The Winner Takes It All (Love in L.A. Book 3) Read online

  The Winner Takes It All

  Copyright © 2014 Audrey Harte

  Published by Audrey Harte

  Cover art © by Christopher Neil

  Interior Design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats

  https://www.facebook.com/FictionalFormats

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any print or electronic form without permission

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The subject matter is not appropriate for minors. Please note this novel contains profanity, explicit sexual situations, and alcohol and drug consumption.

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  AUTHOR'S NOTE

  SOUNDTRACK

  To anyone who has ever started writing a book and thought they couldn’t finish it, you can. Just keep writing. Doesn’t matter if you think it’s crap—just write. Get it down on paper. You can always fix it later. What matters is that you keep writing.

  “I’m going to put marbles in your mouth like you’re Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. You need to open your mouth and round your vowels.” A short, stocky gentleman in his early forties, David Campbell had been a vocal coach for fifteen years. Annie found him by searching the ads on Craigslist (surprise, surprise). After contacting him for his rates, she almost changed her mind about accepting her parents’ generous offer to pay for voice lessons for her birthday. Annie wasn’t sure her father had been fully aware what these lessons could cost. It’s not that she would call him cheap, but he was definitely frugal to a fault.

  Surprisingly enough, Alexander Chang didn’t bat an eyelash. He simply asked where to send the check. Her heart overflowed with gratitude and affection for her father. Annie had been afraid that her parents wouldn’t be supportive of her pursuing this opportunity. Even though it was her biggest dream, she figured they would say to figure it out on her own if she really wanted it. Their support meant she could better her chances of making it to the finals.

  The voice lessons had been a huge help. After seeing David for two months, she could already hear a definite improvement in her vocal abilities and technique, her breath support was getting stronger, and he was teaching her how to belt without damaging her vocal chords.

  “Annie, you should be able to fit in three fingers while you are singing. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to open your mouth. Come on now—three fingers in your mouth. Let’s see them.”

  Annie obediently put three fingers sideways in her mouth as he instructed. Her jaw popped as she did so, making her wince and pull the fingers back out. “That’s so uncomfortable,” she protested.

  David shook his head and gestured for her to replace the three fingers in her mouth. Rolling her eyes, she complied as he began to play the introduction of the song they’d been rehearsing for the past week. His head nodded in time to the music as he played the opening bars.

  Hearing her cue, Annie took a deep breath and began to sing. Singing was always the fastest way for her to feel grounded again. Effortlessly navigating her way through the familiar verse, she lovingly caressed each note as it passed her lips. For her, there was no happier feeling than when she was singing. The more emotion she could convey in a song, the better. She loved everything from light-hearted, bubble-gum pop to deep, bluesy ballads filled with passion and angst.

  The current song she was singing, Impossible by Shontelle, was a powerful R&B ballad. She loved the way she could weave her vocal chords up and down the scale as she sang each “impossible”.

  After struggling through two more sing-throughs with her fingers in her mouth, Annie breathed a sigh of relief as David finally nodded his head in satisfaction.

  “Much better, Annie,” he said solemnly.

  Annie had to turn around and grab her water bottle to smother her giggle.

  “Now let’s do it again. This time without the fingers.”

  This time, she was more aware of widening her mouth and could hear the difference it made… subtle but nice. When she finished, she shivered as she felt goose bumps run up her arms. It was exciting to train with a professional who could help her be the best vocalist she could be. It made her feel that much better about her chances of going on past the finals and maybe even having a shot at winning.

  Annie grabbed her purse and waved good-bye before pulling the door shut behind her. As she made her way down the short sidewalk to the street, Katie pulled up in her new Lexus SUV. It was sleek, black, shiny, and sexy as hell, and Annie was super jelly. Katie had booked back to back modeling gigs with Guess and Marc Jacobs, and she had decided to treat herself to a new car. Annie knew she’d do the same if she ever experienced the same good fortune.

  Hopping into the passenger seat, she leaned over to Katie, offering her a cheek kiss.

  “Hey girl,” Katie said as Annie closed the door and started to fasten her seatbelt.

  “Hey, thanks for picking me up and taking me to the mechanic. I would Uber it, but since I’m trying to save money right now…”

  “Shut it, lady. I’ll always give you a ride if I’m around. Besides you know I’m looking for any excuse to drive my new baby.”

  Annie grinned at her friend and settled back in the plush leather seat, breathing in deeply of the new car smell. Usher’s You Make Me Wanna was playing softly in the background, and as Katie pulled away from the curb, she turned up the volume, bathing them both in the richness of the R&B artist’s velvet vocal stylings.

  “Damn, I haven’t heard this song in forever.”

  “It’s a classic,” Katie said somewhat defensively.

  “Definitely a classic,” Annie agreed. “So what are you up to this weekend?”

  “I’ve got a date tonight, and tomorrow I’m going to a house party in Malibu. You wanna come?”

