“It sounds perfect,” Bristol said. She closed the door and stripped off her wet clothes. The water was cooler than she liked, but she wanted to be alert and awake tonight. The massage invigorated her, or maybe it was the time spent with Annie, but either way she was ready for more. She dried off, slipped on a robe, and waited for Phoebe. She looked at herself in the mirror. When was the last time she did something without any help?

“Are you ready?” Phoebe asked.

She sat back and allowed her staff to take over. They had her primped and ready within the hour. Lizzy popped her head in.

“Annie and Charley are here. Security is in place,” she said.

Bristol knew Lizzy was pissed. “Hey. Why don’t you just stay home tonight? I’ll be with security and Annie and Charley. You need a night off.” For a moment, Bristol thought Lizzy would take the bait.

“No. Somebody needs to watch out for you.”

“Look, I love you, but I don’t need a babysitter. Nobody’s going to kill me or kidnap me. If they tried, security would take them out. And I’m not going to do anything to get me arrested. I’m going to have a drink or two and dance.” She stood and grabbed Lizzy’s hands. “Let me have tonight, okay?”

“Is it because you need it, or you need time with Annie?”

Bristol gritted her teeth but kept the smile on her face. “Does it matter? I won’t be a prisoner here, Lizzy. Tonight, I’m going out, and that’s the end of it.”

Lizzy took a step back and nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”

Bristol watched her walk out of the room. It was the second time she’d had to remind Lizzy that she was still in charge of things. She appreciated Lizzy’s concern most days, but she had a life, too. There weren’t any skeevy producers or predatory record executives here.

“Who’s ready to keep the fun going?” Even though Annie and Charley stood side by side, Bristol only had eyes for Annie. She was wearing a little black dress, like last night, only this one was shorter and had long sleeves. “You look amazing.” She gave Annie a solid up and down and then turned to Charley. “So do you.” Bristol appreciated Charley’s attempt not to burst out laughing at her redirect.

“Thank you,” Annie said.

“No purse?” Bristol asked.

Annie patted Charley’s jacket. “She’s holding all the valuables. I don’t have any pockets, and I don’t want to stress about where my things are.”

“I understand. How about we find out what Caesars means when they say VIP?”

“Just the three of us?”

Bristol nodded. “And security.”

“We’re ready,” Annie said.