5 Nights (Sinful Delights Romance - Boxed Set)

by Michelle Hughes

  Taking a long sip of her wine, Rachel contemplated his actions. It definitely didn't sound like a man who would romance her best friend, make love to her passionately, and then walk out the door without giving a reason for leaving. "It just doesn't add up honey."

  "I think he just couldn't deal with all the baggage I come with Rach." Fighting back her own emotions, she couldn't really blame him. In the short time she'd known him his life had been completely turned upside down with the media hounding and then the police stuff with her stepfather.

  "If you ask me, you should sit down and talk with him about what he's feeling." There was something going on that she doubted had little to do with being overwhelmed by Angela's circumstances. He knew about her past, and it was obvious he still wanted her. He wouldn't have made love to her if he hadn't, at least in her mind.

  "I'm not sure he wants to talk to me. I mean he basically gave me his car, and loaned me his house just to get me out of his other place." He deserved something better, she thought in desolation.

  "If you care about him Ang, then you need to be willing to at least talk about it." Things had definitely changed for her best friend, she thought. Knowing she had to make her own decisions, she decided to change the subject. "So what's going on with your music?"

  "You're never going to believe this, in two weeks I'm going to be the opening act for Desolite." She managed to smile over giving that news, determined to push the other idea from her mind for the moment.

  "Oh my God!" Rachel was more than a little impressed at the thought of Angela performing with the group. "That's f'ing huge, Angela!"

  "I know, can you believe it, I mean we used to listen to those guys all the time at the club?" Since they had the number one song on the charts at the moment, most people listened to them. "You're going with me right?" She couldn't imagine going on the road without Rachel, and hoped that she'd be okay with not taking a job for a few months.

  "Hell I don't know Ang, going on the road with you and the hottest band of the year? Let me think for a minute, um yeah!" Screw a job, she thought to herself, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

  "And you'll move in with me here," she knew rearranging her friends life was a huge step, but again couldn't imagine not having her here.

  "I don't know Ang, give up our cruddy apartment in Jersey for a house on lake?" She laughed at the thought of there being a choice to make. "I mean you might get so famous you don't want me around anymore."

  Angela rolled her eyes at that comment, Rachel was the only person in the world that kept her sane. There would never be a time in her life that she could imagine not wanting her by her side. "Yeah Rach, I'm sure all these fans will have my best interest at heart." Shaking her head, she joined in her laughter, feeling happy for the first time since Nolan left. "You're my best friend in the entire world, I wouldn't want anyone else by my side."

  "I'll always be here for you Ang, but you know I also have to earn my own way." She knew if anyone understood that, Angela would. "I'll do the tour with you, but after that I have to find a job." As much as she loved her best friend, she couldn't allow herself to get into a position of depending on anyone completely again.

  "Thank you Rach, I know how important your independence is, and I really appreciate you doing this tour with me." She was so nervous about performing for all those people, and hoped it would get easier in time, but for now she really needed her best friend by her side. "Nolan said he knew some of the owners of the Casino's out here, so when we get back, if he'll talk to me, I'll see if he'll still put in a good word for you."

  "He gave me his number, and we'll make it through this tour and then go from there." Both of their lives were going to change forever after this, somehow she just knew instinctively.

  15 Rising Star

  The last two weeks had passed by in a blur for Angela. They'd managed to get the cabin redecorated to fit their style, and she'd had meeting after meeting with the studio in preparation for the tour. The one thing she hadn't had was a phone call or any word from Nolan. It was apparent to her that he had moved on, and even the press was making claims that the sizzling romance had seemed to dwindle.

  Outside of Nolan though, life couldn't have been more perfect. Rachel and she had bought new wardrobes and all kinds of things they'd never had the money to splurge on in the past. Angela had even surprised her best friend with the car she'd always dreamed of having. After much protesting, Rachel had finally accepted the gift, promising her when she went to work she was paying back every cent spent on it.

