All the Right Things (Love in LA) by Audrey Harte Page B

innocently naïve.
    Glancing at Alex, Annie shook her head and smiled. “Ah nooo, we’re not dating. Although if Alex swung my way, I’d snap him up in a heartbeat.”
    Alex smirked at her as Keri looked at him again quickly, understanding finally dawning on her face.
    “Oh! I’m sorry. I just assumed…” She had the grace to look embarrassed.
    Chuckling, Alex assured her it was fine—an honest mistake. Keri’s eyes widened as she glanced behind them, her mouth going a little slack before she caught herself and smiled coyly. Puzzled, Annie turned around to look at whomever Keri was smiling at and her own mouth dropped open in surprise.
    “Casey! What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren’t going to be able to make the audition.” She couldn’t believe her eyes. He was here! And he looked great and smelled so good as she lifted her arms to accept the hug he was leaning forward to give her. He even gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making her grin in delight.
    “Well, the guys begged me to reconsider, and this amazing girl I know convinced me that I should give it a shot.”
    Annie’s face fell when she heard that, making Casey laugh at her expression. “What?” she asked, feeling a bit miffed that he was laughing at her.
    “Uh, I was talking about you,” he said, grinning.
    “Oh!” Annie turned bright red and started studying her toes. “I knew that,” she mumbled.
    “So are you always this rude or are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Alex said, elbowing her.
    Feeling her face flush again in embarrassment, Annie nodded. “Yes, yes, I’m so sorry. Alex, this is Casey. Casey, this is my best friend and neighbor, Alex.”
    “Alex, nice to meet you. Annie’s told me a lot about you,” Casey said as he shook Alex’s hand.
    Alex smiled and nodded approvingly. “Likewise.”
    Annie was thinking that her cheeks were about to literally catch on fire when Keri lightly cleared her throat, making the three of them glance back at her. Grateful for the interruption, Annie hastily said, “Oh, and this is Keri. We met in line just now. She’s a singer as well.”
    “Nice to meet you, Keri,” Casey said, reaching out to shake her hand.
    “You as well,” Keri demurred, her hand lingering in Casey’s a little too long for Annie’s taste.
    “So where is the rest of your crew?” Annie asked, glancing around.
    Casey nodded towards the front of the line. “Up there in front. Crazy guys decided to camp out here last night so we could be first in line. They’re doing their best to make sure I make it back in time for tonight’s show.”
    “Ah, well that was nice of them.”
    “Yeah, they’re a good bunch,” Casey agreed. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat longer, but my boys are waiting for me, so I’d better get up there. I just saw you as I was walking up and wanted to say hi. I’ll call you later, okay?” he said as he leaned forward to give her another hug, this time catching her chin in his fingers and placing a light kiss on her lips.
    “Okay,” she said breathlessly, making Alex smirk at her again.
    “Break a leg, princess,” Casey said as he winked and walked away to join his crew at the front of the line. She could hear the guys howling excitedly in greeting as Casey walked up to them, which made her smile. Even if he was now her competition, she was glad he had been able to make the audition.
    “Princess?” Alex asked as he arched an eyebrow at her and smirked yet again.
    Annie smacked his arm. “Shut up,” she mumbled.
    “Wow. I mean, like really… wow ,” Keri said, still staring at Casey where he stood in line with his buddies.
    “Uh huh,” Annie agreed.
    Keri finally dragged her eyes back to them. “So uh, that’s who you’re dating then?”
    “Well…” Annie hesitated. They weren’t officially dating, yet, so she didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want Keri getting any bright ideas if she didn’t claim that they were. Thankfully,