Oceans Apart (Ocean Dreams Book 1) (31 page)

Annie shook the paper a little before looking down at it to see what had Tracey so riled up. Staring back at her was her own happy face next to Cam’s sexy smile. It was photo of them from the fundraising event. Annie looked at the New York paper and then back up at Tracey. She was confused as to why she was even bothered with it. “What do you need to know?”

“Ugh. I want to know why you thought it was a good idea to go out in public with your ‘boyfriend’? Was it to steal all the publicity from me on my opening night? Hmm? Was it?”

Annie scoffed at her sister’s stupidity. Annie didn’t give a shit about being in the limelight. “Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me, Tracey? This is why you had me marched to you as soon as I was off the plane?”

Tracey had a look of hatred plastered on her face. Her lips had pinched together so tightly Annie was sure the fat she had injected into her lips from her ass, would ooze out from being squeezed so much.

“You don’t get it do you?” Marching over, Tracey snatched the paper from Annie’s hands and waved it in front of her. “This was in the newspaper on my opening night. People didn’t care about my performance at all. They just wanted to know all about you and your boyfriend.”

Annie really couldn’t care less about this but Tracey obviously saw it as an attack on her. The easiest thing to do would be to apologize and get the hell out of her sight. That is what the old Annie would have done. Taking a deep breath in and placing her hands on her hips, Annie replied, “So what? So the fuck what, Tracey? I don’t get it. Actually, I don’t get you, but that’s nothing new.” She stared at her sister in confusion and anger. They needed to have it out and there was no time better than the present.

“If your performance was worth writing about, they would have. Did I set out to take the limelight off you? No. Do I care that I did? No. You need to grow up and get past whatever hatred or animosity you have toward me. If you don’t like me, that’s fine, but I will no longer put up with your shit just to make you feel better. What I do with my life or whom I want to share it with is none of your business.” Annie’s heart was pumping a million beats a second and her emotions were heightened to record levels. She needed to get out of there but there was one more thing she had to say to Tracey. “Listen, as far as I am concerned, we don’t need to be in each other’s lives. We don’t need to be sisters. So don’t call me. Don’t visit. Don’t summon me or wrangle me up ever again. Just leave me alone.”

Having worked herself up into enough of a state that she was actually pointing her finger in Tracey’s face, Annie took a step back and gathered her bags from the couch and turned on her heel, hoping like hell, she would never have to set eyes on her sister again.

Annie had reached the door when Tracey finally spoke. “Well, that’s going to be easy to do since you’re not my sister.”

Her hand was grasping the door handle but she couldn’t help but crush the life out of it after hearing Tracey’s comment. Annie spun around and zeroed her eyes in on the bitch standing across the room with a satisfied smirk on her face. She couldn’t move her feet. Probably a good thing for Tracey; otherwise, she might have ripped her to shreds.

Closing her eyes to compose herself and keep those soaring emotions in check, she asked, “What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Mean?” She spoke slowly and deliberately. Annie couldn’t ever remember a time when she had been filled with such fury. Her blood was simmering, ready to overflow and flood her body with loathing.

With the smirk still gracing her face, Tracey moved over and sat on the couch. “Exactly what I said. You’re not my sister.”

Swimming through her head were thoughts of how this revelation could be possible; but Annie was far from thinking straight, and there was no way she could work it out with her head clouded. The look of confusion on her face seemed to satisfy the woman who was apparently no longer Annie’s sister, sitting on the couch.

“Father had an affair with his secretary. You were the result. She didn’t want you, so she left you at our door one night. Mother was kind-hearted enough to take you in.”

Annie just stared at Tracey, unable to utter anything. If it were the truth, it certainly would explain her mother’s attitude and treatment toward her. The way she ignored her and didn’t show any love toward her. No hugs or affection of any kind. The situation may even explain her father’s odd behavior. Ignoring her and thinking Annie a pest one minute, especially when her mother was about, and then showing his true feelings when they had time alone. He was kind and considerate. Annie remembered one conversation with him just before she left for college where he explained to her once that her mother held something over him. He just never got into the details about what it was.

“How do you know?” Annie whispered before clearing her throat, narrowing her eyes at Tracey, and asking again, “How do you know all of this and I don’t?”

“I was given a letter from
MY
parents’ lawyer after they died. I was supposed to give it to you, but,”—Tracey held her palms face up and shrugged her shoulders—“curiosity got the better of me since it was addressed to you from Daddy.”

What the fuck? She read a letter that Daddy had written to me?
Annie was able to keep her tears at bay by concentrating on chewing her bottom lip between her teeth. She couldn’t work out if it was better to be oblivious to this admission, like she had been for twenty-seven years, rather than know the hurtful truth. If she thought about it, she couldn’t really blame her father for having an affair. Beverley was a cold-hearted woman who only wanted money and fame. The money was easy to get, only taking a marriage to a successful lawyer, but back then, you couldn’t buy fame as easily. The chance of getting her daughter in the spotlight and being there to guide her career was too great an opportunity to miss.

Fuck. How did I wind up in a family like this?

Rather than ponder that question, Annie pulled her shoulders back and concentrated her stare on the nasty woman across the room.

“The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. You’re just as bitter and conniving as your mother was. I never did anything to hurt either of you. All I wanted was a family to love me for the person I was and not the mistake I was treated as.” Annie retreated to the door but before she opened it, she had one last thing to say to her half-sister. “Oh, and you won’t have to worry about me taking your limelight again. From this moment on, I don’t know you and I don’t want a single fucking thing to do with you ever again.”

