Unravelled (Revealed #2) (8 page)

As he glared at me I felt another part of my heart crumble away. At this rate there would be nothing left of it by the end of this car journey. His spiteful words felt like they had stabbed me in the chest and I dragged in a ragged breath as pain lanced through me, only just managing to hold myself together. ‘But I didn’t kiss her. You want to know why? Because I love you. You, Allie,’ he growled. ‘I could never do that to you, and on top of that, I would never want to do that.’

As reassuring as his words were no doubt meant to be, my mind just kept replaying his earlier phrase. And yeah, she looked fucking hot so it would have been easy to give in. I doubt I’d ever looked ‘fucking hot’ in my entire life. Not to the standard that Savannah did, anyway. How long would it be until he did give in and kiss her?

I felt hot bile rise in my throat and had to swallow hard to avoid throwing up in the back of his posh car. This was suddenly all waaay too much for my poor jet-lagged brain. His spiteful words had been the last straw. A dry sob broke from my throat as my face finally crumpled and I buried it in my hands, determined not to cry, but not knowing how to avoid it as I felt tears building.

‘Christ. Please don’t cry,’ Sean begged, his voice softer and sounding almost as shattered as I felt. ‘I’m sorry. I’m freaking out and some of that came out wrong … Look, I know how this must seem, but let me try and explain.’

Lifting my head, I stared at him and then shook my head sadly. ‘Actually, I’d rather not hear it, Sean. Besides, these pictures make it all very clear,’ I stated decisively, making an on-the-spot decision to save my heart while I still had a vague chance to salvage at least a small portion of it.

‘I knew deep down that trying to date an actor would crash and burn, I just didn’t realise it would happen so quickly,’ I muttered with a grimace. ‘I’ve made plans to meet Cait. I’ll stay with her.’

‘What? No, you can’t do that!’ Sean spluttered as I rummaged through my bag. Grabbing my phone I loaded an email from her letting me know the name of her hostel and leant towards the driver, lowering the privacy screen until I saw David glance at me questioningly. ‘Can you take me to LA Digs Hostel please? It’s on Hollywood Boulevard,’ I asked as I felt panic and hysteria build in my stomach.

‘Allie. Please,’ Sean said in a near desperate tone, one of his hands reaching out for me.

‘Don’t touch me!’ I shrieked, terrified that if I felt the reassuring warmth of his skin on mine that I would cave and fall into his arms.

‘Don’t say that. I have to touch you, Allie, you’re mine.’ Is that why he touched her too? Was she his as well? The thought sickened me to my core. His voice lacked its usual conviction, his concern obvious in the way his hand hesitated in the space between us, desperately seeking my permission. But he wouldn’t be getting it, not today. Not ever, if he really was involved with that woman.

‘Not any more I’m not.’

‘Allie, no! You don’t mean that …’ His voice was choked, eyes wide with panic, but I’d had enough. This was all too much. The car pulled to a stop in some traffic and suddenly I couldn’t bear to stay in the enclosed space with Sean for another second, so I decided to grab the opportunity the crowded downtown roads presented me with. In other words, I planned to high tail it out of there.

‘I do. I might not be some famous superstar, but I’m worth more than being your secret bit on the side. Besides, I’m clearly too regular and boring to date you and your “fucking hot” fiancée. Good luck with the new series.’

And with that I was gone. Grabbing the door handle I pushed it open and slid out into the road, somehow managing to rip the boot open and grab my suitcase before Sean had followed me. Leaving the boot open I dashed onto the sidewalk dragging my case carelessly behind me and lost myself in the crowds almost immediately. I had no idea where I was, but I didn’t care. Hearing Sean yelling my name somewhere behind me, I hunkered my shoulders down to hide myself as I zigzagged through the bustling crowd, but I didn’t glance back, not even as the first hot tears finally escaped my eyes and began to slide silently down my cheeks.

Chapter Six

Sean

There was a split second where I simply sat there, staring at the open door with my jaw hanging loose in shock. Then I was jolted from my stupor by David in the front seat swivelling to look at me with a stunned expression on his face. The last twenty minutes quite apparently more than made up for my subsequent lack of drama as his employer.

Ignoring him, I burst from my seat as if a rocket had been shoved up my arse, then launched myself through the open door. Cursing as the bright sunshine temporarily blinded me, I squinted and made a haphazard dash in towards the pavement.

