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Zero for three. Then it dawns on me: the person who wrote this article doesn’t know Annie at all.
Tatiana is just a performance. Annie isreal. Just as she said.
My brothers are right. I’m a fucking idiot.
The only question is, how do I make this right?
Thirteen
Hamlet
“I’mgoingtogetcaught—and I’m going to get shot,” I whisper into the cell phone.
“All in the name of love, little brother,” Theo says.
“The pilot knows you’re there,” Will assures me, “and I doubt Annie’s armed, so you’ll be fine. Even so, I want to go on the record to say this is the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”
“Thanks,” I grumble, hanging up on my brothers. I settle into the plush, leather seat of the private jet and wait for Annie to board.
Her big Nashville appointment was actually a sold-out concert. I tried to buy backstage passes, but there weren’t any available.
Levi, Mercury Ridge Search and Rescue’s helicopter pilot came up with this plan. Turns out, the piloting community is a small one, whether you fly helicopters for a search and rescue team or private jets for superstars. Levi was able to get me on board.
The door to the plane opens, and I brace myself, expecting Annie to be joined by an entire entourage. And that’s okay. I’m happy to make a fool of myself. They can even record my humiliation if they want. Make me a laughingstock for the whole world.I don’t give a fuck. As long as they let me see her.
After I’ve handed Annie my amended version of the magazine’sFive Things You Didn’t Knowarticle, they can toss me off the plane. I just want to show her that I see therealher. I knowAnnie.
But Annie doesn’t board the plane.Tatianadoes.
She’s wearing a sequined jumpsuit, the red wig, and enough makeup to hide any evidence of her beautiful freckles.
And she’s alone.
I wait for her eyes—Annie’s eyes—to scan the jet and land on me, but they don’t. She slumps onto a sofa at the front of the plane. As the doors close, so do her eyes.
“Annie…?” My voice is soft, but she still jumps ten feet, clutching a hand to her chest.
“Hamlet?”
I cross the plane to hand her the sheet of paper clutched in my fist. “I just wanted to give this to you. Then I’ll leave you alone forever…if that’s what you want.”
Her beautiful blue eyes fill with tears as she scans the sheet.
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Annie:
Her favorite guitar was given to her by her grandfather when she was seven.She never goes anywhere without Old Susannah.
She can’t make eggs without breaking—and burning—the yolks.But I’d happily eat chalky eggswith her for the rest of my life (or, better yet, I’ll make the eggs).
Her beautiful freckles hold the secrets of the universe—or at least a map of the stars.
She sleeps naked—and has the most amazing body I’ve ever seen.
She can’t say naughty words—or kill a man in cold blood.
Despite being a superstar, she’s not a diva at all. She’s not above scrubbing floors on her hands and knees.
She loves a mountain man, even though he doesn’t deserve it.