Tracey stood up with her mouth gaping open but was incapable of replying. She appeared to be shell-shocked because Annie hadn’t given her the reaction she was wanting. Annie knew Tracey would love it if she either collapsed in a puddle of tears or started a screaming match; but Annie wasn’t going to give the manipulative cow any satisfaction whatsoever. Annie flung open the door to the suite and stopped. She had just one more thing to say to Tracey.

“Tracey, I’m honestly sad for you, but you can trust in the fact I will never think of you from this day forward. So kiss my ass and go to hell.”

Annie didn’t look back or shut the door. She just let her legs take her to the elevator as fast as they could. Finally reaching the lobby of the hotel, Annie realized she had no idea where her luggage was. The lobby was all a buzz and it didn’t appear as if anyone could help her out. She was growing weary and exhaustion was quickly setting in so getting to her hotel was paramount. Annie walked out to the valet and saw the same driver, who had picked her up from the airport, leaning against the wall, talking on his cell phone. He seemed to know he was being watched. He quickly ended his call and hurried over to Annie.

“I wasn’t sure what to do with your luggage, but I had a feeling you might be in need of my services anyway, so I left it in the trunk.” Trey flashed a knowing smile at her.

“I do need your services. Thank you.”

Trey waved his hand out motioning Annie to where the car was parked out front. He opened the door for Annie. She sat down, took a deep breath, and sighed it out loudly. The privacy screen slid down and the helpful driver smiled at her in the rearview mirror.

“Where can I take you then, Ms. Scott?”

“The Beverly Hills Hotel, please. Oh, and do you mind calling them to see if they have my room ready for me?”

“No problem. I’ll have you there soon.”

“Thank you,” Annie said as the screen returned to its upright position.

Thoughts ran jumbled through Annie’s head. She was so tired that the tears she may have shed over this whole episode were non-existent. She could have crumbled into irreparable pieces as soon as she left Tracey’s suite, but Annie knew they would be wasted tears and she wasn’t about to waste her tears or energy on the past. Before her time in Sydney, she may have felt upset at Tracey’s revelation, and begged to read the letter. Part of her wanted to read it, but at the end of the day, it was her past. She didn’t need to know. She knew the truth. She knew her father had loved her and could also now see that her mother was incapable of loving her. Not because she was second best, but because her mother was simply incapable.

Her mind drifted to thoughts of Cam. What he was doing and where he was. He was and probably would always be in a corner of her mind. He had most certainly etched his name on her heart; but for now, they needed to be apart. They each needed to travel their own path and if they happened to meet up again while on their journeys, then it was to be. Her love for Cam would always be and so would the memories of her time with the man who had brought happiness to her life again. A solitary tear escaped down her cheek and she swiftly wiped it away. Annie needed to hold herself together and think positively. Tomorrow was a new day…untarnished and full of hope.

With his morning cup of coffee in hand, his one and only for the day while competition was on, Cam walked out of his beachside bure and onto the sand, which was just starting to warm in the morning sun. He had already been out for an early morning surf with a few of his mates and fellow competitors. He had enjoyed a leisurely session to get the cobwebs out of his system. Cam arrived late the night before with Matt accompanying him to this event, as he did with most others. The guys had set themselves up in their room with their quiver of surfboards and had gone straight to bed, just so they could catch the morning waves. Cam had always loved visiting Fiji. Such a laidback and relaxed atmosphere and everyone seemed to be in a great mood, even if the waves weren’t doing their thing.

Cam settled on a sun lounge and pulled down the sunglasses perched on top of his head. Having the chance to just kick back and soak up the scenery around him was one of the best feelings in the world. However, it was most certainly topped by the feeling of having Annie in his arms while curled up in bed together. Cam sighed and took a swig from his mug. Annie. So much had happened and changed since he last saw her leaving him standing in the departures terminal at Sydney International. The one thing, which had remained the same was his undeniable love for his Nashville Angel.

He had wanted to buy a ticket for the next flight to America and chase his girl down; but Matt reminded him of his priorities, and also of the fact, Annie needed time and space. Those few months had been a whirlwind for Annie; and the news of Cam’s impending fatherhood only served to show her she needed to slow down and reassess what she needed in life. All Cam could do was wait. Wait and hope that one day fate would bring them back together.

Things had settled down and life was good for Cam. After a disastrous second round loss in the Hawaiian Pipeline event, only a week after Annie left, Cam regrouped over the Australian summer. He trained harder and improved his fitness so it was second to none. His aim was to be the best he could be so when he finally got the chance to see Annie again, she would have a hard time keeping away from him. He had won two rounds of this year’s tour; so all the hard work was paying off and he hoped the same would happen in Fiji.

Cam had kept tabs on Annie after she left. He knew she would keep in contact with Kirby, Sea, and his mother, especially after what he had been told had gone down with her sister when she first arrived back. Cam had seen the connection she had made with each of those women; and they in return saw how much they both loved each other, taking pity on Cam to feed him tidbits of information.

He knew she had sold up and left Nashville for good and moved out to the beaches of Southern California. She flittered between two homes she had rented in L.A and San Diego. Annie hadn’t tried to get a permanent job. She enjoyed doing temp PR work when she found a group that could benefit from her knowledge. Mostly, they were not-for-profit organizations or charities, and he knew Annie would’ve been in her element. She loved to help people less fortunate than her and knew they would appreciate her talents and help.

About a month ago, Sea had rung Cam to tell him Annie had just started working as a consultant for the Pro Tour in their PR department and she was going to be in Fiji to get a feel for what it was like on the tour. Cam could only smile when Sea was telling him all about it. He had called in a few favors and had this job offered to Annie. She had said to him that if they were meant to see each other again, they would. Well Cam was tired of waiting for that day to come. Throwing the dregs from his coffee onto the sand, Cam stood up and smiled at the water. His confidence was sky-high and he was ready to tackle whatever came his way. It was going to be a good day.