Page 86 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

“Why haven’t you been answering your cell? I’ve been trying to call you for the last two hours.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding confused. “I don’t . . . I must’ve left it beside my bed. I don’t have it with me.”

I was worried about the awkwardness in the tone of her voice. “Can you get away from work for half an hour? Right now?”

“Right now? Why?”

I crossed my fingers and hoped she wasn’t going to be mad. “I have a guy out the front of your building. If you can spare half an hour, he’ll put you in a car and I’ll be able to talk to you in private.”

“Who?”

Gripping the back of my neck, I closed my eyes. “He’s a hired bodyguard. Someone Daniel knows. He goes by the name of Gardner. He’s wearing black pants with a black T-shirt with a red cross on the pocket.”

“Things are crazy here, Josh,” she said quietly, her voice barely audible.

“I know, beautiful,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Can you get away for a little while?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Go find Gardner. He’ll organize the call. Please, Liv. I need to talk to you.”

She was quiet for a little while, making me sweat. “Okay. I’ll go find him now.”

Hanging up the phone, I placed my cell on the table and resumed my pacing. I tried to be patient, but as the minutes ticked by, nerves started eating at me. All I could see in my head, was Liv being tormented by the fucking pap.

A minute later, my cell finally rang. Scooping it up, I noted the car’s number and sighed. “Liv?”

“Hey.”

“Tell me,” I said, a little forcefully. “Are you really all right?”

“I’m okay, Josh. Just a bit weirded out by everything.”

“Daniel said somebody outed you,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

I heard her huff a little too. “It was my boss.”

My brow furrowed. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right. “What?”

She laughed sourly. “My boss thinks that me being in the spotlight will give the magazine some good publicity.”

“Are you serious? Did you know he was going to out you?” I was having serious trouble getting my head around what she was telling me.

“No,” she said, sighing heavily. “I only found out it was him two seconds before you called before. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. I don’t think it’s sunk in.”

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the wall. “That it was your boss that outed you, or the fact that you’re now being hounded by the paparazzi?”

“Both, but more so the fact that my boss outed me. I kind of feel as though some trust has been broken or something. Aren’t bosses supposed to be protective or some crap?”

I almost laughed. She was so adorable. But the situation wasn’t something that warranted a laugh. Even a little one. “I need to see you, Liv. I’m going to see if I can get a flight out tonight.”

There was a small silence on the line before she spoke again. “Aren’t you supposed to be filming in the morning?”

“I don’t care.” And I didn’t. “I need to make sure you’re okay.”

She sighed. “Josh, I’m fine. It’s silly for you to come out tonight when you’re supposed to be working.”

She was right, but what she didn’t realize was that I wouldn’t be able to work while I was worrying about her anyway. “Liv,” I said softly. “I left LA like I did yesterday because I thought it would be best for you. I thought if no one knew who you were, you could go back to your quiet life and have your HEA. You make me so selfish, Liv. You make me want you so damned much that I forget about everything else, so this time I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought I was putting you first, despite what I wanted.”

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