The Nashville Bet

by Shana Gray

  “We may have discussed it, but I haven’t made any decisions. All I know is a long-distance relationship rarely works.”

  “I beg to differ with you on that one. I know two people who have successfully made a long-distance relationship work. And I think three times could be the charm.” Celia reached over and placed her hand on Ava’s, squeezing it gently.

  “Oh, I don’t know. It just seems so complicated.” She was looking at all the negatives, none of the positives, which was so backwards for her. But, she was worried the negatives would overtake the positives before long.

  “Listen, Aves, it’s only complicated if you make it complicated. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. If anybody had a complicated situation, it was me,” Celia said wisely. “Look, I have two kids, dickhead for an ex-husband, and found a new man who is okay with my baggage. He helps carry it, for crying out loud.” The love that flooded over Celia’s face told Ava everything she needed to know. She was happy it had worked out so wonderfully for her friend. She’d met a great man, taken a risk and it had worked out for her.

  “But I’m afraid,” Ava said in a low voice

  “Oh honey, what are you afraid of?” Celia scooted closer and tightened her arm around her shoulder.

  Ava looked at Celia, trying to decide if this was the moment to own up to her fear.

  “That I’ll fall so hard and it won’t work out and I’ll be broken,” she blurted.

  Celia tightened her arm around Ava. “Look, what if you don’t give it a try? You’ll always wonder. And all you’ve talked about all these years is finding your soul mate. The love of your life. To fill your world with romance.”

  “I know, right? I’m broken, aren’t I?” Ava dropped her face into her hands and didn’t bother to hold back the tears.

  “You’re not broken. You’re the most warm and compassionate person I know. Why would you ever think you’re broken? You deserve this. You owe it to yourself to take that plunge and see. If I can do it, you most certainly can, too.”

  “Celia, I know everybody goes through their own dramas in life. We all get hurt and we all either get over it or we don’t. Yes, the idea of romance and love is powerful for me and something I so desperately want.”

  Celia took Ava’s hands in hers. “I can’t tell you what to do. All I know is I was indecisive with Landon but you guys helped me see it could work. I don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity with Chase. You deserve love.”

  Ava sucked in a big breath and squeezed Celia’s hands.

  “At least I’ll be able to say I knew him when,” she sniffed through the tears.

  “Look at you! Don’t be such an idiot. We now have access to a private jet, Chase is loaded and there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t see each other every weekend if you want to. It can be done.” Celia was adamant.

  “But I don’t want to be a kept woman. I’ve fought hard for my independence,” Ava countered.

  “Listen, you are young, have no kids and your business skills translate so well into telecommuting it wouldn’t be hard for you to work remotely.” Ava opened her mouth to say something but Celia wouldn’t let her talk. “Geez, if the Beast hadn’t trusted Belle, she would never have come back for him. And in Notting Hill! That’s like you two, and they made it work. And what if Dorothy had given up—like you’re talking about doing—and gave her ruby slippers to the Wicked Witch? She would never have found her way home.”

  “The Wizard of Oz is not a love story,” Ava pointed out.

  “But the metaphor still stands, dammit. Follow the yellow brick road, Dorothy, and find some courage, trust your heart and use your brains!”

  Ava digested that, and a little bit of hope sparked inside her. Maybe it could work. But she still wasn’t entirely sure.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Ava ushered her friends into the suite. “Hurry up! We’re late as it is, and I don’t want to miss any of the show. Chase is going to be on pretty soon.”

  “If Celia hadn’t been all caught up having phone sex with Landon, we wouldn’t be in such a damn rush,” Fredi said, tossing her purse on the counter.

  “Oh, but it was worth it. I’m all trembly now.” Celia had a faraway look in her eyes.

  “Eesh, whatever. You could have waited until you got home tomorrow and then got all stupid with him. I can’t bleach my ears, ya know.” Fredi gave a delicate shiver.

