Oceans Apart (Ocean Dreams Book 1) (34 page)

“Cam, I love you. I always have and always will,” she confessed as she sobbed through her tears.

“I know, Nashville. I know.”

“I just needed to…to…” Her breathing hitched as she tried to explain herself. “I needed to do it by myself.”

Cam smiled into her hair and he kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, Nashville. Mum explained to me why I needed to give you time. I wanted to come and find you straight away, and when she told me to give you space and time, it almost killed me.”

“I’m so sorry, Cam.”

“No. Don’t be. I just trained harder and focused on me. I searched deep inside to find exactly what I needed to do to achieve the love of the sweetest and strongest woman I have ever known. I had to make sure I was worthy enough to win your love again.”

He pushed Annie back from him so he could look into her eyes and see into the soul of his Angel. He smoothed her hair away from her face, wiped the silent tears away that had rolled onto her cheeks and then held her face in his strong hands.

“I never, not in a million years, thought I would fall so wholly and completely in love again. You know I was broken and against ever feeling a woman’s love. But Annie, your love showed me I was capable of giving and receiving such a great gift. I knew waiting for you would be worth it in the end. I never gave up hope that one day I would have you here in my arms again.”

Annie smiled up at her knight in shining armor, the tears glistening on her face. She had a lump in her throat and couldn’t speak; so placing her hands on his face, she drew him to her and kissed him with all the love in her heart. The soft but intense connection between the pair was broken after a few moments when Cam pressed his forehead to hers.

“I love you, Annie.”

“I love you too, Cameron.”

It was the first time she had ever called him Cameron and it made him laugh aloud. No one ever called him that but his mother, but it sounded a lot cuter coming from her lips. He put his arm around her and directed them back toward the hotel.

“Time for bed, Nashville,” he said with that sexy, cocky grin of his.

“Absolutely,” she replied. ‘But I don’t want to put you off your game. You’ve been surfing so well this week.”

“Babe, if sleeping in the same bed as you loses me the title, then I didn’t deserve it in the first place. But I can guarantee it will only help my performance…as long as I get an early night.” He chuckled light-heartedly.

“Well, let’s get you to bed then, Mr. Hart.”

“I’m right behind you, Nashville.”

“You know it feels really disconcerting being driven around without being able to see where you’re going.”

Annie heard Cam laugh at her statement. “And I bet I look a darn sight in this blindfold. People probably think you’ve kidnapped me and are taking me away to your secret hideout.”

“Aww, Nashville. You do have a wicked imagination, don’t ya, babe?” Cam said as he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. He held onto her hand tightly. There was no way this woman would ever have the chance to leave him again.

Cam looked over at his Angel of Nashville. Just the sight of her made his heart burst with all the love he felt for her. He smiled as he looked back at the road in front of him. The past few months since they had become a couple again had been fast, furious, and a hell of a lot of fun. Cam was on track to be Tour Champion for the year after winning in Fiji helped to cement his place at the top of the leaderboard. Annie had packed up and moved permanently to Australia. She continued to work for the Pro Tour and would travel with Cam to the events. His family had been over the moon with happiness when they returned with the good news of being together again. Annie was even more thrilled when Cam had suggested they make their home in Kings Cove rather than in Sydney. She had become so close to his family. Cam knew Annie had never known the true love of a family, and wanted to make sure she knew she was now part of his. He would do anything to make sure his Angel of Nashville was happy for the rest of her life.

He was nearly at the destination. The blood was starting to flow through his veins faster and the adrenaline was kicking in too. He had never been this eager or nervous, not even in a tour final when the number one spot was his for the taking.

“Eww! Why is your hand all sweaty?” Annie piped up. He took his hand out of hers and wiped it on his shorts.

Not wanting to give away anything, he laughed it off. “It's you, Nashville. It's the way my body reacts to yours. It's the way you get under my skin and make my temperature skyrocket. It's the way you consume me. I can't control the way my body reacts to simply being in your proximity. You set me on fire.”

