by Maree Green
We went to a small seaside town, about twenty minutes north of the beach house. I was grateful for the general lack of a crowd. I didn’t think I’d be able to tolerate pushy salespeople and obnoxious shoppers just yet.
There weren’t too many shops to choose from, but the ones that were there stocked everything I needed and had very reasonable prices. After too many arguments to count, I ended up with a few sets of underwear, including (to my embarrassment) a couple of thongs, which Aunt Jenny said was a must for any nineteen-year-old girl, pajamas, sundresses, cardigans, leggings, tank tops, shorts, jeans, blouses, and four pairs of shoes.
I frowned at her with serious condemnation as we lugged the bags to the car. She ignored me, placing the bags in the trunk and closing it with a gentle click. “We have one more stop to make before we head back,” she said.
I glared at her. “No more. I don’t need anything else. Seriously, Aunt Jenny. I’m fine.”
She smiled. “Are you sure about that? What if the ocean calls out to you? What are you going to wear?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Oh my God. I haven’t even seen a beach in six years, Aunt Jenny. I doubt I’m going to go swimming.”
All I got from that was rolled eyes. “What about surfing?” she said. “I still have your old board in my garage.”
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.
As I scrolled through my memories of all the interactions I’d had with footballers in the past, I gazed down the beach. But instead of finding a clear image of the kind of man I wanted to portray, I found my thoughts freezing in an instant. A girl was climbing over the rocks, heading my way.
My heart jumped into a sprint. This seriously could not be happening. What the hell was a girl doing on my beach?<
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Anger simmered under my skin as my mind raced, trying to assess the situation as fast as I could. My first instinct was that my location had been leaked. It seemed like the only explanation. Panic pierced my gut.
I tried to calm my thoughts, put some sort of logic in place. It was telling me she should have no idea I was here, because the only people who knew were people I trusted. So, if my location hadn’t been leaked, that only left one possibility. She really didn’t know. But if that was true, she sure as hell was going to know in a few seconds!
I shifted uncomfortably, my hands tensing on the script. This was definitely going to pose a problem. I’d seen firsthand how quick the chain reaction unfolded once the word was out. If that happened—goodbye, seclusion. And goodbye relaxation for the rest of the guys.
My body coiled tight, ready to run. Experience was telling me to get up and go back up to the house before she got close enough to identify me, but stubbornness told me to hold my ground. This was my fucking house, and my fucking vacation.
My hands clenched tighter on the script as I struggled to make a decision. I thought of calling Daniel to sort it out—it was a private beach, after all, and I knew for a fact that the only other property owner here was a single woman with no children. But that would most likely only draw attention to the fact that someone of interest was staying here.
With teeth clenched, I exhaled through the tension. Why did shit have to be so fucking hard?
Holding the script down in front of me, I lowered my head and pretended to read it as I watched her draw closer. I couldn’t really tell how old she was from this distance, but if I had to guess, I’d say she was about twenty—the perfect age to go fangirl and completely lose her shit. Lucky me.
The way she moved intrigued me, though. It was calm and relaxed as she slowly strolled beside the lapping water, her head tilted out toward the rolling waves. She seemed happy and content, but as though she was in a completely different world. It was exactly how I felt when I was here. I was almost positive she didn’t even know I was sitting here.
I took a moment to look over her appearance. Her hair was the first thing I noticed. It was long and blonde—the color of the sand, and it shone so brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight, I couldn’t help but think how amazing it must feel to the touch. She wore a little blue dress, no shoes, and had a book clutched to her chest as though it was her most treasured possession.
As she drew closer, I tried to gauge what kind of a fan she would be. It was always hard to pick it, but she seemed like one of the quiet ones. And from experience, I knew they were the ones you had to watch out for the most.
I could tell the exact moment she realized she wasn’t alone. Her body tensed slightly, her footfalls shortening for a few steps, and I saw her teeth drawing over her bottom lip with nerves. My whole body tensed, waiting for the telltale moment of recognition. My breath was drawn, stuck somewhere inside my chest.
A slight panic rose inside me. What would she do when she realized who I was? Could I convince her to keep my presence a secret? Maybe I could bribe her with an autograph and a picture of us together as a memento.
I knew I should get up and leave, but curiosity kept me immobile. She hadn’t even taken one glance at me yet. Her eyes were trained hard on the sand before her.
Please, don’t be a psycho . . .
When she was almost directly in front of me, she finally looked my way. I tried to bury my head back in my script, hide my face to stop the catastrophe that was sure to come, but the second my gaze met hers, I lost all sense of self-preservation.
Holy crap. Her eyes had to have been the clearest blue I’d ever seen. I tried to suck in a breath, stunned by how naturally beautiful she was, but the last breath I’d taken was still lodged firmly inside my lungs.
“Hi,” she breathed.
Her voice came out softly, floating in the breeze, and her lips curved into the smallest of smiles, confirming my suspicions of her being a shy one. Then, before I knew it, her gaze was gone from me and she continued walking away.
