Gabrielle Demonico (33 page)

“
I’m unsure about
them
.” Anabelle replied.

“
I don’t understand Anabelle. You aren’t making any sense right now.”

Anabelle said quickly, “
It’s nothing. It’s stupid. You’re right. I’ll just go and get it over with. After all, I’m sure it will be fun.”

“
No, no, no… Wait a minute.” Melissa said as she wagged her index finger at Anabelle. “You
think
there was something to those kisses don’t you?”

“
No.” Anabelle answered unconvincingly.

Melissa threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. She then looked at Anabelle and said, “
Anabelle… Get
real
. I’m sure they were just being polite. Seriously, do you have any idea of the kinds of women that throw themselves at these guys everywhere they go? Besides, you always said you hated their guts. Now you are into them all of a sudden?”

Anabelle replied, “
I know, you’re right. I already said it was stupid, okay? Look, I… I’m just going to go to bed. It’s been a hell of a long day.”

Melissa
’s face curled into a slight pout.

She hadn
’t intended to hurt her friend’s feelings. She got up from the bar and walked around the kitchen counter where she embraced Anabelle. After a moment they broke free and she said, “Anabelle, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I just know things have been tough on you recently and the last thing I would want is for you to set yourself up to get hurt in any way.”

“
I know. I’m fine. Really. I think a good night sleep will help to clear my mind.” Anabelle said.

“
Okay, can I get you anything before you go to bed?” Melissa asked.

“
No, I’m fine, thank you though.”

“
Okay, I love you Anabelle.”

“
I love you too. Oh, before I forget, do you mind watching Mr. Boo while I’m gone this weekend?” Anabelle asked.

“
No, not at all. He’s easy anyway.” Melissa replied.

“
Thanks Melissa, I owe you one.” Anabelle said.

“
Yeah, I know.” She said with a wink.

Anabelle smiled, gathered up her things and headed into her bedroom with Curly in tow. As she lay there staring up at the ceiling, her mind replayed the events of the evening.

Making any sense of the kisses had been hard but hearing the truth about them from Melissa’s mouth had been harder still. Anabelle wondered what in the hell she was thinking?
Of course
they were just being polite. What else could it possibly be?

Melissa was right.

Guys like this… They had no interest in women like Anabelle. If this trip was to be a success, Anabelle knew that she had to squelch any irrational feelings she might have. Her goal was within sight and unless she was able to stay focused she could very well risk losing it all.

Kisses aside, she felt horrible
about the way she had pre-judged them. They weren’t arrogant jerks after all. Cocky, funny, sexy… yes… but, arrogant jerks, no.

***

Early Friday morning, Anabelle awoke to the vibration of her phone. Sleepily, she fumbled around for it and brought the greenish blue glow closer to her face.

A text read, “
limo will b there in 1 hr. b ready.”

Horrified, she glanced at the time on her phone.

Shit! Nine o’clock already…

She scrambled around in a near fr
enzy in an attempt to get ready. After showering and putting herself together in record time, she hurried into the kitchen to grab her purse. Melissa was still asleep and so she scribbled a note reminding her to give Mr. Boo his hairball treatment. Just as she was finishing the note, she saw the limousine pull up outside. Taking care to not wake Melissa, laid the note on the counter, gently closed the door and headed out to meet him.

As she approached, he tipped his cap and asked, “
Do you have any other luggage besides the bag over your shoulder, ma’am?”

“
No… Just this.” She replied.

“
Alright, ma’am.” He said as he stepped to one side and opened the limousine door for her.

“
Thank you.” She said as she climbed inside. He closed the door behind her, started the limo up and about twenty minutes later, the car pulled up to a waiting aircraft. As she exited the vehicle, she was greeted by a
ridiculously
good looking woman.

“
Hi, Miss Mitchell?” the woman said as she approached.

“
Yes?”

The woman extended her hand and said, “
Hi, my name is Cassie Warrant. I am the road manager for the band. I’m the one that set the interview up. Do you remember, we spoke on the phone?”

“
Oh… right! It’s nice to meet you Cassie. You can call me Anabelle.”

“
Alright, Anabelle.” Cassie looked over Anabelle’s shoulder and said, “Do you have all of your belongings?”

“
Yes…” she said as she patted the bag flung over her shoulder. “Got everything in here.”

Cassie said, “
Great, well you can leave that at the foot of the stairs as we board. Please, after you.”

“
Okay.”

Anabelle walked up the stairs and made her way into the cabin. In a word, it was, luxurious. Anabelle didn
’t fly often but when she did, she always seemed to wind up in the toilet row. It’s the only one on the whole plane where the damn seats wouldn’t recline. Luckily, that was not going to be a problem on this flight.

As Anabelle made her way aboard, Cassie spoke up from behind her and said, “
Welcome aboard Anabelle. Have you ever flown charter before?”

Anabelle could hardly respond. “
No…” she managed to grunt after a few moments had passed.

Cassie chuckled and said, “
Well, this is a Dassault Falcon. As you can see, anything you might need is available to you. The chairs recline fully should you wish to sleep. As far as food or beverages, the flight attendant, Megan, will provide you with anything you wish.”

Anabelle made a small squeaking sound. Even she wasn
’t sure what it meant.

“
I’m sorry?” Cassie said.

