Preston (Members From Money Book 28)

by Katie Dowe

  Chapter 8

  “You don't have to take care of me, Annie,” Addison protested as her sister brought over the tray with the meal she'd prepared. “Shouldn’t you be going home to get some rest? You've been at the hospital since early this morning.”

  “And I know how you get when you're on a project,” Annmarie said firmly. “Besides, you've lost weight, which means that you aren't eating properly.” She took the laptop from Addie and put it on the table next to the sofa. It was April, almost two months since she'd gotten back home.

  “We're quite a pair aren’t we?” Addison murmured as she pulled the tray to her. “Do you think we'll ever get married?”

  “I was close remember?” Annmarie said lightly as she dug into her salad.

  “I'm sorry honey,” Addison reached out and clasped her sister’s hands briefly. Annmarie had been engaged to be married when her fiancé had died in a car accident two weeks before the wedding. He'd been an intern at the hospital where she worked. It had been three years now but she was still grieving the loss.

  “I'm getting better.” She looked at her sister with a smile. “There's still hope for you honey. You're a star. A famous writer and incredibly beautiful but very picky.”

  “So picky that I fell in love with a man that I'll never see again.” Addison played with the sweet and sour pork on her plate.

  “If it’s meant to be you'll see him again,” Annmarie said firmly.

  “I'll take your word for it.” They ate in companionable silence and as soon as they were finished Addison switched the television on to the news channel.

  “I'll clear up,” she told her sister as she started to pick up the plates. Suddenly a familiar voice sounded and she turned to look at the screen. The plates clattered to the ground as she stared at the man the reporter was interviewing. It was him!

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” her sister asked, springing to her feet.

  “It’s him.” She pointed towards the television in a daze.

  “Who?”

  “Cameron.”

  Annmarie grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

  “Preston, I understand that the prototype had to be recalled after the death of your brother. How do you feel about that?”

  “I had every intention of pulling it after the accident. Sinclair’s Automotive is committed to quality manufacturing and making sure that the vehicles we put out there are completely safe and road worthy.”

  “I know you're still grieving the death of your brother, but what do you say to the comments going around about him being reckless?”

  A smile lit his face as he looked into the camera. “I would use another word for it. And it’s called living life to the fullest. My brother died the way he lived, going out in a blaze and I for one will never condemn him for living that way.”

  “Another question if you please Preston; rumor has it that you're on the verge of being engaged to the lovely Clarice Huffington. Is there any truth to that?”

  “I don’t give much credence to rumors.”

  Annmarie turned the television off and looked at her sister. “I thought his name was Cameron? Honey, Sinclair’s Automobiles is one of the premiere car dealers in the world! How could you not know that the man you were seeing was Preston Sinclair?”

  “I knew his brother, Parker,” she said numbly. “His pictures were always in the papers and all over the internet. I met him at several functions and he was actually going out with one of the actresses from one of the scripts I wrote. I'd never seen his brother before.” She stepped back and bent down to scoop up the broken plate.

  “Let me do that,” Annmarie said gently as she stooped to take her sister’s hands and led her back to the sofa.

  “He lied to me,” she whispered, her fingers tight on her sister’s. “He told me his name was Cameron.”

  “And you told him your name was Addie Moore,” her sister reminded her gently.

  “He's engaged.”

  “He didn't confirm it.”

  “He's Preston Sinclair,” she said in wonder as she let go of her sister’s hands. She leaned back and suddenly the laughter bubbled up inside her and spilled out of her mouth.

  “Honey?” Annmarie looked at her in concern.

  “I'm sorry Annie,” she sputtered. “If I don’t laugh I'm going to end up crying.”

  “Well, now you know who he really is. You can consider giving him a call.”

  “No.” she said firmly. “It’s time to move on.”

  *****

  Preston looked around the room and forced himself to appear interested and not bored out of his skull. This was one of those instances that he missed his brother the most. Parker had always been the one to attend the promotional parties and functions and he'd been the one who would stay behind the scenes and work out the kinks of the company. He was never one for parties and that hadn't changed. He was now forced to go along because he'd become not only the CEO of the company, but also the face of the company.

  He sipped his champagne as he continued to look around the room. Clarice and his mother had gone to do the rounds and speak to some actors and producers in a kind of meet and greet. His company was one of the major sponsors of the new television series that was being shown on all the major networks and he was required to be there. He glanced at his watch discreetly and wondered how soon before he could take his leave. He looked up and for a moment he thought he was imagining things. The woman in his line of vision was wearing a shimmering blue-grey dress that molded her slim figure to perfection. Her hair, the same thick dark hair that he'd run his fingers through over and over again, was swept back on one side and held in place with a jeweled clip. She was on the arm of a tall African American man with some white at his hairlines. He looked vaguely familiar but Preston only gave him a passing look as his gaze swung back to her. Addie! His heart slammed inside his chest. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind and at night he'd been thinking about her a lot. He started to make his way to her but he was stopped by one of the other sponsors who wanted to discuss something with him. By the time he looked up she was gone. He searched for her frantically but she was nowhere to be found. Neither she nor the man she had been with were around. He had to find her.

