Page 4 of Hiding Hollywood

His eyes never strayed from her face. That was a first. But, then again, she’d never been in police custody for driving a stolen car. It was apparently anoffday.

“You have to believe me when I say this entire thing is a terrible mix-up.” Addie stuck her bottom lip out in a playful pout. She didn’t care about her cover or Brian. Every day that summer when she was fifteen, she’d fantasized about Cameron looking at her like a real woman and not a flat-chested teenager.

That stubborn, sexy glare didn’t waiver. “I believe you, Addie. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t.”

She blinked. “Oh, that’s good.” More than the blue uniform had done. “If you believe me, why won’t you let me go?”

“It’s not my jurisdiction to decide. I’m here as a favor to Trevor.” He walked to the side of the truck. “He didn’t think you wanted to spend two weeks in jail. Or at least until he can get a lawyer to sort this out.”

So, it wasn’t some random, twisted joke that the universe decided to pull. Her brother had asked him to come. “I didn’t realize the two of you had stayed in touch.”

Cameron waited as he held open the passenger door. “I didn’t think you’d remember me.”

Remember him? Now that he stood before her, she remembered everything, down to the tribal-looking tattoo she assumed still crawled up the side of his ribcage. She took a deep breath, pulling her façade around her tight. “I recognized your name.” And eyes. Lips. Shoulders. Butt. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know if you knew who I was or if it was a coincidence.”

He pulled the door fully open and impatiently motioned her inside. “Trevor asked me to get you out. Make sure you have somewhere safe to stay until your hearing. Nothing else.”

Stay with Cameron? No. Way. She needed to focus on her job and how to get back to California as soon as possible. Her agenda didn’t have room for a hunky cop that had played center stage in every innocent teenage fantasy.

“Thank you for coming.” She climbed into the truck. “I’ll get Trevor to cover the hotel bill if you can drive me to one.” Clarifying herself, she added, “A nice hotel. At least four stars. Near a Starbucks. A Starbucks in the lobby is ideal.” She crossed her legs and peered at him from underneath her lashes. “Scratch that. I’d like a Starbucks first. Hotel second.”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “The closest Starbucks to Statem is an hour away.” He pointed to the floor. “There’s your purse. I’ll stop at a gas station for some coffee if we pass one.” He slammed the door.

Her body froze. It wasn’t working. Men didn’t treat her like this anymore. Invisible. Maybe the time she’d spent in the slammer changed her. She flipped down the visor.

No mirror.

“How old is this truck?” She asked when he climbed into the driver’s side.

“As old as you are.”

“Twenty-seven?” She fished a makeup compact from her purse. “I hope I look a little better for my age.”

A small snort escaped from her driver. “Nice try. You’re thirty.” He pulled on the highway. “Or we could round-up to thirty-one since your birthday is next month.”

The compact slipped in her hands, but she caught it. “Let’s not.” Most men would’ve told her that she looked better than the truck. Feed her a line to try to get somewhere. She wouldn’t hold out much hope that Cameron held a playful bone in his body with the cranky attitude that seemed like a permanent addition to his personality.

Oh well for the Southern gentlemen she’d read about. She wouldn’t be here long. Two weeks? Not a chance. As soon as she got Brian on the phone, she’d have this whole mess cleared up.

That made keeping up her pretense even more critical. If Cameron didn't feel the need to compliment her looking this way, he wouldn’t be interested in theotherAddie. The side of her she kept locked tight in the corner where numbers and computer code assaulted her brain most of the night.

The other Addie only came out at night. Alone. And mostly wearing sweatpants that her boyfriend hated. Perfectly happy with having lived almost thirty-one years.

Brian didn’t need to know that, but at this rate, she might never care what Brian thought about her ever again. His subtle ways of putting her down when she looked less than perfect had wormed their way into her subconscious thoughts full time.

She took a deep, centering breath and studying Cameron’s profile as he drove precisely the speed limit and used his signal for every turn. They couldn’t have been more opposite. Squeaky clean versus skeletons in the closet. Under the bed. Banging down her door and looking for revenge if those skeletons found out where she lived.

“Did you play football in college?”

He shifted in his seat, resting one arm on his door. “No. Decided to stay home and go to work. Trevor said you went to college. Full ride.”

She shrugged, not wanting to get into those details. Her degree didn’t line up with everything else she tried to portray.

“Tell me why your boyfriend would report his car stolen.”

Addie gave up, temporarily, on flirting with Deputy Hottie. But that didn’t mean she’d let her guard down.

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? He loaned it to me to visit a friend in Florida for New Year’s Eve. And here I am.” She exhaled. “With you.”

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