Perfection Is Just an Illusion (Swimming Upstream #1) (15 page)

“Hello there, Miss.” He grinned, looking up at her friendly face. Anna remembered how dishevelled she must look. Her hair was pulled back and her face had been covered in a light dusting of makeup which she could only assume had mostly been wiped off by now. In her haste, she hadn’t had the time or the desire to touch it up. Besides, by the time she disembarked on the other side of the world she would only look worse anyway. “You’re very pretty, Miss.” He smiled sweetly. He had the most perfect smile and his accompanying English accent was endearing.

“Thank you. My name’s Anna. What’s yours?” she asked, extending her hand.

“My name is Braiden,” he stated, taking her hand.

His mother gazed over at him, shaking her head apologetically. “Braiden, leave the poor lady alone. She doesn’t want to listen to you nattering on.” His mother looked up at Anna with apologetic eyes.

“It’s fine, really. So Braiden, how old are you?” Anna enquired with all the enthusiasm she could muster. The young boy was beaming with confidence. For some bizarre reason this intrigued and captivated her.

“I’m seven years old, Miss,” he answered politely. Anna noticed he was only around four and a half feet tall and as skinny as a rake. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans, which were held up by a dark brown belt with a huge silver buckle in the middle. He had a pale blue button up shirt with a white undershirt showing from under his collar. He had a mass of jet black hair and big, sparkling, green eyes. He was one of the most beautiful children Anna had ever seen. He seemed extremely intelligent and well-spoken. He was cultured and polite and seemed more than capable of holding a civilised conversation with people more than three times his age. “What is your last name, Miss?”

“My surname is White. Anna White, and it’s very nice to meet you, Braiden, who’s seven years old.” She smiled. For some reason Braiden was completely mesmerised by Anna.

“Miss White, are you Australian?” Anna nodded back to him. “Can you tell me what it’s really like? All I got to see is my Grandma’s. I was there two weeks and I didn’t even get to see a kangaroo. Have you ever seen one?” Braiden peppered her with questions. His impeccable manners threw her into a state of shock.

“I promise to tell you anything you want to know, but only if you promise to call me Anna. Miss White makes me sound old.” They both laughed.

“Deal!” Braiden agreed, giggling back at her. They sat chatting as the plane took off. Their conversation only paused long enough for them to scoff down the horrible airline food they were served. Anna told him all about Australian animals and places and in turn, he told her about all the places that she must visit while she was in England. Anna was amazed by the way Braiden spoke about his homeland. He had such passion, such a deep affinity for his country and its people.

“You have to visit the country. It’s amazing out there. When Dad’s home he takes me camping and there are birds everywhere. We go hiking and we play in the waterfalls. He says I’m too young to swim in them yet, but maybe this year I’ll be big enough. If you go out there I can tell you the best camping spots.” As Braiden spoke romantic images filled Anna’s head.

“Wow! You must really love England. You sure you’re only seven?” Anna joked. She genuinely liked Braiden. He was interesting and the whole time she was talking to him she forgot about everything else. All the bad stuff in her life was forgotten. And for the brief moment she didn’t have room to consider what James was going through or what she was going to do when she got to England, especially if James didn’t want to see her.

“Are you coming to London by yourself?” Braiden probed. Anna could read the concern in his eyes, but immediately discarded the idea.

“No, I’m meeting someone there,” Anna reassured him.

“Your boyfriend?” Braiden smirked, sounding slightly jealous.

“No. Not my boyfriend,” Anna never lied. James hadn’t been her boyfriend for a while now and he was never going to be again.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked nervously.

“Nope. I don’t have a boyfriend. Do you have a girlfriend?” Anna teased, watching as a blush consumed him. If he wanted all the details of her personal life then she would make him squirm a little.

“No! Girls are mean. Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend because…I have a fiancé,” Anna answered honestly.

“Do you have a picture? Can I see?” Anna flipped open her wallet and handed him a picture of James and her together. Anna was perched on the swing, James standing behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist and they were both smiling whole-heartedly. Braiden took the picture out of her hand and studied it intently. “What’s his name?”

“That’s my James. You’d like him. He’s kind of like you in a way; he loves Australia just as much as you love England.” Anna was trying to reassure him that James was worthy of her. Or maybe she was reassuring herself.

“I think I’ve seen him somewhere before. I’m just not sure where,” Braiden stated, looking confused as he reluctantly handed back the picture. “What’s he do?”

Anna thought it was strange being interrogated by an inquisitive seven year old who she only met a few hours ago. But nothing would deter her from answering him. If there was one thing Anna hated more than anything else it was lies and liars. There was neither the need nor the place.

“He’s a swimmer.” Anna saw the lights flicker in Braiden’s eyes.

“Now I know where I’ve seen him. He’s James Thompson. He swims for Australia. He’s very good and has broken lots of world records. I didn’t know he was getting married.” All the pieces had fallen into place now. Everything that Anna had said about the man she was going to marry, it all began to make sense and come together.

Their conversation fizzled, and Braiden turned his back to Anna, curled up on his seat, and fell asleep. Anna felt sorry for the young boy. He’d been so talkative right up until Anna’s mystery man was revealed then he just rolled over and went to sleep. Anna pulled out a blanket from the overhead compartment and draped it over him.

Braiden’s mother looked over at her son, then at Anna. “I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have talked your ear off. He’s a good kid.”

“That’s fine. I learnt a lot talking to him. Especially about England.” Anna winked, closing her eyes.

A bright-eyed flight attendant woke Anna hours later. “Excuse me, Miss. We will be landing momentarily. Could you please place your seat in the upright position as we begin our descent?” With those few words Anna was thrown back into reality.