  *****

  “Are you sure you're okay, Addison?” Michael Fearon asked her anxiously as led her to her car. She'd suddenly started feeling queasy and dizzy and had had to cut the night short.

  “I'm fine Mike,” she smiled at the tall gentleman softly as she touched him on the arm. “Go back to the party.”

  “I was looking for an excuse to bail,” he said with a grin as he raised her hand to his lips. “Get better and give me a call.”

  “I will,” she started the engine and waved at him before pulling away. She looked at him in the mirror until his car pulled around. Michael was such a sweet man! He was one of the stars in the hit television series that the party was being held for and they had started seeing each other casually. It had been a few months since she'd seen Preston, she shook her head, not quite used to the fact that he was Preston Sinclair. It had been a month since she'd seen him on television and she'd read about the family voraciously since then, determined to learn all about him. She'd felt a weight of sadness about him losing his brother so tragically and realized that was why he'd looked so sad. “Oh Preston!” she whispered as she felt the tears starting again. “I wish you had talked to me.”

  *****

  “Darling, it's not even ten yet!” Clarice protested as he told her he wanted to leave.

  “I'm sorry.” He forced a smile. “I'm tired and I need to go home. You can stay and enjoy the rest of the party.”

  “It’s not going to be a party without you,” she pouted at him. Clarice Huffington was a strikingly beautiful woman with a tall willowy frame and long black hair and blue eyes. She was the daughter of a shipping magnate and had plans to be Mrs. Sinclair.

  “I insist,” he said firmly. He bent and kissed her on the
cheek lightly. “I'll call you in the morning.”

  “Make sure you do darling,” her dark blue eyes narrowed as she watched him leave. Maybe she should push him in the right direction!

  Preston waited for his vehicle impatiently all the while looking for her. He'd found out who she was. Addison Duncan, script writer extraordinaire. He'd seen a couple of the movies she'd written and knew she had a tremendous amount of talent. They'd both lied to each other, he thought grimly. He nodded to the valet and got in, letting the engine idle a little before he drove. He was going to have to find her. They need to talk, at least.

  *****

  “You're going away again?” Annmarie protested. “Girl, you just got back.”

  “I got back months ago and this time it's for work.” Addison stuffed her clothes into the bag and looked around the room for her purse. “Do I have everything? Michael's picking me up in thirty minutes.”

  “Are you getting sweet on Michael? He is a nice guy.”

  “He is, but he also understands that I'm not looking for a relationship right now.”

  “Honey, you should move on.”

  “Tell that to my heart,” Addison said wryly. “I got my new number and I'll call you with it as soon as I'm set up.”

  “How long before you're back?”

  “Just two weeks. I have to get a feel of the place in order to write this scene so two weeks will do it. Gamble is kindly lending me his cabin.”

  “Kind my ass,” Annmarie said with a snort. “That man knows he has something great coming to him so he's bending over backwards to make sure you have everything you need.”

  They both looked up at the knock on the door. “Ah, there is my ride,” Addison hugged her sister tightly. “I'll call you.”

  “You better.”

  *******

  “Darling, you're distracted. What’s wrong?” Clarice picked up her drink and sipped it appreciatively. It was Monday and he'd promised to call her yesterday morning and hadn't done so. She had taken matters into her own hands and called him and invited him out to lunch. He'd told her no at first but she'd used her powers of persuasion and he'd agreed.

  “Just work,” he told her briefly as he pushed his salad around. He hadn't slept well over the weekend and he felt as if he was coming down with something, which reminded him of how Addie had tended to him.

  “You work too hard.” She leaned forward. “I was thinking that we should go away, maybe to the Caribbean or to Italy or maybe Hawaii. Summer's almost here and we should take the opportunity to soak up some sun.”

  His green eyes wandered over her smooth white skin and the tight green silk blouse she was wearing. “You know I can't do that right now.” He picked up his glass of water and drank from it. “I just got back a couple of months ago.”

  “Look, I know you're still grieving darling and I get that you miss Parker and all that but you need to get on with your life. Parker would have wanted you to.”

  “When were you going to tell me?” he asked her quietly.

  “Tell you what?”

  “That you had a relationship with my brother?”

  Clarice pulled back in surprise.

