The Real Me (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 4) (25 page)

She took a cab from the airport to the hotel where he was staying. She used her parent's credit card for the cab and the hotel since hers was maxed from the plane ticket. Not want
ing to see him in her present disheveled condition, she checked into her room and decided to stay in there to freshen up and wrap her head around some sort of plan on how to contact him.

Chapter 26

It was 11AM in Frankfurt by the time Jax got to her room and had her bearings. She slept for six hours on the flight and was too excited to take a nap before she tried to find Cam. There was no sign of him or any of his crew when she checked into the hotel, and she figured no one really knew he was staying there.

Her room was on the fifth floor, but it was a really tall building and she had to assume Cam and his crew would be closer to the top. She decided the best plan of action would be to
call Cam himself. That way she could get a read on whether or not surprising him was feasible.

She dialed his number. The phone rang several times. It rang so many times she had the thought that it was probably having to reroute since they weren't in the states. Finally somebody picked up. She waited anxiously on the line to find out whether it was Cam or his voicemail.

"Hey baby girl, what chu doin up so late?"

Jax looked at the clock next to her bed, which read 11AM. It took her a second to remember that it wasn't 11AM in Nashville.

"I don't know—even know what time it is." She was already searching
time difference between Nashville and Frankfurt
but was waiting for the page to load.

"I tried to call you earlier, but
it went straight to voicemail," he said.

"I know. We were really busy with the fundraiser. That's why it's four o'clock in the morning and I still haven’t gone to sleep."

Seven hours time difference. Thank you Google.

"What
time is it there?" she asked.

"Almost noon I think. I just woke up. I'm still getting used to the time difference." He moaned as if he was rolling over in bed. "It's eleven actually."

"Cool. I hope I didn't wake you up."

"No, I was awake—I was just laying here. How'd your fundraiser go?"

"Cam, I can't believe you did that," she said. "How much did you have to pay for that house?"

He laughed
sleepily, but otherwise ignored the question. "Was she excited?" he asked, talking about Mary.

"You have no idea. This changes everything. You're gonna change lives, you know."

"Don't be telling me all that—my ego's already big enough."

"
Well, Mary is through the roof excited."

"What about you? You're the one I did it for."

"Aw, don't say that."

"Why not? It's the truth."

"I miss you already," she said, thinking about what he looked like when he smiled.

"I miss you too. I can't believe you're going to make me go a whole month before I see you again. I
thought maybe you'd catch a flight over here to thank me for that house."

Jax
suddenly got nervous. She was already on edge, but got even worse at his comment. She couldn't decide what to do. Part of her still wanted to come up with a way to surprise him (i.e. dressing up as room service), but the other part of her wanted to take advantage of his comment and come out with it right then. She didn't even breathe as she made the split-second decision.

"I did," she said.

"You did what?" he asked.

"I caught a flight to thank you for that house."

He let out a little laugh.

"You shouldn't tease me like that."

"I'm not."

Cam was quiet for a few seconds wondering why she thought this particular type of joke was funny. "So you're coming to Germany?" he asked. He knew the answer was no, but he was trying to be lighthearted about it since deep down he was pissed that she wasn't there.

"I'm already here."

Cam was quiet for a few more seconds. She could hear him start to say something and then stop but then he finally said, "Quit playin'."

"Cam, I'm not playing. I flew to Germany. I'm in what I hope is the same hotel as you right now."

"Keep messin' with me Jax, and I'm going to be mad at you."

"Tell me your room number and I'll come up there and show you I'm not lying."

"Jax, I'm in—
what the hell room are we in?
" Cam yelled.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Is someone in there with you?"

"Shhh, wait."

A few more seconds of silence.

"I'm in room 2 of the penthouse. It's the top floor. The elevator's marked with a PH I think."

"Who's there with you?"

"It's my room but I hear somebody out there in the living
room. I assume it's Neil. I'm gonna tell him to make himself scarce, and then I'm going to stand at the door of my suite and look into the hallway. If you're not up here in three minutes I'm going to cancel my show and fly home to beat your little ass."

"You wouldn't."

"Don't test me. If I believe you and go in there and kick Neil out and you don't show your face in my doorway, I'm gonna be so pissed."

"Do you
have security or anything?"

"N
o. Nobody knows I'm here yet. My crew's sleeping in until this afternoon when I have to go out for an interview."

"So I can just
push PH on the elevator and come right up there?"

"Yes,
you can do exactly that. And you have three minutes to make it happen."

She let out a little nervous squeal as she hung up the phone and put
it in her pocket. She was relieved that she'd taken the time to freshen up before she ever called him because she certainly hadn't anticipated the conversation ending with her on a three-minute timer.

She ran into the bathroom
to check her face before going upstairs. She murmured nervously to herself as she went around the room making sure she had things like her phone and her room key. Then she closed the door behind her and made her way to the elevator.

With a trembling hand, she reached out and pushed the little round button labeled
PH. It was directly above the button marked 44, so she figured he was on the 45
th
floor. Her thoughts were all over the place as she rode. She absentmindedly considered the fact that he must have a much better view than she did on the fifth floor. She also thought about the fact that they'd never clarified what hotel they were both staying at, and she hoped she was at the right one.

