Oceans Apart (Ocean Dreams Book 1) (20 page)

Engulfing her within his tightly toned arms, he kissed her with a gentle passion making Annie aware of what his intentions would be later that night.

Dinner had been a roaring success and Cam basked in the praise his mother bestowed upon him for being able to pull it off. “It was not one of his stronger suits when he was younger,” his mother had commented, and it was met with other amusing comments and laughter from the whole family. Annie felt more at ease being with the Hart family each time they were together. They were a close-knit and loveable group of characters.

Chris had taken a sleepy Bodhi home just after Annie’s apple pie had been served and Cam’s parents left a little later. Annie promised Carol they would talk soon as Christmas was approaching fast. The fact they were even talking about Christmas and spending it together was surreal. If she were honest with herself, it would be wonderful to spend a Christmas with a family again. It had been many years since her family had done so and she was guessing a Hart family Christmas was nothing like any family Christmas she ever experienced.

“I’m so sad you’re leaving tomorrow.” Chelsea pouted as she put away the last of the clean dishes. “I guess that means I will have to make a trip to Sydney sooner rather than later.”

“You’re always welcome to visit, Sea. You know that,” Cam said at the same time his mobile phone rang. He looked at the number and without looking up walked out of the dining room onto the deck, closing the door behind him.

“I wonder what that is about?” Annie craned her neck to look outside. She could feel her curiosity getting the better of her.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just surfing related,” Matt piped up from the dining table. He, too, was occupied with the small screen of his phone.

“Well, if it is surfing related, shouldn’t you know? After all, aren’t you his manager…coach…trainer? Or are you just using Cam and his talent so you can benefit from some of its perks?” Chelsea snipped at him. Matt looked up from his phone and narrowed his eyes at her.

“What the fuck’s your problem?”

“Well, I seem to be looking at him at the moment.” Annie couldn’t believe what she was hearing from Chelsea’s mouth. She had hardly heard her say a negative word over the past few days, so listening to the tongue-lashing she was giving Matt was extremely surprising.

“Fuck Chels…you think you would know me a little better. I don’t have to hang around and listen to your shit. Excuse me, Annie.” He viciously pushed his chair away from the table and stood. Giving a quick nod to Annie, he stormed outside to the deck to be with his friend.

Clenching her hands at her sides, she let out a loud frustrating sound. “Oooohhhh. That man pisses me off sometimes.”

“I can see that. Is everything okay between you two?”

Chelsea released an exasperated huff. “It’s fine. He’s just…no. It doesn’t matter.” The girls both looked out the kitchen window. Matt and Cam were sitting down, having, what appeared to be a very intense conversation. Annie smiled to herself as she watched the guys talk. She knew Cam really loved his surfing and had seen first-hand how happy it made him. Knowing this made her feel even more special. Cam had chosen her to love. He had made room in his life for her. For them.

“Must have been work related.” Chelsea scowled. Something was definitely up with her but Annie wasn’t going to push it, tonight anyway.

“I guess so.”

“So.” Chelsea turned to Annie, her face softened and a smile replacing the bad tempered look of just moments ago. “Will you be going to Hawaii with Cam?”

“Hawaii? What for? When?” Annie was puzzled.

“Oh, shit! He hasn’t mentioned it yet?”

“What? Going to Hawaii? Not to me, he hasn’t.”

Chelsea’s top front teeth bit down hard on her bottom lip and she scrunched her eyes tightly together. “The last event for the year is in Hawaii. It ends just a few days before Christmas. I thought he would have talked to you about it already.”

“Talked to who about what, Sea?” Cam said as he came inside behind Matt. He looked back and forth between the girls.

Annie spoke up first. “Chelsea just mentioned you were going to Hawaii soon.”

Cam rubbed the back of his head with his hand and then rested it on the back of his neck. “Cheers, Sea.” Chelsea stuck her tongue out at her big brother. “I was going to tell you. Ask you actually. I was just planning on doing it tomorrow.”

“So you want me to come with you to your next event?” Annie could feel the excitement building up inside her.

Walking over to her, Cam took Annie around the waist and pulled her in close. “Of course I do. I don’t want you to be anywhere else. I want to know you’ll be watching me. Supporting me.” He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Ready and waiting for me.”

Annie got the giggles as he kissed down her neck and found a ticklish spot and nibbled at it. “Cam,” she laughed.

“So, you’ll come with me?”

Moving her head back so she could get a good view of his face, Annie flicked her hair over her shoulder and flashed a smile at him. “Wild horses couldn’t stop me.”

The grin was returned ten-fold and Cam picked Annie up and whizzed her around in circles.

“Right. I’ve had enough of this mushy shit,” Matt piped up, “I’m outta here.” Grabbing his keys from the counter, he made his way to the front door. “Thanks for tonight guys. Cam, I’ll speak to you soon. Maybe once you’ve found your balls again,” he yelled out as he left the house.

“Ugh…bloody hell, he can be such a rude prick,” Chelsea said.

“Now, c’mon, Sea. Be nice. You know he hates seeing too much PDA,” Cam replied to her statement.

