by Maree Green
The room hushed as they all turned to look at me. I tried to swallow, but my throat was suddenly dry. Josh glanced at Corey, who gently shook his head, then he looked back at the new guys.
“Sorry, guys,” he said, although I could hear the laughter in his voice that told me he wasn’t very sorry at all.
One of the guys with dark, almost black, hair raised his eyebrows with disbelief.
“Bullshit.”
This came from one with light brown hair.
Josh shrugged. Suddenly, I was ready to make myself scarce. Pushing myself to my feet, I turned to Josh. “Um . . . all this secret guy code talk is making me feel blonder than I really am. I think I might leave you all to it.”
Josh immediately came to put his arm around me. “I’m sorry. I guess we weren’t as subtle as we thought we were. Don’t go. I was just trying to gently let the guys know that you wouldn’t have heard of their band before, so it wouldn’t hurt their egos.”
The dark-haired guy laughed. “You really haven’t heard of us?” he asked.
I threw my hands up with exasperation. “Maybe if you tell me who you are, I might be able to tell you.”
The guy with the light brown hair raised his eyebrow with amusement, and the dark-haired one laughed again.
Josh squeezed my waist. “Their band’s called Fighting Fate. I thought Corey spoke to you about it. Sorry.”
“Oh.” So that was why Corey had been asking me about them. “Yeah, he asked me if I’d heard of them, but he didn’t say they were here.”
I flashed him a look to tell him he could’ve been a little clearer.
“So, you haven’t heard of them?” Josh asked carefully.
I looked at the guys with an apology. “Sorry. My dad just grabbed whatever songs he thought the villagers would mostly like off iTunes. I never had the inclination to see what else might be there.”
The dark-haired one grinned and stepped forward. “No need to apologize. I’m Jace.”
I took his outstretched hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Olivia.”
“Nice to meet you, Olivia,” he said, before striding over to Corey and clapping him on the back.
The other guys moved forward then, and Josh introduced them as Dean, Matt, and Aiden.
They all settled on the couch and started talking animatedly. It was interesting to watch, actually. They seemed to have this amazing rapport with each other. All of them. I kind of felt like I was intruding a little.
“So where are you from, Olivia?”
I turned to see the lighter-haired guy—I think Josh said his name was Dean—looking at me intently. He had the most amazing green eyes. “Uh . . . I grew up in Salt Creek Beach,” I said quietly, not wanting to interrupt the other conversations.
“I haven’t been down there. Is it nice?”
“It was. I hope it still is. I haven’t been there for six years. Are you from Sacramento too?” I asked, already knowing if he was one of Josh’s childhood friends then he definitely would be.
“Yeah, we’re all Sac boys.”
“I think it’s great that all you guys are still so close. It must be nice to know you’re all there for each other.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
“So, you kind of looked surprised that I hadn’t heard of your band before. Are you really that well known?”
Dean looked sheepish all of a sudden. He started rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Josh leaned closer to me and spoke softly in my ear. “Yes. They are.”
Dean laughed softly and I blushed, realizing I’d just embarrassed him. “Oh, sorry.” I bit my lip. I knew I shouldn’t ask, but I was curious. “So, when you say you’re well known, do you mean your music, or do people actually recognize you wherever you go?”
He rubbed the back of his neck again. It was actually kind of cute. “We . . . well, I . . . get recognized quite a bit.”
Josh leaned in again. “He’s the lead singer.”
Wow. It was weird to think I was sitting down talking to someone who was apparently famous. “Do you like it? Being recognized?”
He shrugged. “Most of the time it’s pretty cool. You get a lot of benefits when you’re well known, but sometimes it can be a pain in the ass.”
I shook my head. He seemed pretty well grounded for someone who was supposed to be in the spotlight. “I don’t know how you do it. I mean, having your whole life open to the public like that. It sounds awful.”