‘Allie!’ Shading my eyes, I winced at the penetrating light and frantically looked in both directions, trying to catch a glimpse of her long, blonde hair. It was just my luck we had stopped in a main shopping area, so the bloody pavements were chock-a-block with sodding people.

Pushing through the crowd for a few seconds I stood in the midst of the jostle and yelled her name again, spinning in all directions. There was no sign of her.

‘Fuck.’ Cursing under my breath, I strode back towards the car and slammed the boot shut before rounding back to my door. Placing my foot on the floor of the car I stood up and rested a hand on the roof, scanning the crowd from my slightly higher vantage point. Ripping my phone from my pocket I dialled her number and shoved the phone to my ear, waiting impatiently for it to connect. It rang and my heart soared. Please answer, my gorgeous girl. My silent plea was to no avail though, because my call continued to ring until it clicked to answerphone.

Disconnecting, I banged my hand on the roof. ‘Shit!’ There was still no sign of Allie, she wasn’t answering her phone, and I was starting to draw the attention of quite a few people in the crowd. Wasn’t this just fucking perfect?

‘Sir?’ Blinking away from my search I scowled down and saw David, now standing beside the car looking up at me and flashing wary glances at the gathering crowd.

‘Perhaps you should get in the car, sir. I can park up and then you can try and find her? It’s just that we’re causing a bit of a blockage.’

It was only after he spoke that I vaguely noticed the honking of car horns behind us and looked over my shoulder. David was being polite when he said we were causing a ‘bit of a blockage’, because behind us there was a substantial line of cars and several irritated drivers standing beside their vehicles.

Acceptance fell on me like a heavy weight – Allie was majorly pissed off with me and clearly didn’t want to be found. She had successfully melted into the crowd, and realistically no amount of aimless wandering by me was going to find her. ‘No, leave her to cool down. Let’s go,’ I murmured, dropping down and stepping back inside the car before slamming the door as hard as I could. The fierce tug and heavy thunk gave me some satisfaction, but not nearly enough to dissipate the agitated energy bubbling up inside of me.

Fuck. I could barely think straight. My breathing was so loud and ragged it was as if I’d just run a marathon. As the car pulled forward I caught sight of David throwing me several concerned glances in the rear view mirror.

What a total shit storm. I couldn’t believe Allie had run off like that. What the hell should I do? My phone was still gripped in my hand, so I dialled her number again, praying that she might answer this time. Again it rang, but just like last time the call went unanswered and I tossed it on the seat beside me with a grunt. Running a hand across my face, I found it drenched and slippery and wiped it on my jean-clad thigh with a curse.

I cast my eyes down towards the abandoned newspaper and scowled before reaching across and grabbing it. Ripping my fingers violently through the pictures of myself and Savannah, I screwed it up and threw it to the floor in disgust, then watched with growing concern as my hand visibly trembled in front of me.

Pounding heart, sweaty skin, edgy nerves, shaking hands … If I wasn’t careful I was going to have a panic attack right in front of David. Fuck. He knew I could be temperamental, but I’d rather avoid him seeing that particular spectacle. Pulling in several breaths through my nose I tried to lower my stress levels. Jesus, I really needed to try and expel some of this energy before it totally overwhelmed me.

Allie was gone. God knows how she would find her way around. Fuck. The thought of her alone, upset, and lost in an unfamiliar city was too much to bear and as the car began to pull forward I felt the wall of control within me crumble. Dropping to my knees on the floor I hammered my fist onto the opposite seat with a frustrated snarl. It felt good, freeing, and then before I even realised it I was repeatedly smashing my hand down onto the unresponsive leather as a loud yell roared from my lungs.

Over and over I hit the seat, until my chest was screaming at me to stop and I was dripping with yet more sweat. Flopping forward, I rested my head down, my body practically curled into the foetal position as I tried to pull some air back into my protesting lungs.

Finally mustering enough energy to sit up on my haunches I blinked several times, feeling surprisingly calm after the tirade. Examining the seat for damage I saw none, a sweat patch from where I had rested my head the only evidence of my unprovoked attack. Giving it a vague wipe I pushed myself back into my chair, fastened my seatbelt, and raised my eyes to look forward.

‘I apologise, David,’ I murmured, my voice scratchy and sore after yelling. I wondered what the hell he must be thinking after witnessing my mini-breakdown, but seeing me thrashing the hell out of a seat was probably better than seeing me in a full on anxiety attack.