  “I’d love to, but Casey’s flying in tonight, and we’ve only got tomorrow together before he has to leave again.”

  “So bring him with you, or are you guys planning on staying in bed all day?” Katie wiggled her eyebrows at Annie as she grinned.

  Annie smacked her shoulder in response. “Shut up. I’m not some kind of nympho, you know. I do know how to exercise self-control.”

  Katie snorted. “What a crock of shit.”

  Laughing, Annie nodded. “Okay, okay. Maybe I don’t have the best self-control when it comes to my man, but can you blame me?”

  “Not at all. Casey is one fine-ass specimen of a man.”

  “That he is, and he’s all mine,” Annie said smugly, wrapping her arms around herself as she thought about her sexy man. “Sometimes I still can’t believe it… I pinch myself every now and then when I’m with him.”

  “You definitely lucked out. I hope this guy I’m meeting tonight is just as sweet and at least half as fine as Casey.”

  Annie laughed again. “Well, good luck with that.”

  “Gee thanks!” Katie said sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at Annie.

  “Haven’t you seen his picture?”

  “I have, but half the time, these
guys don’t look as good in person as they did in their pictures.”

  “True that,” Annie agreed with an emphatic nod. “So who’s up to bat tonight?”

  “Antonio… he’s Brazilian. Owns his own restaurant in Beverly Hills.”

  “Mmm, sounds hot and rich. Is he taking you to his own restaurant for dinner?”

  Katie shook her head as she pulled up in front of the mechanic. “No, we’re just doing drinks at Villa Blanca.”

  Annie whistled, looking impressed. “Isn’t that one of the places owned by Lisa Vanderpump from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?”

  “Yep, Antonio claims that he is friends with Lisa. We’ll see.”

  “Nice. Well, let me know how it goes. And thanks again for the ride.”

  “Don’t mention it, and yeah, I’ll keep you posted. Are you going to come to Malibu tomorrow or no?”

  “Let me run it by Casey tonight and see what he says. Can I let you know?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be up late, or you can let me know first thing in the morning, but get back to me either way so I can give Andrea a heads up.”

  “Oh, it’s Andrea’s party? Well, why didn’t you say so? I’ll talk Casey into it. But I’ll let you know for sure by tomorrow.”

  Andrea Rodriguez was a talented, world-renowned photographer who had worked with both Annie and Katie on multiple occasions. She had a bubbly, vivacious personality, a keen eye for high-fashion photography, and one of the biggest hearts around. And she happened to throw some pretty incredible beach parties. There was always some celebrity or another showing up, keeping things interesting.

  Leaning across the console, Annie gave Katie a quick squeeze and a peck on the cheek, then hopped out of the SUV, closing the door behind her.

  As she walked up the driveway to the door of the repair shop, Sako, the owner came out, beaming a big smile at her. “Hi, Annie. Good to see you again,” he greeted her.

  “Hi, Sako. How have you been?” Annie smiled warmly at the older man. She’d been coming to his repair shop for years and knew she could count on him to always be honest. He wasn’t like a lot of mechanics who took advantage of women when they brought their cars in, telling them they needed all kinds of unnecessary services done to their vehicles.

  “Good, good. Your car is ready,” he said, waving to her Grand Am, which was parked along the side of the shop.

  “Great, thank you. Did you figure out what was wrong with it?”

  “Yeah, it’s the valve I mentioned to you before. You remember last time we tried to clean it?”

  “Right, I remember. So did you end up replacing it this time?”

  “We did, but I didn’t charge you for labor since we cleaned it last time.”

  “Cool, thanks. I appreciate that,” Annie said as she followed him into the shop to pay the bill. She had just handed Sako her credit card when her cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw that it was Casey. “Hey you.”

  “Hey, princess. I just landed, but we’re not at the gate, yet. Where you at?”

  “Just picking up my car from the mechanic. Am I still coming to your place tonight?”

  “Yeah, I should be home in an hour or so. Can’t wait to see you.”

  Scribbling her signature on the receipt, Annie smiled again at Sako and mouthed “thank you” before grabbing her keys and exiting the shop. “I can’t wait to see you, either,” she said, sliding into the front seat of her car. “I know it’s only been a few weeks, but it feels like it’s been months.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get back to L.A. to see you. Kayla’s had me in rehearsals on all my off days.”

  Annie barely refrained from grinding her teeth upon hearing the pop star’s name. She knew this was just business for Casey, but she didn’t trust Kayla—not for one minute. “I’m sure she has. It’s cool, babe. I get it. See you soon, kay?”

  “Okay, love you.”

  Hearing Casey profess his love made her smile again. She knew he loved her, but she was still getting used to hearing him say it. “Love you, too. Bye.”

  An hour later, Annie was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the 405 south, gritting her teeth at the whopping 5mph she was travelling.

  “Don’t you stupid people realize I haven’t seen my man in forever and only have a couple of days with him before he disappears again?” she yelled in frustration, even though no one could hear her. “Argh! I hate L.A. traffic!”