The room fell quiet. I looked up to see Josh exchange a look with Dean. I didn’t know what I’d missed. I hoped I hadn’t said the wrong thing.
“Yeah, I guess it can be sometimes,” Dean said cautiously. “But most people who’re in the spotlight, choose to be there. I mean, we knew what to expect when we decided we wanted to do this for a living. It’s not that we want the attention personally, but we rely on people to love the music we make, and to get them to love it, we have to sell it—sell ourselves, really. If people don’t know who we are, they don’t know our music, and they won’t buy it. So, it’s the price you pay for success.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Well, I definitely admire you for sacrificing your privacy. It’s a huge thing to give up.” I laughed. “I’m not sure I could do it. I mean, if you were always happy then it wouldn’t be a problem—all the paparazzi would get would be photos of you being happy and smiling—but what about the days when you just feel down, or you’ve just had your heart broken, or you have a major case of PMS?” I shook my head. “It’s no wonder people flip out.”
Dean smiled at me, then glanced at Josh, a pointed look on his face. “What about you, Josh? Would you sacrifice your privacy for your art?”
I watched Josh meet Dean’s gaze, his jaw tight for some reason. “I guess so.”
Corey clapped his hands together once, drawing everyone’s attention. “Well, this is fun. Does anyone want a drink?”
I declined, choosing to sit back a bit and just observe. After a while, when things seemed to have gotten back to a careless kind of banter, I turned back to Dean. “So, do I get to hear any of your music?”
The surprise on his face was almost comical. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Josh leaned closer to me. “That’s a great idea, Liv. I have everything they’ve recorded right here on my cell phone.”
A few of the guys laughed, overhearing our conversation. Josh grabbed the remote and turned the stereo on, connecting his phone via Bluetooth. When the music started to play, Aiden and Jace groaned.
To say I was amazed was an understatement. They were incredible. I loved it. Their music was full of energy, and I thought Dean’s voice could melt stone. When the song ended, I sighed with contentment. I was definitely going to buy some of their music. “That was awesome. I can’t believe that was really you.” I shook my head. “Wow. I can see why you get recognized. I might even start following you around soon.”
A chorus of laughter erupted in the room, and Josh nudged me with his shoulder. “Are you going to dump me for the rock star?”
I looked between the two as if deciding before laughing at Josh’s worried expression. “No. I’m not so shallow that I’d choose someone just because they’re famous. You’ll do just fine.”
Josh laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him. “That’s good to know, surfer girl. That’s very good to know.”
Chapter 22
Josh
If Olivia hadn’t proved herself to the guys with her previous statement, I didn’t think she ever would. Not that Corey or my other bodyguards believed she was acting anymore. They were mostly worried about me taking things too far with her now. Hell, I was mostly worried about me taking things too far. She seemed to do things to me that no other girl had ever done before.
As the guys all filed downstairs to the gaming room, leaving me alone with Liv and Dean, I sat back on the couch and smirked. “Olivia used to play some music for the villagers when she was in Uganda,
” I said, mostly to take my mind off my inability to be a decent human being.
Dean’s eyes sparked with suspicion, and I instantly knew he thought she was trying to get into the music industry. “Really?”
Liv shrugged, trying to appear nonplussed, although I could tell by the slight tension in her body that she was nervous. “Sure,” she said, her voice confident and steady. “Do you want me to play you a song? I assure you I’m not very good, but you don’t intimidate me.”
Her words surprised me, and I couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out. Dean laughed too, but I could see the challenge in his eyes. He wanted to see if she’d follow through. Her heart rate picked up under my hands.
Dean stood and walked over to where his guitar was leaning against the wall. He picked it up and offered it to her. Challenge set. Shit.
I wanted to apologize. I hadn’t meant to embarrass her. But she stood and took it from him, making sure she met his gaze with a pleasant smile. Taking a seat on the stool, she positioned the guitar on her lap and let her thumb glide over the strings.
