The Winner Takes It All (Love in L.A. Book 3) (2 page)

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 oblivious 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.

“See! That’s what I’m talk—” Annie started to say, but he held a finger to her lips to shush her.

“Hush and let me talk for a minute. What I mean is that I know I am the shit, but it’s because of you.”

“Oh…” she said, but then frowned. “Wait, I don’t get it. Explain.”

“Okay. I feel good whenever I’m around you. You make me feel like I am everything—like I can do anything.
You
make me feel like I’m the shit. It’s all because of you.”

“Well,” she huffed, “I guess I can’t be mad at that.”

“Better not be,” he said in a teasing tone, bending his head down to smooch her lips again before playfully swatting her backside. “Come on—let’s grab some grub. I’m famished. Then we’ll come back here so I can have my dessert, too.” He winked, making her giggle.

“Sounds perfect,” she said happily.

Annie couldn’t keep from groaning with pure satisfaction after sinking her teeth into a freshly baked garlic roll, and then licked her fingers clean after popping the rest of the chewy goodness into her mouth. She had just finished her second roll and was already reaching for a third. She and Casey were seated at a small table for two at C&O Trattoria in Venice, her favorite Italian restaurant. The buzz of dinner conversation from fellow restaurant-goers mixed with classic brat pack music, creating a charming ambience that she adored.

“Better slow down on those things, or you’re not gonna have any room for dessert,” he warned.

“No dessert for me. I’m happy just having these. They are like little pieces of buttery heaven in my mouth.”

“Yeah, and garlic. You do remember we’re sleeping in the same bed tonight, right?”

Annie laughed and pushed the little plate of rolls closer to Casey. “Yep, so eat up, sweetie. Might as well join me.”

“No thanks. I’m watching my carbs,” he said, shaking his head.

Annie rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous. You look incredible as you are now. You have a six pack, for crying out loud.”

“And this job is paying my rent right now, so if they tell me I need to lose another four percent, that’s what I’ve gotta do.”

“They? Who’s they?” Annie watched Casey for his reaction, but he averted his eyes and didn’t say anything. “Hello? Are you ignoring me now?” Still he said nothing, instead reaching for a garlic roll. Nodding her head, she sighed. “Uh huh. That’s kind of what I figured. Kayla?”

“She strongly suggested that I should join in her personal training sessions.”

“Oh, I bet she did. So you must be spending quite a bit of time together now.”

“Annie, it’s not like that. Our relationship is strictly professional,” he assured with a frown.

“Does she know you have a girlfriend?” Annie knew she was starting to sound like an annoying, nagging, insecure bitch of a girlfriend, but she couldn’t seem to keep her mouth shut. Kayla was a beautiful, successful, talented celebrity, and she wanted Casey. That much was clear. Whether the starlet’s interest was purely shallow and short-term, Annie had no idea, but she wasn’t willing to share. And she wanted so badly to trust him, but she’d been burned more than once before.