“Whatever. I’m over him…it. Argh!” She stomped her foot on the floor in frustration.

“Chill out, Sea.”

“Nope. He’s bloody pissed me off. Sorry. I’ll leave you two lovebirds. You don’t need my mood to bring you down.” Chelsea crossed the room and gave Cam and Annie a group hug. “Dinner was wonderful. Annie, I’ll call you when you get back to Sydney and we’ll organize a day out together and Cam, take care of her. She deserves it.” And with a parting wink, Chelsea was gone.

“Right then.” Cam whisked Annie up into his arms and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

“What?”

“Better do what I’m told. Let’s go take care of you.”

The warmth of his breath and the touch of his lips on her cheek stirred Annie from her sleep. She didn’t open her eyes but did manage to give Cam a little smile

“Morning, Nashville. I’m just going down to the beach for a quick surf. Stay here and I’ll cook breakfast for you when I get back. I’ve got plans for us later.”

Annie gave him a little nod of her head and he gently kissed her sweet, pink lips goodbye. Whatever Cam had planned for later, she knew it would be incredible.

Waking up to the smell of bacon and the sounds of Jack Johnson’s melodic voice on the stereo, Annie guessed Cam was already home. It seemed like he’d only just left to go for his surf so she had slept a lot longer than she had planned.

She stretched out in the huge bed to wake up her body. She loved the size of this bed and enjoyed plenty of time in it since they arrived back from Kings Cove four days ago. In one movement, Annie sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Grabbing the t-shirt of Cam’s she had claimed as her own, she threw it on over her naked self before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. Annie knotted her hair on top of her head and followed her nose toward the aromatic smells of the kitchen.

“There you are.” Annie was greeted by Cam wearing only a huge grin and his low-slung board shorts. Seeing his tanned bare chest still made Annie giddy on the inside and she knew if she touched him, there was a good chance breakfast might suffer a horrible fate. She sat at the already set place at the counter and smiled sweetly back at her man.

“Good morning. Good surf?”

“Not bad. I tell you though, it was hard to tear myself away from your very appealing body lying there all naked and wanting.” Cam gave her a wink.

“Nice to know you can control yourself if you need to.” Annie playfully teased as Cam moved to her side and placed her breakfast before her. He moved his head in close to hers, their noses almost touching.

“Like I said, it was hard. Very. Hard.” He emphasized before crushing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Cam’s tongue slide between her lips as their tongues tussled together in a romantic dance. Cam broke the seal their lips had made and looked deep into Annie’s eyes. If he was having the same thoughts as she was, they weren’t leaving the house today.

“Eat your breakfast, Nashville, before it gets cold.” Cam went back to the stove and served his own food. Grabbing the orange juice from the fridge, he settled down on the stool next to her and poured her a glass.

“Mmm. This is so good. I do love it when you cook for me.”

“Keep making noises of satisfaction like that and I will cook for you 24/7, gorgeous.”

Annie took a sip of her juice, sat it back on the counter top, and then brushed her tongue over her lips to catch a stray drip.

“Geez, Nashville. I have no idea what it is about you licking your lips but it turns me on fierce. If I didn’t have plans lined up for today, I would just push everything off here and fuck you senseless.”

Annie blushed and looked down, noticing out of the corner of her eye it really had turned him on. Cam’s shorts had definitely tightened over his lap. She smirked and was quite smug about how she could affect him with very little effort on her part.

“So, you said you have plans for us today?”

“Yup,” Cam finished his mouthful of food and then gulped down half of his orange juice. He wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin, turned to Annie, and then swiveled her stool around to face him.

“So, I have this party I am meant to go to. It’s a fundraiser for underprivileged kids in rural Australia. Anyway, I want you to come as my date.”

“Of course. Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Yeah. They can be, but this one is a formal event. You know, tux, dinner, dancing…the whole nine yards.” Cam made a face that indicated his dislike for this sort of thing. “Dressing up in a penguin suit isn’t my favorite thing to do in the world.”

“I think it will be wonderful. You never know, taking me with you could be just the thing to make these events a little more fun,” she said as she turned back to finish her breakfast. Taking a bite of her buttered toast, Annie asked, “So, when is it?”

With that question, Cam rose from his seat, took his dishes to the sink, and plonked them in. He turned around, leaned back against the cabinets, and took a deep breath before saying, “Tonight at seven.”

Annie’s faced dropped. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were bugging out of their sockets. Cam was sure she was about to explode with anger. “Sorry, babe. I know I shouldn’t have sprung it on you like this but I only remembered when I was out surfing this morning.”

Closing her eyes and taking a calm, cleansing breath, Annie replied, “Right. I’ll have a shower, but first I need to call Chelsea. If anyone can help me, it’ll be her.” Hopping up from the stool and walking toward the bedroom, Annie turned and said, “You’ll be fine cleaning all this up, won’t you?”

Cam could tell the only answer was one in the affirmative. “You bet. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help out.”

“Oh, I will,” she called as she left the room on a mission.