After a few strums, she looked up and smiled. “Now don’t laugh, but one of the visiting aid workers was from Texas and introduced the younger girls to Taylor Swift, so most of the time, that’s all they wanted me to play. This is the last one I learned before I left.”
I was actually impressed with how confident she looked sitting there, knowing how fast her pulse was probably racing.
She looked down, taking a deep breath, and began. Her fingers ran over the strings beautifully. Dean looked at me and raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed too. Then she began to sing.
She kept her gaze down as she sang, which was probably for the best because neither Dean nor myself could keep our mouths from popping open a little with our surprise. She had an amazing voice.
Dean’s eyes narrowed at me with the silent question I knew he was dying to ask. Was she looking for a foot in the door? I chose to ignore it. He could ask her himself.
As the song came to an end, her voice trailed off, and she strummed the last chord before shyly glancing up. “Sorry to subject you to that, but I did warn you.”
Dean smiled and nodded with appreciation. “You actually have a nice voice, and you have pretty good guitar skills too.”
She laughed then, her shoulders relaxing a little as she sank back down beside me. “Why, thank you, Mr. Rock Star,” she said sweetly.
I watched Dean’s eyes harden a fraction. Here he goes . . .
“Are you thinking of going into the music industry?”
The look Liv gave him was priceless. It was pure horror. “God, no! I want to be a writer.”
Dean’s expression changed to one of contemplation. “Well, there you go.” He looked at me with amusement for a while, then his eyes sparkled. “Actually, you might be able to help me. I’m writing a new song for a movie soundtrack, and I think it needs a female voice accompanying it. Wanna help me?” He looked excited at the thought.
Liv’s eyes widened. “You want me to help you with a song?”
Dean was already standing, pulling out a piece of paper with lyrics scrawled all over it. “I need to get the keyboard out of the van first, though. Here,” he said, handing her the paper. “You can read over the lyrics while I get it.”
A range of emotions flowed through Liv’s eyes. I could tell she was nervous, excited, and humbled, all at the same time. It was so sweet, I just wanted kiss her.
“You need a hand, man?” I asked him.
He nodded briskly. The creative energy was practically oozing from him. “Sure.”
He didn’t speak as we walked down to the garage, and I didn’t want to interrupt any creative thoughts he might’ve had going on, so I kept quiet too. But when he opened the back door to the van, he paused, looking up at me.
“She’s amazing” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like her before.”
I smiled. I’d told them, but you really had to experience Liv to believe she was real. “Yeah. She’s fucking thrown me into a spin, that’s for sure.”
His gaze was assessing. “Why don’t you just tell her who you are? Let her decide?”
I sighed. “I’ve thought about it. But I like the way she is with me now. I don’t want her to start treating me different.”
Dean nodded. “She might surprise you, man. Just because she hasn’t had the experience, doesn’t mean she’s not equipped to handle it. Maybe you should give her the chance—or at least tell her the truth so she can decide.”
I inhaled deeply. I knew what he was saying, because it was the same stuff I’d been arguing with myself over for the last five days, but it seemed I was too selfish to make that step. The thought of her looking at me differently was just too much for me to chance it.
Helping him carry the keyboard upstairs, we took it into the formal den, where the acoustics would be a little better. When it was all set up, I stood back and watched Dean walk over to Liv.
“I’ll sing it for you first, so you can hear how the melody goes, then we’ll do it together, okay?”
Liv bit her lip with uncertainty. I brushed my hand over her arm. “Go on. It’ll be fun, if nothing else.”
She looked at me like I was crazy, but nodded anyway. “Okay.”
Giving her hand a quick squeeze for encouragement, I smiled. “I’m going to go check on everyone else while you go through it. I’ll be back soon.”
She nodded again, biting on that luscious bottom lip of hers. Not able to help myself, I leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss before leaving them alone.
Matt grinned at me the second I stepped foot inside the games room. I growled at him. “Don’t fucking say it.”
