It was hard not to stare. A form-fitting dress that landed mid-thigh on a figure like Annie’s was going to draw attention. It certainly caught Bristol’s eye as she watched from behind the curtain. Annie’s voice was perfect for a smaller venue. It was rich and smooth and reminded Bristol of a warm summer sunset. By now, everybody knew to expect Bristol to join Annie onstage for her last song. Their excitement was palpable and made Bristol smile. She wished she’d had worn nicer clothes for their song or tried harder with her hair.
“This is my last song. Thank you all for coming out tonight. A special shout-out to my new friends Kenzie, Celeste, and Mattie. What a beautiful venue and such an honor to play here,” Annie said. She strummed the first few notes of the song, and people started cheering. That was Bristol’s cue. She grabbed the live microphone and strolled toward Annie. “Bristol Baines!”
The smile that Annie shot her was pure sexiness. It was brief, but it was there, and Bristol’s veins throbbed in response. Tonight, she wasn’t going to slip up. She dialed up the charm and stared Annie right in the eyes as she sang her song. She was surprised when Annie didn’t back down but embraced the new onstage teasing. When Bristol leaned forward and used Annie’s microphone with her, neither one of them missed a beat in the song.
“That’s it for me tonight! Up next is Fast Cars. Let’s give it up for the star of the night. Bristol Baines.”
Bristol waved to the crowd on her way backstage and even bent down to slap the hands of several people who wanted that contact. She never did that. She played to the crowd, but never in a physical way. She waited while Annie waved good-bye. Watching her interact and give the fans what they wanted made her weirdly proud. Like she was somehow responsible for Annie’s success when it was all Annie’s talent that got her on that stage. “That was great,” she said when Annie joined her twenty seconds later.
“Thanks for always coming out onstage with me.”
When Annie threw her arms around her, Bristol stepped into the hug and held her a few seconds longer than normal. Annie didn’t seem to mind. “It’s been a lot of fun. You’ve made touring exciting again.” Bristol looked up and saw Charley standing a few steps behind Annie. “Hi, Charley. Thanks for coming out for the show.”
“That was amazing. Both of you!” Charley squeezed Annie’s hand. “The crowd knows your music already. They were singing your songs. How incredible is that?”
Bristol couldn’t help herself. She longed to be a part of their camaraderie. She missed having a friend that wasn’t part of the tour. “I’m singing her songs, too. How incredible is that?” Bristol winced because that sounded arrogant. Before she had a chance to soften that declaration, Annie clapped.
“It’s the highlight of every night.”
Bristol smiled. “I’m just playing along. Your music is great, and I’m happy that people get to hear it.” Before she said something else stupid and insensitive, she bowed out. “I’m going to go get ready, but don’t forget we’re going gambling after the show. Stay close if you want to join us.”
“Definitely,” Charley said.
Bristol rushed to her dressing room. Lizzy was going to be pissed. They needed a solid hour to get her ready, and talking with Annie and Charley had shaved a precious ten minutes off the time.
“Your fans are going to be upset if you’re late,” Lizzy said the second security led her into the room.
“I know, I know. I got carried away,” Bristol said. She sat in the chair and let the team fuss over her. It amazed her how efficiently the crew buzzed around her as though she was the queen bee. Her job was to sit still for the next forty-five minutes and let everyone else take over. “Time?”
“Fast Cars just left the stage. That gives us fifteen minutes,” Lizzy said.
A collective gasp from the worker bees as the buzz around her grew frantic. Somebody tripped over a cord, and there was a moment of pause before the burst of activity ramped up. Bristol could feel the energy stir inside and knew that by the time she took the stage, that energy would explode into something that would carry her through the next two hours. Or maybe it was the excitement of the fun planned after the concert that made Bristol giddy. She loathed VIP treatment anywhere but Vegas. Usually, she was stuck in a booth in a club and couldn’t partake in any of the festivities because too many eyes were on her.
“Are you ready?” Lizzy stood in front of her.
“Do I look ready?” Bristol asked. She held hands with Lizzy as they took several deep breaths together. Nobody bothered them during this unusual routine they had before each show. They weren’t praying, just clearing their minds and ensuring the nerves had worked their way out of Bristol’s body so she could start each show clean. Most of the worker bees hovered as though afraid leaving would affect their ritual.
“You’re going to slay it tonight,” Lizzy said.
Bristol felt stronger emotionally than she had in a long time. “It’s going to be a good one.”
“Vegas is magical like that,” Lizzy said. She wagged her eyebrows. “Let’s go.”
* * *
The best thing about the concert was seeing Annie and Charley in the front row dancing. The whole crowd was, but Bristol felt a connection with Annie that gave her energy to do better. To perform for her. Her routine had to be altered because the stage was smaller, but that didn’t deter her from giving her fans what they wanted. She sang her sweet music and played guitar, but when the lights flickered and went dark halfway into the set, she slipped offstage.
She quickly stripped off her little white dress and stepped into black leather pants and tucked in a tight black sleeveless shirt that showed off her toned arms. The crowd chanted “Bristol” repeatedly. She pulled her hair out of the sexy librarian bun and let it flow down her back. In less than ninety seconds, she was back onstage.
A single spotlight shone on her as she sang the first song of her second set a cappella. Bristol’s band joined in as she slid into the next song. It was an upbeat fun song, and for the rest of the show, Bristol’s eyes kept wandering to Annie. There was an unmistakable attraction between them, and even though Bristol knew better than to act on her impulses, something inside made her want to flirt with Annie. It was all in fun, right?