I sat, mildly stunned, first at how simply gorgeous she was, and second, at the fact that not one ounce of recognition had flashed in her eyes. She hadn’t even slowed her steps as she passed.
As I watched her retreating figure, I waited for her to glance back, for that moment when her mind put the pieces of the puzzle together and she realized who I was. For some stupid reason, I wanted her to. I really wanted her to look back.
But she didn’t. She just kept on going, right to the end, where the sand met rock, and she turned and weaved her way up the grassy track to the house at the end of the beach.
“I’ve already got Corey stationed out the front, and Lance is manning the monitors.”
I turned to see Daniel standing at the bottom of the trail leading up to the house. How he’d even seen the girl while he’d been with Amy was beyond me, but that was exactly why he was my head of security.
“I’m not sure she recognized me,” I said quietly, still reeling from the encounter.
Daniel just nodded, his eyes narrowed on the top of the trail where the girl had disappeared. We both knew only time would tell.
Chapter 5
Olivia
Of all the experiences I’d had in my life so far, I thought I’d just encountered the hardest. I didn’t how that was possible after some of the things I’d seen, but I couldn’t deny it was a fact.
I was ashamed to admit I’d almost panicked when I first looked up and noticed I wasn’t alone on the beach. But after some quick rationalization, I remembered there was one other house that fronted Aunt Jenny’s beach, so the guy had to have been staying there.
But the closer I got to him sitting there in the sand, the more self-conscious I became. It was strange, but I felt as though he was watching me or something, which was dumb considering the fact that he was reading. I mean, what was I? Some self-absorbed bimbo who thought guys just watched her wherever she went? I was definitely not that girl.
I thought I might’ve had it all under control, but then another realization hit me. What the hell was socially acceptable in this situation? Did I just keep walking and respect his privacy, or did I acknowledge his presence with a greeting? At nineteen years of age, it was the stupidest dilemma I’d ever found myself in. I’d almost laughed.
In the end, I decided I should at least go for politeness. If he looked at me when I passed, I’d say hello. If he didn’t, then he obviously preferred privacy, and I’d respect that.
The nerves that came over me when he met my gaze frustrated me more than I was prepared for. I mean, if I couldn’t handle a simple interaction with one freaking guy on a beach, how the hell was I going to handle a city full of them?
I grumbled as I made my way up the trail to the house. Maybe I should’ve just stopped and talked to the guy to get a bit of practice in. By the way I was acting, it sure wouldn’t have hurt. I’d rather look like an idiot in front of just one guy than a dozen.
My mind lingered on the guy on the beach as I made my way toward the kitchen. I knew I probably wasn’t the best person to judge when it came to appraising a guy’s looks, but damn if that guy wasn’t hot. He had dark, messy hair, just long enough to keep from seeming too clean-cut, but short enough not to be straggly. He wore a pair of worn denim shorts, and a white tee that was fitted just enough to show how incredibly muscular he was. He was definitely someone I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing again, that was for sure.
Aunt Jenny looked up from the food she was preparing at the counter as I walked in. “Hey, how was the beach?”
I took a moment to consider whether I should tell her about the boy. I really didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but I was completely out of my depth here, and a different perspective would be good. “Uh, I saw a guy down on the beach.”
She stopped what she was doing and frowned. “Really? I’ve never seen anyone down there. Is he staying in that house?”
Snatching a piece
of carrot, I threw it in my mouth, more to hide my awkwardness than anything else. “I’m not sure. I only said hi to him when I had to walk past. I think he was a little surprised to see someone else on the beach, to be honest. He didn’t even say hi back.”
Aunt Jenny pursed her lips before placing the knife on the chopping board and striding to the deck. “Didn’t he? I hope he’s not an arrogant ass wipe. How old did he look?” My eyes widened when I saw her pick up a pair of binoculars and instantly start spying on the house down the beach.
“Umm . . . I don’t know, maybe my age? And he didn’t really look arrogant. He just looked shocked. Please don’t spy on him, Aunt Jenny.”
She hummed a sound that indicated to me that she wasn’t happy. “Jesus. There’s like a freaking fraternity of guys down there.”
Okay, she really wasn’t making this any easier for me. One was bad enough.
“Maybe it’s not a good idea for you to be down there on your own,” she mumbled. “Oh, wait. There’s a woman there with a baby. That makes me feel a little better.”
“How many people are you talking about?”
I watched her adjust the binoculars a little. “Hmm . . . four guys that I can see. Plus the lady and the baby.”
All right, that didn’t sound too bad. They were just people on vacation. I could handle that.
Aunt Jenny lowered the binoculars and turned to smile at me. “Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. It might be good practice for you. Get into the swing of flirting a little before you come face-to-face with a hundred or so guys who’ll be chasing you when you start work.”
I rolled my eyes at her. Now she was just being ridiculous. There was no way I was going to have that many guys chasing me.
She laughed with an evil little grin that curled her lips, before sauntering back into the kitchen. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Liv. I saw you in that bikini at the shops today. You could be a model if you wanted to. And those boobs? I don’t even know where you got those from. It definitely wasn’t the Maxwell side of the family. We seriously struck out in that department.”