  They finished up the meetings for the day, and with Lenny escorting them, enjoyed dining out at one of the famous Las Vegas restaurants. Lenny had been overwhelmed when asked to join them as a guest for dinner, and had been a really great dinner companion. Angela was beginning to think of him as the father she'd never had, and it felt less like he was a security guard these days.

  The reporters that had dwindled down over the last few weeks had been a huge relief for her until she was accosted outside the eatery when Lenny had to step in. She gave a quick statement about her and Nolan having decided that a relationship wasn't in either of their best interests at the moment, before Nolan finally got them seated in the car.

  "I hate to say it Ang, but I would go nuts with people delving into my private life like that all the time," Rachel commented as they drove home.

  "Definitely not a part of the job I like either, but I guess I'll get used to it." She wasn't really sure how anyone ever grew accustomed to having their private life splattered all over the front pages of a newspaper though.

  Lenny met up with the Crawford as they made it back to the cabin, and they were informed that everything here had remained quiet. "Thank you ladies for an incredible night," he smiled warmly at the two young women.

  "Thank you Lenny, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Angela really did like the man, and felt really safe knowing he always had her back.

  Angela and Rachel walked back in the house, and noticed the huge bouquet of red roses sitting on the kitchen table, along with a bottle of wine. Angela walked over and sniffed the flowers, before pulling out the card.

  "Wishing you nothing but the best on your tour tomorrow. Sincerely, Nolan."

  She couldn't help that her eyes filled with tears at the sweet gesture. "Nolan sent these," leaning over she inhaled the fragrance of the blooms again.

  "No waterworks tonight," Rachel gave a sympathetic smile. Fitzgerald was one strange character she thought, if he wasn't going to be a part of life, she couldn't understand why he bothered with the flowers. It had taken her best friend a week before she didn't cry herself to sleep and damn it she didn't deserve his wishy-washy sentiments.

  "I'm sure they were sent by his office," Angela couldn't let herself hope that he had feelings for her. She had to focus on this tour and thinking about Nolan definitely wasn't going to keep her on the right track.

  "By this time next week I'm sure you'll have so many offers of love that Fitzgerald won't even matter." She didn't doubt the offers would come after she became as famous as the group she was opening for, but doubted seriously her friend was going to get over that man anytime soon. She still remembered her first lover and that had been more years ago than she cared to think about.

  "Just what I need," Angela laughed at the thought of having fans. It took the pain away from the moment though, and she was grateful for having a friend that really understood her and loved her for all her faults.

  "I can just see it now, thousands of sexy men screaming out your name," she couldn't possibly understand what that would be like, and wasn't sure she wanted to know. Much like her best friend, she liked keeping a low profile. Unfortunately for Angela that wasn't going to be a possibility any longer.

  The thought of any man besides Nolan thinking about her in a sexual way made her cringe. "As long as they keep their hands off." A new worry flittered through her mind. She was going to be on stage, singing some very sexy songs thanks to the
writers, and it just dawned on her at that moment what those men would be thinking when she sang.

  She could see the worry in Angela's face. "Ang, that's why you have a security team and all of them will be with us on the road. Don't you worry about a thing." Her friend had come so far after working in the bar and not getting violently sick when a man touched her inappropriately, she'd make it through this as well.

  "I say we drink this bottle of wine, and fall into a wine induced coma," she wasn't much of a drinker, but the thought of performing tomorrow really had her nerves on edge and she doubted she'd sleep at all without the help of some liquid encouragement.

  "Listen Ang, I know this is probably stupid, but I really don't want you to get used to using alcohol as a way of getting through things." Being raised by an alcoholic herself, she had a fear anytime someone she cared about mentioned drinking and getting through a problem.

  Knowing her background as she did, Angela wanted to kick herself for her comment. "I'm sorry Rach, I wasn't thinking, and you're right. The last thing I want to do is get dependent on drinking to fall asleep."