Annie’s mouth dropped open as she took in a sharp breath and then let out a riotous laugh. She couldn’t control it. Her whole body was shaking with fits of laughter and her smile spread so wide across her face, it highlighted her gorgeous cheeks.

She slowed her giggles down and spoke, “You crack me up.”

“I meant every single word of it, babe.” Cam paused. “Just don’t expect me to say it in public.”

“Aww,” Annie said as she stuck her bottom lip out in a cute pout.

Cam looked at her and smiled. “Geez, Nashville, you make me so bloody happy.”

Annie reached out her arm and patted his leg. “You make me very happy too, sweetheart.”

He grinned. “That’s my job.”

“And you do it so well.”

Hoping to throw Annie off kilter as to where he was taking her, Cam had driven around the streets of Kings Cove twice and was back on the road to his house.

“How much longer, sweetie?” Annie questioned Cam. “I’m a little nervous but at the same time extremely turned on.”

Cam raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Mm hmm.” Annie grinned before her top teeth bit down hard on her bottom lip.

“Maybe we should keep this blindfold…for later.” Cam reached out to Annie’s temple and ran his thumb across the silky black material.

“I think that is a fine idea.” Annie took his hand and brought it down to meet the soft touch of her lips. She kissed it so gently. The warmth of her breath flamed the temperature of his skin, which only made his heart beat faster than it already was.

Cam slowed to a stop at the end of his driveway and turned the engine off. “Wait here,” he instructed Annie. Cam got out the car and shut the door before leaning against it, closing his eyes, and taking a few deep breaths to calm down. She was either going to love his surprise or freak out at it. Either way, Cam had to do this.

Moving around the car, he opened Annie’s door, took her hand so she could get out without stumbling, and closed the door.

“Now what?”

“Time to take you for a little walk, sweetheart.”

“I’m not sure.” Annie hesitated. “What if I trip and fall?”

“Nashville, do you trust me?”

She smiled. “Yes. Absolutely.”

“I’ll be right here beside you. I’m not going anywhere. I promise I won’t let you fall.”

Annie could tell from the gravity of his voice that he meant every word of it. He would be beside her so she had nothing to fear. If she was going to fall, she knew deep in her heart that Cam would be there to catch her. She grasped Cam’s hand a little tighter and looked in the direction of where she thought his face would be. “Let’s go.”

Cam slowly led her down a gravelly path that was bordered with overgrown native shrubs. The path wound around to the side of his house. Due to all of their travelling and moving back to Kings Cove, Cam hadn’t shown it to Annie before, so he knew it would be unfamiliar. He held Annie close when stray branches from scrubby bushes and trees were poking out. He directed her to how many steps she needed to take before reaching a set of stone steps leading down to the beach. When they reached the sand, Cam asked her to lift her feet one at a time as he removed her flip-flops for her.

“Such a gallant act. I really do have my own knight in shining armor,” she said aloud and to no one in particular. Cam just chuckled as he shook his head. No one had ever called him that before, but he would indeed always be there to rescue her if she ever needed it.

“Are you okay?” Annie nodded. Biting her bottom lip, the anticipation, and excitement grew. Whatever surprise Cam had for her, the entire journey to get to it had been a lot of fun.

Untying the blindfold, Cam slowly let it fall away and pulled it toward him as Annie’s eyes adjusted to the natural light again. When she finally saw what was before her, Annie gasped with surprise and her hands quickly covered her mouth.

Making a path from the stone steps through the sand were dozens of clear glass cylindrical hurricane lamps. Nestled in a little sand, each had a solid white candle flickering away inside. Cam took one of Annie’s hands in his and led her between the path of the lamps and toward a beautiful beach oasis. Set up before them was a wooden platform, bordered on each side by a frame hung with long, flowing, white chiffon. Each post had the chiffon delicately wrapped around it while lengths dropped from the beams above. The soft material floated gently in the evening breeze. Lengths of tiny solar fairy lights hung between the frames, illuminating the romantic stage set before them.

