The Winner Takes It All (Love in L.A. Book 3) (19 page)

“I can feel it, too. Let’s hope we’re both geniuses and not just delusional.”

The final show was spectacular. Not only did the top five acts perform individually, but they each performed with an established celebrity in their genre as well as altogether in a grand finale. Everyone was at the top of their game that night, doing better than they ever had before. Pure Flow brought down the house with a creative routine choreographed to a medley of N Sync songs, and Annie received yet another standing ovation for her stunning rendition of
The Voice Within
. The other acts that followed seemed to have done just as well, so Annie really had no idea what the outcome might be. She’d given it her everything. All she could do now was sit and wait for the results the next night.

Annie knew she would drive herself insane if she didn’t keep herself busy the next day. Luckily she was booked all day for more interviews, so it was doubtful that she’d have a free moment to think about anything other than enunciating her words, standing up straight and remembering to smile. This was it. Tonight, they would announce the winner live on national television, and finally, she would know if she had done enough to guarantee her that title.

Her finale wardrobe was a Grecian-style dress made with a gauzy white material that had artistic splashes of green and teal swirling along the hem and teal sandals. Belkis had brought the dress to her and said it was designed by a close friend of hers, and that she’d be honored of Annie wore it for the finale. As soon as she saw it, Annie fell in love with the dress and thanked Belkis over and over again for thinking of her.

She felt beautiful yet comfortable at the same time in her new dress as she stood on stage with Casey and the rest of Pure Flow, Jim Huntley the comedian, Afterglow the Animator, and Lily Steele, the dancing violinist. As Kyle read the results, he eliminated each act one by one until he was left with only two. The first to go was Lily Steele, followed by Jim Huntley and then Afterflow. Stunned, Annie stared across the stage at Casey and the other guys who avoided looking at her and stared at the ground, shifting their weight from foot to foot as they waited for the host to put them all out of their misery and announce the winner. Although she had joked about it before, she had never really thought that it would end up being their two acts going head to head against each other.

Sweat beaded on Annie’s forehead as she stood there, staring out at the audience, waiting for the next words that would decide the course her life would take next. Would she be moving to Las Vegas, or would she be going back home to L.A. to find a new job and move in with her parents? As was usual for TV show hosts, Kyle was dragging out the final result as long as possible. She was afraid he was about to announce a commercial break when he finally said the magic words she’d been waiting for.

“And the winner of
The Next American Superstar
and a five million dollar contract for their own headlining show in Las Vegas, Nevada is…” Kyle paused dramatically as a drum roll was played. A beautiful young lady in a floor-length gown of red silk who had been standing just behind the host reached forward to hand him an envelope. Ripping it open, he glanced down at the highly anticipated result before looking up again and smiling widely at everyone.

One Year Later…

“Ten minutes, Miss Chang. Final call.”

“Thank you, I’ll be right there,” Annie told the stage hand who had been sent to notify her that it was time to take her place on stage before the show started. She was about to give her twentieth performance since opening the new show in Las Vegas. Winning
The Next American Superstar
had been everything she hoped it would be and more.

She had little to no time left for herself once she was announced the winner of the first season. As soon as the taping of the season finale results show ended, she was whisked off for one post-show interview after another. Bedtime didn’t come until almost three the following morning, and she was only able to sleep for two hours before she had to be up for another appearance on one of the national morning talk shows. The crazy schedule continued for weeks until she was finally allowed to go home to L.A. for a week to pack up her life and move to her new house in Las Vegas.

Alex and Katie had helped her pick it out, scouring the real estate ads and sending her pics of their favorites. She had hired them both on as wardrobe consultants and personal assistants, and they kept her sane. She didn’t know what she would do without them. Katie had offered to decorate the house for Annie, who pounced on the offer. She literally had no time to pick out house furnishings, and she loved Katie’s style, so she had been excited to see what her friend could come up with.

The final result was beyond what Annie had hoped for. Katie had kept everything clean and modern looking, but had added classy, feminine touches that were very Annie. She couldn’t wait to throw some parties in her new pad, except she had no time for anything but work.

Her favorite part of the new house was the state-of-the-art recording studio, where she spent the bulk of her time writing new music. Over half of the songs she performed in her new show had been written by her in that studio. She even brought Erin in to record a duet with her, and was still trying to work out a deal to have her former competitor and best friend included in the show for the number.

But Erin was super busy with having to return to her full-time job as an Executive Assistant for a video game publisher back in L.A., and she was also splitting her free time between her home city and the Big Apple. Erin’s relationship with Traver, the bartender/actor/model, had gotten pretty serious, and even though Annie was skeptical of her friend’s long-distance relationship, so far it seemed to be working for the two of them.

As for Annie’s love life, things had not turned out quite the way she had expected.

After she finished her twentieth show, she sat in her dressing room and rubbed her foot as she moaned in pain. She had a new blister forming on her big toe from her new dance shoes.

