Eternal (3 page)

I couldn’t dwell on all the unexplainable
events.
 
It was too hard to consider,
more than impossible to wrap my mind around, and difficult to completely
believe. I had to think about something else so I pondered what I was going to
do to fill my time over the next three days. Being away from Cayden was almost
painful. If I had a few hours of uninterrupted time, this would allow me to
finish the script, but I figured I would save the script for later tonight. I
seemed to do my best work at night, especially when Cayden’s gone.

I heard my phone ringing in the distance.
 
I got up swiftly and headed for the sound
emanating from inside the outer pocket in my black Fendi bag. I figured it was
Cayden and was disappointed when I looked at the caller ID.

“Hello, Jewel,” I answered, trying hard not to
sound disappointed. After all, it was not her fault I was foolish and missed
Cayden. Besides, she was one of my best friends, even if we didn’t stay in
touch much.

“Hey, Winter. Do you think it might be possible
to go with me to Claudia and Bean’s? It’s Claudia’s birthday, and they would
love to see you.”

Wow,
I hadn’t seen Claudia and Bean in sixteen years. In fact, with the
exception of Jewel, I hadn’t spoken to any of the old gang Austin and I used to
hang with. I wasn’t even sure how many of our old friends were even in
New York
.

“Um….” I stuttered biting at my bottom lip. “I
don’t think I could get away right now. Anyway, I am pretty sure Jayden would
not go for it.”

“Then don’t tell him. How hard could it be to
sneak out? I can come get you, and we can go see our friends. No one would be
looking for you in my car. You make more of a scene when you are with the
bodyguard and the Cain’s.”

“I don’t know.”
          

“Come on, Winter. If you are with me, how could
the press find you?”

“I know, but I don’t think I should—”

“Winter, you said yourself you did not believe
it was really necessary to have the bodyguard, that Zander felt it was best.
What Zander doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Come on. You know you want to see our friends.
They would be so surprised to see you, plus we do have a lot of catching up to
do. You know Claudia and Bean finally got married a couple of years ago, and
you missed their wedding. You kind of owe them.”

Jewel was using the guilt card; she was always
good at that.

“What time is her party?”

“At five-thirty,” said Jewel. I envisioned the
smile of victory that was assuredly stretching across her face. “Tell me where
you are, and I can come get you.”

“Okay, but you cannot tell anyone where I am
staying.”

“I promise it will be our secret.”

“Well, there is a security wall and a large iron
gate. You will need to wait for me outside of the wall. I will come to you.”

“I feel so much like a super sleuth right now.”
Jewel laughed. “Give me the address. I will meet you in about an hour outside
the wall.” She laughed again. “I never in a million years thought I would be
breaking my friend out from behind a wall.”

I giggled. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

I don’t know if it was my crazy need to fill my
time with something in order to stop missing Cayden, my nervousness because he
was with Cheryl Lynn, his young and beautiful co-star, or if it was just plain
stupidity on my part that I had agreed to go along with this foolish, without a
doubt, asinine plan. A part of me knew if Cayden found out I left without my
bodyguard, he would be more than mad. However, another part of me felt there
really wouldn’t be any danger.

I paced, all the while convincing myself the
press did not know I was staying here at the estate, and no one knew my friend
Jewel. It wasn’t like being out with
Chandler
or his brother. Jewel was right, hanging out with them and their entourage
seemed to attract attention. I reminded myself I had been out the other day for
a lunch meeting with everyone and nothing happened. So I figured I could be a
little bit tricky, sneak out and sneak back into the estate without anyone
becoming the wiser.

I walked aimlessly around my room for more than
forty-five minutes, arguing with myself about going. Then I worried and
wondered why Cayden had not called yet. He told me he would call so the fact he
had not set me on edge even more. All I could see was Cheryl Lynn’s perfect face
and her perfect ruby red heart-shaped lips. He would be with her, looking at
those perfect lips. I definitely need a distraction, and it would be great to
see Claudia and Bean.

I put on my blue jeans along with a comfortable
navy-blue scooped neck sweater, grabbed my coat, my bag, and headed down the
stairs and out the back door of the estate. I glanced around. The coast was
clear. My goal, the ornamental iron gates. Trying not to walk on my tiptoes, I
crossed over the back and north lawns.
 
After all, walking on one’s tiptoes does not a sneak make. Once I
arrived at my destination I pressed in the security code, unlocked the gate,
and escaped from behind the walls of the estate. It was easier than I thought.

I smiled when Jewel pulled up. She looked
positively glowing with satisfaction. I slid into the front seat of her Volvo
as she cranked the tunes. She tapped the steering wheel and sang along to “Baby
Did a Bad, Bad Thing.” I chuckled. Perhaps the song was fitting.

Jewel and I made our way back into the city,
coming to a tall apartment building on the
Upper East Side
.
I exited the car in the parking garage and listened to the
thwap
of our
closing car doors echo. Allowing Jewel to take the lead, I headed over to the
elevator. She talked nonstop, quite pleased with her sneaky breakout tactics.
The elevator doors opened on the lobby level where we exited. Jewel stepped up
to the reception counter, grabbed the chain-attached pen, and signed herself
in. When she started to sign my name, I stopped her.

“No.” I tapped her hand. “Not my name,” I
whispered under my breath.

The man at the counter peered down his long
pointy nose at me, but he never said a word.

“Oh,” Jewel said and signed a bogus name next to
hers.

The man at the desk looked beyond bored.
Actually, he kind of looked like the living dead with dark circles under his
eyes and sharp pronounced features on his pasty-colored face. He showed no hint
of emotion, moving his eyes more than his face.

