I stepped out of the elevator feeling jittery. Being cooped up in the hospital made me antsy for fresh air and the sights of the city. Leaving was Aunt Mildred's idea, God love her. She went back to Georgia and left me homemade cookies "to keep my strength up."

My first job was returning the clothes I borrowed from Daniel.

In Diana's giant closet, I found the exact sections and tucked them back in neatly. As I turned around, I nearly leapt out of my skin! A tall blonde lady stared at me with her hands on her hips. She had the kind of face you see in magazines, all sharp angles and green eyes sparkling.

"Can I help you miss?" I squeaked.

She threw her head back in a big laugh. It sounded just like Daniel's laugh, like she was enjoying some private joke. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she said with a smile. "You're the one in my closet after all."

My cheeks turned hot as tomatoes. Busted! I stammered out an apology but she just laughed some more.

"Don't worry, I'm only teasing," she said, still grinning. " I know who you are. You must be Emily, Daniel's new assistant that I've heard so much about."

I gulped and nodded shyly as she stepped forward to shake my hand firmly.

"I'm Diana," she said smoothly. "Daniel's sister."

"O-Oh!" I replied brilliantly, suddenly feeling very thick. Of course - the hair, the cheekbones, the overly-straightened smile. They were cut from the same expensive cloth. "I should've known. You look just like him."

Diana laughed her booming laugh again. "That we do. Runs in the family, I'm afraid. Now come, let's sit and chat. I want to hear all about how that creep Olivia attacked you at our gala. I was on a work trip or I would've stopped her myself."

I followed her to the plush sitting room, Diana plopped cross-legged into an armchair as elegant as a Baroque throne. I perched nervously on the sofa's stiff edge, afraid too deep a sit might cause an international incident.

"Relax, sweet pea, that couch won't bite." Diana grinned, her smile a dazzling reminder of Daniel.

"Tell me everything," she said, tone suddenly serious. "And don't leave out a single detail. I want this woman locked up for what she did to you."

I took a deep breath and began recounting the night's frightening events, relieved to share my story with someone who clearly cared so much. By the time I finished, Diana's expression had grown stormy.

"That Olivia b*tch messed with the wrong clan. She will not get away with this, I promise you," Diana said fiercely. "No one hurts my family and lives to tell about it."

She growled in a voice so primal I expected her to start pounding her chest. Clearly, she subscribed to the family motto of "mess with one sibling, you mess with us all."

Family? Was I really being inducted into the Hunter inner circle?! Diana leaned in further, the promise of vengeance in her eyes softening into mischief once more.

"Enough gloom and doom. I think what you need is a little R&R. How does a weekend cruise sound?" she asked, as if offering a juice box to a tired child.

"You mean like on a big fancy boat?" I pictured trussed-up socialites sipping champagne and playing bocce on the lido deck while judging one another's outfits and yachts. Not exactly my idea of relaxing.

Diana laughed again, the sound like wind chimes in a breeze. "Not stuffy at all, I promise. Just a few close friends underneath a canopy of stars with the dancing sea as our entertainment. Daniel will be there of course, and Stevo obviously. He's a riot."

"Oh right, I'd completely forgotten you all basically grew up together," I replied. What a carefree childhood they must have had, I thought enviously. Nothing to worry about beyond who would win at croquet that afternoon.

"Absolutely. I was always studying abroad here or gallivanting there, but Daniel and Stevo were thick as thieves," Diana explained fondly. "Oh, and you know Stevo and I were college sweethearts for a while?"

I did not know that, of course, but tried to keep up appearances and nodded sagely as if it were common knowledge. This bombshell beauty throwing her head back in raucous laughter - it was hard to imagine her pining over any mere mortal.

"Guilty as charged!" she confessed. "We dated eons ago, now he's like another brother. You'll see, he's the perfect gentleman. Great company and he can hold his liquor with the best of them."

"Well...I don't know..." I faltered, nerves already jangling at the idea of spending time with so much wealth, beauty, and high society refinement. What if I said the wrong thing? Ate the wrong thing? Danced the wrong way? There seemed so much potential for disaster.

Diana fixed me with an earnest, sincere stare, her features softening into something almost maternal. "Emily, you've been through so much this past week. You deserve to let your hair down and have a little fun. We all care about you very much."

"Oh thank you... Diana, I really appreciate the invitation," I said gratefully. "But are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your friends' getaway."

Diana waved her hand dismissively. "Nonsense, the more the merrier! In fact, I insist you invite a couple friends of your own along. It'll be nice for you to have some familiar faces there too."

Her emerald stare was impossible to refuse. I felt tears prick my eyes, overwhelmed by this family's kindness to a nobody like me. All I'd wanted was a fresh start, and they were gifting it wrapped with a bow.

"Okay," I nodded shyly, dabbing at my eyes. "A cruise does sound pretty nice."

Diana beamed brilliantly and squeezed my hand, her eyes crinkling kindly at the corners. "Wonderful! It's settled then. I just know you're going to love it."