  Groaning, Annie leaned back against the headrest and took some deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down before she burst into tears. She didn’t often experience road rage, but in this case, time really was her enemy. When it took another fifteen minutes to go a mile, she finally called Casey to give him an update.

  “Finally! Let me buzz you up,” he started to say upon answering the phone.

  “I’m not there, yet,” she moaned.

  “What? Where are you?”

  “Stuck on the fucking 405.”

  “Oh man… well, how much longer do you think you’re gonna be?”

  Annie sighed as she glanced at the clock on her dashboard. “I dunno… I just passed Sunset, but I’m literally sitting in a parking lot right now. I might be another thirty minutes or so at this rate.”

  “It’s okay. You’ll be here soon enough. I’m going to jump in the shower, kay? Call me when you get here.”

  “Aww, I wanna shower with you!” she complained. “Damn this freaking traffic to hell!”

  “Oh yeah? You thinking about that time we showered together in San Francisco?”

  “Mmm… yeah, I might be thinking about that,” Annie said dreamily, momentarily distracted from the slow-moving cars in front of her.

  “Maybe I’ll think about that, too, while I shower.”

  Quickly snapping back to reality, Annie protested. “Hey now! No touching yourself before I get there. You’re supposed to wait for me.”

  Casey groaned, and Annie bit her lip as her eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment. She could imagine him stroking himself as he stood in the shower, one hand bracing himself against the wall, the other hand wrapped firmly around his thick, swollen cock.

  “You are so not playing fair,” she said with a whimper.

  “I’ll see you when you get here, princess.”

  “No touchie!” she snapped and then hung up the phone.

  As Annie predicted, it was about half an hour later when she finally turned onto Casey’s street and started hunting for parking. She let out a loud whoop upon finding space near the end of the block, then held her breath as she began the dreaded task of attempting to parallel park in a very tight spot, managing to squeeze in with only a few turns of the wheel.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Annie pulled the visor down and stared at herself for a minute. Her make-up still looked good, but she rubbed at the slight wrinkles she saw in her forehead. All the frowning she’d done while stuck in traffic wasn’t doing her skin any good. Stalling for a moment before getting out of the car, she anxiously nibbled on her lip.

  “Why do I feel so nervous?” she muttered to herself. She’d been dating Casey for about two months, but most of those two months had been spent apart—the result of him being on tour as a back-up dancer for Kayla, an up-and-coming pop star. The gig had started out as temporary, with him filling in for Kyle, one of her regular dancers who had injured himself during one of their rehearsals, but Casey had quickly proven himself to Kayla, and she offered him a permanent spot on her tour.

  It was great for Casey’s career and bank account, but it was torture for Annie. She’d seen firsthand how flirtatious Kayla had been backstage after the show in San Francisco when Annie had flown up to see him perform, and even though she trusted Casey, Kayla was another story entirely. She wouldn’t be surprised if the young starlet tried everything in her power to lure Casey into straying. Actually, considering the way Kayla had acted, Annie wasn’t sure she was even aware that he was unavailable. The blond bombshell had been o
blivious to the fact that Annie had been standing there with him—either that or she had just chosen to treat Annie like she was invisible. And she seemed like the type of girl who would stop at nothing to get her way.

  Pushing the unwelcome thoughts from her mind, Annie grabbed her bag and got out of the car, then headed towards Casey’s apartment building. When he opened the door and smiled at her, looking so damn delicious and fine, all her worries melted away with that one reassuring glance.

  “Took your sweet time getting here, princess,” he said, his toned arms crossed in front of him as he gazed down at her, unsmiling.

  “Seriously?” she said as she smacked his arm and shoved at him, but of course he was built like a brick wall compared to her and didn’t budge an inch. “I sit in the worst traffic ever to come down here and see you, and you’re gonna give me shit? Really?”

  He laughed and pulled her close to him before she could smack him again, shutting the door behind them. “Damn straight,” he muttered before claiming her lips, effectively silencing her and instantly making her melt against him, her bag dropping to the floor. All too soon he broke the kiss, and Annie had to take a moment to collect herself as she tried to force her racing heart to calm the fuck down. How did he do that to her with just a kiss? Every single time, he annihilated her senses, and she was left feeling bewildered and off-kilter while he would just stand there smirking, obviously enjoying the effect he had on her. Like he was right now.

  “Ouch,” he said with a mock wince as she smacked her palm against his chest and tried to shove back from his solid frame. “What was that for?”

  “You, you… you, ugh, you drive me crazy with just a freaking kiss, and then you stand there smirking at me like you think you’re the shit, because you know you are. You are an amazing kisser really, and I’m highly appreciative of that fact. But you don’t have to stand there looking all, like you know you’re all that.”

  “But I do know I am all that and a bag of chips,” Casey said with that crazy sexy grin of his.