Page 19 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

Even her damn neck and collarbones called me in. I wanted to touch and explore every part of her. I used to think that song “Your Body is a Wonderland” was just a corny ploy to pull women in, but for the first time, I could see how the dude could’ve written something like that.

When my cell rang back in her room, I’d never been more grateful for someone to interrupt me before. I had no idea what Hannah wanted, but I couldn’t talk to her about it in front of Olivia, that was for sure. All I knew at that point in time was if I stayed any longer, I was going to kiss her, and I didn’t know if I could actually stop myself once I started.

Why the hell did she have to be so damn innocent?

That was rule number one as far as I was concerned. Never, ever sleep with anyone unless they knew what they were in for. And not only did Olivia have no idea how famous I was, she was not the kind of girl to have sex just for the fun of it. I mean, kissed twice? What the hell was I supposed to do with that?

As I made my way back home again, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through to Hannah’s number. She picked up on the second ring. “Hi, Josh.”

“Hannah. Sorry I missed your call.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” she said, her voice almost singing. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

I almost laughed out loud. She had no fucking idea. “No, you’re fine. What’s up?”

“Well, I was just wondering if your manager has mentioned anything to you about us?” Her tone was a little uncertain.

I frowned. I hadn’t heard from Ian since Monday, but I was positive he hadn’t said anything about Hannah. “Er, no. Why?”

“Oh,” she said, a slight craftiness in her voice. “My manager called me this morning saying the studio was hoping we could play for a bit of publicity.”

I sighed as soon as she said it. I knew exactly what she was talking about. The studio wanted us to either pretend to date, or date for real. It didn’t matter to them. They just wanted both our faces plastered all over the tabloids, to draw attention to the movie. I wasn’t beyond that sort of deceit. I’d done it before. “Uh-huh,” I murmured, not willing to commit myself to anything just yet.

She sighed. “I know. But maybe we could just occasionally go out sightseeing together or something. That would be better than nothing.”

I glanced up at the sky and tried not to audibly sigh. “I don’t know, Hannah.”

“I know you’re not keen on doing things like this,” she said, pausing. “They just seem as though they’re being very forceful with it at the moment. I can’t help but think there’s more to it, if you know what I mean?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Production troubles? I don’t think so. I was only talking to Greyson the other day. He thinks BayTown is going in, so budget is secure.”

“Oh, really? I hadn’t heard that,” she said, sighing. I had no reason to think she was up to something, but a niggling feeling in my gut was telling me to be careful.

“Yeah, you might want to check with your agent, but it all looks good.”

A soft, breathy laugh came over the phone. “Okay, well, think about it anyway. Extra exposure never hurts,” she said. “I’ll go call Mike and see what I can find out. I guess I’ll see you in Florida.”

“Will do. Bye, Hannah.” I touched the bottom of the screen to end the call and sighed. It was time to face the firing squad.

I raised my eyebrow at the four of them as I stepped onto the deck. They were all glaring at me through narrowed eyes, their postures varying degrees of stern. Corey huffed as I sauntered forward. “We’re just deciding whether we should go on strike or not.”

Grabbing a brew out of the fridge, I cracked the top and went to lean against the railing. “Cool. Which way are you leaning?”

“Striking sounds good,” Cain said. “I’m just not too sure you’re smart enough to understand the reasoning behind it.”

I feigned a grimace. “Ouch. That’s harsh, man. That cuts me deep.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Come on, Josh. Even you have to know that was a dumb move.”

I took a sip and twitched my eyebrows up at him. “Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you.”

Daniel, who’d been quietly watching me from his chair behind the others, raised his chin. “Okay, what circumstances are you working in?”

I took another sip, biding my time. “She’s got no idea who I am.”

“Fuck off.”

“Bullshit.”

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