Oceans Apart (Ocean Dreams Book 1) (22 page)

“What? What is it? Is it too formal? I did wonder but you gave me no specifics and I just went with what I liked and…” Annie was looking down at her clothing now, slightly unsure of it all.

“Shh.” Cam moved and stood in front of her, placing a finger beneath her chin. He raised it so Annie was looking directly at him. Cam didn’t seem to be able to shift his gaze from her beautiful smoky eyes highlighted by her dark lashes.

“You’re a vision. I truly don’t think I have seen anyone as stunning as you are. I never believed you could be any more beautiful than you already were, but…wow! I’m really lost for words.” Cam smiled, leaned in close, and pressed his lips gently to hers.

“My work here is done,” Kirby piped up from behind the lovers. Annie pulled back and blushed slightly not at the embarrassment of being caught kissing Cam, but at the words he had said to her. Never had a man declared she was a vision or more beautiful than he ever thought, and she hoped Cam would be the only man whose lips would ever utter those words.

“Kirby Watson. Never let anyone tell you that you are crap at your job. Taking an already beautiful person and making them even more so is an art and you certainly have a gift,” Cam said to her while never taking his eyes off his woman.

“Why, thank you, Cam. That means a great deal. I must say, too, you sure know how to rock a suit and tie.” Kirby smiled with approval.

Stepping back a few feet, Cam held his arms out at the sides and did a turn. “Not too shabby, right?” he asked the girls, who giggled in reply.

“Well, have a fabulous night you two. I’m sure I will see photos in the social pages of tomorrow’s paper but Annie, I still want you to call me and fill me in on all the goss.” Kirby waved them off and closed the door behind her.

Cam beamed at Annie and held out his elbow, which she gladly accepted. He led her to the footpath where waiting for them was their car. Not just any car though. There was no mistaking it was a Ferrari. The sleek Italian automobile sat gleaming beneath the sun’s setting rays. The unmistakable
Ferrari Racing Red
would make sure it was a car to be noticed.

Annie was floored at the magnificence waiting before her. “Where did you get this?”

Cam seemed a little sheepish as he admitted, “It’s mine.”

“I never took you for one to have a showy car. You just don’t seem the type.” Annie was a little stunned Cam owned the beautiful car before them.

He shrugged. “What can I say, I’m a closet rev head.”

Annie let out a small laugh. “Well, just so you know, I’m a closet car lover. I love car racing and this little baby in front of us is just sublime.”

“Only the best, baby.” He winked at her. “I keep it in covered storage when I am away for long periods of time. Thought she could use a little outing and tonight seemed like the perfect night to show her off. Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.” Cam opened the passenger door and leaned in to find whatever he was after. He stood straight up and turned to face Annie.

“I bought this for you when I was in Hawaii. I walked past the store one day when I was with the sponsor reps and went back there later. I saw this sitting pretty in the window and knew I had to buy it for you. I just didn’t know when the right moment would be to give it to you.” He looked down at the small wooden box he was holding and then back up at Annie. “That moment is now.”

Annie was trying to smile while biting her bottom lip and then thought it probably made her look a little crazy. Releasing her lip from the grip of her teeth, she took a little breath in and smiled.
“Surely, it couldn’t be a ring?”
she mused.

“Open it,” he urged her eagerly.

Lifting up the smooth wooden box’s lid with slightly shaky hands, Annie gasped at what lay there. Nestled in folds of silk was a delicate white gold bracelet. Picking it up to take a closer look, she saw the intricate wave patterns had been engraved and surrounded tiny engravings of dolphins and sea turtles.

“It’s engraved on the inside,” Cam told her. Annie held it up closer so she could read the inscription.
“Oceans Apart but Always Together.”

Annie closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to keep her emotions in check or she would never survive the evening.

“Annie, even if we aren’t together for any reason, you’ll always have my heart and this as a reminder. I love you so much.”

Keeping her eyes closed, she moved forward. She knew where he was. She could feel his presence near her. Annie leaned in to him and he encompassed her in his strong arms. “I love you, too. Thank you. This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has given me.” Cam kissed the top of her head and let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank God. You’ve no idea how worried I was to give it to you. I haven’t bought a girl a gift in a long time. Besides Mum and Sea that is.”

“It is perfect.”

“Just like you.”

Annie smacked him gently in jest and laughed. “We should get going. Don’t want to be any later than we already are.”

Cam held his hand out to Annie so she could get in the car with ease. He sensed that long dresses and low-set performance sports cars weren’t designed with each other in mind. He made sure Annie was all tucked in, and then he closed the door. Cam got in the driver’s side, started the engine, and said, “Time to go and show Nashville to Sydney.” With a quick look for any oncoming traffic, Cam put the car into gear and roared off.

The sun was starting to set on another glorious summer’s day. Cam maneuvered his Ferrari through the bustling streets of Sydney. Being a Saturday night, the traffic wasn’t too congested but as it was summer, much of the city’s population still seemed to be out and about. Annie was growing concerned that they may be late, especially since Cam picked her up fifteen minutes later than he said.

“I hope it won’t matter we’re not going to be on time.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, sweetheart. We have time.”

“You told me to be ready at six thirty, which I was by the way, and then you arrived late. So we are already behind the eight-ball.” Thinking they would be late had Annie nervous, probably because of the fact she hated being late for anything, even the dentist, which she had always despised.

