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

  Andrea retrieved her camera from a table as she passed, then headed for a small flight of side stairs that led down to the beach. Annie hurried after her, Casey in tow, averting her eyes as they walked by the other guests in the party who were now watching curiously as the couple followed their hostess down to the beach. As Annie stopped to take off her flip flops to walk barefoot in the sand, Andrea stopped as well and turned around.

  “Freeze—don’t move a muscle,” she commanded, making Annie and Casey stop in their tracks and look at her uncertainly. But as she raised her camera and aimed it at them, they nodded at her in understanding and posed for the camera. Casey grabbed Annie’s hand and smiled down at her as she smiled back at him, and Andrea began shooting. They adjusted their poses slightly as she continued to snap away, then moved down the shore when she instructed, not stopping until they reached the water.

  Hand in hand, they first faced forward towards the ocean, then turned their heads to look at each other. Casey swooped down and picked Annie up with little effort, making her shriek and giggle.

  “I love it, I love it. Keep moving, you are both so in love with each other. Show me how much you mean to each other. Just keep it moving and keep it sexy,” Andrea told them.

  After taking probably a hundred pictures, she finally stopped and looked at the two lovebirds and smiled widely.

  “That was beautiful, guys! I got some amazing shots. I’ll Dropbox them to you this week, okay?”

  “Aww, thank you, Andrea. That is awesome of you.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Andrea.”

  “Nuh uh, thank you, mister sexypants. Rawr,” Andrea said, making a tiger claw playfully at him.

  Casey laughed and shook his head, his cheeks heating slightly.

  As Andrea turned and led the way back up to her house, Casey took Annie’s hand in his again and turned to follow.

  “That was so fun,” Annie said happily, beaming a smile up at him.

  “Yeah? You like taking pictures with me?”

  “Uh huh.”

  Leaning down, he gave her a slow, sweet kiss, then another quick kiss on the top of her head. As they reached the deck, Andrea abandoned them as she rejoined her friends, taking a joint from someone as they offered it to her. But Katie came to their rescue, hugging Annie first and then Casey as she greeted them.

  “Yay, I’m so glad you came. And I saw the impromptu photo shoot with Andrea. Nice work, you two, I’m impressed.” she said, nodding at them with a smile. “Nice Speedo, dude.”

  Annie laughed and elbowed Casey. “See, it’s not just me.”

  Casey smirked at her, then grabbed a towel from a nearby pile that had been set out for guests to use, and quickly wrapped it around his hips. Looking relieved, his shoulders relaxed and he reached over to pull Annie back to his side, whispering in her ear, “For your eyes only.”

  She grinned up at him and nodded. “I can live with that.”

  They mingled while they drank margaritas and took a few hits off a joint being passed around, meeting all kinds of people from the entertainment industry. There were actors, actresses, directors, photographers, models, make-up artists, you name it.

  Annie was exhausted when they left the party about four hours later. She felt like she’d shaken fifty hands when it’d probably really only been twenty or so. She jumped in the shower first while Casey made a phone call, then curled up on the couch with her Kindle while he took his turn. She was reading another book her sister had recommended, Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid. She had just started it the night before Casey got back into town, but she was already halfway done. It was hard for her to remember the last time a romance had made her laugh that much.

  Casey found her like that, snuggled up on the couch and laughing out loud at something she had just read. He sat down next to her and pulled her legs onto his lap. She put the Kindle down and looked at him with a smile.

  “Hey, baby. All clean?”

  “Mmmhmm,” he said, nodding at her with a mischievous smile on his face. “Now come dirty me up again,” he commanded as he stood up, pulling her up to her feet as well.

  “Mmm, okay, sir. Don’t have to tell me twice,” she said, following him into the bedroom from which neither of them emerged again until early the next morning. Annie drove Casey to the airport, hugging him hard after giving him a long, deep kiss.

  “I’ll see you in New York next week. I’ll miss you, princess.”

  “I’ll miss you, too. See you in New York!”

  “I can’t believe you’re leaving for New York next week.” Alex, her gay BFF who conveniently lived in her apartment building, was sitting at her kitchen table, pouring them each a glass of wine while she finished making dinner for them. She’d decided to make baked seabass with pesto sauce and cherry tomatoes, accompanied with some fresh spinach sautéed with minced garlic and olive oil. She’d tried it at a local Italian restaurant called Café Carolina, which was just down the street from where they lived, and it was her new favorite dish.

  “I know. These past couple months have flown by. I still don’t feel like I’m a hundred percent ready.”

  “You’re going to do great. You’re going to blow them all away like I know you can.”

  Smiling, Annie took the glass that he offered her and raised it slightly. “I’m going to give it all I’ve got, that’s for sure.”

  “Is Casey excited?”

  “He is, but he’s also a little nervous about the fact that he could lose his place on Kayla’s tour.”

  “Well sure, that’s his paycheck right now. Bet you wouldn’t be mad about that, though?”

  “Not in the slightest.”

  “Didn’t think so. What did Kayla tell him?”