“What?” he said, not able to stop a chuckle from slipping through. “I was just going to say she’s hot.”
I growled again. I didn’t like any of my friends looking at her like that. “Don’t go there,” I warned. “She’s nice. I like her.”
“And you left her up there with Dean?” Matt said with a smirk.
My jaw tightened. If Dean so much as looked at her the wrong way, I was going to deck him. “He’s working on the soundtrack song. He wanted Liv to help him with some things.”
Matt laughed. “I’m sure he does. And I bet it has nothing to do with the song.”
“I fucking said, don’t go there.”
His eyebrows went skyward. “Really? You like her that much?”
Corey coughed dramatically. “I think he likes the fact that she doesn’t know who he is more than anything else.”
I shot him an irritated glare. “Fuck off. It’s more than that.”
“What?” Corey challenged. “You mean the immense sexual attraction you two’ve got going on that makes the rest of us feel like we need to leave the room every time we’re there?”
I glared at him. I couldn’t deny that. I wanted Liv like nothing else. I’d been thinking it was purely because I knew I couldn’t have her, but if it was that obvious to the guys, then it was probably more than that. Fuck.
Matt smirked. “Man, sucks to be you. I can’t fucking believe she’s that innocent. Those legs were born to be wrapped around someone’s waist.”
His words almost pushed me over the edge. I felt the tension explode inside me.
“Shut the fuck up, Matt,” Jace said, suddenly beside me. “You’re about two seconds away from being laid out on the floor.”
The smile fell from Matt’s face, and his eyes widened as he looked at me. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit,” Jace said sarcastically.
Aiden shook his head. “Aw, man. You’re screwed.”
I huffed. An overwhelming sense of dejection stole through me. “Tell me about it.”
“You should just tell her,” Cain said from behind the bar.
Walking over to the pool table, I racked up the balls. I didn’t want to talk about it. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because I knew they were right, and I wasn’t ready to let go of th
e simplicity I had with her yet.
“She’s going to think you lied to her when she finds out,” Cain continued.
“Fuck. I know, all right!” I glared at him. I wish they’d all just get off my back. “I’m just not ready for her to know yet.”
“We get it, man,” Jace said, moving over to pick up a cue, while giving Cain and Matt a pointed look. “Doubles?”
I sighed internally, relieved. I should’ve known Jace would understand. He’d been different like that since he and Mia had been going out. It was a nice change.
Placing the cue ball on the table, I lined it up and broke the shit out of the balls, scattering them far and wide, and sinking two solids. It wasn’t as satisfying as it should’ve been.
Taking another shot and missing, I went and grabbed a beer. “How has Dean been, anyway?” I asked, needing to change the subject well and truly.
Dean had found his girlfriend, Lila, in a compromising position with the head of the record label they were signed to about six months ago. Not only did that destroy the relationship he’d had with his high school sweetheart, it had ruined the relationship the band had with the label.
Jace sighed. “Lila fucked him over real good. Not that we weren’t expecting it. We just didn’t realize she’d do it so spectacularly.”
“Yeah, the fucking bitch is still working at the label,” Matt grumbled. “Some fucking executive position to Mr. Fuckface himself.”
I gawked at him in disbelief. I knew she was still with the guy, but I had no idea she was working in such a high position with him. “You’re fucking joking?”
“Nah, man. She doesn’t even give a shit. Just comes waltzing up to him to pass on a message like nothing ever happened between them. She’s a fucking cruel bitch.”
“Jesus.” I looked up at the ceiling. Poor bastard. I knew things had to have been pretty shit for him when he’d asked to stay here at the beach house for a while, but I had no idea things were that bad. “How’s he been, though?”
Aiden finished his turn and shook his head. “We’ve been trying to direct all his angst into music, but he’s been fucking anything with a skirt. Mia’s been keeping a real close eye on him—told us we needed to make sure we didn’t let him get out of control while we were here.”