  “Oh come on, cranky pants. I miss my man’s lovin’.” Celia eyed her when she took off her sweater.

  “I got the only man I need, and he’s replenishable.”

  Bonni held up her hand. “Don’t wanna hear about B.O.B., please.”

  The all chuckled. “I certainly hope we don’t have those horrible people sharing the suite with us this time.” Celia went over and took a beer out of the fridge. “Anyone else?”

  They all said yes and she handed bottles around.

  “Oh, I hope not. They were awful.” Bonni walked down to the railing and looked over.

  “Everybody stay away from Ava’s food. We learned our lesson the last time and we don’t need a repeat,” Fredi reminded everyone.

  “Okay, guys, enough. Chase is about to come on.” She rushed down to the railing and grabbed it with tight fingers. She couldn’t believe how nervous she felt for him. He’d done this so many times, been on stage in front of thousands of people, but here she was, safely high up out of the limelight, and yet she was shaking for him. It was rather silly.

  The current act played their finishing notes and left the stage. The crowd roared and the decibel level in the stadium nearly blew the roof off.

  Ava’s heart thumped painfully in her chest and she felt physically ill with nerves for Chase.

  “Ava, calm down. You’re hyperventilating,” Fredi told her, and rubbed her back.

  “I can’t believe how nervous I am. Why am I nervous? He’s the one that should be nervous, not me. Oh my God.” Ava started to wring her hands and pace around.

  Celia came up and took her arm. She leaned in and whispered, “And you tell me you don’t have powerful feelings for this man. Look how you’re behaving when he’s going to be on stage. You love him. Admit it. And don’t be a stubborn fool and lose this chance with a great guy.”

  Ava stared at Celia and digested her words. She was right. She did love him. And she hadn’t told him. Panic welled up inside her. All she’d done was try and push him away because of her own stupid fears. But those fears were still real. They were still legitimate. How could they possibly make things work?

  The announcer came on and introduced Chase. He played a couple of his older tunes and the crowd was ecstatic. He was a natural. He worked the stage and the crowd like the pro he was. Ava could never, ever force him to give up something he was so good at, something he loved to do.

  She watched, her chest swelling with pride for him. He was so damn amazing.

  He finished his songs then took the microphone off the stand. He raised his hand in the air and the crowd went silent.

  “Oh no, what’s he going to do?” Ava asked, her nerves shooting through the roof.

  “He’s going to propose to you. Just like Luke did to Rayna on Nashville!” Celia squealed.

  “He will not.” Fredi shook her head and frowned. “No way would he do something like that.”

  “Oh God,” Bonni said, and held her breath.

  “Thank you, Nashville!” Chase shouted into the microphone. “I’m thrilled to be here, and I have an exciting announcement to make.”

  “Oh, here it comes,” Fredi said.

  “I’ll be coming back to sing for y’all with Lance Warrington.” The crowd erupted.

  Ava felt relief and disappointment flood through her. What had she been expecting?

  “Oh shit. He didn’t.” Celia sounded hugely disenchanted.

  But Ava was conflicted. Part of her couldn’t even imagine how she would feel if he had. What would she have done? Accepted, right?

  “It certainl
y would’ve been TMZ-worthy,” Bonni commented.

  Ava gripped the rail tighter and leaned on her arms; she was nearly panting again, but this time it was relief. Or was it? Had she wanted him to propose? Was she disappointed he hadn’t? She shook her head and chastised herself. He’d never do anything like that on stage. It would be super-embarrassing for him and make him totally vulnerable.

  Oh, but it would be romantic. She let out a soft sigh. Imagine if a man loved a woman so much he’d bare his soul in public to profess his love and propose!

  “And now I’m giving a shout-out to some very special friends of mine that are watching from up there in one of the suites.” Chase lifted his arm and pointed in their direction. A sea of eyes turned toward them.

  “He just outed us!” Celia was bouncing on her toes. She waved liked crazy and hooted her hellos to the crowd.

  “Oh man.” Fredi sank into the seat.