  "Well as long as we're clear on that, let's at least have a glass. I mean you are going to become an overnight sensation tomorrow," she laughed and opened the wine. Finding two glasses in the cabinet she poured them both a hefty glass full.

  "Speaking of that, the show airs tomorrow night, I hope we can record it. I really want to see how the gang does in front of the camera." Lizzy and Devon had been very busy preparing for the show for the last few weeks, but they'd managed to eat lunch twice. She been ecstatic when she discovered they'd both made it through the second round of competition and would be appearing on the televised showcase.

  "I already set the dvr, and I'm sure we'll be hearing the results. I mean it's not like it's not the number one show on television at the moment," Rachel grinned. Handing Angela a glass of wine, she held it up to toast. "Here's to my favorite singer in the world, may you sing like the angels that gave you a voice." With a wink she tapped her glass to Angela's.

  Taking a sip of the smooth wine, she grinned. "And here's to the best friend a girl could ever have. Hopefully she won't have to pick me up off my butt when I see all those people staring at me tomorrow night." The touched glasses again and sipped on their wine, the mood much lighter than it had been earlier.

  Even after the glass of wine, she struggled to fall asleep. Her thoughts were centered around her debut and of course Nolan. For two weeks, she'd struggled to find the strength to not call him up and ask him why he'd made love to her so passionately then ended everything. With her limited experience, it still didn't make sense that he could need her that desperately and then want nothing else to do with her.

  Her dreams when they finally came, were of becoming a huge hit and him finally thinking she was worthy enough to love. When morning finally came she felt like she hadn't slept at all. Lying in her bed, she stared at the ceiling wishing she could be the type of woman that he wanted in his life.

  "Hey sleepyhead, I've got breakfast ready," Rachel popped her head in the room, giving her an excited smile. After tonight her best friend would no longer be the little waitress from New Jersey, and she wasn't sure who was more excited about that.

  Pulling a pillow over her face she groaned and giggled at the same time before speaking, albeit muffled by the covering over her face. "Since when did you become a morning person," she grumbled.

  Walking over to the bed, she grabbed the pillow off her face and tossed it across the room. "Since I've been able to go to bed at a decent hour for a change. Now get your tush out of that bed, we leave in less than two hours."

  Glancing over at the alarm clock by her bed, she was shocked to see it was already ten in the morning. Sliding out of bed, the nervousness begin. "I'm not sure I can eat," Angela whispered while following Rachel down to the kitchen. An entire litany of what ifs moved through her mind, with the least of them being that she'd fall of the stage during her performance.

  Rachel laughed, and poured her a cup of coffee. "Hey I cooked, so you are so going to eat. Ang, you are going to be incredible tonight." She couldn't even fathom what it would be like to sing for a crowd of thousands, but her faith in Angela was solid.

  Sipping on her coffee, she worried that her voice would croak when she first saw all those people. "What if I forget the words to the song?" She'd never done that before, but there was a first time, she considered.

  "Stop jinxing yourself, you're going to blow them away, and Desolite will be wishing they'd opened for you." She loved the band, but knew without doubt that Angela was even better. The boy band might be the hottest thing on the air at the moment, but she just knew after Angela's album was out, they'd be standing in her spotlight.

  She managed to get down a few bites of toast and eggs, before giving up when her stomach filled with butterflies. "Thanks for breakfast Rach, I really don't think I can eat anything else at the moment. I wonder if I'll have to talk to those guys." The thought of talking with the band made her almost as nervous as performing herself. They were all incredibly gifted and she wasn't sure what the protocol was for opening acts.

  "I'm sure you'll talk to them, and hey I want the introduction to Marcus," Rachel laughed. He was the hottest thing she'd ever seen, she thought to herself, and she'd definitely love being able to brag about meeting him.

