Oceans Apart (Ocean Dreams Book 1) (30 page)

“I don’t think we’ve ever met before,” replied Annie, perplexed by the comment.

“Wait. I know where I’ve seen you before. You were in the newspaper last weekend. You were wearing the most amazing green dress,” the now smiling lady said. Annie could feel her cheeks warming in a blush as the clerk looked at her passport. “Annie Scott. Yes. You were at that event in town with CJ Hart. You made a fine looking couple.”

“Thank you. It certainly was an interesting evening.” A glum smile drew out Annie’s lips across her face. How she wanted to erase most of that evening from her mind.

“Let’s get you checked in then.”

Annie placed her luggage on the scales and the clerk tagged them and sent them on their way before handing back the passport and boarding pass.

“You still have a few hours to wait. Just keep an eye on the monitors for any gate changes. Enjoy your flight, Ms. Scott.”

“Thanks.” Annie picked up her carry-on bag and made her way to the security checkpoint. Deciding to stop at the restroom first, she bypassed the security area and crossed the large foyer but stopped in her tracks when she heard her name yelled across the airport.

“Annie! Annie!”

She knew the voice and looked around for the body attached to it. The airport was so crowded she could barely see three feet in front of her but that didn’t matter. She could feel him. She knew he was close as her body tingled with trepidation.

“Nashville,” Cam’s voice whispered in her ear from behind. Annie closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She concentrated on controlling her breathing, which would also help to keep those emotions and tears in check.

In and out. In and out.
She repeated to herself in her mind.

“Are you going to turn around and look at me?”

Annie replied with a slow shake of her head. Not liking her response, he placed one hand on her arm and turned her gently to face him.

“Look at me, Nashville. I just want to talk.”

It took a few controlled and deep breaths before she could do as he asked. When she opened her eyes, she was saddened at the disheveled appearance of her love. The five o’clock shadow was lining his jaw. His eyelids were puffy, and his eyes were streaked red and had dark shadows underneath. An unfamiliar aroma, which Annie worked out to be beer, wafted off him too. She looked up and noticed over his shoulder that Matt was hanging back a little. Annie said a little prayer to herself, glad he hadn’t driven himself there, and happy he wasn’t alone.

“What are you doing here, Cam? We have nothing more to say. Not yet.” Annie paused as something else came to mind. “How did you even know I would be here now?”

“Kirby had told Chelsea…who told Matt. I begged Matt to bring me here. We tipped the cabbie really well to break a few rules to get us here in time.”

Annie scoffed at his reply and rolled her eyes. “But why?”

“I don’t want to fucking lose you. I need you to be part of my life. Don’t leave me.” He stopped and gulped in a breath. “I love you. I fucking love you more than life itself.”

“Cam…”

“No. Give me a bloody chance, us a chance. Let’s work it out together. It’s not as bad as it seems. I promise.”

Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. All she wanted to do was collapse in his arms and stay there forever, wrapped in the warmth of his love. However, Annie needed to be strong for both of them. It wasn’t the right time to take this relationship further. It was time to take a step back and make sure it was what was right for both of them.

“Cam, I love you more than anything. But for now, I need to put myself first. I need to stay true to me; and since I hardly know who I am, I need to put some distance between us. I believe with all my heart, if we are meant to be together, we will. But for now, let me go. Let me go because you love me and you want what is best for me.”

Cam didn’t appear to be ready for that response from her. His lip trembled with hearing the news he probably already knew deep down. His eyes dropped to his feet, unable to look at her anymore. She had cut him deeply. She didn’t like what she had to do but it would be for the greater good.

Annie leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I love you.” Before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Cam grabbed her arm as she turned to walk away. “I may not be worthy of you now, but I will prove it to you. I will find you and we will be together…one day.”

Annie’s saddened face managed a weak smile at him. “You are worth more than you know.” She saw Matt coming toward them from behind and he nodded at her, letting her know he would take care of his best mate. She returned the nod and pulled away from Cam’s loosening grasp. “Take care, Cam,” she said in a hoarse whisper as she walked over to the security checkpoint and placed her carry-on bags up on the table to be searched. Annie walked through the metal detectors and collected her bags from the other end. Not once did she look back at the man whose heart she had just torn in two. She couldn’t look back as her own heart was broken as well. Cam owned her heart, but she needed to find herself. Perhaps he did too.

The flight had been long and tiring. Even the comfort of a first class seat couldn’t stop Annie from tossing and turning all night. She tried the Valerian Root tablets Kirby had given her, hoping like hell they would send her to sleep for fourteen hours. No such luck. Annie felt lethargic. She would’ve put it down to a hangover, had she been drinking at all on the flight. She was just looking forward to the comfort of the soft, fluffy bed awaiting her back at the Beverley Hills Hotel.

Disembarking was nice and easy. Thankfully, there was no trouble going through customs or immigration. She really wasn’t in the mood to answer a bunch of questions from authorities. Annie wheeled her luggage toward the airport’s exit when she spotted a smartly dressed man holding a sign. A sign with her name on it. Annie paused to think if the hotel had mentioned sending a car for her but couldn’t remember for the life of her. She directed her overflowing trolley toward the tall man with the creamiest of cocoa skin. He saw her approaching and flashed a smile at her.

Annie stumbled over her feet and shoved her trolley forward. “Damn it,” she muttered under her breath. Not that Annie was attracted to this guy but she hated making a fool of herself in front of strangers. Mortified by her little blunder, she straightened her shoulders back and pushed on to meet the man awaiting her arrival.

“Ms. Scott, I presume?” he asked her with a low drawl.

“Uh, ye—” Annie cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes. If you’re waiting for Annie Scott, you’ve found her.”

“Great. I’m Trey. Let me take your bags and we’ll get you outta here.”

