No wonder the network had kept their lips so tightly closed about Cole being the third judge. It was going to send ratings through the roof with the surprise coming out just weeks before the show went on the air. Axton shook his head. “Motherfucker!”
“Morning boys,” the fifty-something rocker greeted in his gravelly voice. Years of smoking had altered his voice. Some thought he had had throat cancer a few years ago, but it was only a nodule on his vocal cord that had been removed. Still, he probably would never be able to sing again, at least not like he once had.
I shook Cole’s hand. “Goddamn, man, I didn’t think I would see you here,” I told him.
“The money was just too sweet to turn down.” Cole shrugged as he took his seat on the other side of Axton.
With all of us now accounted for, the producers gave us a rundown of what was on the books for today. An itinerary was provided, and I scanned it before pushing it away. This was going to be boring as hell!
Two hours later, I was almost falling asleep in my chair as we went through one tryout hopeful after another. No one had stood out. No one had really caught my attention. So far, everyone had been so nervous that they hadn’t lasted more than a minute before they were being excused from the room. Some of these people had spent thousands of dollars on airfare, hotel rooms, and countless other things just to come here and bomb within minutes of standing before three judges.
The producer called for a break, and I reached for my phone. It had vibrated three different times in the last ten minutes. Sliding my finger across the screen, I saw messages from Emmie and Shane waiting for me. I took care of Emmie first because that was more important. She was going to freak when I told her who the third judge was.
Finally, I pulled up the message from Shane and nearly dropped my phone when I saw the attached photo he had sent me. I didn’t know whether to hunt my little brother down and murder him or thank him as I gazed down at Lana’s smiling face staring back at me. Her long midnight black hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was wearing some kind of tight running suit that made her whiskey eyes stand out.
I stared down at the picture until the producers started letting more tryout hopefuls in before saving it to my phone. I felt more awake now, and I was actually paying more attention as the day went on.
--
I was at the network’s studio until almost ten that night. The line outside was still growing by that time. I was beat and my head was killing me. Everyone who was in line was told that tryouts would begin again at eight the next morning, and I wasn’t surprised that the majority of them decided to camp out.
My driver picked me up and drove me back to my apartment. Shane had texted me throughout the day, and with each passing message I looked forward to hearing from my brother. He had spent the day with Lana, and it almost felt as if I had too the way my brother had kept sending me pictures of her.
When the car pulled to a stop in front of my building, I got out and nodded to the night doorman as I headed for the elevators. “Good evening, Mr. Stevenson. Your brother asked me to tell you he was taking the young lady home since you had taken so long.”
I stopped. “The young lady?”
The middle aged man nodded. “Yes. Miss Daniels I believe is her name. The other Mr. Stevenson made sure that she was put on your list of guests to let up without having to ask your permission.”
I muttered a curse, beyond disappointed that Lana had been inside my apartment and I hadn’t gotten to see her. She had actually been here! My chest ached and I pulled my cell out as I stepped onto the elevator. It rang once before Shane’s distracted voice greeted me.
“What?” he asked, an amused note in his tone.
“She was here?”
“Yup. I’m leaving her place now. I’ll see you in a few.”
“Dammit!” I raked a hand through my hair. “I want to see her!”
Shane sighed. “Yeah, I know. I did my best, bro. But you were taking for-freaking-ever.”
“What about tomorrow? Are you going to see her tomorrow?”
“No, man. She has plans. I’ll keep trying though. Okay?”
I blew out a long sigh. What more could I ask? I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to get Lana back in my life. I had fucked up, lost the best thing that had ever happened to me. But I had worked hard to get to a place so I could be worthy of her…
Rehab had been a nightmare. The past—the guilt—had been hard to let go of. But Emmie, Shane, and the rest of my band brothers had helped me through it. They had been my support system through those long miserable two months, and then afterward when I had gotten home. Shane went with me to AA meetings, and Emmie was always offering me encouragement.