Page 30 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

Lance split the deck, handing a pile to each of the guys to shuffle. “Josh said you’ve been living in Uganda for a while,” he said, glancing over at Liv.

Putting the popcorn to the side, she wriggled forward to the edge of the couch. “I was. For six years.”

“What was it like?”

She pursed her lips in contemplation. “Hard. But I loved it.”

Corey shook his head. “Why the hell would your parents want to go there?”

“Have you heard of the United World Aid Group?” she asked. “Well, they’ve been a part of that for years—since I was like six or something. We often helped with disaster relief after hurricanes and tornadoes and floods—that kind of thing. But when I was thirteen, they were asked if they’d be interested in a long-term position in Gulu. A month later, we were on a plane.”

“Whoa,” Cain said. “That’s harsh.”

Liv laughed and nodded. “I was in seventh grade then, so I don’t think I spoke to them for, like, a week.”

“Where did you move from?” Lance asked. He seemed completely interested in her story, but I knew the purpose, and there was nothing casual about his interest.

“Salt Creek Beach. I’m looking forward to going back one day. Mom and Dad still have their house there, but I’ll be moving into the city. Where are you guys all from?”

Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs, meeting my gaze before finding a place on the end of the couch.

“I’m from LA,” Lance said. “Daniel’s an NYC boy, and all these losers are Sac boys.”

Cain punched him in the arm and tried to shove him off the couch. “Speak for yourself, loser. Sac boys are the best ones out there.”

“You know it,” I said, holding my fist out for a bump.

Liv smirked at me before looking back at the guys. “So, are you guys into acting too?”

Corey laughed, and quite loudly at that. “That would be no. Josh is the only one of us who has that talent.”

“So, what do you all do?” she asked, grabbing a handful of popcorn. She had no idea how difficult that one little answer was for us.

“Uh . . .” Cain said, not looking too casual. “We’re all in security. We work for—”

“Daniel,” Corey said, cutting him off.

I was close to slapping my forehead. They all looked completely out of their depths. If I had to guess, I’d say they were regretting crashing my movie now.

Liv’s eyebrows shot up with interest as she turned her attention on Daniel. “You have a security business?” she asked, clearly impressed.

Daniel’s jaw tightened. He was not. “Mmmhmm.”

“Wow. That’s cool. How’d you get into that?”

His gaze swept to meet mine. He didn’t need to say a word. It was obvious he wasn’t happy. “It seemed like a natural choice when I left the marines,” he said.

Liv’s curiosity was obviously piqued. “Oh, I didn’t know you were a marine,” she said, her gaze softening. “You have my deepest respect. Thank you for your service.”

I watched Daniel assess her for a long moment, before he gave her a slow nod of acceptance. She’d already passed the background check, but it was right in this moment I knew she passed the final check. Sitting back, I exhaled and smiled.

Chapter 21

Olivia

I was in love.

Well, not really. It was more like puppy love—that young, teenage, giddy kind of infatuation—than the real deep, everlasting kind of love I’d read about in novels.

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