  "Great, if I don't puke on his feet, I'll try my best to get the introduction for you." Laughing at the thought of hurling all over the singing god made her stomach settle a little.

  "I'm sure you'll do fine," Rachel laughed again, wondering if other women reacted that way when he put those sexy green eyes on them. "If you're not going to eat you better grab a shower, and finish packing girly, you've got a crowd waiting on you!"

  "You cooked, let me clean this mess up before I do." That was how things always worked back home, whoever cooked didn't clean up.

  "Not today honey, you go grab your shower, I've already had mine." Shooing her away with her hands, she stood up and started grabbing dishes.

  Needing a little time to get her thoughts in order, she didn't argue. She took a quick shower, pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, and then got busy packing her off stage clothes. All the things she'd wear on stage were arranged by the studio, so that was one worry she didn't have. With her now impressive bank account, she knew that whatever she forgot to pack, she'd be able to pick up in whatever town they were in at the time.

  They were both ready by the time Lenny arrived to escort them to the tour bus. Angela was informed that Desolite would meet them in Phoenix, their first tour stop, after they arrived. After Phoenix, they'd make stops all across the US until they arrived back in New York for their last night on tour. It was scheduled for two months, and she couldn't imagine what it was going to be like.

  Both she and Rachel both were blown away by the tour bus. She hadn't been expecting the likeness of her face to be airbrushed across one side of the bus, and seeing the name Angel Storm in huge letters made it finally hit home that this was a reality.

  The vehicle was amazing she thought, as she walked down the long row to the back where a bedroom was waiting. Everything she could possible need was there including a bathroom, which made her nervous stomach more than a little happy. Lenny and the other security officers all boarded, and she and Rachel plopped down on the bed in back as the bus took off.

  "Can you believe this thing," Rachel laughed, having never seen a bus this decked out before.

  Angela picked up the laptop on the bed, and shook her head. "I guess they thought of everything." She'd never owned a computer in her life, but had played on the ones at the public library back home. "This is so cool," she grinned, and handed over to Rachel.

  They laughed like school girls, as Rachel discovered the thing had an internet connection and they surfed the internet. "I wonder if we'll sleep here or at a hotel while we're on the road."

  "I didn't think to ask them about that," Angela grinned
. "I could handle living on this thing for a few months. Although she knew it would probably get cramped after a few days. It was apparent she and Rachel would be sharing the bed, and she wondered if Lenny and the guys could be comfortable sleeping in the chairs up front.

  "Yeah, I've definitely slept in worse places," Rachel giggled. The room back here even had a stereo built into the wall. Definitely more high tech than anything she'd ever seen before.

  Angela noticed the stereo and walked over to find the CD's for the songs she'd be performing. Turning it on, she decided to get in a little practice as they drove. Phoenix was at least a few hours away, and she wanted to prepare as much as possible. After an hour, she finally felt confident enough to know she'd at least remember all the words tonight. She'd been going over these songs for weeks, and the vocal coach she'd worked with explained she'd have the music with words playing in her headset the entire time she was on stage.

  "Girl you better give those chops a break before we arrive, I think you do sound checks and stuff once you get there." Rachel had overheard some of the people at the studio mention that sound testing was different for every venue earlier in the week.

  "Heck I should just hire you to be my personal assistant," Ang half-joked, thinking how easily Rachel was picking up on all this stuff.

  "I love you, but I don't think living on a bus for months on end is really for me honey." She didn't mind doing this one tour with her best friend, but she liked her feet planted firmly in one place. She'd done enough running when she was escaping her ex-husband.

  Angela had forgotten for a moment how much Rach hated traveling and felt a twinge of guilt. Her ex had been a raving lunatic that beat the hell out of her on a daily basis until she finally had the nerve to leave him. Leaving hadn't been enough to get him to leave her alone. She recalled with horror the story of how Rachel had moved from city to city as he chased her down, threatening her life until he finally had beaten her so bad, the police had put him away for a few months.