“I need to announce you.” He picked up the phone
and rang up to Claudia and Bean’s apartment. He twirled the phone cord around
his thumb. “I have a Jewel and a Gabriela here to see you.” He looked at me for
a long moment then back toward Jewel. “Go on up, take the elevator to the sixth
floor,” he instructed in a flat lifeless voice.

I heard my cell phone ringing. I reached into my
bag, pulled out my silver phone, and glanced down. Zander’s number.
Shit.
I knew it was Cayden calling and not Zander. Cayden used Zander’s phone to call
me so no connection could be made between Cayden’s phone and mine. I really
wanted to hear his voice, needed to hear his voice, but it was impossible to
talk to him. As much as it hurt me not answering, it would hurt me more to lie
to him because I couldn’t tell him where I was or what I’d done. The
information I was in the city without Jayden, and what was worse I snuck out
like a bratty teenager, was something Cayden didn’t need to know. He’d be
worried for me.

I held the phone for what seemed like forever as
it continued to ring.
 
With no other
choice, I ignored it.

“Are you going to answer that?” Jewel asked.

“No, it’s Zander.” I lied.

“Oh.” She replied with a devilish smile.

I tucked my phone back into my bag as we entered
the elevator. Jewel pushed the button to the sixth floor, where after a few
moments, we exited. There was a large foyer with an oversized barn red door and
what looked like a potted fruit tree next to it. Claudia flung open the door to
see me first. She started jumping up and down in place, her face full of life.

“I was wondering who the hell Gabriela was!” she
shrieked. She ran over and hugged me around the neck, all the while pulling me
into her apartment. “Bean! Get out here. You are never going to believe who is
here with Jewel.”

Bean came from a back room. He looked at me.
Stood still for a moment. His face broke into a large and wide grin.

“Winter, you are in so much trouble,” he said
before he came to hug my neck. “You should have told us you were here in
New York
. Do you know
how pissed off we all were to read about you in the gossip magazines? I about
had a heart attack in the checkout line at the grocery store when I saw your
face plastered all over the front of a magazine. Let me tell you I wanted to
flipping piss my pants when I read it was Winter Wells I was seeing. Why did
you not tell us you were the author? And what the hell is the deal with
Chandler Cain?”

“Gosh, Bean, that is an awful lot to be in
trouble for. Where do you want me to start first?” I replied, laughing. He let
go of my neck.

“Bean, let her at least sit down first,” Claudia
scolded.

Jewel was already sitting quite casually on the
brown suede couch, smiling. She patted the spot next to her. “Here babe, take a
seat,” she said, looking up at me.

I took a seat next to Jewel. We proceeded with
what could only be described as the Spanish Inquisition. “Hey, aren’t we here
to celebrate Claudia’s birthday?” I asked, trying to break the twenty
questions.

 
Claudia
interjected, “Yes, but I decided after I turned thirty not to have any more
birthdays.” She laughed. The sweet sound of her laughter sent a wave of
memories over me. I could see Austin and me sitting with his friends around the
table in the diner where I first met them. “We are just getting together to
talk, have some food, and to hear from you. I want to hear all about you and
why you are back in
New York
.”

“I can’t answer everything, so for that I am
sorry, but I will try to answer some of your questions,” I replied.

“Start from the beginning. Why are you here?”
Bean asked.

“Zander called me. Do you remember Zander?”

“Yes,” Claudia said.

“Well, I had not heard from him in years so when
he called I was surprised. He asked me to meet with him, to take a look at a
script. I wasn’t in favor of doing it, but then I decided to come. I read the
script, liked what I read so I consented to assist him in a collaboration. I
have been here in
New York
,
working on the script. I’m almost finished with it.”

Bean shot out the next question from his
arsenal. “And why did you never tell us you were Winter Wells?”

“No one knew about me, my pen name, except my
mother and
Austin
’s
parents. I write for myself so the fact my books have been published doesn’t
mean a whole lot to me. I never wanted to be in the spotlight. I like being
inconspicuous. Being famous, recognizable, does not appeal to me.
Hollywood
was never my thing, it was
Austin
’s.”

Jewel smiled. “You know we are all stupid. We
should have guessed you were a writer. And the pen name you use it is obvious.
Winter Wells.” She laughed. “Maybe it was too obvious.”

Claudia and Bean nodded in agreement before
Claudia looked at me with speculation. “Winter, we have all seen Cayden Cain so
you do know what we are thinking, don’t you?”

“I know how much he looks like
Austin
,” I confessed. After all, there would
be no hiding that fact from them.

“Is he why you consented to work on the script?”
Claudia asked quietly.

Jewel giggled. “She did not even know who he was
until a few weeks ago. Winter had never heard of Cayden Cain or seen him
before.”

Bean looked confused and stopped mid-reach for
the sugar cookies that were on the coffee table. “What?” Bean asked.

“I know,” Jewel replied, rolling her eyes.

“Cayden isn’t the reason I’m back in
New York
, nor is he the
reason I consented to work on the script. Jewel is telling you the truth. I did
not know who Cayden Cain was.”

Bean shot out his next question without
hesitation. “So are you really dating his brother
Chandler
?”

Claudia interjected, “
Chandler
is a handsome man.”

Jewel let out a low whistle. “Tell me,” she
replied. “I met him, and I can say I would let
Chandler
split my peach.”

“Nice, Jewel,” I said.

“What?” she returned with mock innocence while
batting her long lashes before she downed a cookie.

Bean just looked irritated. Claudia hid a smile
behind her hand.