  “You thought I wouldn't know?” he asked her sardonically. “How long did you last?”

  Clarice lowered her lashes for a moment as if trying to recoup. “It wasn't like that.”

  “So enlighten me. I'm all ears.”

  “He dumped me two weeks after—“ she stopped abruptly.

  “After he slept with you?” Preston’s mouth tilted in a slight smile. “Parker was always the love them and leave them type.”

  “He wasn't like you,” her eyes brightened as she looked at him.

  “Exactly,” his voice hardened. “I would never go into a relationship with a woman my brother has been with and the fact that you think that I would makes me realize that you don’t know me at all.”

  “What are you saying?” Clarice whispered.

  “It’s not working Clarice,” he told her, suddenly feeling weary.

  “You haven't tried and it’s not like Parker and I were really in a relationship!”

  “You mean it was just physical between you?”

  “Yes!” she grabbed onto that. “It was physical. What you and I have can become more than that.”

  “I'm sorry,” he told her quietly as he got to his feet. “I'm not interested.”

  *****

  “She has a sister, Annmarie Duncan, who is a nurse at Faith General Hospital. She's been a script writer for the past six years and rumor has it that she's been seeing Michael Fearon, the main star of the FBI thriller: ‘Serial Killers’.

  “You got a number for her?”

  “I have a number for her agent, Molly.”

  “Thank you. Just leave the file. I'll do the rest.”

  “She's not in town though.”

  “What?” Preston frowned at the short balding man.

  “Addison Duncan left town yesterday in order to finish the script she's writing for Gamble.”

  Preston frowned. “For how long?”

  “I believe two weeks.”

  “Do you know where?”

  “Not even her agent knows. Molly said that when Addison Duncan wants to work on her script she goes under. No phone, nothing until she's finished.”

  “What about her sister?”

  “I have a number for her. It’s in the file.”

  “Thank you,” Preston dismissed him.

  He leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes wearily. He'd gone home from the party and had thought about her for the entire night. He'd come to the conclusion that he was never going to get her out of his mind. That was the real reason he'd told Clarice that he couldn't see her again.

  *******

  “You don’t remember do you?” Paige asked her son quietly as he came into the living room. He was tired and cranky and he just wanted to go and pour himself a tall glass of scotch and hopefully try and get some sleep. He'd contemplated calling Addie's sister but he hadn't done so.

  “Remember what?” he looked at her puzzled.

  “Sit darling.” She patted the space next to her. The large bay windows were thrown wide open to let in the scent of roses blooming and an overhead fan spun lazily above them. It was cool in the evenings and his mother liked to get the outdoor scent in when she was having her after dinner drink. She nodded to the maid who came forward with a drink for him and waited until she'd left.

  “It’s the third of June, darling.”

  “What—” he closed his eyes as he remembered. “Parker’s birthday.”

  Paige drank some wine before speaking. “I've been trying hard not to dwell on it the entire day. Remember what he did last year?”

  “How could I forget?” Preston gulped his scotch and felt gratified at the burning in his throat. “He threw a party for himself and was his own stripper. When he jumped out of the cake box you almost had a heart attack.”

  Paige laughed softly at that. “That boy certainly knew how to keep us on our toes. He was always a child at heart.”

  “He never wanted to grow old. Did you know that?”

  “He said it to me once or twice but I knew he didn't.” Paige turned to look at Preston. “What really happened at the cabin?”

  “Why?”

  “Darling, you haven't been the same since you came back. At first I thought it was because of your brother but I'm beginning to think it's something else.”

  Preston stared down into his drink moodily and then looked up to meet her gaze. “I broke it off with Clarice.”

  “I rather thought you would. She wasn't the woman for you.”

  “I met someone at the cabin.”

  “Just as I thought. Who is she?”

  “Addison Duncan.”

  His mother’s brow furrowed. “I know that name. Why do I know that name?”

  “She wrote the script for ‘Love Unlikely’ and several others,” he supplied.

 
His mother’s eyes widened. “My goodness! Darling she is brilliant! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I didn't know it was her and I'm sure she did not know I was me either. We told each other different names. Well actually, hers was just shortened but I told her my name was Cameron Lakes.”

  “You used your middle name and my maiden name.”

  “I wanted to remain anonymous and I didn't expect that anyone else would be there.” He shrugged moodily. “I think she's seeing some guy from the series ‘Serial Killers’.”

  “When did you find out who she was?”

  “I saw her at the party with him and I asked the P.I. to find out about her.”

  “Have you contacted her?”

  “She isn't available. Apparently she's writing some script for the producer and she's off the grid. I can't reach her.”

  “Oh darling!” Paige reached out and touched his hand briefly. “You have to get in touch with her. She sounds like she's the one.”