno beat, their lips pursed as they made duck faces to their cell phone cameras and making sure Ashe and the director were in the background.

Riley sighed and turned her attention to the beach. Until she had excused herself, she had been with Ashe the entire time, him holding her hand and pulling her to the dance floor, laughing as she made silly faces at him while she attempted to dance seductively.

But now she was bored and - wait! Was that Lady Gaga? Riley thought as she spun around to look at the woman with straight blond hair walk past her, flanked by two other women. But without her contacts, Riley wasn't sure. She hadn't worn them since they arrived on the island eight days ago, though she found herself wishing she had them on now. She'd already mistaken Rihanna for someone else, and the performer wasn't too happy about the mistake. Riley never meant it though, she wanted to tell the singer. She really did want to say Rihanna, but in her excitement, who knew her mouth would say Shakira instead?

But Riley had to admit that she was also tired - so tired she could barely think straight. They'd done so many things ever since they arrived and though she would have loved to sleep in till noon every day, Ashe had packed in so many adventures for them both even though he didn't have to. She would have been satisfied just finding a shady spot around their oceanfront villa and read a book. 

Still, she had never smiled and laughed so much in her life that her cheeks hurt by noon. Already they'd ridden on jet skis and powerboats, gone waterskiing, kayaking and even hung on for dear life on some inflatable contraption that looked like a flat banana pulled across the water in high speed, with Riley screaming like she was going to die, and Ashe laughing so hard that he cried. They'd even gone horseback riding and hiking, and at night they enjoyed intimate dinners at the villa and hours just making love - though most times, they were out like a light the moment their heads hit their pillows, too sunburnt and too exhausted to care. Not that they minded. There was always the morning.