Page 8 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

The other guys nodded, seeming happy with that for a start. I had to admit, it made sense. For all we knew, they could be leaving today and we were all arguing for no reason. “All right. If Amy’s good with that, that’s a start. You find out what we’re looking at, and we’ll talk again when we know. In the meantime, I need coffee. And then I’m going to sit on my beach—regardless of whether the girl is out there or not.”

Before I got any arguments about whether that was a bad idea, I strode from the room, my nose following the smell of coffee.

Once I had a coffee firmly in hand, I grabbed my script and moved out onto the deck. As much as I wanted to go down to the beach, I knew it wasn’t the smartest of moves just yet, so I wouldn’t until we had some sort of plan in place. Yes, I was pissed I was being restricted, but I wasn’t stupid.

Sinking down onto one of the loungers, I put my legs up on another and crossed my feet at the ankles. I’d been over the script a couple of times now, and I thought I had a pretty clear picture of what drove my character. I could feel the pain he had to endure, having to stand by and watch the people he loved be hurt, time and again, by an ugly man. I could feel the love that drew him to the pretty young girl who was his best friend’s sister, and the raw need he had to protect her.

As I sat there, I tried to place a picture of Hannah Bryant, the actress who was set to play the sister, in my mind, to form some sort of connection, but frustratingly, my mind kept dredging up images of the girl from the bea

ch instead.

Sighing, I dropped the script into my lap and looked up at the ceiling. Yeah, because that wasn’t an inconvenience at all. What the hell was it about this freaking girl? Why was I letting her get under my skin so much? Was it just the fact that she had the outcome of my vacation in the palm of her hands? Or was it something else?

Instead of fighting it, I let my mind wander, allowing the pretty girl with the shy smile to invade my thoughts. I wondered what she was going to do when she figured out who I was. I would’ve liked to think she could be cool, but it was an unfortunate fact that people who weren’t in the industry went a little silly when they found out they were in the company of a ‘celebrity.’ I was used to it now, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

“Yo, Josh!”

I turned to see Lance down the other end of the deck, a grin stretched wide across his face.

“Surf’s up!” he yelled before dashing back inside.

Excitement pulsed through my veins despite the stress of the last day. A surf was just what I needed. Nothing had the ability to calm me down like the waves did.

A chorus of hollers sounded out from downstairs, and a second later, Corey and Cain burst from the house, boards tucked under their arms as they skipped down the trail.

“Fuck yeah.” This was what it was all about. Tossing the script onto the table, I darted down to the wet room to grab my board, finding Lance already there, waxing her up for me.

Dropping the wax back into the box, he handed my board over with a grin. “Let’s go check out those sets,” he said, rushing out the door.

I took a second to just appreciate the moment, then, with a loud whoop, I ran after him.

Chapter 7

Olivia

It was just before 5:00 AM when my cell phone rang. The sound jolted me from my sleep like someone let loose with a blood-curdling scream. It scared the absolute crap out of me.

Fumbling for it on the nightstand, I pressed the button to answer it without even taking note of who it was. “Hello?”

“Hey!”

The duo of voices that sang through the speaker made me smile, despite my heart still wanting to leap right out my mouth. “Hey, Dad. Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, kiddo,” Dad said brightly. “You sound a little sleepy. Have you already fallen back into the teenage life?”

Glancing at the clock, I groaned. “People generally are a little sleepy at four fifty in the morning, Dad.”

“Warren!” Mom admonished. “You told me it was seven!”

Dad’s booming laugh came through the speaker instantaneously. I could just picture the way his eyes would crinkle at the corners when he laughed like that. The thought made me giggle right along with him. It was at least once a day that Dad pranked someone—usually Mom—and the amusement he got out of it was priceless.

“She should be up anyway,” he said. “It’s practically five.”

I could hear the teasing lilt to his voice, so I knew he was just stirring, but it still made me feel a little guilty. If I was there with them, I’d be up, helping everyone get going for the day.

“She’s on vacation. Leave her alone,” Mom said. It was probably right about now that she would nudge him with her shoulder, smiling all the way. The love my parents had for one another was one in a million. I could only hope I’d be so lucky when my turn came.

“So, how’s Cali?” Mom asked. “Is the weather nice? How’s Aunt Jenny?”

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