The Winner Takes It All (Love in L.A. Book 3) (16 page)

Annie:
No, I’ve been too nervous. I needed to focus on rehearsals this week, so I just told myself to clear my mind and worry about him later.

Alex:
My baby girl is growing up…

Annie:
Better late than never, right?

Alex:
Absolutely! Oh, here come our bags now. I’ll text you back soon.

Annie:
Okay, see you shortly.

Annie felt a little guilty that she had an ex coming to see her when things with Casey were still unresolved, but at the same time, if she was being honest, she was more than excited to see Gabe. Enough time had passed that she’d finally been able to really forgive him for not sticking by her side when he found out his ex was pregnant with what at the time he thought was his child. Casey had pretty much ignored her since Kayla’s visit. He’d bumped into Annie during breakfast one morning, but when she’d invited him to sit down and eat with her, he’d declined and said he had to get to rehearsal. Then he’d given her an awkward kiss on the cheek and walked away.

Her plan was to take Alex and Katie to Chinatown for dinner with Erin, so as soon as she finished texting Alex, she called Erin to give her an ETA and then jumped in the shower. Not long after she finished drying her hair, she heard a pounding on her door. Jumping up, she ran to the door and peered through the peephole. It was Katie and Alex.

“Hey, guys!” she exclaimed in greeting as she opened her office door and invited them in. “You were supposed to text me when you got here. Sorry, I’m not quite ready, but I’m almost there. Just have to throw on some make-up, and then I’ll be good to go. I’m so glad you guys came!”

Throwing her arms around her friends, she tried to fight back the tears, but it was no use. Having them there felt so awesome. It was like having a piece of home with her there in NYC.

“My friend, Erin, is going to join us for dinner. You’ll like her—she’s good peoples. Let me tell her to come meet us here.”

“Cool, can’t wait to meet her,” Katie said as Annie sent a text to Erin.

“Okay, where’s the Fireball?” Alex asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“On the bathroom counter with the shot glasses. You wanna pour us a round while I finish putting my make-up on?”

“On it,” Alex said as he headed towards the bathroom.

“So what’s been happening with Casey?” Katie asked as she perched on the end of the bed and watched Annie put her make-up on. “Alex has tried to fill me in, but what’s the latest?”

Annie gave her the lowdown while Alex poured the first round of shots that they quickly downed. A minute later, Erin knocked on the door, and upon entering the room was promptly handed a shot glass. Two rounds of Fireball later, the four of them headed out to an Italian restaurant that Erin had discovered on a previous trip to New York. It was exactly what Annie needed—time with her besties. The evening was filled with good food, laughter and hilarious dating horror stories; it was perfect.

By the time they stumbled back into the hotel after an evening of drinking, it was almost three in the morning. After they all exchanged sloppy hugs and kisses, vowing that they loved each other
so
much, they all parted and went back to their rooms to pass out for the night.

The next few days were like heaven for Annie. If she wasn’t rehearsing, she was hanging out with her best friends and discovering more of NYC. She’d always dreamed of traveling and experiencing all the different things the world had to offer, and here she was in one of the most interesting historical places she’d ever been. She loved the feeling of being right there in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city.

By the time the next show rolled around, Annie’s stomach was in knots again. She was doing a Leona Lewis song called
Bleeding Love
, and while she was mildly nervous about singing in front of her friends, she was scared shitless about singing in front of Gabe… if he actually showed up. She was up next and had no clue if Gabe was sitting out there in the audience or not.

Focus. Fade everything else out and just focus. You can do this.

As she straightened and smoothed the beige lace top and black leather pants she’d chosen to wear, Annie closed her eyes and breathed deeply… in and out… in and out. Opening her eyes again, she smiled as a calm settled over her.

I’ve got this.

When the applause for the preceding contestant started to fade away, the stage manager signaled her to take her mark. Gingerly she picked her way over the stage, following the dim stage lights and praying that she didn’t trip in the high-heeled boots she was wearing and do a face plant. That would be just perfect with the whole country and Gabe watching her.

Thankfully she made it to the microphone stand without incident, and moments later, her music started. As she sang the first rift, going straight up into her high range, she felt chills run across her skin. She’d loved this song from the very first time she’d ever heard it on the radio, and now here she was, singing it for millions of people. Blue and purple lights splashed across the stage, moving around in symmetrical designs to the beat of the music as she sang.

As she ended the first chorus, Annie grabbed the mic from its stand and started walking slowly downstage, reaching out to touch the hands of the screaming audience members who went crazy when she came near them. Looking down into the faces of the adoring fans, she was struck with how surreal the moment felt. She was living a dream that she had never imagined would become reality.

Turning to make her way back upstage, Annie almost faltered when she recognized a familiar face in the audience. Proud of herself for not missing a beat, she continued back and returned her mic to its stand and finished the song where she’d started. Thunderous applause erupted when she finished, making her heart swell until she felt like it might burst. As she basked in the audience’s appreciation of her performance, she thanked her lucky stars that she’d been able to pull it off with Gabe in the audience.

After the show, she was talking to one of the other contestants in the green room when one of the assistant stage managers pulled her aside and said she had a visitor waiting for her outside. She thanked him and pulled out a silver compact from the pocket of her leather pants to check her reflection. After fixing her lip gloss, Annie took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves.

Here I go.

Gabe looked even better than she remembered, and her stomach did a little flip when she saw him. He was smiling warmly at her, his brown eyes twinkling as he gazed down at her.

“You were amazing,” he said quietly when she just stood there staring at him for a moment, her eyes eagerly drinking him in as if she was parched with thirst for the sight of him.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing. “I can’t believe you came.”

“I can’t believe you think I wouldn’t. You’re doing it, Annie. You’re making your dreams come true. I couldn’t be prouder.”