  “They are the funnest bunch of gals. Give a big hello to Bonni, Fredi, Celia and my special friend, Ava!”

  He touched his lips with his two fingers then blew the kiss up to them in the suite.

  “Oh my God. Ava, he just blew you a kiss.” Celia was almost breathless with excitement.

  Ava was paralyzed; the most she could do was lift her hand in a wave. She watched Chase turn and leave the stage, his arm in the air. Just before he went behind the curtain he paused for a moment and glanced up. He was too far away for her to see his eyes, but it was as if everything suddenly magnified and she knew he was looking at her. Her heart tumbled in her chest. He was really doing a number on her and she had no idea how she would have the strength to walk away from him.

  “Is there an Ava in the house?” A woman’s voice called from behind them and they all stood up and turned around.

  “Can the night get any better?!” Celia could barely contain herself.

  “I’m Ava.” She stepped in front of Celia then her mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe it! Fiona? You’ve come up to our suite! I’m floored!”

  “Yep, I have. But I’m actually here to spirit you away. But first you have to put this on.” She handed Ava a T-shirt emblazoned with CHASE HUDSON IS ALWAYS RIGHT.

  Ava burst out laughing and took it from her. “I’d totally forgotten about this, but what do you mean ‘spirit me away?’ Ava couldn’t comprehend everything that was going on. This was just becoming way too overwhelming. But she wouldn’t trade it for a second.

  “First, I’m doing some personal autographing at your request for your friends while you put that shirt on.” Fiona held up some photos and CDs and started signing them. Her friends gathered around her and they were all chattering up a storm. Ava dashed into the restroom and changed. When she came back out into the suite Fiona was finished and came forward to take Ava’s hand. “You and I have a little business to attend to.”

  “We do?” Ava asked.

  She followed Fiona out of the suite with a backward look to her friends. She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’ll text you.”

  Her friends waved and all shouted for her to have a good time. They were looking shocked and very happy. Then they turned and rushed back down to the railing to see the rest of the show.

  Bodyguards surrounded them as they made their way through the stadium, down some elevators into the backstage area.

  “You’re probably wondering what’s going on,” Fiona said as she hurried along in the pocket of her bodyguards.

  “Kind of, yes.” Ava trotted to keep up with the group as they rushed through the halls.

  “I have to go on soon, but I wanted to bring you backstage.”

  “But why?” Ava was still numb from the surprise of everything that had just happened.

  “Because I wanted to tell you something. I want to talk to you about Chase. He told me about you. I’ve known Chase a lot of years, and it was never anything romantic, so don’t worry about that, but I’ve not seen him taken with a woman like he is with you. Ever.”

  She pulled her into her dressing room and shut the door. “Here, have a glass of champagne.” Ava accepted the glass and drank it down like she’d been crawling through a desert and was absolutely parched.

  “I can’t tell you what to do. All I know is I can tell you what a great guy he is.” Fiona finished her glass of champagne and looked in the mirror, glancing at Ava in the reflection. “I urge you to give it a chance.” She smoothed down her dark hair and took off her over shirt, revealing a fantastic sparkly mini-dress. She shoved her feet into screamingly high shoes that were equally as sparkly.

  “Wow, you look amazing.” Ava finally found her voice. “You surprised the heck out of me just now. Thank you for bringing me here and for treating my friends like you did. I’ll never forget it. And thank you for what you said about Chase. If he’s told you about me, then I imagine he’s told you my concerns. Trust me, this is not an easy decision to make.”

  Fiona stepped forward and put her hands on her shoulders. “I know it’s not. Remember, the decision is as hard or as easy as you want to make it. Don’t overthink it. Overthinking will ruin everything. I’m just giving my friend Chase a little help here. Remember what I said. Now, I have to go, but listen to your heart.” Fiona gave her a quick hug and was out the door, leaving Ava in a whirlwind of emotion, perfume and disquiet.