The rest of the concert was her dancing across the stage, leaning over and singing to the crowd. She was torn when the set was over. She loved the attention, loved that Annie was watching her, but was excited to see how the rest of the night unfolded.
“That’s it for me, Vegas! Have a great rest of the night!” Bristol waved to the crowd when the lights dimmed, giving herself and the band a moment to rest before the encore. She had a new song that she wanted to sing, but she hadn’t practiced it yet. “Hey, listen. Let’s play ‘Now or Never,’ and then I’m going to play my new song, just me and the guitar.” She wasn’t asking for permission. She was informing them. They nodded at the change and jogged back onstage.
Lizzy wasn’t going to be happy. She liked Bristol to have a track available for purchase on iTunes before she sang it, knowing if fans couldn’t find it immediately, they would download it for free off some pirated site. Bristol didn’t care. She had enough money, and so did Lizzy.
She turned to one of her roadies. “Get the Martin ready.” He sped off as Bristol walked back onstage to music her band had started. “This is one of my favorite songs. Who wants to sing it with me?”
She held the microphone out to the audience to capture their loud voices. She sang the verses but held the microphone out for the audience to sing the chorus. When the song ended and the band waved good-bye again, the same roadie ran out her Martin guitar.
“I’m giving you a sneak peak of a song I just wrote.” She pointed behind her to the empty instruments. “It’s so new that even my band doesn’t know it. Let’s just keep it between us, okay?” At the audience’s laughter, she continued. “I wrote this a few weeks ago. There’s not a lot to do on the road except be alone with your thoughts. So, I write new stuff, and sometimes I record it, and sometimes I play it for my fans first.”
She strummed a few chords, and when the crowd settled, she started singing. It was a song about hope. It wasn’t as if she wrote it about Annie, but more about what she represented to Bristol. She didn’t dare look at Annie for fear that she would know. Instead, she focused on the fans in the upper deck and the teenagers to the left of the stage, who held a glittered sign.
“Thank you for spending your evening here with us.” Bristol’s voice was low as she said her final good-bye. She waved on her way backstage. A roadie was waiting to take her guitar.
“What the hell was that?” Lizzy asked. Her hands were on her hips, and the look she gave Bristol wasn’t a happy one.
“A new song I wanted to try out.” Bristol dried off the back of her neck with a towel one of Lizzy’s assistants handed her. “I think they liked it.”
“You know it’s never a good idea to do something like that. Then you’ll get a ton of people who will pirate your songs, and the legal battle isn’t worth it.”
“Maybe it’ll just be a freebie. Come on. Let’s get ready for tonight. I desperately need a shower.”
Her security escorted her to the private elevators in Caesars, where she was rushed up to her penthouse for a quick shower and wardrobe change. They had plans. When did she ever have plans?
“Where are we going first?” she asked Lizzy.
“Did you want to gamble? Or would you rather dance?”
“I think I’d like to gamble. Oh. Did you grab Annie and Charley? We should ask them too.” She tried to sound nonchalant.
“They’re in the living room.”
Bristol felt a flutter in her chest. Annie was here. Just on the other side of the door. The penthouse was grotesquely large, but Caesars comped her the room, as well as several suites for the crew. Pampering her staff was important, and what better place than in Vegas? “I’ll be quick.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got champagne flowing and appetizers galore. You take your time,” Lizzy said.
Bristol washed the sweat away, and as much as she wanted to just stay under the perfectly pressured stream of hot water, the thrill of hanging out with normal people got her out of the shower in ten minutes. Phoebe was waiting.
“How do you want to wear your hair tonight?”
“Just down is fine.”
“Easy enough,” Phoebe and her assistants had Bristol ready in no time. Bristol’s stylist picked dark skinny jeans, ankle boots, an oversized cream-colored shirt, and a field jacket she would wear only if the casino was cool.
“Hi.” Bristol kept the greeting simple when she walked into the living room. Annie and Charley were holding champagne flutes and looking out at the flashing lights of the Strip. The rest of her entourage were huddled together laughing at something somebody said, completely ignoring not only the spectacular view, but her invited guests. Annie turned and smiled beautifully at Bristol.
“Thank you so much for inviting us. This is amazing.” Annie waved her hand over the penthouse and windows. “I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight.”
“Yes. Thank you. This is incredible,” Charley said.
Bristol grabbed a water from the coffee table. “How do you feel about gambling?” She looked at the thin Cartier watch face that rested against the inside of her wrist.
“I’m down to learn.” She stifled a yawn. “I feel like I’ve been up for days,” Annie said.
Bristol took a step back. “Oh, if you want to go to sleep, don’t worry about me.” Annie’s fingers on her wrist stopped her. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.
“Who can sleep here? This is even more exciting than New York City. I’m okay to gamble.”
Charley piped up. “I’m not great either, but I’m excited about it.”
Their attention turned to Lizzy, whose voice was suddenly raised above normal conversation level. “I don’t care what you think, Bruce. I need six guards. Wake them up if you have to. We need them tonight. Your job is to provide round-the-clock security. That means twenty-four hours a day, which, if I’m not mistaken, includes the night.” There was a slight pause in their conversation. “I realize the casino will provide security as well, but their job is the casino, and yours is Bristol. I’ll see six of you in five minutes.”
Annie looked shocked at Lizzy’s outburst. Bristol grabbed a flute of champagne to bring the attention back to them. She tapped her glass against theirs. “Let’s go have fun. I think we all deserve a night like no other.”