Gabrielle Demonico (30 page)

Anabelle was caught between rock stars and a hard place and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Worst of all is the fact that they seemed to be all too aware of her predicament.

Armin rubbed his aggravatingly sexy, strong chin and said, “
You look like you could use a drink. You know, maybe you should learn to relax a little.”

“
Relax!” she fired back. And, before she knew it, she’d leapt to her feet and moved directly in front of the smoking hot duo. These two were so infuriatingly smug, shockingly inconsiderate and ridiculously cute that Anabelle wasn’t sure which raged within her greater – her barely controlled anger or her sorely neglected libido.

She managed to stay somewhat calm and slowly said, “
Tanner… Armin… I don’t want a drink. To be honest, I don’t even like being in the same room with either one of you…”

Tanner interrupted in a stern tone and shot back, “
Hey honey, what the hell is your problem? Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder?
You
are the one that wanted to interview us, remember? Do you have any idea how many interviews we turn down every single day?”

Anabelle drew her lips inward to form a thin crease. Angrily, she crossed her arms at her chest. As much as it pained her, she had to take care to not to make a mess of this whole thing. Finally, she grudgingly replied, “
No. I mean, I know. I know that you are wildly popular, insanely busy and on and on… I’m… I’m just, I’m sorry.”

Tanner answered, “
Hey, it’s no big deal. After all, this whole thing was our fault. Tell you what, let’s start over. Would you at least give us a chance to do that?”

I
t wasn’t as if she really had a choice. Even so, somewhere inside she wanted to make them work for it. She knew it was crazy but she decided to chance it anyway and replied, “Hmmm, I dunno…
maybe
.”

Armin raised an eyebrow and replied, “
Maybe?”

Anabelle fel
t a foreign surge of confidence race through her veins. Coyly, she answered, “Mmm, hmm.”

After a pause, Tanner said, “
Okay then, we’ll bite. We can’t wait to hear what we can do to
maybe
make it up to you.”

With her right hand planted on her ample hip, she
angled her head towards them, gave them a wry smile and said, “Maybe if you take me to dinner, I’ll consider it. After all, it’s the least you can do since I haven’t had a thing to eat all day long because of the two of you.”

The brother
s turned toward each other and chuckled. After a few seconds, Tanner turned his attention back to Anabelle and said, “I like your spirit. I think that’s something that my brother and I can agree on. Besides, the food is pretty good in this dump. It’s a deal. Would you like to just go downstairs and get something?”

Anabelle felt a small measure of victory at the brothers
’ invitation. Her triumph had come easier than she had expected. She only hoped that the interview would go as smoothly as the last ninety seconds of conversation had gone. “Okay, that sounds good.” She replied.

“
Great…We’re starving as well.” Armin replied. “Ready then?”

“
Yes. Well, actually, I need to call my roommate so that she can take care of my cat. Do you mind giving me a moment?” Anabelle said.

The brothers exchanged glances and smiled at one another. The communication did not go unnoticed by Anabelle. As she fished around in her purse for her cell phone, her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

“What?” She asked.

“
It’s nothing.” Armin said with a cheeky grin.

“
Bull… What is it?” she asked.

“
Cats…” Tanner joked.

“
What is so funny about that?” She asked.

“
Oh nothing. You’re not like a crazy cat lady or something are you?” Tanner said.

“
No.” she deadpanned.

“
Good. We wouldn’t want people getting the wrong idea about us. You know, that we hang out with people like that.” Armin joked.

She smirked and said, “
I’ll be sure and make a note of it… What’s wrong with cats anyway?”

Tanner laughed and said, “
Nothing. Nothing at all…”

*
**

Several minutes later the private elevator doors opened into the vast lobby of the Peninsula Grand Hotel. In the short time she
’d been upstairs, Anabelle had already forgotten how extravagant it was.

“
After you…” Armin said as he gestured towards the elevator exit.

“
Thanks…” she replied as she exited.

“
The restaurant’s over there…” Tanner said as he pointed towards the far side of the lobby. As they walked, Anabelle couldn’t be sure if it was her imagination playing tricks on her or not but she could have sworn that people were staring at her the entire time.

She
’d never been around anyone famous before. It wasn’t something that she had considered or thought about in any way. Even if she had, there was no way she could have prepared for it. With each step, the walls seemed as if they were closing in on her. As the seconds ticked by, she felt increasingly trapped, almost to the point of feeling claustrophobic.

Like most people, Anabelle always assumed that being noticed, watched and even photographed was al
l part of the price that came with fame. Truthfully, she’d never had sympathy for stars who complained about their lack of privacy. As far as she was concerned, that was just part of what it meant to be famous. But, now, she saw things from a different perspective, if only for the briefest of moments.

The strangest part about it all was that Anabelle had spent the better part of the entire day fixated on the allure of what fame could bring. She
’d never stopped to consider the downsides – mostly because she had always assumed that there weren’t any. Now after mentally chastising the brothers for not being able to relate to the life that she had lived, she suddenly felt an odd kinship with them when it came to theirs.

The further they walked under the relentle
ss stares of strangers, the greater she felt a need be protected but, from what, she wasn’t certain. All that she knew was that she felt it and denying it was not going to make the feeling go away. As if sensing her discomfort, Tanner, reached down and placed his right palm in the small of her lower back. The gesture startled and reassured her at the same time. It was a firm and purposeful touch. She turned towards him without speaking and smiled slightly.

