I looked around for him backstage, but it was Gibson who found him. “Daddy! Uncle Justin’s here!”

Remembering my last words to him, I felt a little stupid when I was face to face with him. “Oh…hey…good to see you, man. How’s it been?”

Justin crooked me a smile as he looked me over. Gibson was holding on to his hand so tight, her little knuckles were white; she already had a thing for rock stars. I was not going to make it through her teen years.

“Things are good,” Justin answered me.

Running a hand through my hair, which was finally down to my eyes again, I let out a sigh. “Hey, I’m sorry about the stuff I said, about the album. I was being a dick. It wasn’t your fault your label didn’t want it. And honestly, it was crap.”

Justin’s eyebrows shot right up his forehead. “Wow. I totally thought you’d just gloss over that incident, pretend it didn’t happen.”

As I heard the theme music begin to play, I smiled. “The old me would have. But, you know, I’m trying to be more mature and shit.”

Gibson nodded. “And shit.”

Justin laughed as he looked down at her. “I can tell.” When he returned his eyes to me, he extended his hand. “Good luck tonight.” As I took it, he admitted, “I voted for you, by the way.”

I was surprisingly touched by his admission. “You did? Thanks, man. That means a lot.” After we separated, Justin bent down to kiss Gibson’s hand, then he handed her to me. For once, she didn’t want me. As I struggled to hold her away from him, I asked, “Hey, how’s Kate?”

Justin flashed me a grin that made Gibson sigh. I frowned at her while Justin said, “We’re great. I asked her to move in with me and she said yes. She’s moving to L.A. by the end of the month.” He seemed really pleased that I’d asked about Kate for once, and not Brooklyn. I probably should have been more encouraging about his and Kate’s relationship.

Clapping him on the shoulder, I tried to make up for all of my inappropriate comments. “That’s great. I’m glad you guys have decided to shack up. It’s about time.”

Justin frowned, then laughed and shook his head. “It’s good to see that you’re not entirely mature yet. I don’t know what I would do if you completely grew up.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but with a smirk and a shrug, I let it go.

After introductions and music from Justin’s band, it was time to begin hearing the results of last night’s voting. I was a wreck while I stood onstage waiting out my fate. They were making the announcements in groups of three. Liam had been in the group right before me, and he’d heard the golden words I was hoping to hear—You’re safe. I was the last one in my group of three. Both guys before me had been saved. I was happy for them, but at the same time, I knew that their success minutely made my odds worse.

With a straight face, I stared over at Matt, Evan, and Kellan. The three guys looked nervous as the host stepped up to me. I knew they didn’t have a say in my staying or going, but I hoped they were hoping I was continuing on. Breaking eye contact with them, I turned to the host when he said my name.

“Griffin Hancock…you had quite a night last night, but…was it enough?” He gave me a long, hard look before slowly opening the envelope in his hands. He took forever fumbling with the paper. I wanted to grab the damn thing out of his hands and see for myself if I was moving on or not, but instead, I made myself calmly stand there. It was the longest fucking ten seconds in my life, but finally, the dude gave me an Oscar-worthy grin. “It was. Congratulations, you’re safe.”

The crowd erupted into shrieks and my knees partially gave way. Thank God…for now, I was safe.

Chapter 27

Reconnecting

To give the potential bandmates a feel for what going on the road was like, all the contestants were being sequestered in the hotel…no visitors allowed. It made me miss Anna and the girls like crazy, but it gave Anna and me even more time to reconnect over the phone, which was surprisingly wonderful. And it usually wasn’t sexual either, which was sort of weird for us.

“What did you do after that?” I asked her. “Kick her ass? ’Cause that’s what I would do, if I heard some chick talking shit about you.”

“Well,” she hesitated, “I’m technically her boss, so I can’t really get physical with her…but I did make her wear a giant drumstick and walk up and down the block all afternoon. It was awesome.”

I laughed at her story as I lay back on the bed. I could totally picture Anna getting revenge on a lippy employee that way. Nobody messed with Anna and got away with it. “I also wrote her up and threatened to fire her if she ever called me a silicone-enhanced slut again.” She scoffed. “As if I’ve had implants. These puppies are real.”

I groaned as her breasts flashed in my brain. “Yes. Yes, they are. They’re perfect…just like you.”

She let out a happy sigh. “I’m nowhere near perfect, Griffin.”

“You’re my kind of perfect, and really, mine is the only opinion that matters.” I laughed, then sighed. “Well, mine and the entire nation’s…”

Understanding my reference, Anna murmured, “Are you nervous about tomorrow? Picking the final four…that’s a big one.”

Just her words gave me anxiety. “They’re all big ones…and yeah, I’m a little stressed.”

“Well, you were amazing tonight,” Anna said in encouragement. “I’m certain you’ll make it through.”

I wasn’t so sure. Everyone who was left was good. Really good. Over the past several weeks, the original twenty contestants had been tested, tried, and then, almost cruelly, weeded down. Since there were so few weeks in the contest, the cuts had been drastic. I’d been close to the chopping block a time or two, and positive that I was finished more than once. But somehow, I was still here. There were eight of us left, but after tomorrow…only four. Then next week, only two. Then the week after that was the finale, and only one person would be left standing. God, I hoped it was me.

Changing my focus, I told her, “Thank you for going on this crazy journey with me. I love you with every part of me. You’re my best friend, my soul mate, and I’m one lucky fuck for having you in my life.” I said something similar to this every time we talked, and the words flowed from me now. It was almost ridiculous that they’d ever been hard to say.

Anna was silent a second, then she said, “You don’t have to tell me that all the time, you know? I know you love me, Griff.”

“No, I do have to say it. I don’t want to be the douche who doesn’t let people in. I want those I care about to know I care about ’em. And you and the girls…well, nothing is more important to me than you three.”

A throaty laugh escaped her. “I like this new sensitive side to you, babe. It’s incredibly hot.”

I smiled in the darkness. “If you think that’s hot, just wait until this is over with. I’ll be so sensitive, you won’t know what to do with me.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something…Good night, babe. Good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Night.”

We hung up and I stared at my ceiling for thirty minutes before I finally passed out.

The next morning, I woke up with a very familiar pain in my stomach. It sort of felt like I’d eaten a pile of rocks last night, and they had all merged together into a super-rock that my body was never going to be able to pass without fatally injuring me. I knew the sensation would go away as soon as the results were read though. I was either moving on or not. Simple as that.

As I walked around backstage with Gibson on my shoulders—because even a rule about sequestering couldn’t keep my daughter from the stage—I muttered complaints about how the producers should give the contestants a heads-up on the results. “I mean, the polls closed at midnight, so they’ve known the results for hours. How hard is it to slip notes under our doors, letting us know if we should pack or not?”