Annie followed the guy out to the waiting car like a zombie. She was so tired, both physically and mentally, that she kept having to shake herself awake so she didn’t trip over her own two feet. Trey stopped at the curb and opened the rear door to a shiny black Chrysler. Annie smiled at him as she sunk into the soft leather seating. She wiggled around and tried to sit up, hoping this would keep her alert enough so she wouldn’t fall asleep, but her body wanted to do the opposite. Her shoulders slumped and her back leaned into the leather seat. She could feel she was losing the battle slowly with her eyelids getting heavy and wanting to close, just for a few moments.

She heard the driver’s side door open and close and felt the rumble of the engine as it started. A few moments after the car pulled into the chaotic L.A. traffic, the privacy partition slowly dropped down and Annie was startled awake from her brief nap.

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but I thought I’d let you know we should arrive at the hotel in about forty minutes. So you’ve got time for a nap if you like,” he said to Annie while looking back at her in his rear view mirror, his bright smile dazzling back at her with a knowing look that she was exhausted.

“Thanks. Just give me a little warning when we get close. Don’t want to look a complete mess when I arrive,” Annie said with a tired chuckle.

“No problems, ma’am.” Trey closed the privacy screen again and Annie relaxed into the seat and closed her eyes. It didn’t take her long to drift off into a sound sleep.

Annie opened her mouth wide as she yawned and stretched her arms above her head. A voice had stirred her from her peaceful slumber in the backseat of the chauffeured car.

“Ms. Scott? Ma’am, we’re getting close to the hotel.”

“Hmmm. Really? I’m sure I just closed my eyes,” Annie replied as she sat up and rubbed her face vigorously. She looked outside and saw the streets of Los Angeles zipping past her but dearly wished it had been the Sydney streets instead. Every time she fell asleep, she hoped she woke up to find the past week had been a bad dream. However, deep down she knew what she was living was a nightmare and she prayed it would be over one day.

Annie grabbed her handbag and found her hairbrush, giving her locks a quick once over, as Trey slowed the car to a stop at their destination. Throwing the brush back into her purse, she rummaged for her lip-gloss, and applied a slick of the light pink gel to her dry lips. The door opened for Annie and she gathered her bags and got out. It took her a few moments to realize she hadn’t arrived at the Beverly Hills Hotel but was at the Four Seasons. Stunned and unable to think, she looked around to ask the driver why he bought her to the wrong address but he had already returned to the car. Annie was ready to knock out his passenger window to get an answer when she heard someone clearing his throat behind her, trying to gain her attention. Turning abruptly to face the impatient person, Annie was met by a short, well dressed man, glaring at her through thick horn rimmed glasses. Wearing a dapper three-piece grey suit, he had his blond hair parted and slicked down with gel. A hot pink shirt with a black tie and shiny black shoes completed his look.

Annie looked at him curiously before asking him, “Can I help you?”

He looked affronted at her talking to him first but soon collected himself and straightened his shoulders back. “You need to come with me, Ms. Scott.”

Annie raised an eyebrow at him. “Do I indeed? And why would I do that?” Annie really was not in the mood and if he wanted an argument, she would accommodate him especially if it meant getting to her own suite sooner.

“Your sister wants to speak with you. Follow me.” Annie was surprised he could even see her since he was looking so far down his nose. Mr. Uppity pivoted his feet around sharply and strode inside the sleek hotel.

What the fuck is Tracey doing here and what could she possibly want with me?

Knowing it was going to be better to get this over and done with than let it fester any longer, Annie stalked after Tracey’s minion. It took a few minutes but Annie soon found herself outside a penthouse suite. Mr. Snooty-Pants knocked on the door three times and after hearing a muffled ‘Enter’ from behind the door, used his keycard to open the door. He was gentlemanly enough to hold it open and allow Annie to walk in first, but before the door had even closed, Tracey shouted from somewhere, “Leave us alone, Kevin. I’ll call you when I need you.” Kevin huffed his annoyance at his instruction and left the room.

Annie took a few steps into the center of the room, waiting for her sister to appear. As soon as Annie felt shivers run up and down her spine, she knew Tracey was close by. She turned around to face the bedroom door and there was her sister. Wearing a cherry red dress, which barely covered her ass and looked to be two sizes too small, Tracey, as always, looked neatly coiffed. The black stiletto heels she was wearing ensured she would tower over Annie. Maybe it was an act of intimidation. She certainly wouldn’t put it past her sister for thinking like that, especially if she was able to have an edge over her younger sibling. The Broadway starlet sauntered over to the bar, her brown tresses bouncing across her shoulders as she walked. Tracey started pouring herself a glass of champagne and looked up at Annie with her eyebrows raised in question.

“No, thank you,” Annie replied curtly. Placing her bags down on the nearest couch, she inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out. ‘
Time to find out what the bitch wants
,’ she thought.

“All right, Tracey. Time to give me some answers,” Annie insisted as she folded her arms across her chest. “How the hell did you know I was coming back to the U.S. and when, for that matter. And why the fuck was I marched here to with meet you the minute I got off a plane after a fourteen hour flight?”

Taking a sip from her champagne flute, Tracey placed it back on the bar before flashing a cunning smile in Annie’s direction. “I have my ways of knowing things and I always get what I want,” she replied before sneering at Annie. “Most of the time anyway.”

All Annie could do was shake her head. “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. Either enlighten me or get your driver to take me to my hotel so I can rest and forget this little abduction ever happened.”

“Ugh. Don’t be so fucking dramatic. It’s not your forte, sister dear.” Tracey walked over to a coffee table and picked up a newspaper. Moving over toward Annie, she thrust it at her. “So tell me what the fuck this is all about then?”