“
Are you alright, Anabelle?” he asked as they neared the entrance to the restaurant.

“
Yes, I’m fine, thank you. I think I’m a little light headed from not eating all day.” She responded.

He smiled back at her but did not remove his hand. If anything, the pressure increased ever so slightly. Her mind cautio
ned her to keep it in perspective. She told herself that he was just being nice and that interpreting otherwise was a really bad idea. At the very least, she saw a side of them that she swore didn’t exist. If nothing else, it was a pleasant surprise.

Perha
ps there was more to them than she had originally thought…

“
Welcome back, gentlemen.” said a dazzling leggy brunette as the trio approached. “Your usual table?”

“
Yep. How’s it going tonight Maxine?” asked Tanner, his hand still pressed firmly into Anabelle’s backside.

The statuesque beauty fumbled with a handful of menus, giggled and replied, “
Much better
now that you have both arrived.”

Anabelle rolled her eyes as Maxine turned and began to lead them back to their table
– a secluded booth on the opposite side of the restaurant. In spite of its upscale reputation, Anabelle noticed that the crowd in the restaurant was surprisingly young and mostly female.

As they walked, Anabelle could hear whispers and laughs. She wanted to tell herself that they weren
’t directed at her but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were. Only the reassuring touch of Tanner’s hand kept her mind focused and her emotions under control.

For now, at least, it was enough.

They reached the table when Armin turned towards Anabelle and asked, “Would you prefer to sit between us or not?”

Lying, she replied, “
It really doesn’t matter.” Ten minutes ago, in the hotel room when she was tired and pissed off, no, it wouldn’t have mattered. But, after having Tanner’s hand on her back for the better part of five minutes had taken the edge off.

Tanner gestured towards the booth and said, “
Well, if you sat between us it would probably be easier to conduct the interview. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“
Sure, yeah, sounds great.” She replied. And with that, the trio slid into place.

Once they had taken their seats, Maxine handed them their menus and said, “
Rebecca will be over momentarily. Enjoy you meal gentlemen… and madam.”

“
Thanks Maxine.” Armin replied.

Anabelle smiled pleasantly and replied, “
Yes, thank you very much.”

It really was a lovely place. Anabelle had to admit it. She imagined that it would be tough eating at her usual fast food joints after dining in a place like this. “
This place is really…
something
.” She said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Tanner replied, “
I’m glad you like it. To tell the truth, it’s really not our kind of place. Our managers and agents put us up in these hotels. It’s not what we’re all about but it’s an image thing so we kind of have to do it. We’re much happier at an out of the way greasy spoon somewhere but life in the public eye comes with tradeoffs. On other hand, it’s not all bad. For the most part, we get to keep our privacy in places like this. That, plus the food is pretty incredible…”

Anabelle nodded he
r head. “I see.” She replied.

A few seconds later, the waitress, Rebecca, came to the table carrying two bottles of the brothers
’ favorite wine with her. She stood at the edge of the table and said, “Before I pour, will you gentlemen be having your usual meal this evening?”

“
Yes, I…” Tanner began. He then turned towards Anabelle and said, “Anabelle… Armin and I have a favorite meal here. I’m sure they can serve it in a large enough portion – that is, if you don’t mind us ordering for you.”

“
No, that’s fine. What is it?” she replied.

Armin interjected, “
Roasted pork loin that’s served with fennel sausage and stuffed butternut squash. It’s…
stupid
good.”

The waitress nodded and said, “
It’s so yummy. You are going to love it, trust me. It just takes a little while to prepare. Is that alright?”

Anabelle paused for a moment and then said, “
Yeah, it’s okay. It sounds like it’s worth waiting for anyway.”

“
Excellent selection, you won’t be disappointed.” Rebecca said as she uncorked the wine. She poured a bit in Armin’s glass.

He swirled it for a moment, tasted and said, “
Perfect.”

“
Very good…” Rebecca replied. “Will you be having wine ma’am?”

Anabelle wasn
’t much of a drinker and to complicate matters she had an empty stomach. On the other hand, she was feeling on a bit on edge and with at least a couple of hours still ahead of her, she thought that a little bit couldn’t hurt.

“
Yes, please. But, only a little.” She replied.

Rebecca nodded, poured and said, “
I’ll put the order in for you. Can I bring you anything else in the meantime?”

“
No, thanks Rebecca.” Armin said.

Rebecca left and before Anabelle realized it thirty minutes had quickly gone by. During that time, the three of them had already managed to get through one of the bottles of wine. Lucky for Anabelle, Rebe
cca had left some warm bread behind. Even so, she was beginning to feel the effects.

Buzzing a bit, Anabelle said, “
She wasn’t kidding about that meal taking a while was she?”

Armin smiled and said, “
No. She wasn’t. But, it’s worth the wait.”

“
Like all good things…” Anabelle said.

“
True.” Tanner replied.

Anabelle then asked, “
Would you mind if we get to why we’re here? The interview, I mean…”

“
Oh right…” Armin replied. “Back to business eh?”

“
Something like that.” She said as she rummaged through her bag.

“
That’s fine but before we do, my brother and I have something to say to you Anabelle.” Armin said.