After you, p.1
After You, page 1
AFTER YOU Copyright © 2022 T.M. Cromer
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN: 978-0-9965720-2-6 (EPUB)
ISBN: 978-1-956941-31-9 (PRINT)
Cover Design: Deranged Doctor Designs
Edits: Trusted Accomplice
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
To Tink: Mommy misses you. I wish I could’ve captured the spirit that is you, but one book alone wouldn’t be enough.
CONTENTS
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Part II
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Part III
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Part IV
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Epilogue
PART I
CHAPTER 1
She dove for a vacated seat at Gate 3.
The harried woman who’d gathered her case to leave said seat shot Annie Holt an irate glare. Offering a sickly grin, Annie slid in sideways and hugged the pet carrier closer to her chest. All she got for her troubles was a grunt when her computer bag connected with the passenger next to her. Okay, so she wasn’t making any friends today.
Seriously, what did the woman expect? A fight for space was happening here. Even this podunk airport resembled a sardine can during the Christmas season. Only another hour remained until her flight, but she’d be damned if she moved from this spot.
A scarcely audible whine rose from the carrier she set at her feet.
Tink, her sweet puppy.
Annie unzipped the opening enough to insert her hand. With a gentle rub of her fingers on Tink’s silky chest, she whispered, “Please don’t have to pee. I just snagged this spot.”
The poor wee thing eyed the throng of people hovering around them. An ant in the land of yetis. Now her anxiety made sense.
“I know, sweetie. Crowds make me nervous, too.”
Rebelling against the airline’s rules, Annie opened the top of the carrier.
Tink’s blond head popped out to survey their surroundings.
“Not long now, and we’ll be on our way to the Keys. You’re going to love the beach, you know.” In an attempt to soothe, Annie continued the stroking motion. “Those seagulls and sandpipers aren’t going to stand a chance. You’ll give them all what for.”
Tink turned her goofy canine grin on Annie.
“I can see that makes you happy, you beastie.”
The single sharp bark pulled a chuckle from her. Her fur baby never failed to make her laugh.
Pure love swelled inside her for the little blond fluff ball. They’d bonded over the last nine months—two lost souls in need of companionship. Her fuzzy soulmate. The only soulmate Annie was likely to have, if her history was any indication.
Lifting the soft-sided cage, she dropped a kiss on Tink’s black-tipped nose, and in return, Tink’s abnormally long tongue swiped her chin and ended on her mouth. Annie giggled and rubbed the spot with her shirtsleeve.
Right when she would’ve mock-scolded her pup about trying to slip her tongue, a tingling started at the base of her spine.
She was being watched.
Off to one side, resting his shoulder against a pillar and observing their interaction, was a lone man. The vast expanse of his chest was emphasized by his arms crossed in front. His pose screamed casual.
He was in no way casual.
His gaze sharpened, and he eased upright.
Caught by his intense spark, a shiver of awareness coursed through her.
His stare locked with hers.
Though travelers darted between them on their way to and fro, Annie was unable to break her odd connection with the stranger. Enthralled. It was the only possible excuse for her temporary paralysis.
Reality came crashing back in the form of a woman’s booted heel connecting with the top of her foot, and Annie let out a muffled yelp.
Sonofabitch, that hurt!
She jerked and fumbled Tink’s carrier, barely managing to keep it from falling off her lap.
Mindful of the increasing crowd, she placed her laptop and the soft-sided carrier between her feet, then scooted to the edge of the chair to hunch over, protecting her two most precious possessions. A shadow fell over her, and Annie threw her hands out, prepared to defend her pup from another accident-intent tourist.
But it was her newest obsession, and he squatted down on his haunches to point at Tink.
“What kind of dog is it?” His voice was deep with a whole heap of sin.
Every cell in Annie’s body woke up and took note.
His questioning eyes were green with flecks of amber and brown, framed by thick, dark lashes that shouldn’t have existed on someone with his light coloring. Tiny lines bracketed either side, indicating he smiled or laughed frequently.
Finding her wits was a chore, but she finally managed. “Morkie.” His frown prompted her explanation. “A mix of Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier.”
“Never heard of that breed.”