She sn
apped herself out of it quickly and said, “Th…Thank you Cassie. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just not used to this sort of thing.”

“
That’s totally understandable. There’s no need to apologize.” Cassie replied.

Just then, the flight attendant appeared from the re
ar of the aircraft. She walked up to Anabelle and said, “Miss Mitchell, welcome aboard, my name is Megan and I will be your flight attendant today. Would you care for a beverage? A glass of champagne or a cocktail perhaps?”

“
No, no thank you. I’m fine. Thank you very much though.”

“
Alright, if you change your mind, please let me know. I look forward to serving you.”

“
Thank you Megan.”

As Megan walked away, Cassie tapped Anabelle on the shoulder from behind. Anabelle turned to face her and she said, “
Wheels up in ten minutes Anabelle. Let’s take our seats, shall we?”

“
Oh yes, of course. Uhhm, any one of them?” Anabelle asked as she pointed towards the seats.

“
Yes. Well, unless you want to sit on my lap.” Cassie joked.

Anabelle laughed and said, “
No, I mean, for Armin and Tanner. Do they have a preference for where they like to sit?”

“
No, not usually. But, in won’t matter since they won’t be joining us on this flight.”

Confused, Anabelle said,”
Oh… really? Why not?”

“
They had to fly ahead to Portland last night. Some last minute promotional things came up. Sorry about that Anabelle…I thought you knew it was just going to be you and me on the flight.”

“
No, I… that’s okay Cassie.”

Cassie smiled and said, “
Try to get a little sleep if you can. The nights can get awfully long on the road.”

***

It was around eight o’clock when Anabelle and Cassie arrived at the venue. She had been shuttled around in limousines all day long and as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to like it. She kept having to remind herself that it was
temporary
, of course, but even so it beat the hell out of having to drive her rust bucket.

She
’d yet to see either of the brothers since arriving in Portland, but Cassie told her that they were planning on meeting up with her after the show. The pair exited the limousine and made her way to the entrance. As she walked, she noticed that the line for the show stretched around the corner.

“
Damn. Is it always like this?” Anabelle asked.

“
Oh yeah. Everywhere they go.” Cassie said.

As they neared the entrance, Cassie reached in her purse and produced two VIP badges, one of which she handed to Anabelle. Upon seeing them the doorman stepped aside and the women entered the nightclub.

The opening act was just about finished with their set and so Cassie and Anabelle settled in to take in the show. Ninety minutes later, Stung by Fate finished the show in front of another standing room only crowd. Anabelle wasn’t sure if she was actually beginning to enjoy their music or not but she was most certainly having a good time. Of course, private jets, limousines and five star hotels tend to put one in a good mood.

Her ears were still ringing when Cassie tapped Anabelle on the arm. Anabelle turned towards her and Cassie
said, “I have to go take care of a few things. The guys are all backstage. You have an all access pass so whenever you’re ready, you can go on back.”

Anabelle nodded and said, “
Thanks Cassie. Will I see you again tonight?”

“
No, probably not. But I will see you again before we leave Portland.”

“
Okay, that sounds good.” Anabelle replied.

Cassie got up from her seat and as she did she leaned in towards Anabelle
’s right ear and said, “Anabelle, do you mind if I give you a hug?”

Admittedly, she was a little sur
prised by Cassie’s request. “Uhhm, sure…” Anabelle replied with a shrug.

Cassie put her arms around her and squeezed. It was tight
– much tighter than seemed appropriate for the moment. She then released her, leaned back slightly and said, “I’m so happy for you.”

A puzzled look came over Anabelle
’s face and she said, “Happy? What do you mean?”

“
I’ve got to run Anabelle. I look forward to seeing you again very soon.” Cassie said.

“
Okay, bye Cassie.”

Anabelle watched Cassie until she disappeared from sight.

Happy for me? What was that about?

Unable to decipher the meaning of it, Anabelle decided to shrug off the comment and get to the real business at hand. She gathered her things and with her all-access pass in hand, she headed backstage.

As she walked, a surge of adrenaline pulsed through her body. The past few days had been such a whirlwind that Anabelle nearly forgot about the curious kisses that the brothers had given her outside of the Peninsula Grand. In spite of Melissa’s assertion that they’d meant nothing at all, Anabelle held out hope and the energy of the emotion reinvigorated her.

The plain truth was that there just weren
’t very many men in Anabelle’s past – or at least ones of any importance. Like most everything else in her life, love had been a struggle. In fact, she’d largely given up hope that even her most simple of romantic ideals would ever come to pass.

Right or wrong, Anabelle had long ago concluded that most men
were only interested in a quick fling with her. They were largely a series of forgettable circumstances and absolutely zero of them had turned out to be anything meaningful.

Yet, somewhere deep inside, she remained hopeful. Although the flame of her soul
had been dimmed by years of disappointment, her optimism for the fairytale ending still lingered.

She just couldn
’t help it. It’s the way she was.

That aside, it was time to finally deal with the matter at hand
– the interview. She was, for the first time since she’d gotten the assignment, genuinely excited about it. On top of that, they’d had yet another successful gig which would likely translate into great energy for the discussion.

***

As she meandered her way backstage through the crush of roadies, groupies and other hangers on, she could see that neither of the brothers were anywhere to be found. She flashed her pass to one of the security guards backstage, and asked, “Which dressing room are the Vossler’s in?”