Page 4 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

I rolled my eyes right back at her. “I wasn’t very good at it when I was thirteen and had an instructor, so I don’t think I’m going to improve any on my own.” That wasn’t exactly true. I’d been quite okay at surfing, but I seriously doubted I’d be any good now, and I certainly wasn’t going to embarrass myself trying.

She winked at me. “You never know. A good girl guide is always prepared. Let’s go. This shop has a great range of bikinis.”

I watched her disappear into the shop with my mouth slightly ajar. She really wasn’t going to let it go. I considered being stubborn and staying put because all this spending of money was making me feel totally uneasy, but I’d promised Mom and Dad I would indulge her, and to be honest, I just wanted it to be over with.

Two bikinis and a wet suit later, I was done.

It was just after lunch when we finally made it home, and I was exhausted. I didn’t know how that was even possible. I could cart water and farm all day without slowing down a bit, but I go shopping for half a day and I’m a wreck? It just didn’t make any sense.

“Damn it,” Aunt Jenny said, staring at her cell phone.

Dumping the bags on the couch, I turned. “What’s wrong?”

She ran her hand through her hair. “Oh, nothing much. Jeremy’s apparently having an issue with one of our promotion managers. I should probably call him back.”

That didn’t sound good, but what would I know? “All right. I might go put my feet in the sand, if that’s okay?”

She stopped what she was doing and smirked at me. “You should put on one of your bikinis. Just in case. The water might call to you.”

As she breezed from the room, I shook my head, the realization that she really wasn’t going to go easy on me finally sinking in.

Call me stubborn, but I deliberately chose to skip the bikini. I did indulge by putting on a new pair of panties, though. That was enough for me. Well, that and a new sundress. I had to admit, it did feel good. Slipping into Aunt Jenny’s library, I grabbed a book off the shelf and made my way down the grassy trail that led to the beach.

The sun was high overhead, and the breeze was soft and cool, making for a pleasant, warm stroll, so, instead of finding a spot to sink down on just yet, I decided to keep going. And when I reached the rocks at the end of the beach, I simply climbed over the top and down the other side, my face to the sky and a smile on my lips. Life was good.

Chapter 4

Josh

With a coffee in one hand and the script to The Silver Gate in the other, I made my way down to the beach.

All the guys, apart from Daniel, who was hidden away with his girls, had been busy setting up the games room with all the new state-of-the-art equipment I’d had delivered that morning. There had already been bets placed and taunts made about who was going to whip whose ass when they got the Xbox up and running on the big screen.

With nothing but the movie on my mind, I gazed out to the ocean. So much was riding on this next movie. Hell, my entire career was riding on it, really.

Prior to filming Willow’s Way, I’d only been cast in a string of romantic comedies. Yeah, they were successful, and had made me the star I was today, but to me, they lacked substance. They were predictable and shallow, and left me feeling dissatisfied, like something was missing. I’d craved an opportunity to be involved in something more meaningful, to test just how far I could actually take my acting abilities.

It had taken a lot of time and hard work for me to get the kind of offers I was getting now, and even longer still for me to be confident enough to take a chance and accept something more challenging.

My manager had been mortified when I’d told him I was going to commit to Willow’s Way. In a rush of harsh words, he’d declared I was going to kill my career, but after reading the script a few more times, I knew it was the one. It was fast. It was edgy. And it made you think. I knew it would make people stand up and start taking me seriously.

It had been a massive gamble on my part. God knows my manager had told me that so many times I thought he’d just recorded it and pressed play each time he spoke to me, but after filming had wrapped, and he got to see it all start coming together, he became increasingly quiet.

When the numbers came out, declaring it a blockbuster success, I’d never been more ecstatic in my life. My gamble was paying off, and today hadn’t been the first time I’d heard someone mention the possibility of an Oscar nomination. My heart seriously raced at the thought.

Did I think Willow’s Way had a chance of an Oscar nomination? Hell yes. Did I think it would win? It was a nice thought, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath. If it did manage to get a nomination, it was definitely going to be up against some heavy weights, that was for sure.

But, at the end of the day, it wasn’t exactly the Oscar itself that I craved. It was the desire to be taken seriously as an actor by my peers. Recognition of my ability by those whom I’d deemed to be my idols. That was what I wanted.

Looking back down at the script to The Silver Gate, my pulse skipped. I hoped against everything that I’d grabbed everyone’s attention with Willow’s Way, and I prayed with everything I had that The Silver Gate was going to make them take serious notice.

I knew the movie had all the makings of success. It had a well-known director, a massive budget, and a stellar cast. I just hoped it all fit together in the end to make it the success it was worthy of.

And that was why I needed this time here in my little haven, on my own, to breathe and get everything firm in my head. I needed to focus, and to get into my character’s head. If I knew what it felt like to be him, it’d become easier for me to slip into role when needed.

I am Jesse McGuffey. I am the quarterback for my college football team, and my best friend lives across the street from me. His father is a monster of a man who regularly beats him, his wife, and his younger sister . . .

It wasn’t too hard to feel the anger and frustration, really. After recently discovering one of my closest female friends from school had been living in an abusive home for years without anyone knowing, I had more of an understanding of how these things worked than I cared for. I was just glad she and her mother were free of it now. Now I just needed to pretend I had an idea of what it was like to be a star athlete.

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