The barest hint of a Southern drawl did strange things to Annie’s internal wiring, short-circuiting the pathways between her brain and mouth. She gnawed her lip to contain a girly sigh.
“May I?” he asked with a half smile.
Hell, yes! Anything he wanted. Any way he wanted.
The tilt of his head and raised eyebrows suggested she’d taken too long to respond. What had he asked? Tink barked, and Annie was reminded of his initial question. She sighed, happy her bestie had her back.
“Of course.” Did she gush? God, she hoped not. At thirty-three, gushing like a schoolgirl was frowned upon in at least one hundred and ninety of the one hundred and ninety-five countries of the world.
Strong, capable hands reached for Tink, and Annie shoved aside a twinge of jealousy. He found the perfect spot behind the pup’s ear, and her ecstatic face had Annie longing to trade places with her.
Lucky dog.
The stranger had an artist’s hands. Long, graceful fingers with calloused tips.
He played guitar and fairly frequently.
Annie knew a musician’s hands when she saw them.
The man grinned up at her. A wide, generous smile with startlingly white teeth. The average Joe didn’t have a mouth like that. Nor did the average Joe inspire a woman to write sonnets and draw hearts in place of the dots over her I’s. But this man did.
Being in the presence of all that yumminess made her overly warm. That’s when recognition hit and heart failure threatened.
“You’re Quinn Jensen!”
All signs of friendliness abruptly disappeared. To see his open, animated face lose its heart-stopping smile was a crime against humanity. Fame had drawbacks. And as one of America’s leading action stars, he must be recognized nearly everywhere.
The teen sprawled beside her had his earbuds jammed inside his ear canals and was preoccupied with an app on his phone.
She released a relieved breath and grabbed Quinn’s forearm. A current of awareness shot through her.
This man would be important in her life.
He jerked as if she’d shocked him.
She damned well shocked herself, too.
His wary, cold expression screamed for her to back the hell off. She’d spooked him and not just with the thick current of energy that transferred between them, but more likely because he was a famous actor and some strange woman had latched onto him.
“I’m sorry. I…” How could she reassure him her blunder had been an accidental slip of the tongue? That she had no intention of announcing who he was to the whole airport?
A slight tip of hi s head acknowledged he got her message. Reaching into his duffle bag, he pulled a ball cap out and crammed it low on his head.
“I really am sorry,” she whispered.
He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he’d intended to say was cut off by the approach of a tall, leggy blonde.
CHAPTER 2
Crikey! The woman’s legs had to be longer than Annie’s entire body. Because her mother had always told her never to hate, she quelled that particular emotion. Instead, she settled on intense dislike.
Since the man was Quinn Jensen, the clinging vine had to be Hailey Newberry. They’d been linked as a couple for ages. As he moved away with Hailey attached to his arm, octopus-style, the woman whispered something in his ear. Quinn glanced back and gave Annie a long look before turning to Hailey with a comment that caused her to smirk triumphantly.
Their whole exit scene made Annie feel about three inches tall. She shifted her attention to Tink, and the pup’s sympathetic expression made her downright irritable. Not for the first time, she wondered if the dog wasn’t a human trapped in a canine body. An empath, like her, but covered in fur.
After the abrupt departure of Quinn’s overpowering presence, she slowly counted to ten, sensing them move farther away, since she refused to look in their direction again. There was only so much humiliation a person could suffer.
To kill time and try her best not to appear pathetic, Annie pulled out her laptop and continued work on her newest client’s ancestry chart. Delving into the past was always a good distraction. Genealogy had been her anchor for as long as she could remember. Because it was her job, she didn’t have to feel guilty when she did a deep dive.
This time, however, her work couldn’t provide the distraction she needed, and her thoughts returned to Quinn Jensen again and again. To the feeling she’d had that they were somehow connected on a weird, cosmic level.
Quinn.
That man had some incredible genetics. Ugh! Why did she have to go there? Maybe she needed to get laid. During the last two years of her marriage, her only choices had been to turn to her battery-operated boyfriend or go without. Christ, that should’ve told her something was off in her relationship. Who goes without sex for two years running?
Apparently not Charlie!
He’d been getting his rocks off—only not with Annie.
