Page 94 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

“Hey, beautiful. Sorry I took so long.” I tried to repress the irritation that came from remembering why that was.

Reaching out, she brushed her fingers over mine. “I don’t mind. You have a job to do. I understand.”

She understood now. But what would happen over time? Would these moments wear her down? Would the time I gave her in between be enough to keep her happy? Or would she start to feel as though I was spread too thin for her—that what I was giving her wasn’t enough anymore?

Pain flared in my chest at the thought. I never wanted that to happen, but I didn’t know how to take that possibility away. What did I need to do to show her that even though the public had a piece of me, she had the rest? I wished I could give her more than that, but I couldn’t. It was all I had. But it was hers.

“Would you mind if we didn’t go out tonight?” I asked, drawing my thumb over her cheek. “I just want to hold you, Liv. I just need to be with you.”

Her gaze softened even more, and she reached up to cup the side of my face with her hand. “That sounds perfect.”

Something that felt an awful lot like fear laced with desperation trickled through my veins. I didn’t understand it, but the urge to show her how much she meant to me was almost overwhelming.

Lowering myself down to my elbow beside her, I ran my fingers through her hair. “Do you have any idea how much you scare me, Liv?”

Her brow twitched with concern, her gaze searching mine for understanding. “I do?”

Stroking my thumb over her lips, I watched the way they parted as she drew in a breath. “In more ways than even I could possibly know.”

“I don’t want you to be scared,” she whispered.

My lips curled into a sad smile. “It’s inevitable, beautiful. I’ll always be scared of hurting you. Of this industry hurting you. Of not being enough for you. And I’ll always be scared of losing you.”

She brushed her fingers through my hair. “That’s a lot,” she said, her eyes shining with understanding.

“It is.”

“Then come here and kiss me, and maybe I can make you feel better,” she whispered, rolling her body toward me.

There was no maybe about it. I already knew it would. But that wasn’t why I leaned forward and brushed my lips over hers. I did that because she wanted me to. And I knew there wasn’t a thing in the world I wouldn’t do if she only asked.

Chapter 57

Olivia

I woke to the sounds of Sam singing to the radio in the kitchen. It was accompanied by the occasional clanging and banging of pots and pans, so I assumed she was in one of her crazy cooking moods again. I could only hope today wasn’t one of those days she decided to experiment, because I wasn’t sure my stomach could handle it this early in the morning.

Blinking up at the ceiling, I sighed with contentment. A part of me was happy to be home again, in my own bed, but a whole larger part of me was already missing Josh. As short as the weekend had been, it was amazing. He hadn’t let me doubt for one second that he was happy I was there. Being with him like that made me ten times more sure I’d made the right decision. He was definitely worth it.

Rolling out of bed, I shuffled to the bathroom to relieve myself before making my way out to the living room. As the mouthwatering aroma of bacon drifted into my senses, I smiled. There was no way Sam could mess bacon up. Well, I hoped not anyway.

Glancing around the room, I frowned at a pile of mail on the coffee table. “What’s all this?” I called out to Sam.

She appeared in the doorway, a spatula in hand. “Good morning, ogre,” she said, grinning. Then her gaze fell to the mountain of mail. “That, is your fan mail.”

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I recoiled. “Huh?”

Her eyebrows twitched. “The price of dating one of the world’s most drooliest men.”

Moving back to the couch, I sat down and stared at the letters with wide eyes. I was having a lot of trouble getting my head around it. It was seriously creeping me out. “Is this normal, Sam? Why would people send me letters?”

She shrugged. “Open one and see.”

I was scared to touch them if I was to be honest, but she was right. I needed to know what the hell they were about.

Picking up a random envelope from the top of the pile, I ripped the top off and pulled out the little piece of paper, my heart beating faster as anxiety started creeping in. Unfolding it, I read.

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