Cam pulled Annie up onto the platform and motioned for her to settle herself amongst the numerous soft cushions of varying sizes. Annie sat down and made herself comfortable. She smoothed out her strapless floral print dress and smiled up at her man. It wasn’t until now that she noticed he was actually wearing a short-sleeved white shirt rather than a t-shirt and that his shorts weren’t his normal boardies but a charcoal grey pair of cargo shorts. Annie smiled. She loved that he had made an effort to impress her.

Next to the platform was an ice chest Cam had begun to unpack. Taking out two champagne glasses, a bowl of what looked to be dark chocolate mousse, and lastly, some strawberries and an accompanying bowl of whipped cream. Annie smiled up at Cam who flashed a wicked grin back at her. Annie couldn’t help but giggle at him. He was just so sweet and loving; however, every now and then he would show his naughty streak. Not that she minded. His naughty streak and his cockiness were a couple of his traits she loved the most. They kept Annie on her toes and always ready for his next intrigue.

Cam popped the cork out of the champagne bottle and filled both glasses. Handing Annie a glass of bubbly liquid, Cam sat beside his gorgeous woman. He still couldn’t believe she was back in his arms after what seemed like a lifetime apart. He would never let separation come between the two of them again. He would keep his Nashville Angel by his side whenever he could.

Annie smiled lovingly at him, her eyes shining in the evening sun. “So what shall we toast to?”

“Let’s toast to us.”

“Us? Just us?” Annie gave Cam a questioning look.

“Just us. Always.” Cam grinned broadly at Annie as he clinked his glass with hers, leaned in, and claimed her lips in a sensuous and lingering kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips and slowly danced with hers. Cam, in no hurry, plundered her mouth, taking all he could. He broke the kiss with a few gentle touches of his lips on her now swollen lips. Pulling apart, the lovers smiled at each other and both drank from their glasses. Cam put his down, picked up a strawberry, and dipped it in the chocolate mousse. He raised his eyebrows at Annie who giggled like a schoolgirl when he offered it to her. Her lips cocooned the ripe fruit as she sucked the chocolate from it, taking her time to make sure her tongue found every bit of the sweet treat before she bit down on the berry, leaving the green stalk wedged between Cam’s fingers.

“Mmm, that was divine,” Annie said as she licked her lips.

“It was fucking hot to watch, too,” Cam replied with that naughty look creeping back into his eyes.

“Well, I think strawberries will be making future appearances in our romantic evenings.”

“Hell yeah, they will.” Cam tossed the stalk into the ice chest and pulled Annie up and into his lap. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he inhaled the scent from her hair as he kissed the top of her head, making Annie snuggle in closer to him and lay her head on his shoulder. He could tell she had a smile on her face, making him grin with satisfaction. They sat in silence and watched the waves crash onto the beach and then roll away. The horizon was painted in shades of pink, purple, and orange as the sun set behind them in the west. Cam couldn’t have imagined a more perfect moment.

“Annie?”

“Hmmm.”

“Are you happy?”

“Very,” she replied without hesitation.

“Good.” Cam took a quick breath. “I want you to always be happy.”

Annie placed a kiss on the arm she was leaning against. “As long as I have you, I will be.”

Cam smiled and tightened his arms around her and whispered into her ear softly, “Nashville, you are my world and as long as you are in it, I will be a happy man.” Cam gulped down a calming breath and shifted Annie so he was looking into her sparkling brown eyes. “So I was hoping you would make me happy for the rest of our lives and marry me.”

From out of his pocket, Cam pulled a small black velvet box and opened it for Annie. Embedded in the soft velvet was a white gold diamond ring. The exquisite diamond was set in a claw while smaller diamonds ran down the shoulder of the ring. Annie’s top teeth bit down on her bottom lip, trying to control the tremble that had begun. He could feel her breathing quicken by the rise and fall of her chest and he was sure her heart was going to explode with the rapid rate it was beating. Despite having her lip in a vice-like grip, she was still smiling, but Cam was growing edgy for an answer.