Where was she? Bristol scanned the packed club several times, hoping to lay eyes on Annie. The afterparty was always the best part of finishing a tour. Top Shelf rented out The Cliffs, and getting in was impossible unless you were on the list. Bristol made sure everyone from her tour, including Annie, was on it. She felt like her heart had fallen out of her chest when she heard one of Lizzy’s assistants tell them she saw Annie grab her luggage and drive off in a nondescript sedan. Bristol wanted the opportunity to say good-bye to her in person. She wanted time with just her.
Right now, Bristol was surrounded by people she barely knew and others she wanted to get away from. Sterling swung by a few times, but Bristol’s table was always full, and it was hard to hear conversations. Bristol shrugged and pointed to her ear, even though she heard every damn word out of Sterling’s damn mouth.
“I’m avoiding Sterling, too. She can chat with us when we go in for our meeting this week,” Lizzy said.
They watched her work the room, stopping to laugh with the famous people and ignoring people she didn’t recognize. “If nothing else, she’s a hard worker.”
“For what, though? What’s the allure at this point? The Mayfields have hundreds of millions of dollars. They could buy a small country somewhere,” Lizzy said.
“Too bad she can’t go there and run it,” Bristol said.
“Should I order us another round?” Lizzy waved over their waiter, whose sole job was their table.
“What can I get you ladies?”
“Bring us a bottle of tequila,” Lizzy yelled.
The thought of doing shots made Bristol shiver sourly. “Oh, no. I’ll take Disaronno on the rocks. Give her the tequila bottle.”
“And lime wedges. We’ve got the salt here.” Lizzy waved the saltshaker at the waiter.
“I should probably make a round just to be social,” Bristol said. Lizzy and one of her assistants scooted out of the booth to free Bristol. She got about ten feet before people pounced on her and asked to take selfies. “Maybe later. I have to be somewhere right now.” She smiled to soften the blow and headed to the restroom.
Bristol nodded at the security guy stationed outside the VIP bathroom. The private room had its own sink and a counter full of personal-sized hygiene products from mouthwashes to deodorants. She washed her hands, used minty mouthwash, and double-checked her makeup. The jacket she was wearing was hot, but it looked so good on her that she suffered through the discomfort. She wore a thin tank top under it and a pair of ridiculously expensive black pants that clung to her. Her hair was down, but she pulled it up with one hand and fanned herself with the other. She hated that she looked tired. She was going home and crawl into bed and stay there for days until she had to go to her meeting with Top Shelf. She let her hair down, fixed her lipstick, and opened the door. The first thing she saw was Annie sitting on a chaise lounge.
“You made it.” Bristol gave Annie a small smile, not knowing where Annie stood on how they’d left things.
“I’m supposed to be at the airport in two hours to catch an early flight out.”
Bristol could feel Annie’s anger in the space between them, but she felt something else, too. Hope had needled its way into Bristol’s heart. Annie was here, was sitting right in front of her wanting something. She was always beautiful onstage, but the Annie in front of her was extremely sexy wearing stilettos with her little black dress. Her curls hung loosely over her shoulders and rolled down her back. She was the most beautiful woman Bristol had ever seen. Her light blue eyes were piercing in the soft glow of the room.
“We can change your ticket.”
“I already did.”
“Oh?” Bristol took a step closer. Annie didn’t move. “You look amazing tonight.”
Her shoulders relaxed at Bristol’s words. “Thank you.”
Bristol stepped closer. “You did a remarkable job on tour. I’m happy you were with us. I know things are off between us, but, Annie, I really hope you get whatever you want out of this.” She bit her bottom lip to keep from saying something unsavory about Top Shelf.
“Thank you. I’m still working on the getting-what-I-want part,” Annie said.
Bristol didn’t know if she should read something into her remark but decided to go for it just in case she wasn’t misreading the signs. “Do you want to go somewhere quiet? Where we could talk?”
“You don’t have to say good night to anyone?”
Bristol pulled out her phone to send Lizzy a text message.
I’m out. Have a fun night. I’ll see you at the meeting.
“That’s it?” Annie asked.
Bristol smiled when she felt Annie’s fingers on her hand again. “As of two hours ago, I work for no one.” Bristol wasn’t going to fire Lizzy as her manager because she still ran Bristol’s business side of things, but she was going to make it very clear that she was done touring and was never going to sign another contract with Top Shelf again.
“Let’s go,” Annie said.
Bristol’s driver was behind the club in a side alley. Security was standing guard to prevent people from parking in front of him so they could get away quickly. Parking in downtown Los Angeles was a nightmare. A text message from Lizzy popped up, but Bristol ignored it. Tonight was her night.
“We’re going to have to sneak out. Hold on to me so you don’t slip in those incredible heels,” Bristol said.
Annie clutched Bristol’s hand tighter and followed her as they made their way down the hallway and through the back of the club to the side door. Bristol tipped the security guy who led them as she and Annie ducked into the limo. Nobody saw them, but when Willie pulled away, tons of paparazzi snapped photos of the moving limo, hoping their flashes would penetrate the privacy glass.
