Sweet Facade

The royal plane landed in LAX airport the next day and for the whole trip Chloe was in distress. She did go through with her promise of getting the hell out of Genasia but she missed her sister’s wedding. No matter how much she could dislike Brian, Chloe would never be forgiven for this. Charlene probably hates her right now.

“Ma’am?” a voice interrupted Chloe from her own misery.

Looking up Chloe saw the pilot, an elderly man, looking at her with concern.

Blinking she stood up, cleared her throat and said, “Um, thank you for the ride, I guess I have to go now.”

She grabbed her suitcase that was perfect size to be considered as hand luggage and left the plane.

She was outside the airport, waiting for a cab. Then it hit her, she was in Los Angeles. Worse, she was screwed. She regretted quitting her job and giving up her apartment. She had enough money to last for probably a few weeks but she was in this foreign place, having no choice but to make a new life for herself.

A taxi pulled up and she got into the car. The driver, a woman probably in her late thirties, looked at Chloe. “Where to?”

How the hell should I know? Chloe thought.

Quickly, she kept thinking of somewhere she saw briefly on the map of California and the first place popped up. “Huntington Beach.”

The taxi entered Huntington Beach and almost immediately Chloe told the driver to stop. Paying the lady, Chloe sighed, she really needed money now.

She didn’t really know where to go now but she stopped, her now deep blue eyes caught a bookstore with interest.

It was always a passion of hers, reading. Chloe loved books whether it was a romance novel or even mystery. Recently she hadn’t been able to read anything but as she stepped into the small store that was filled with books, Chloe felt a little awestruck.

Hearing a chuckle, Chloe snapped her head to where a woman was standing, behind the counter. “I’m guessing you like books?” the woman asked. The woman seemed about her age, wearing dark blue jeans and a light pink long sleeved top. Her silky, light brown hair was tied up in a bun but tendrils fell, framing her face.

“If I had the money, I’d buy this whole damn shelf,” Chloe replied with a small smile.

The woman laughed and walked over towards her. Chloe then saw that she was pregnant. She looks good preggo, she mused.

“I’m Nicole Steward,” the woman said beaming.

“Chloe Farris and if you don’t mind me asking, how far along are you?”

“Oh I don’t mind at all! I’m three months along. Johnny—that’s my husband—knocked me up but I didn’t want to marry him BUT, he convinced me to be bound to him forever and ever by saying ‘I love you’,” Nicole said dreamily.

Chloe blinked, a little freaked out by the fact that Nicole basically gave her whole love story—well Chloe was assuming it was a love story—to a perfect stranger. Not only that, but Nicole seemed a wee bitodd chirpy.

“Oh okay?” Her words came out more like a question.

“So Chloe, since you need money and like my bookshop, how about a job here?”

“You’re offering me a job here?”

“Well yeah. I mean, I’m pregnant and hiring someone to help out would ease my husband’s ever worrying mind.”

“But—but, I’ve never had any experience working in a bookshop. I was a teacher before—.” She was cut off.

“Chloe, you look almost fed up in life and believe it or not, you seem just like me when I got here. I want to help you out. Besides you look like you need a friend.”

“Oh God, do I really look that desperate?” Chloe asked, her eyes widening.

Nicole shook her head, “No, no! It’s not that, I just—can tell, you know?” Then she sighed. “Listen you don’t have to say yes to the job offer but it’s clear you have no place to stay and it just so happens one of my friends runs this really amazing Bed and Breakfast…”

“Um, no the—,” Chloe began but stopped as she tried to hide behind Nicole.

“What are you doing?” Nicole asked. Chloe closed her eyes tightly and crouched a bit. Did he just walk in the book store?

“Hiding,” Chloe whispered fiercely, hoping to hell she was blocked. “The guy.”

Brian, she thought, it’s Brian.

Nicole stepped away from Chloe and looked at the tall guy in the fedora who was looking at the two weirdly.

“You’re hiding from him? What did he do now?” Nicole asked.

“Nic, I did nothing! I’ve never seen her before,” he said.

Chloe stopped trying to hide and looked at Brian, anger supplying her courage. “You lying, prick! I know I messed up but Brian Haner--.”

“Whoa, my first name maybe ‘Brian’ but my surname isn’t ‘Haner’ darling, it’s ‘Gates’,” he said.

Chloe’s eyes widened. What the fuck?

Not Brian Haner?

Then she looked at him closely. He had the same features as Brian Haner but this guy had tattoos and he—well he didn’t really look all that royal with his black fedora, baggy jeans and black t-shirt.

This—wait, what? Her mind was definitely fucking with her.

Next thing she knew, her eyes rolled back into her head and Chloe was unconscious.