  “He has a month off before she’ll replace him, but if she ends up liking the relief dancer better, then he could lose his spot regardless, just for taking the time off to do this.”

  “Wow. He’s got a lot riding on this then.”

  “Yep.” Annie bit her lip and chewed at it nervously. “Yeah, this could make or break him, you know? I hope he doesn’t let his feelings for me get in the way of him doing his best.”

  “I don’t think he will, but you can’t either, Miss Thing.”

  “I know, and I won’t. Business is business. I’ll probably be eliminated before him anyway, and then I can just sit back and relax and cheer him on.”

  “While you’re hitting the pavement trying to find a new job.”

  “Right. While I’m doing that.” Annie sighed heavily. “I know—I’ve got a lot riding on this, too.”

  “Yep. But keep your eye on the prize and give it two hundred percent—everything you’ve got and more. When you feel like you’ve got nothing left to give, dig deeper and find more.”

  “How much wine have you had to drink?” she teased him.

  Alex just shook his head at her and sipped his wine. “Make jokes, honey girl, but you wait and see when you get there. There are a million girls out there just waiting for you to fuck up so they can take your place.”

  “Geez, alright. What’s with the sudden negativity?”

  “I’m not trying to be negative, Mami. Just realistic. This is the big leagues. Most of these girls have been performing in front of crowds for years. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, girl, but you’ve pretty much only sung in front of small crowds in karaoke bars, right?”

  Annie winced. Alex’s comment stung. And hit home. This was the big leagues. What was she doing? Did she really think that she had enough talent to get to the finals? Did she have what it took to win?

  “Ouch, Alex.”

  “You know I love you, girl. I just want you to be prepared.”

  “I know. And part of me feels like I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. I would give anything to sing for a living. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Then make it happen, baby girl. Nobody’s going to do it for you.”

  Annie nodded. “I will. Time to eat,” she said as she
handed Alex’s plate to him.

  As he dug into his fish, Alex closed his eyes in contentment. “Girl, your cooking skills are especially on point as of late.”

  “What can I say? I’m in love, and I’m pouring it into everything I do… my singing, my cooking, exercising, you name it.”

  He tried some of the garlic spinach with the tomatoes next and sighed. “Well, whatever Casey’s doing, he’s doing right, if this food is any indication of how happy he’s making you.”

  “Fank you verra muff,” she said around a mouthful of fish.

  “Woman, have I taught you nothing? Don’t talk with your mouth full. And definitely don’t do that on live television, got it?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said with a mock salute after swallowing her fish. “But yeah, Casey is just… amazing. Which makes it suck all that much more that I hardly ever get to see him. This weekend was the first time I’ve gotten to see him in almost a month.”

  “Ugh, that does suck. And then of course you’ve got to be stressing out every time you think about Ms. Miles strutting her not-so-ugly stuff around him when you’re not there.”

  “You’re not helping,” Annie growled.

  Lifting his eyebrows at her, Alex shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “This blows.” She looked despondently at her plate and pushed at the spinach left on it, her appetite suddenly gone.

  “Cheer up, chick. You’ll both be safely together in New York next week.”

  “True,” she said, perking up at the reminder. “And hopefully we’ll both do so well that they won’t be able to pick a winner and they’ll announce us both winners! And then we can tour together and Miss Perfect Pop Star Kayla Miles can go fuck herself.”

  “There you go—that’s the spirit! More wine?”

  “Please,” Annie said as she held her glass out for Alex to refill it.

  “By the way, have you talked to Katie lately?”

  “Yeah, I just saw her this weekend. Why? What’s up?”

  “Oh I just wondered what happened with her date with the restaurant guy.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot to ask her, but she didn’t mention anything at the party. I wonder if that means it went badly.”

  “Well, I happen to know someone who knows this guy, and from what I understand—he isn’t single.”

  Annie had been leaning over to pick up Alex’s empty plate, but she paused at that, her eyebrows shooting up. “What? How do you know that? Does Katie know?”

  Alex shook his head. “I don’t think she does. That’s why I wondered how it went the other night. Like if he told her or she found out or what.”

  “Right. Let me text her.” She finished putting their plates in the sink and reached for her cell phone.

  Annie: Heya… forgot to ask you how your date went the other night.

  Katie: Hey… that’s okay… it was um… eye opening and educational.

  Annie turned her phone to show Alex Katie’s response, then shrugged as she texted her friend back.

  Annie: Sounds interesting. What happened?

  Katie: Well, turns out he’s married… he told me he was separated, but oh no. He’s still very much married.

  Annie: Shit, that sucks. How’d you find out? And did you find out at the beginning of the night or after you’d gone out with him?

  Katie: I found out after we got back to his place after dinner, when he brought me into his bedroom… where I found his wife lying naked on the bed.

  Annie: Shut the front door! Are you serious??? What’d you do?

  Katie: Apologized to his wife, first of all.

  Annie: Why??? It’s not like you knew! He told you they were separated.

  Katie: It seemed like the right thing to do in the moment. But I could have saved my breath.

