Thanks everyone for your reviews and follows. Things are a bit calm, but trust me, there is a big surprise coming in Las Vegas. (a couple actually) Thank you for reading my story. Follow me on twitter amd6841. Thanks!

AD

"Hi, Nora," Trent said as he stood on the front stoop of what once was his house. It was smaller than he remembered. He always felt stifled in this nondescript house in the valley. Loftier dreams kept him from being satisfied with a gorgeous wife and beautiful child. Every once in a while he would feel a pang of regret. Those feelings intensified when he saw how successful his daughter was becoming. He hoped that in some way he could say he was responsible for it, but he knew that wasn't true. Nevertheless, he wanted to benefit from it.

"Trent," Nora said. She was waiting for him to tell her why he was at her house.

"Can I come in?" Trent asked. He looked past Nora and saw Max walking up behind her. This was going to be fun.

"I don't think – "

"I come in peace," Trent said holding up his hands. "I just wanted to tell you that I saw Loren today."

"Yeah, she told me about that," Nora said. Against her better judgment, Nora stepped aside and let Trent into the living room.

"Trent this is Max Duran; Max, this is Trent McCall, Loren's father."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Max," Trent said as he held out his hand.

"I wish I could say the same," Max said refusing to shake.

"What is it you want to tell me, Trent?" Nora asked.

"Just that Loren and I had a good talk . . . "

"She told me," Nora said getting frustrated.

"Did she tell you about my offer in Las Vegas?" Trent asked. He took in Nora's features. She was still beautiful. The blush he remembered crept into her cheeks as she became more upset. It only added to her beauty.

"What offer?" Max asked. In everything that had happened today, Nora had forgotten to tell Max about Trent offering the condominium while in Las Vegas.

"Trent offered us some condos next week in Las Vegas for the awards show," Nora said.

"We don't need your help," Max said.

"Both Loren and Eddie like the idea," Nora said. She hated to disagree with Max in front of Trent, but he needed to know that Loren and Eddie wanted to stay there.

"They're too kind-hearted," Max said.

"Logistically it is easier to secure," Trent said. "I can provide any extra security you'll need."

"Where's the building?" Nora asked.

Trent grinned at Nora. "Do you remember that trip we took to Vegas right before you found out you were pregnant with Loren?"

Nora stole a quick glance at Max before she nodded her head.

"That little motel, I think it was called the Golden Sombrero, was the only place we could afford to stay. Remember?" Trent asked.

Again Nora simply nodded, but this time she had a small smile.

"I bought that property and a few around it, and converted it into condos."

"So you ran a local business out and put up a corporate high rise?" Max asked.

"I made the previous owners a generous offer, and I even have a few framed photographs of the original motel up in the lobby."

"That's sweet," Nora said. She hated that memories of that trip to Vegas made her smile. She was young and in love at the time. That made all things seemed more romantic than perhaps they really were, but that's what they're supposed to be.

Max didn't say anything but simply sat back down on the couch. Nora knew he was a little upset that they were going to be accepting Trent's offer. She would make him see that it was in the best interest of their children's safety to stay away from the strip.

After an awkward silence, Nora said, "Thank you for the offer. I guess we'll see you next week?"

"Yes, I will be there to manage any issues you have," Trent said with a charming smile. He knew what made Nora weak. She loved him once, and he knew how he made her fall in love with him. "You and Max will of course be offered a penthouse suite along with Loren and Eddie. Plus I have any additional condos you may need."

"Thank you," Nora said.

"I guess I should go, but I'll have everything ready on Tuesday," Trent said. "It was nice meeting you Max."

Max simply nodded from his position on the couch.

Nora closed the door after Trent and slowly turned the lock, delaying her return to the couch. Once she did turn around, she saw that Max wasn't happy.

"Why did you accept his help?" Max asked.

"It was for the kids," Nora said. "Besides, it's what they wanted."

Max turned away and rubbed his chin.