  A bodyguard came in. “Fiona asked me to escort you to the stage. You can watch the performances from back here now.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The excitement of being backstage was absolutely thrilling and Ava was having the time of her life. She hadn’t seen Chase yet but figured he was off busy doing whatever singers do before they go on stage. A few minutes later she heard excited female voices and turned around to see her friends approaching with happy smiles.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Ava opened her arms for a big hug. She soooo needed her friends now.

  “Chase’s agent, some dude named Dozer, came and got us. He said we had backstage passes. Here we are.” Celia fell into her arms and hugged her tight.

  “Wow, this just couldn’t get any better.” Ava was absolutely thrilled her friends were back here with her.

  “I’m beyond words,” Fredi said, and pushed her way in front of them so she could see better.

  “If I was stronger, I would put you on my shoulders, Freds,” Bonni told her, humor in her voice. Fredi turned around and scowled.

  They all focused on the stage when the next act was introduced. It was Lance with his special guest, Chase Hudson.

  The four of them jumped up and down, clapping their hands and screaming like groupies. Ava was thrilled. She was backstage to watch her man sing. More and more as this day wore on, she was beginning to realize just how important he was to her. Her determination to have only this weekend with him was beginning to wane. She wanted more.

  “There he is,” she said, and watched him walk out to the stage from the other side. He saw her and gave her a sexy, slow wink. She nearly fainted and her friends screamed like teenagers and waved back at him.

  He looked wonderful. His hair was tousled about his shoulders and his hat, low on his forehead, reminded her of their first kiss under its brim. He had on a deep green shirt and his jeans were like a second skin. A whisper of desire that this was her man rippled through her. Ava was captivated.

  Lance approached Chase and the two of them went up to the microphone.

  Lance took the lead. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am absolutely thrilled to have this amazing performer sing with me today. He’s got a couple of songs for you I think you’re gonna love, and I believe one of them is brand new. You heard it here first, folks.” Lance clapped Chase on the shoulder and stepped behind him as Chase began to play.

  “I know this one, it’s ‘You Drive Me Crazy.’ His number-one hit right now,” Celia said, and started to sing along with the rest of the crowd. Bonni and Fredi joined in and Ava was smiling like a fool before she also belted out the words.

  “This i
s the best,” Celia said when the song ended. “I thought we had it made when we were in the suite upstairs. But look at us now—backstage with all the great performers.”

  “This certainly is a surprise,” Bonni replied.

  “I’m just boggled,” Fredi said.

  “Quiet, everybody, he’s talking again,” Ava told them, and watched him up on the stage. She was so god damn proud she could bust.

  “Lance was right, y’all, I have a new song for you tonight. It’s so brand new I just wrote it the other day.” He had his hand around the microphone and leaned into it, looking up into the crowd, his other arm stretched out, pointing at everybody. “I’m really glad all y’all are here to hear it, but most importantly there’s one person I am especially glad to have hear it. Because I wrote it for her.”

  Ava’s heart catapulted into her chest and her friends let out gasps of delight. The crowd exploded.

  “And that woman,” Chase continued, then turned to look at her in the wings and pointed in her direction, “is standing right there, backstage, with her friends. This is for you, Boots.”

  “I could die!” Celia screamed as if he’d just dedicated the song to her.

  He began to sing, keeping his attention on Ava. She could barely hold back the tears. He sang about moonlit nights, fireflies in the trees, the whisper of a creek and the soft sighs of a woman, about finding that woman he’d always known was there waiting for him, even before he met her.

  Ava was moved to tears. She was almost sobbing and her friends gathered around to support her. And then Fiona was beside her, too.

  Chase finished his set with Lance, waved goodbye to the crowd and came off stage. Ava broke free from her friends and threw herself at Chase. He caught her and swung her around. She sobbed into his neck and he held her as she cried. Never had she felt safer or more loved.

  “Oh, Chase, I love you. I do. So much.” She gulped in air and wound her arms around his neck. “But, but how—”