‘No apology needed, sir,’ he replied politely. ‘How can I help?’

Sighing heavily, I kept my eyes pinned to the pavements passing by outside, just on the off chance I might spot her. ‘I’m not sure you can, I’ve well and truly fucked up this time.’

‘Perhaps I could take you to the hostel she mentioned, sir?’

My gaze snapped away from the crowds and focused on David’s in the mirror. That was it. I could go there and wait for her, talk to her and try to explain. It was the prefect plan … except for one minor detail. I was Sean Phillips, and I tended to draw a crowd whenever I went out around town over here. Sometimes being famous was a complete pain in the arse. I glanced down at my jeans and shirt. I might only be dressed in a smart casual outfit, but I had no hat with me to even vaguely help hide my identity. It would be just my luck to get recognised and prompt some bullshit story in the papers.

Fuck. This situation seemed utterly hopeless. Scowling, I dropped my head forward in defeat and sighed heavily.

‘No. You better take me back to the house.’

Back to the house, back to my all-star American life, and back to Savannah.

Chapter Seven

Cait

What a bloody waste of time the day had been. I think the run in with Jack Felton first thing had rendered my brain incapable of even simple conversation, because all of my interviews at the job agencies so far had flopped. Big time.

I briefly tried to recall the encounter with him again. Pah, who was I kidding? I didn’t need to try and remember it – it had been on my mind constantly since I’d walked away from him. I’d even accidentally called one of the job agency guys Jack by mistake when his name was Peter, which had gained me a disapproving frown and must have looked completely unprofessional.

Yeah, all in all, persevering with my job hunt after the Jack interlude hadn’t been one of my better ideas. Being stubborn though, I hadn’t wanted to accept that a man had left me as ruffled as I felt, so I’d tried to brush it aside and carry on as normal. Unfortunately, I had failed dismally. I’d be completely stunned if I even managed to get one job offer thrown my way after my pathetic performance today.

Groaning at the bizarre reaction he had caused in me, I closed my eyes and tried to get a grip on my senses, but it was no good. The way he’d looked, smelt, and felt as he’d gently cleaned the cut on my arm seemed to be imprinted on my brain for posterity.

The whole occurrence was so unbelievable that it felt much like a dream now. Had it really happened? Opening my eyes, I glanced down at my elbow and saw the reddened skin and carefully applied plaster. So that was a yes. Biting my lip, I shook my head. Talk about surreal. Wandering towards some shade I leant back on a wall and pulled my water bottle from my bag for a much needed drink. The way I felt, I could do with vodka in this flask, not water, but I’d have to make do until I got through these final interviews and could get something stronger.

As much as I might not like to admit it, I was still decidedly shaken from it all. My heart rate hadn’t quite returned to normal either, and I was fairly sure it had absolutely nothing to do with the nerves from my job interviews and everything to do with a broad-shouldered, brown-haired man who now seemed more like a hallucination than a reality.

Thoughts of Jack vanished for a second as I caught a glimpse of a woman dashing down the pavement opposite. Gosh, for a moment there she looked just like Allie, except her hair had been a touch longer. Frowning, I craned my neck to try and see her again, but she’d been swallowed up by the bustling crowds. Glancing at my watch, I shook my head. It couldn’t have been her; I was fairly sure Allie wasn’t even due to land for another hour yet. Besides, Sean was picking her up. God, my brain really was frazzled if I was conjuring up images of my best friend out of thin air.

I felt a small twinge of disappointment that it hadn’t been her, because while my protective nature was trying to persuade me to keep my run-in with Jack to myself, I was also quite tempted to unload the details of my encounter onto someone, and my best friend would have been the perfect target.

Leaning back on the wall again I stared up above the crowds and buildings to the blue sky and lightly played with the elastic band on my wrist. Actually, all things considered, keeping this to myself was probably for the best. Feeling so nonplussed because of a man was not a feeling I liked, or usually tolerated, but if I told Allie about my literal run-in with Jack Felton it would end up with her getting waaay overexcited, and trying to persuade me that it was time to get back on the dating scene. Which it wasn’t. I knew she had my best interests at heart when she tried to encourage me to meet someone, but I couldn’t do it. Shuddering, I rubbed at the goose pimples suddenly peppering my arms and took a long calming breath.