It was time to face James. The anxiety was back in cyclonic proportions. The last time Anna had seen James, he had been so angry and hurt. Anna knew she had to face the possibility that James might not want to see her. She’d flown halfway around the world, and she hated to fly, just to see him and support him. But what if he didn’t want her there? What was her next move?

What seemed like hours later she had cleared customs and was nervously shuffling through the steel doors out to the arrivals hall at busy Heathrow airport. Anna was hoping that Renee had managed to reach her parents, and that they were there to meet her. She couldn’t bear the thought of being alone in this strange city. Thankfully she didn’t have to find out. Diana saw her standing there, looking very lost and very scared. Even after a twenty-two hour flight, Anna still looked amazingly beautiful and fresh.

“Anna!” Michael called out, taking long strides towards her.

“Hey guys. I didn’t know if you would come,” Anna admitted sheepishly. She dropped her bags and embraced them both at once.

“Don’t be silly, Anna. Of course we were going to come. James will be delighted to see you,” Diana comforted her.

“And relieved,” Michael added with a smile.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. We told James we were getting a cup of coffee. That was two hours ago.” They all laughed and headed towards the exit.

They arrived at the hotel where Anna’s greatest fears rang true. The English press were camped out en masse. Michael suggested that he and Diana head up first—after all the press already knew who they were—and then Anna would follow ten minutes later. Anna agreed, but despite Diana’s optimism she still remained jaded. The closer she came to seeing James the more she feared his reaction to seeing her.

***

James

When Diana and Michael entered, James was pacing back and forth across the room. “Where did you two get to? Seriously! Three hours to get a cup of coffee?”

“I wasn’t aware that we were on curfew,” Michael retorted. He didn’t mean to be rude, he could see the amount of pressure his son was under, but he wasn’t about to bow down to temper tantrums.

“Sorry, Dad. I didn’t…” A knock at the door cut him off. James knew the press were out there, but he thought they at least had the decency to leave him alone while he was in his room.

Everyone froze. Everyone in the room knew it was Anna except James. He pointed to Joel to be the one to open the door. Joel just shook his head. “Your room, you answer it!”

James tried to get everyone to answer it. His face filled with frustration when no one budged. The knock came again. “It’s just the door. Answer it,” he snapped at his father. James was in a foul mood. He hadn’t slept in days.

“Well, if it’s just the door, answer it your damn self,” Michael told his son, using his stern dad voice. He left no room for arguments. The decision had been made.

James charged towards the door and hesitantly unlocked it. As he opened the door, Anna lifted her face up and looked into his shocked eyes. He slammed the door so hard it nearly fell off its hinges. Instantly James was fumbling with the chain, it was almost as if he couldn’t get the latch off fast enough. With a ferocity he had never known, James yanked open the door and rushed out. A contingent of the local press had camped out on his floor, watching for any sign of movement. The moment the door opened, they pounced, cameras ready. James didn’t care. He dived out the door and swept Anna off her feet. A sea of camera flashes went off. Neither James nor Anna even noticed. “I am so sorry. I’m sorry,” James repeated, covering her neck and face in kisses.

Without hesitation, James carried Anna through the door and kicked it shut behind him. Within minutes everyone hugged Anna and expressed their gratitude for her coming before they discreetly excused themselves, leaving Anna and James completely alone, staring doe-eyed at each other.

The moment they had their privacy, their embrace was full of passion and happiness. Now it was time to make up.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” he asked, kissing her again. He still hadn’t let her go. He never wanted to let her go again. His hands roamed her body greedily. The time they had spent apart was more than enough.

“I didn’t know if you wanted me here, so I didn’t tell you and just came anyway, just hoping you didn’t send me away.” Anna smiled, her eyes reflecting the happiness that consumed her. James was still holding her tight. “Sweetie, you know I love you, but could you please loosen your grip a bit? I am having a little trouble breathing.” Anna giggled, looking up into his eyes.

“I always want you here,” James said honestly.

Without flinching, Anna locked her gaze with his. “Okay then.”

“So, what did you get up to since I left?” James chuckled, sliding into the lounge chair and dragging Anna into his lap. “I mean besides missing me, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Anna grinned, kissing him again. “I see your ego didn’t take a hit?

“Never!”

“Cocky?”

“Nah, confident!”

“Anyway, Mr. Bighead. I have been a busy little bee lately. I planned our wedding. The invitations have gone out, the church has been booked, the cake tasted, my dress ordered, and the bridesmaids’ dresses have all been fitted.”

“My, my, my. You have been busy, haven’t you?” James was laughing hysterically. “So, do I get any details?”

“You’re not supposed to get all the details. You’re just supposed to show up and think I look beautiful,” Anna admonished.

“Firstly, I think you look beautiful in your flannelette pyjamas, so in your wedding dress, that’s a given. And secondly, I don’t need all the details. Just some. Like, how about you tell me when we’re getting married?” James flirted unashamedly. All the frustration and anger Anna had seen in his eyes before he left was gone. All had been completely replaced by pure unadulterated love and admiration.

They spent much of the afternoon lounging around in his hotel room, talking and laughing. They were always touching. James traced lazy circles on her legs, while Anna’s fingers tangled in his hair. They were acting as if they were sitting at home, in their own bedrooms without a care in the world. Anna told him all about her conversation with Braiden and how he showed her his love for his country. Anna explained the shock she felt when it was telecast that he was a drug cheat. James regaled his tale of disbelief and disappointment. They both agreed they couldn’t change it, so they resolved to just go with it. Before they knew it they had also concluded that remaining prisoners in a hotel room wouldn’t help either. So with a new determination, they made plans for the following day.

James woke at five o’clock that morning with a spring in his step. He was desperate not to let this whole drug slur make an impact on his championship campaign. By six o’clock he was in the pool, pushing harder than ever before. More than ever James was determined to not only win all seven of the races he was entered in, but to smash all the world records in the process.