“Can they see us?” Annie asked.
“No. It’s reflective, so even if they had a high-powered flash, it wouldn’t penetrate,” Bristol said.
Annie relaxed against Bristol. “So, what are we doing?”
“Going somewhere to talk.”
“We could’ve talked back there,” Annie said.
Bristol leaned forward so she could look into Annie’s eyes. “We could’ve, but I owe you my undivided attention.” She paused and tried hard to keep any desperation out of her voice. “Can we just have tonight? Just us? No talk about touring, nothing about managers or the future. Can we just pretend we’re two women who are going back to my place to have a glass of wine or breakfast or whatever and get to know one another?”
“But you said you didn’t want this kind of relationship. You thought it would be better to stay friends,” Annie said.
Hearing her words thrown back at her was hurtful. She understood why Annie was hesitant. “We’re just talking. I’ll cook you breakfast. You can stay in one of the guest wings until your flight back to Denver. We can even send for your luggage and guitar if you want.”
“Guest wings? As in more than one?”
Bristol shrugged. “I’m the only one who lives there, so yes. I promise to behave. I like you, Annie. If nothing else, we can be friends.”
Annie leaned back in the seat. “You’re right. And I’d love to have my own things here. I’m nervous leaving them in the hotel.” The hotel was nice, but it was unsettling having her guitar somewhere else. “Let’s go back to your place and see if you really can cook.”
Bristol bit her bottom lip, knowing full well she couldn’t but would wing it. “Honestly, I don’t know if I have any food at the house since I’ve been gone so long. Worst-case scenario, we can have food delivered. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“We can definitely stop somewhere first.”
Annie waved off the idea. “It’s okay. Let’s check your refrigerator first.”
Bristol leaned back, and Annie put her head on her shoulder. Both were sending mixed messages, but Bristol didn’t know how to stop wanting her. By the time they reached the security gates, Bristol’s stomach was nothing but a knotted mess of emotion. The drive to her house seemed to take forever. Annie’s look of disbelief at her house made her heart swell with pride.
Willie opened the limo door for them. “Have a good day, Miss Bristol. I’ll drop off Miss Annie’s things later this morning.” He waited until Bristol unlocked her front door before pulling out of the driveway.
All smiles, Annie turned to Bristol. “This is the most amazing house I’ve ever seen.”
“Would you like a tour?”
“Definitely.” Annie slipped off her heels and left them by the front door.
It would have taken Bristol too much time to unlace her boots, so she left them on. They made her tower over Annie, and a part of her liked that. It took thirty minutes to walk through the house, and by the time the tour was over, Annie looked impressed and also exhausted. They ended in the kitchen, where Bristol told Annie to have a seat and she would make breakfast. She was so happy her mother had stocked the fridge. She pulled out ingredients for avocado toast and poured them tall glasses of orange juice. Morning light was starting to erase the darkness.
“Can we eat outside? It’s so gorgeous by the pool.”
One of the reasons Bristol had chosen this house was the magnificent view, but mostly because it had an infinity pool. She loved to swim. “Definitely.”
“At first, I was concerned when you said you were going to stay in your house for three months, but Bristol. This is a beautiful house. You don’t need to go anywhere. Ever. This place is amazing.”
“It’s big enough to have friends over, but not too big.”
Annie looked at her in disbelief. “How many square feet?”
“I think seventy-five hundred,” Bristol said.
“Let me put this into perspective. I have a one-bedroom apartment that is six hundred square feet. And I share it with a cat. Over seven thousand is mind-blowing.”
It occurred to Bristol that Annie misunderstood why she had all of this. “I bought this house not because it’s seven thousand square feet or has an amazing workout room or has the best view of the city. I bought this house because it’s safe. I don’t need all of this. I paid a lot of money for my safety and privacy. The house just came with it.”
Annie must have sensed she’d hit a nerve because she reached over and touched Bristol’s hand. “It’s incredible what you’ve done with your life. You deserve all of this, especially the safety and privacy. Please don’t think I’m teasing you because I’m not. Even though we don’t know one another well, I’m proud of you. Is that weird?” Annie crinkled her nose during her confession. It was utterly adorable.
“I felt proud of you, too, when you were onstage. You had some great shows on tour.”
“Thank you. It was the best experience of my life.” Annie hid a small yawn with the back of her hand.
“Listen. Why don’t I give you some clothes to sleep in and set you up in one of the guest wings? We can have a nice day after we’ve both slept.”
“That sounds good. Thank you for getting me away from the party. Watching the sunrise with you in your home was the perfect way to end my tour.”
Bristol pulled Annie into a hug but stepped away when it was apparent they either needed to kiss or separate. “Get some sleep.”
“Thank you, Bristol. For everything. I mean that,” Annie said.
“Thank you, too. I’ll see you later.” Bristol went to the master suite, stripped off her party clothes, and showered before crawling into bed. She felt comfort in knowing Annie was close. It was exciting, too, but gave Bristol a sense of peace she hadn’t had in a very long time.