Cam tried to stifle a laugh without much luck. “I told you that time thinking you would be late. Most women seem to run late, especially with a special event like this.”

“Most women?” Annie looked at him and narrowed her eyes. The look was enough for him to backpedal his remark…and quickly.

“Uh…I meant that…uh…my mum and Sea. They always seemed to take forever whenever we had to go out and I just presumed you would be the same.”

Annie was still giving him the severe stare, just long enough to make him start sweating, and then she broke out her fun -loving laugh. She could see him visibly relax which made her laugh even more.

Cam shook his head at her. “Geez, I thought you were mad at me. You really had me going. You know that, don’t you?” Annie’s continued giggle answered his question. “I can tell you’re going to keep me on my toes.”

“I promise you will love every minute of it.” Annie’s cheeky smile had Cam thinking he should stop, turn the car around, and make his way home as quickly as possible. Annie gasped which brought Cam’s attention back to the present. She had noticed huge spotlights illuminating the slowly darkening sky. A few blocks ahead of them, the traffic was congested with limousines and flashy sports cars of various descriptions; and large, dark SUVs seemed to be everywhere. Each vehicle was jostling to get either in or out of the traffic, wanting to deliver the passengers to their destination.

As Cam navigated the revving Ferrari closer to the valet, Annie swore under her breath, “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Please tell me I’m just imagining photographers and television cameras are over there,” Annie squeaked as she pointed in the direction of the flashbulbs.

“Have you got a problem with being in front of the media? I told you it was a posh event. Lots of celebrities and local socialites are going to be here so the media was bound to be here, too.” Cam was now worried about the panicked expression etched into Annie’s beautifully made up face. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it tenderly. Her face softened at his loving touch and it brought a small but unsure smile to her glossy pink lips.

“It’s going to be fine, Nashville. You’ll have me holding your hand the whole time,” Cam said to try to reassure her there was nothing to worry about.

Annie nodded at him. “I know. Tracey use to tell me the paparazzi were horrible and never to say anything to them if they ever contacted me. But she always loved to tell me things and then do the opposite. She loved to show off in front of them.”

“Yeah. Some people just love the limelight, even if they don’t like to admit to it.”

“Early on in her career, Tracey invited our parents and me to one of her production’s opening nights in New York City. Reporters from TV and newspapers were everywhere. My parents arrived with her, but I was stuck in traffic on my way there. When I finally arrived, no one was around. I walked the red carpet all by myself and when asked who I was, I told them I was Tracey’s sister.”

Cam didn’t quite understand. “So what?”

“So, the reason why I was late is my father had booked me a day at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa. By the time, I had finished there and returned to my hotel to change, I knew I would be a little late. Unfortunately, the New York City traffic wanted me to be more than a little late. So let’s just say, when a pretty and unknown girl walks the red carpet by herself at the opening of a Broadway show, she gets noticed.”

“Bloody hell. Let me guess. Your sister’s got the shits on and didn’t like the fact you upstaged her, right?” he asked.

Annie shrugged her shoulders in resignation. “She doesn’t like to be upstaged, especially by her little sister. There was a photo of me in the entertainment section the next day with a considerably smaller one of her. Tracey didn’t talk to me for months and my mother chastised me for ruining her big night.”

Cam’s lips were drawn together tightly and his head was shaking. “I’ve never known anyone to dislike a family member so much. It fucking tears me up inside to hear they treated you like that.”

She held onto his hand a little tighter and smiled sweetly at him. A small sigh escaped before she said, “It’s all in the past and I’ve moved on now.” She paused briefly. “So let’s not spoil tonight with talk of the past.”

Cam pulled his car to the curb and leaned over the leather bound center console while looking deep into Annie’s eyes. Placing both hands on either side of her jaw, he captured her mouth with a hungry urgency, which she enthusiastically accepted.

A tap on the window next to Annie startled them out of their private moment. A dapperly dressed valet was standing next to the car waiting for them. Annie knew her cheeks were red without having to look in the car mirror. The warmth radiating off them could probably heat an icy room. Cam, on the other hand, was far from embarrassed and couldn’t contain his laughter.

“I guess we were sprung, Nashville.” He laughed. “You’ll be fine. Let’s go and rock this party…together.”

Cam got out of the car first and Annie waited a moment. She needed to take a deep breath, still reeling after the kiss Cam gave her. Flipping down the sunshade to look in the mirror, Annie made a quick check of her lipstick in case it had been smeared to look like Heath Ledger’s character, The Joker.
“Face still intact,”
she thought and lifted the shade back up to its resting position.

The valet opened the door to the gleaming red Ferrari, its engine still purring deeply. Annie’s senses were assaulted from the buzz of activity, which met her. She gracefully swung her legs out and rose to her feet, hoping she wouldn’t trip in her heels. No one really paid her any attention at first. Annie heard the Ferrari roar away behind her and it was then people looked up in her general direction. When Cam stood next to her and put his arm around her waist was when the media frenzy began.

Flashes of light were going off left, right, and center. Annie had no idea where to look. Cam whispered in her ear, “Relax. I’m here with you, always.” She slowed her breathing down and smiled shyly at the inquisitive people around them. Annie wanted to keep the fear she was starting to feel at a distance but the old memories were playing with her mind.
“Deep breaths.”
She played those two words over in her mind.