She’d always been a glutton for punishment and had stupidly ignored the warning signs. Her convoluted thinking made her believe she could reconnect and fix their marriage. She’d been wrong. Again.
Speaking of being a glutton for punishment…
Giving into the temptation to peek again, Annie lifted her gaze to the first man to stir her juices in what was tantamount to forever. He sat in the front row at the terminal next to hers, chatting with Hailey.
What she wouldn’t give for one night with him!
Annie snorted. Half the women on the planet had probably thought the same thing.
Quinn chose that precise moment to look up. Whatever he saw—most likely her undeniable lust—caused him to pause mid-conversation. In spite of an embarrassed flush, no doubt making her appear like a boiled lobster, she wasn’t able to break eye contact.
It seemed he couldn’t, either.
For the longest moment, their gazes remained locked. There was a wealth of unspoken thoughts hidden behind the fact they were strangers and the politeness attached to it. If he’d been single, would he have approached her for her number? Probably not. He didn’t seem the type, and he had his fame to consider. Would the average woman want the man or the celebrity?
For Annie, the answer was simple. She wanted the man. The status attached to him held no appeal.
Hailey put a stop to their staring contest when she snapped her fingers in front of his face.
Rude!
Quinn must have thought so too, based on the irritated look he gave her.
Kick that bitch to the curb, Annie mentally projected.
A dark frown formed, and he cast one last quizzical glance in her direction.
Prodded to wickedness by the devil on her shoulder, she grinned and winked.
Quinn’s mouth fell open.
Why the hell she’d done that was beyond her. But damned if it wasn’t funny. It took every ounce of willpower not to laugh aloud. Turning to check on Tink, she noted the look of approval. When Tink offered up a happy bark, Annie chuckled.
A quick check of her watch showed she still had roughly a half hour until boarding. Enough time to delve into a few online resources before they would announce her flight. Clicking open her three favorite websites, she struck a gold mine of information. Finding records for this particular client was going to be a piece of cake.
In the midst of creating a spreadsheet, an icy blast hit her. The hair on the nape of Annie’s neck stood at attention, and everything within her stilled. Whipping her head up, it became apparent why the warning hit so fast and furiously. Dark-gray auras encapsulated a good ninety percent of the passengers around her.
Mouth desert dry, she surged to her feet, barely catching her laptop before it impacted the floor. She spun in a slow circle, trying to determine the threat, to see if something inside the building would capture her attention.
Nothing.
Another flash of premonition came and went.
Time was of the essence.
After tucking her laptop in her bag, she swung it over her shoulder and clutched the pet carrier to her chest. A third chill—this one of epic proportions—slammed into her, jerking her body.
A picture of the imminent disaster flashed in her mind.
“Run! Run!” She backed away, furiously working the zipper on Tink’s carrier and continuing to scream. “Get away from these gates!”
Full-on panic hit, and she could scarcely inhale enough air to speak again.
The strangers around her were all going to die if they remained where they were. Yet there they sat, staring at her like she was bat-shit crazy. Perhaps on a normal day she might be, but not today. Right now, she needed to get everyone away from the oncoming danger.
Her gaze shot to Quinn.
“Move! Now!” she yelled at him.
Maybe it was the fact he’d seen her before she flipped out—when she’d been somewhat reserved—but he jumped up. He took three steps forward, only halting when two security agents rushed to restrain her.
“You have to move,” she stressed to him, ignoring the manhandling agents. “It’s going to crash into these gates.”
She cast a desperate glance at Hailey, hoping to find support there. The other woman was frozen in place, staring at Annie like she was an escapee from an asylum for the criminally insane.
Frustration for their inaction choked her as rough hands grabbed either arm and the security staff attempted to usher her away. Annie fought like a madwoman. Tugging, pulling, and straining like hell to break their grasp.
“No! No! You have to listen!”
Gates 3 and 4 would bear the brunt of the impact. A good portion of the passengers took her warning seriously enough to grab their items and distance themselves from the terminal. Others sat, watching her like she was brainsick.
“Goddammit! Why won’t you people listen? Please… please!”
As security became more aggressive, so did her dog. Not wanting to hurt Tink, who was snarling and snapping like she was rabid, Annie stopped fighting. As they led her away, she glanced back one last time.