~

The rumble of the car engine was like a lullaby to soothe my nerves as big, burly Ben drove us to the docks. Our bodyguard, Ben - or as I like to call him, The Muscle - never so much as cracked a smile. As Daniel's personal bodyguard, interacting with passengers was clearly not in the job description. Still, every so often I'd catch his eyes in the rearview mirror, and I swear in those brief moments you could see the tiniest glimmer of amusement hiding behind all that stoic training.

I was filled with both excitement and dread about this cruise weekend extravaganza. Sarah, on the other hand, was practically bouncing in her seat like a kid on a sugar high. "Can you believe this?!" she squealed, somehow managing to make her already high-pitched voice go even higher. "We're going on a luxury cruise with Hollywood's hottest actor AND his glamorous sister? I feel like I just fell down the rabbit hole!"

I had to chuckle at Sarah's pure glee. Leave it to her to find the magic in any situation, no matter how bizarre. As for me, I was hoping a chill weekend on the open seas might help me forget the certifiably crazy makeup artist still out there plotting who knows what. But Sarah's joy was contagious, and I could feel my nerves starting to relax as we pulled up to the crowded dock. That is, until I got my first glimpse of the mega cruise ship looming before us, bigger than any building I'd ever seen. How the hell did they get something that massive to even float?!

The gangplank was like the entrance to the Twilight Zone, with seagulls squawking their canned laughter and people chattering a mile a minute.

"Can you believe this?" Sarah exclaimed, clutching my arm so tightly I worried she may cut off circulation. I'd have been alarmed, if not for the fact that her enthusiasm was about the only interesting thing happening at the moment. "Em, we're about to spend three whole days on a luxury yacht with a movie star! I mean, what are the odds that I'd go from changing bedpans at the hospital to sipping cocktails with Daniel Hunter?"

Boarding the ship was like entering an alternate universe. Gone were the grime and grit of city living; in their place, uniformed crew members smiled brighter than the California sun. Every surface sparkled as if dusted with pixie powder. And the buffet! Mountains of glistening fruit piled high as the Hollywood Hills. I made a beeline for the crab cakes while Sarah started in on the never-ending options. "What even is this one?" she asked through a mouthful. I stifled a laugh. "Chew first, child. We have all weekend to explore."

That's when I spotted Stevo lurking in the corner like a manager should. But there was something different about the way he looked at Sarah...let's just say it wasn't strictly professional interest. Ever since their meet-cute at the hospital, an energy had simmered between him and Sarah, and try as I might I couldn't look away as they slipped seamlessly into conversation. It seemed our little ray of sunshine had caught yet another heart with her bubbly charms. Hmm, wonder what drama could unfold there?

A pang of guilt struck me as I watched Sarah chatting animatedly with the crew. In all the chaos after the attack, I'd been so focused on my own recovery that I never properly checked in on how Sarah was coping. She had, after all, been through quite an ordeal herself - facing harassment from her unstable director.

As if on cue, Sarah glanced my way and flashed me a bright smile. I smiled back, but made a mental note to pull her aside later for a real talk. She had reassured me three times in a row that her film production was giving her a few weeks off in light of everything that had transpired.

I knew Sarah well enough to know that right now, all she wanted was an escape. An excuse to kick back and forget about the crazed makeup artist and overbearing director for just a little while. And who was I to deny her that? We deserved to cut loose and enjoy this cruise, consequences be damned. As her friend, it was my duty to ensure she had the vacation of a lifetime, even if only for a fleeting three days. The drama would still be waiting for us when we returned to dry land. But for now, paradise called, and I was damn well going to answer.

Just then, a voice like velvet floated to my ear. "Having fun yet, darling?" Diana appeared at my side, sunglasses perched on her perfect nose as if they'd been sculpted there. I sighed. "It's all spectacular, Diana. Where Mr. Hunter?"

She waved an elegant hand. "Oh, Daniel. Always with the dramatics. Filming some sci-fi nonsense on location and insisting on making an entrance via helicopter. Really, the ego on that man." She rolled her eyes but I caught the faintest smile playing at her lips.

My thoughts drifted to my own responsibilities, or lack thereof. It struck me that in all the excitement of the impending cruise, I hadn't even bothered to check Daniel's schedule on my ever-present iPad like the good personal assistant I was supposed to be. Here I was enjoying a luxury getaway, and yet I had no idea what meetings, shoots, or premieres my boss had lined up nowadays. How terribly remiss of me.

Then again, it wasn't as if Diana hadn't made it perfectly clear this was meant to be a real vacation. As the head of Silver Screen Studios and Daniel's producer extraordinaire, she was really the one calling the shots. And it wasn't as if the man in question was even here yet to bother with his chaotic itinerary. For all I knew, he was still lost in the far reaches of Ojai, fighting cgi orcs and whatever else entertainers get up to on location.

So really, who was I to complain about shirking responsibilities for a few blissful days?

~