Eden clenched her jaw. Why couldn’t she sell out her own damn tour? HerAfter Midnightalbum might not have been her best work, but she was still proud of it. Had that many of her fans really abandoned her so easily?
“I know you’re thinking about that girl who opened for you on the Daylight Tour,” Stella said. “The one who showed up late and unprepared half the time.”
“Harmony Cox,” Eden said flatly. “The audience booed her. She made me look bad.”
“No, she didn’t. People come to see the headliner. Their night won’t be ruined if the opening act is mediocre, but my point is ... Anna is notHarmony. Her work ethic rivals yours, if what we saw last week is any indication. Plus, she has a great rapport with her fans. She’s the perfect choice. Bring her on board.”
Eden looked toward the balcony, a sliver of blue water just visible over the railing. She’d been looking forward to this tour for months, the chance to shine, to reclaim her popularity with her fans. Vain or not, she didn’t like to share the spotlight.
But Eden respected Anna. She might not even mind having her around on tour.
“Fine,” Eden said with a sigh. “Make the call. Invite her on the tour.”
Anna wished she could feel the wind in her hair. She twisted the throttle on her Yamaha motorcycle and felt the engine roar beneath her. This was her favorite way to unwind. Behind the protection of her full-face helmet, she had total anonymity as she cruised the streets of LA, but the open roads outside the city were what she truly craved. She loved to ride up the Pacific Coast Highway, taking in the stunning houses and the ocean view.
It was breathtaking, although she did miss the somewhat wilder days of her youth, when she would have worn a less protective helmet that allowed her to feel the wind on her face and blowing through her hair. Safety first, though. And with safety came anonymity.
Anna had grown up outside San Francisco, so the California coastline was ingrained in her DNA. She loved it with a passion and wasn’t ashamed to say that one of her top career goals was to be able to afford one of the beachfront houses she cruised past on these rides. She wanted to walk out her back door and put her toes in the sand, to hear the waves and inhale the salt air.
Today, her destination was Point Dume Nature Preserve, about an hour outside of the city. She didn’t have time for a hike, but for her, the ride up the coast was the best part anyway. She would spend a few minutes in the parking lot at the scenic overlook atop the cliffs, taking in the view. Then she’d zip back to her house for a meeting with David.
As the park came into view, Anna slowed her bike and guided it into the parking lot. She found an empty spot at the end of the lot, far enough away from the other vehicles that no one would notice her, and then she took off her helmet and shook out her hair. Usually, she was only recognized by people her age or younger, although that would change with her next album, if she had anything to say about it.
And I will.
The need to be taken seriously as an artist was a hunger gnawing inside her, one that grew with each passing day. She was ready—beyondready—to broaden her appeal. There was so much more to her than the bubblegum image the mainstream media focused on.
A contented smile settled on her face as she gazed down the cliffs to the waves crashing below. She was tempted to take a selfie for her social media, but she’d avoided taking pictures here so far. Anything she posted online was fair game for her fans to pick apart, to retrace her steps and recreate her selfies. Nearly every aspect of her life was public.
But she’d kept Point Dume for herself. No one knew this was her spot.
She reached behind herself and pulled a bottle of water and an energy bar out of her bag. As she enjoyed her snack, her mind replayed the moment her earring had snagged on Eden’s dress at the end of their performance, anchoring them together. The warmth of Eden’s embrace and the rose-petal scent of her skin. Anna’s cheeks flushed at the memory.
Would she and Eden have the same rapport the next time they met at an industry event? Anna liked to imagine that they’d share a moment together again someday. Of course, her sapphic heart had fantasized about more than that, but she was a realist. Eden wasn’t interested in her like that, and anyway, Anna had learned her lesson when it came to dating her mentors.
Her stomach clenched just thinking about the scene with Camille before the Grammys. She hated that Eden had witnessed it, although she couldn’t quite bring herself to regret the way it had played out. The look on Camille’s face when Eden brushed her off, only to compliment Anna’s dress ...
Priceless.
Anna polished off her snack and tucked her trash inside the saddlebag. Then she spent a few minutes just gazing out at the sea, soaking it in. This time of year, you could sometimes see gray whales pass by on their migration up the coast, although she hadn’t been lucky enough yet to see one.
She was relaxed and invigorated as she headed back down the coast, her muscles tensing slightly as she reentered the congested streets of greater Los Angeles. She skirted past Ernest E.Debs Regional Park on her way to her house in Montecito Heights. When her gray-painted duplex came into view at the end of the block, David’s black Durango was in the driveway. Either he was early, or she’d taken longer to get home than she’d anticipated.
She wiggled her bike past his SUV to park in the shed beside the house. “Sorry, I had no idea I was running late,” she said as she climbed off the bike and removed her helmet.
He stood from the SUV, wearing a lavender button-down shirt and gray pants. “You’re not late. I’m early.”
“That’s not like you,” she teased as she stowed her helmet. She locked the door to the shed and led the way into the house, stretchingher legs as she went. They were sore from hugging the bike for several hours.
“I came from another appointment nearby, and rather than pay an exorbitant amount for a coffee at one of the places in your neighborhood, I decided to just drive over and catch up on email while I waited for you to get home.”
“The coffee’s expensive as hell around here,” she agreed. “Want one for free? I could use some caffeine myself.”
“I won’t say no to coffee.” David settled himself at the kitchen table. “Although you might prefer champagne after you hear why I’m here.”
Anna froze with one hand on the coffee machine. “What? I thought we were just going over usual stuff.”
“We were, until I got a very unexpected phone call this morning.” He tapped his well-manicured fingers against the tabletop, watching her intently. He loved dragging things out like this, reeling her in for his big reveal, whatever that might be.