The elevator dinged and the door opened onto the penthouse level. The hallway in the penthouse looked entirely different than it did on the fifth floor, and instead of a tight passageway with lots of doors, she saw a roomy lobby type area with only a few doors to choose from. It even smelled better up there. She stepped off the elevator and into the lobby
and could barely breathe as her gaze shifted to the open door on her right.

Cam was standing in the doorway
wearing jeans but no shirt like a freaking male model. He was shaking his head and smiling as if he couldn't believe his eyes. She smiled back and took a step toward him, but before she got too far, he ran to her and took her into his arms. He lifted her up by the waist and spun around a time or two, making her toss her head back and giggle.

He stopped spinning, but didn't let her down. "I can't believe you're here," he said.

"I can't believe you bought Mary a house."

"Is that why you came?"

"No, but it was what made me realize I was silly for
not
coming if that makes any sense."

"No, not really. But I don’t really care. I can't believe you're here!" He turned, and with her still securely in place on his chest, ran with her into his suite. When they got inside, he bent to set her gently on her feet and then stood to look directly at her.

"I missed you and we were only apart for a few hours," she said smiling.

Cam missed her too.
He knew there would be no such thing as entertaining groupies as long as she was out on the road with him—and he didn't even care.

"You're crazy for coming all the way over here by yourself. You should have just come with us."

"I know. I'm sorry it didn't work out that way, but I'm here now."

"Did you bring anything?" He asked, looking down at her hands.

"Oh yeah, all my stuff's down in my room."

Cam gave her a confused look. "Why did you get a room? Did you already pay for that?"

"Well yeah you have to pay for it to be able to check in. And I got it because I wasn't positive where you were or how quickly I'd be able to find you. Plus, I considered trying to come up with a scheme to surprise you in a maid's uniform or something."

"Oh, let's do a maid, for sure."

"Like a French maid with a little short skirt and a feather duster?"

"Exactly like that."

"I'll dress up for you Poppi."

"
I don’t think that's really necessary today, since I'm about to peel you right out of your clothes anyway, but we're headed to Paris after this, and that'll be the perfect time for you to clean my bedroom in your little uniform."

"You're going to have to buy me one first."

"Oh I'll buy you one.  Feather duster and all" He leaned down and kissed her head. "I'll buy you anything you want. Start working on a list."

She giggled and shifted to look out the window at the amazing view.

"You definitely have a better view from up here than on my floor."

"Stop talking like you don't live up here with me."

She smiled up at him and then her expression grew slightly more serious. "Are you sure I'm not gonna mess you up? I know you're gonna be really busy, and—"

"We'v
e already gone over this when I invited you to come with me in the first place." He scooped her up into his arms again and smiled at her before placing a soft kiss on her mouth. It had only been a day or two and she was already desperate for his touch. She leaned into the kiss with no hesitation whatsoever and he deepened it instantly, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He kissed her greedily for a few seconds before pulling back and breaking the contact.

"Neil made sure I understood that I only had two hours of privacy before everything hits the fan this afternoon."

"A lot can happen in two hours," she said. "That is, if you want anything to happen. We can also just go in there and get some sleep if you have a busy afternoon coming."

He narrowed his eyes at her before he took her hand, drug it to the front of his jeans, and let her feel for herself just how much non-sleeping he wanted to do in that bedroom.

"It's a good thing I came," she said, appreciating the bulge.

"That's what you're about to do."

"You sound so confident."

"Oh, I'm gonna make you come, baby gi
rl, don't you worry about that."

He
took her in his arms and carried her into the master bedroom. She couldn't help notice that the room was extremely beautiful, and almost couldn't believe this was the same hotel she was staying in. The fifth floor was entirely different from the penthouse.

They made love without drawing the shades. She was
nervous about people seeing but he assured her no one could. She believed him but something about the vulnerability of an open window made the experience even sweeter. They pushed it to the very edge of the two-hour time limit, and were both naked in bed when Neil beat on the bedroom door.

"I know you're excited to see your girlfriend or whatever, but if you would have picked up your phone I wouldn't be in here right now. I need to know that you're getting dressed. We have to leave in less than an hour. I'm sending someone up for hair and makeup in fifteen minutes. Tell me you're getting up and getting dressed."

"Shit Neil I'm up."

"
I'll wait out here. I had some food sent up. It's out here in the kitchen."

Cam didn't answer back. He just sat up, letting h
is feet hang off the bed. He grabbed his jeans from the foot of the bed and slipped them on one leg at a time just like a regular person. Jax found her shirt and jeans and put them on before following Cam into the living area of the suite.

She hadn't seen Neil and was feeling a li
ttle nervous at what type of reception she would get when she went out there. Cam crossed to the kitchen to check out the food, and she considered what sort of chitchat would be appropriate for an assistant who didn't want her there.

"I'm glad you changed your mind," he said, surprising her. "I can already tell he's in a much better mood now that you're here."

"I'm in a much better mood now that I'm here too," she said.