  Annie: What happened? What’d she say?

  Katie: Apparently she was in on the whole thing. They’re swingers. He finds beautiful young women that they’re both attracted to, tells them he’s separated from his wife, then takes them to a wonderful dinner, then brings them back to his lair to share with his wife.

  Annie: That’s so sleazy! What’d you do?

  Katie: Well you know me… I’m an open-minded person, and they were both very attractive and very persuasive, but I don’t appreciate being lied to. I politely declined and left immediately.

  Annie: Good for you. What a jerk! Alex is here with me, btw, and he says, “You go, girl!”

  Katie: Oh cool, tell Alex I said hi. Yeah, on to bigger and better things.

  Annie: You’ll find someone soon.

  Katie: Maybe… I’m beginning to think maybe I’m just not meant to be with someone right now.

  Annie: Just have fun for now. Love will find you when you least expect it.

  Katie: Lol. You only sound so zen because you already found your Prince Charming.

  Annie: I know, but I want you to find yours, too!

  Katie: Then my life can be as perfect as yours.

  Annie: Ha! My life is so far from perfect.

  Katie: You met the man of your dreams, you’re heading to New York to compete in the finals for a brand new talent competition, Andrea just shot you on the beach with Casey—I’d say your life is looking pretty spectacular lately.

  Annie: Yeah, I met the man of my dreams who immediately went on tour with a gorgeous pop star who wants in his pants, I’m in over my head with this talent competition, going against people who are already veterans in this business, and so what about the photo shoot? It was just for fun.

  Katie: Um, Annie. There was someone from LA Life at that party, and I heard him tell Andrea he was very interested in seeing her pictures from your shoot.

  Annie blinked at her phone. What the hell? She hadn’t heard anything like that from Andrea. She showed her phone to Alex again, who glanced up briefly from the game of Candy Crush he was engrossed in. He gave her a thumbs up and then went back to his game.

  Annie: What??? Are you serious?

  Katie: As a heart attack. So I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard from him sometime in the near future.

  Annie: Holy crap, that would be awesome!

  Katie: So like I said, your life is looking pretty perfect right now.

  Annie: Okay, I’m gonna have to agree now… it’s feeling pretty perfect. :)

  Katie: And you deserve it, lady. I know my time will come.

  Annie: Well it’s not like shit ain’t happenin’ for you, too!

  Katie: I know. Who has time for a man, really?

  Annie: I’ll keep my eyes peeled for you in New York.

  Katie: Because I have time for a long distance relationship?

  Annie: Lol, good point… but you could see him when you go to NYC for work.

  Katie: This is true. Okay, commence with thy matchmaking.

  Annie: Squee! I’m going to find the perfect guy for you. Just wait and see.

  Katie: I can’t wait.

  As she packed the last of her toiletries into her suitcase, Annie sighed and looked around her bedroom. The closet was half-empty and her vanity table clear for once. She had packed for several weeks, but she could end up coming back home after only one. It just depended on how well she did in the finals when she got to New York.

  Her parents were on their way to pick her up to take her to the airport. Casey was getting into JFK only twenty minutes before her and said he would wait for her flight to arrive so they could share a car to the hotel. She had to pinch herself several times to remind herself that all of this was really happening. When her parents dropped her off at the airport, they took turns hugging her tightly and wishing her the best. Her mom told her to “break a fingernail”, to which she gave her a confused look.

  “It’s break a leg, mom.”

  “I know that’s the saying, but it sounds so horrible. Better to just break a fingernail.”

  Annie just shook her head at her mother and laughed. She was going to miss her mom’s cute flubs with English slang.

  “In favor of sticking
to common traditions, I’ll keep it to ‘break a leg’, sweetie,” her father said as he hugged her and kissed her forehead. “I’m proud of you, Annie. Don’t forget that.”

  “Call when you land and let us know you arrived safely,” her mom instructed as Annie nodded and waved at them before turning to enter the terminal.

  “I will, thanks again for the ride,” she called before heading to the ticket counter to check her luggage.

  Getting through security was a breeze for once, and she was soon sitting at the gate with an hour to kill, popping her iPod earbuds in and cranking up a mix of her favorite top forty tunes. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the wall and started to drift. A moment later, someone was nudging their foot against hers, making her eyes fly open. She looked up to see a familiar face grinning down at her.

  “Hey, girl. Remember me?” a petite, exotic looking girl who appeared to be in her early twenties asked her with a bright smile.

  “Hey! Keri, right?” Annie asked, recognizing the girl she’d stood in line with at the auditions for The Next American Superstar.

  “Yep, good memory! Annie, right?”

  “Yep, good memory for you, too.”

  “Haha, thanks. And this is my friend, Erin. We go to the same karaoke bar. Bumped into each other one night while we were both out celebrating our birthdays, and we’ve been karaoke buddies ever since! I had no idea she even auditioned until we were talking about it while we were out for a karaoke night recently, and we found out that not only did we both audition, but we both made it to the finals!”