“Thank you,” she said again. “That means a lot to me.”

“How come you never sang for me?”

“You never asked.”

“I want you to sing for me.”

Annie laughed. “I just did.”

“No, I mean just for me.”

Nodding, Annie smiled shyly. “It was just for you. I picked the song when I heard you might be coming.”

Gabe’s eyes lit up as he smiled back. “Really? Nah, you’re just saying that.”

“No, really. I mean it.”

“That’s awesome. Thank you… I was just blown away. I mean, I’d heard you sing a little here and there, so I knew you had a good voice, but wow. Like I had no idea. You sing like that was what you were born to do.”

“It’s definitely what makes me happiest,” Annie said.

“It shows, for real,” Gabe assured her.

“Thank you.”

“Have you eaten, yet?”

“No, not yet. I can’t usually before a performance. Stomach gets too queasy.”

“Ah, yeah, I don’t think I could eat anything right before going on TV in front of millions of people, either,” he said, shaking his head and laughing. “So, can I take you to dinner? I’d love some time to catch up with you.”

“Sure, that sounds nice,” Annie agreed, smiling shyly.

It turned out that Gabe had reserved a private dining room for them at a nearby restaurant. Annie was suitably impressed when she walked into the lavishly decorated dining room. There was a gorgeous arrangement of roses and lilies sitting on a side table, giving off a fragrant floral scent. She moved first to sniff at the flowers, commenting on how lovely they were. Gabe pulled out her chair and motioned for her to have a seat, so she complied, thanking him softly.

“You went to a lot of trouble,” she said as he sat down across the table from her. “It wasn’t necessary, you know.”

“Well, I have to confess that I wanted you completely to myself tonight. I took the liberty of ordering for both of us ahead of time as I wanted as little interruption as possible. I hope that’s okay with you.”

“As long as it’s not liver and onions or cow tongue, we should be fine,” Annie said as she grinned at him, making him laugh.

“Nope, just a garden salad and then a steak with potatoes and spinach.”

“Sounds divine.”

Just then, a door opened and a waiter appeared with their dinner and a bottle of red wine. After serving them both, he disappeared again, leaving them alone. They ate their dinner slowly as they drank the wine and chatted, catching up on everything that had happened in the past several months since they had stopped seeing each other. Annie enjoyed every minute of her time with Gabe. It was easy being with him, and she was reminded of how good she felt whenever they were together.

Upon leaving the restaurant, Annie checked her phone and saw that she had several missed calls and text messages from Casey. She swallowed hard as she shoved the phone back into her purse. She didn’t bother reading them right then as she was sure he was freaking out, trying to figure out where she was and why she wasn’t answering her phone. Gabe insisted on walking her back to the hotel and escorting her to her room, thanked her for having dinner with him, and gave her a tight hug and a quick cheek kiss before bidding her a good night.

Annie felt a slight pang of disappointment that he hadn’t tried to kiss her on the lips, but then she mentally shook herself. What was she thinking? Technically, she was still dating Casey. They weren’t on a break. They had just decided not to sleep together for the duration of the competition. She had no business kissing other men right now until she figured out what the hell was going on with her boyfriend… if she could even call him that anymore.

As she was getting ready for bed, Annie finally checked her phone again. She had even more text messages and a voicemail waiting for her from Casey, but now she also had some texts from Alex, Katie and Erin as well.

Casey:
Hey babe. Where’d you go? We’re all going to dinner in Times Square. Are you coming?

Casey:
Hello?

Casey:
Um, could you maybe text me back so I know you’re okay?

Casey:
Okay, you’re starting to worry me. I don’t know where you are, and nobody else seems to know. I texted Alex and Katie, and they said they hadn’t seen you since you were on stage tonight. Erin’s here with us and says she hasn’t seen you since then, either. Where the hell are you?

Alex:
Um, I’m assuming you’re with Gabe right now, but Casey is blowing up my phone, trying to figure out where the hell you are. Just warning you! But since this is big, scary NYC and he’s got me all paranoid now, can you please just text back and let me know you’re okay?

Katie:
Dude, Casey is going ballistic right now. Alex and I are playing dumb, but I think he knows something is up.

Erin:
Uh, care to fill me in on what’s going on? Who’s Gabe?

Casey:
I don’t know if I should call the cops or what. Please just text someone back and let us know you’re okay?

Annie groaned as she finished reading the texts. Then she pressed play to listen to the voicemail Casey had left her.

“
Princess, look, I know I’ve been kind of distant lately, and if you’re trying to teach me a lesson, fine. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry I haven’t been myself. This competition is crazy stressful, and I don’t have money coming in when I’m not working, and I’ve still got rent and utilities and other bills to pay. I’m going through my savings like crazy, and I’m just worried. I know this competition means everything to you, but I’ve put everything on the line for this as well. I need this just as much as you do if not more, but more than that, I just need you to be okay. Please talk to me. Call me back as soon as you get this, okay? Please.”

Suddenly it all made sense—why Casey had been so different. She’d never been around him when money had been an issue, and it surprised her to learn that he became different when it was. Sure, it was completely understandable, but now she wasn’t sure what to think. Did he want her to lose? Was he somehow asking her to forfeit the competition so Pure Flow could win?

All of this was becoming too much drama for her to deal with while she was knee-deep in the middle of the most important opportunity of her life. Annie texted Casey back first.

Annie:
Sorry, didn’t mean to make you worry. Had my phone off during dinner and just saw your missed calls and texts. I’m back at the hotel and am fine.

Immediately, Casey texted her back.

Casey:
Okay. Thank you for letting me know. Are you okay? Can I come to your room and talk?

Annie:
I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. It’s too late in the evening to be having this discussion. Can we talk tomorrow?

Casey:
Sure. Get some rest. I’ll call you in the morning.