Page 17 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

I nodded. “She sure does.”

The guys’ gazes almost burned me as we passed the house, they were that intense. I knew they weren’t going to be happy with me when I got back, but I didn’t care. In this moment, I was happy.

Focusing back on Olivia, I watched her happy smile as she gazed out at the ocean. “You mentioned you were waiting for your parents to get back from overseas. Are they still in Uganda?” I asked.

She nodded emphatically. “Yeah, they’re just getting everything sorted. Our family was the longest permanent aid workers there, so we kind of accumulated a lot of crap. They want to hand most of it over to the new family coming in, as well as get them up to speed with where everything’s at. I wanted to stay and help, but Mom thought it’d be good for me to come back and get used to the Western culture again before I have to start work.” She said the last part like it was a bit of a joke.

Her steps slowed before they stopped altogether. For a second I wondered what she was doing, but then I realized we’d reached the end of the beach, and we were now standing at the bottom of the trail that led up to her aunt’s house.

“Did you want to come up and see Aunt Jenny’s house? I could show you some pictures of what we did in Uganda, if you like? I mean, I know looking at other people’s pictures can be boring, but if you just wanted to see what it looked like . . .” She trailed off, suddenly looking self-conscious.

I smiled at her pink cheeks. “I’d really like that.”

Her sigh was filled with relief. It was cute. “Cool.”

Yeah, the guys weren’t going to be happy with me at all. Pulling out my cell, I tapped out a quick text to Daniel, apologizing, before following Olivia up the trail.

Chapter 13

Olivia

I couldn’t believe I was actually taking a guy up to Aunt Jenny’s house. And a really cute guy at that. My heart flittered around nervously inside my chest as we walked up the trail. I took him in through the living room, and brought him to the kitchen.

“Do you want a drink?” I asked.

He looked so amazing standing there. I actually had trouble keeping my thoughts coherent. “Thanks,” he said.

I could feel his eyes on me as I moved through the kitchen. It seriously made my heart do weird things. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down a little as I opened the top cupboard and reached up to take out two glasses.

When I turned back around, his eyes were directed down, as though he’d been looking at something on my butt. Oh my God. What if I had something stuck on me? I felt my face flush at the thought. Maybe the tag was still on the back pocket or something.

Placing the glasses on the bench, I tried to discreetly brush my hands over my backside to check. Nope, nothing there. Damn it. Why was I feeling so self-conscious? Telling myself I was being stupid, I shoved the feelings away, and went to get the juice out of the fridge. “Orange okay?” I asked, holding up the container for him to see.

“Sure.” He turned away as I filled the glasses, looking around the kitchen and dining room. “This is a nice house,” he said.

I let my gaze roam around. “Yeah, I love it. It has a nice feel about it. Although it’s absolutely huge.”

He nodded in agreement. “Has your aunt owned it long?”

“I think she bought it about eighteen months ago.” I passed him his drink and picked up mine. “What about you? Is that your parents’ house?”

“Uh . . . it belongs to the family . . .”

Something that looked like unease flashed in his eyes. Trying to ignore it, I took a sip of my drink. “That’s cool. Is your family here with you?”

He smiled. “No. Not this time. Just friends.”

I smiled back, feeling a little wistful. As content as I was with letting my friends go all those years ago, I did miss the closeness that was possible with a group of good friends. “And I bet you all thought you’d get the beach to yourself. Sorry about that,” I couldn’t help teasing.

“I can’t say I mind.” His eyes glinted with something I couldn’t interpret, but it made my stomach flutter.

With my heart still beating a little too fast, I gestured to the living room. “Come on, I’ll show you around. Obviously, this is the kitchen and meals area. In there is the formal dining room,” I said as we walked. “And this is the living room.” I gestured at the enormous space before us that faced a wall of windows looking out at the ocean.

“Down that hall is the theater, the stairwell down to the garage, and Aunt Jenny’s office.” I continued toward the stairs, showing him the library, bathrooms, and other bedrooms, before taking him up to my room.

“This is the room I’m staying in while I’m here.” I went straight to the doors that led out to the deck and opened them wide, suddenly feeling a little awkward having him there. I didn’t want him to think I was suggesting anything. I stepped outside and put my drink down on the little wooden table.

A few seconds later, he came to stand beside me. “It’s almost as good as the view from my room,” he said with a smirk.

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