I gasped in surprise when someone grabbed me from behind, my heart hammering as I turned around to find Alexis beaming at me. She wore the biggest smile and I squealed as I pulled her into a hug. Lee, Karla and King were just a few yards behind.

“You guys. Oh my goodness, it’s so good to see you.”

“And you,” Alexis replied giddily, hugging me back as Karla joined in and I heard Lee chuckle.

“You ladies got room for one more?” he asked as he came and joined our group hug. King stood off to the side, an amused smile gracing his handsome features, the sun glinting off his long blond hair. He wasn’t the group-hug type. After a minute I stepped back, and my heart filled with joy. Tears pricked at my eyes but I endeavoured to blink them away.

“Really,” I went on. “You have no idea how good it feels to see some familiar faces.”

Karla, ever the perceptive one, drew her brows together in concern. “Has everything been all right?”

“Everything is fine, it’s just . . . it’s a long story, one that requires a bottle of wine and a good meal.”

“Well, we were planning on hitting up a restaurant to grab dinner,” said Lee. “Who’s in the mood for an aperol spritz?”

Karla rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you? You can only get those in Italy.”

Lee’s disappointed frown was comical. “But I thought they were a Mediterranean thing? Fucking hell, those drinks are half the reason I planned this trip.”

King shot me an exasperated look. “You think he’s joking, but it’s the truth. He’s obsessed with those disgusting cocktails.”

“I agree. They’re the devil’s nectar,” said Karla.

“Why is everyone ganging up on me?” Lee complained with a dramatic pout. He reminded me so much of Trev in that instant it was eerie.

“If you ask for a spritz on our vineyard tours, I’m pretending I don’t know you,” said King. He sounded serious.

Alexis groaned. “Oh God, why are you lot so intent on torturing me? It’s a sick joke to take a pregnant woman to a vineyard.”

My mouth fell open in shock. “Hold up. You’re pregnant?”

She turned to me with a big smile. “Yep. Up the duff again. There’s no stopping these slutty ovaries. All they seem to want to do is make babies.”

King shot her an amused glance as I pulled her into another hug and squeezed her tight. “That’s amazing, Lexie. Congratulations,” I glanced at King, “to both of you.”

“Thanks,” said King. “We’re over the moon.”

“This’ll be our only break before the baby’s born, so King’s mum offered to mind Oliver while we’re away,” Alexis went on.

“Oh, that’s great. Although I’m sad I won’t get to see him this week. He’s such a cutie-pie.”

Lee rubbed his hands together. “So, this is the plan. We’re going to go say hello to Trev then head for food. You in?”

I glanced over to where Trev was still directing Isaac. He hadn’t yet noticed our visitors. “I’m not sure if we’ll be able to leave yet. There’s another two hours left of filming.”

“Not a problem, we can wait.”

“Oh, no we can’t,” Alexis argued, rubbing her stomach—which I now noticed was slightly more rounded than usual.

“We’ll get you an ice cream to keep you going,” said Lee.

Alexis scrunched up her nose in distaste. “Nothing sugary, please. All I seem to crave these days is salt. Like, I could literally eat crackers with cheese and olives all day long and not get sick of them.”

“I saw a little delicatessen on the way here. We could go grab some food to tide you over if you like?” I suggested.

“I’ll take her,” said King, placing his hand on the small of her back.

Alexis shot me a contented look. “He’s determined to be the perfect baby daddy since he wasn’t around the first time. If I want a sandwich in the middle of the night he’ll literally get out of bed to make it for me.”

I chuckled. “Living the dream, eh?”

She let out a swoony sigh. “Pretty much.”

Lee made a whipping sound, but King only shot him a look that said he wasn’t going to rise to it. He was way too Zen to be riled by that sort of teasing.

“I thought you lot weren’t arriving until tomorrow,” a voice exclaimed, and I turned to see Trev striding over.

“We wanted to surprise you,” said Karla, while Lee’s attention zoomed right in on his brother’s injured wrist, his expression that of a concerned parent.

“What happened to you?” he asked, eyeing Trev’s cast.

“I fell. It’s nothing serious.”

“We’ll see. How long’s it gonna take to heal?”

Trev shrugged. “A couple of weeks.” Turning his attention from his brother, he went to give Karla and Alexis a hug then shook hands with King. We all stood around chatting for a few minutes, then King took Alexis to go find food. Lee and Karla stayed to watch the shoot, and I went back to work.

“Reya!” Isaac whisper-hissed as I passed carrying a cardboard holder full of iced coffees. “Come here for a second.”

He was sitting on a bench fidgeting with the hem of his T-shirt and looking pretty much like a hot mess. “Isaac, what happened to you?”

He ran a hand over the top of his head and levelled me with a panicked expression. “I just had an interesting conversation with Barry.”

“Oh?” I said, arching a brow and suppressing a smile. I had a feeling I knew why he was so worked up.

“They’re considering offering me a one-year contract to star in the show. And they have this idea to film the next series in Johannesburg.”

At this my mouth fell open. I suspected they were going to offer him a part, but I had no clue they wanted to film the fourth season in South Africa. “They do?”

He nodded, a little frantic. “It was partly Trevor’s idea. You were right when you said Joburg was on his bucket list.”

I stepped closer, manoeuvred the tray into one hand and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “That’s such fantastic news, Isaac. I’m so happy for you.”

He half smiled, half grimaced. “Don’t congratulate me yet. I’m not sure Barry understands the challenge he’s up against. He wants to shoot on rooftops in the township where I grew up. He said the gritty aesthetic will appeal to viewers, whatever that means. He’ll be lucky if his equipment isn’t robbed by the end of the first day.”