“Babe, let me do that,” a male voice said as the door to her dressing room opened and then shut again behind a lanky, tall man with short, spiky brown hair and warm brown eyes who was sporting multiple tattoos on both his arms and wearing a pair of black designer jeans and a white t-shirt. Gabe sat down on a nearby chair and pulled her feet into his lap as he inspected the blister, then gently rubbed her feet, taking care not to put pressure on the sore area.

As her dream man sat there pampering her sore feet, Annie smiled contentedly. Gabe had proven to be both loyal and patient. He had waited for her to not only finish the talent competition, but to figure out what she wanted with Casey, and not once had he rushed or pressured her for an answer.

After the first season of
The Next American Superstar
had ended, Casey had returned to touring with Kayla Miles, who of course welcomed him back with open arms. He and Annie talked about trying to rekindle their relationship, but Casey was man enough to admit that he didn’t think he was the right fit for Annie. Their careers were too important to the both of them, and neither of them was willing to sacrifice everything to be with the other.

When Annie had arrived in Las Vegas, Gabe waited until she had settled in before he made his move. Then he asked her out to dinner. After a fabulous meal and an enjoyable evening filled with great food and easy conversation, he asked Annie when her first available weekend off was. After consulting her rehearsal and recording schedule, she found a weekend that would work. Gabe refused to tell her anything about his plans, only telling her to pack an overnight bag and be at the Las Vegas Airport by five in the afternoon on the Friday of the weekend she had designated for their getaway. She didn’t hear from him again for another two weeks until the appointed date rolled around.

He met her at the airport where he asked if she trusted him. Regarding him thoughtfully, Annie gazed into his eyes for a long minute before finally answering. “Yes, I trust you,” she said, smiling softly. He then instructed her to put on the blindfold he handed her, which immediately wiped the smile from her face, making him laugh.

“Remember, you said you trust me,” he reminded her.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know you were going to hand me a blindfold,” she protested.

“Come on. Where is your sense of adventure?”

“I must have left it at home. Maybe I should go back and get it.”

Gabe smirked at her and reached out to pull her to him, pressing her close against him. Gasping, Annie wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight against her as well. She could feel the heat of his erection pressing against her stomach.

“Are you horny all the time, or is it just because of all this talk of trust and blindfolds?”

“I’m horny whenever I’m around you, but I’m sure the talk of trust and blindfolds isn’t helping,” he admitted, making her grin impishly up at him.

“Alright, fine. I’ll put on the blindfold. Do with me as you wish,” Annie said in surrender as she raised the blindfold to slip it on over her head, pulling it down over her eyes so she couldn’t see anything.

“Ooh, baby,” he murmured in her ear, sending chills down her spine as his lips brushed against the sensitive skin of her earlobe.

Blindfolded, Annie waited while Gabe sat her down in a wheelchair and proceeded to wheel her to their gate. He then helped her onto the plane and settled her into her seat. The flight was very short, and before she knew it, they were exiting the plane and she was being wheeled out of the airport and to a waiting car.

After she had been buckled into her seat, Annie finally turned to where she believe Gabe was sitting in the driver’s seat. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going, yet?” she asked.

“Not yet, but we’ll be there shortly.”

True to his word, it wasn’t long before they had reached what she could only guess was their final destination. She had barely gotten out of the car when Gabe picked her up and started carrying her somewhere.

“Whoa, what are you doing? Where are we going?” she demanded in a panicked voice as she smacked his chest a little too hard.

“Oof,” was his response. “Hey, careful, babe.”

“Sorry,” she said apologetically. “Can I take this thing off now please?” she begged.

“Just a second.” Then he stopped walking and gently put her back down on the ground, feet first. “Okay, you can take it off now.”

Annie grabbed the blindfold and yanked it off, squinting against the light as she eyes tried to focus. As she took in the sight before her, she gasped. Gabe had brought her back to the Sanctuary at Camelback Resort in Phoenix, Arizona and had recreated the night when they had first come there and taken a bubble bath together underneath the stars in the night sky. From the rose petals scattered around the Chinese Rock garden patio to the candles that burned all around them to the Robin Thicke song playing, it was just like that perfect night the two of them had shared over a year before. The only difference was that there was a new addition to the enclosed patio. A canopy bed complete with fluffy pillows and a white comforter was set to the side.

“Come dance with me,” he said softly as he took her hand in his and pulled her to him as he started to sway back and forth. She moved easily in his arms, a radiant smile curving her lips as she nuzzled his chest. It was perfect. He was perfect. She couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than this very moment. Then he slid a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. Slowly he lowered his head and then his lips were claiming hers in a slow, tender, sweet kiss.

Annie felt the heat start to burn low in her belly, and as he continued to devour her mouth, the fire in her began to grow hotter and hotter. She was desperate to feel his bare skin against hers again. It had been too long since they had been together like this. All of a sudden, her knees wobbled and she leaned against him for support as she remembered a certain accessory he possessed and how unbelievably wonderful it had felt when he thrust inside her.