"Listen," Nora said as she sat down next to Max and grabbed his hand, "Loren wants to see where this relationship with Trent goes. I can't stop her. I'm worried sick that he's going to break her heart again, but if I oppose this then I become the bad guy. I have to let her try. If that means accepting this offer of his for next week, then that's what I have to do. Being a parent means making difficult decisions. You know all about that, don't you?"

Max turned to Nora and allowed a smile to spread across his face. She was right. It wasn't always about what you wanted, not when your children were involved.

"Okay," Max said. "I suppose." After a sigh he added, "But for the record, I want to rip his head off for what he did to you and Loren 14 years ago."

"Trust me, there was a time I would have loved to see that," Nora laughed. "But, he's still Loren's father."

"I know," Max said.

"But I've heard her say that you were more of a father to her than Trent ever was," Nora said. This made Max's smile grow even bigger.

"I like hearing that," Max said.

Nora put her head on Max's chest and squeezed him, loving the feel of his strong chest as she pressed up against him. Her hand rubbed across it and slowly worked her way to the buttons of his shirt, undoing each one methodically.

"So can we forget about this for now?" Nora asked as she kissed each new area of skin exposed by the unbuttoning.

"I think that can be arranged," Max laughed.

"So there's no way you can get out of your Precal final on Wednesday?" Eddie asked as they were driving back to Hollywood from Mel's house.

"No," Loren said, "I told you; Principal Nolan doesn't want a repeat of the cheating scandal, so she won't let me take it early."

"Want me to talk to her?" Eddie smiled.

"Are you gonna use your rockstar superpowers on her?" Loren laughed.

"I can try," Eddie said.

"Nah," Loren said. "I'll just fly up Wednesday with Mom and Max." Then Loren got an idea, "Why don't you call Mitchell and go out with him Tuesday night?"

"What?"

"Yeah," Loren said liking the idea more. "You guys can talk and maybe you can get some closure."

"Maybe," Eddie said. Loren could tell he was hesitant.

"Eddie, you need to do this. He's willing to talk with you; maybe he needs closure too. This couldn't have been easy on him. You said that you two were best friends. He lost his friend when he lost you."

"I guess I never thought of it that way," Eddie said.

Loren let Eddie think about it in silence while she stared out the car window looking at Hollywood appear before her. She couldn't stop thinking about Mel.

"I hope Mel and Adam can work things out," Loren said out loud, more to herself.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked.

"I asked her if he was coming to Las Vegas, and she said she didn't think so," Loren said.

"What's their issue?" Eddie asked.

"Adam is going to NYU in the fall. He originally said he'd stay here, but Mel knows it's his dream to go to New York and told him to go. He took it as she wanted to break up." Loren shook her head and sighed, "It's really complicated."

"Sounds like it," Eddie said.

Loren looked over at Eddie, "What if we had completely different goals?"

Eddie was surprised by this question, "What do you mean?"

"We're together so much right now because our lives are on similar paths, but what if they weren't? Would our relationship still be strong?"

Eddie took Loren's hand and kissed the back of it, "Life has a way of working things out. Our relationship is strong because of our love. Nothing will break that, not time, not distance or anything."

"You're 'death' almost broke it," Loren muttered.

"Hey, stop," Eddie said. "We overcame that, okay?"

Loren couldn't help tearing up, "What about this stalker? He said he was going to take you away from me now that I told you – "

"Hey, Shhh," Eddie said. He pulled over onto the side of Sunset and stopped the car, taking her in his arms. Loren released a sob she had been fighting to hold back.

"I learned to live without you once," she said burying her face in his shoulder. "I don't think I could do it again."

"You won't have to," Eddie said. "I promise."

"I saw you everywhere," Loren said, "At school, in my dreams, at your apartment. You were there smiling at me . . . like a ghost. I don't know if that helped or hurt."

"Baby – "

"And now, it's like every time I hug you, or kiss you, or . . ." Loren started to blush, but she had to say this, "We make love, I want to remember every second, every touch, everything I'm feeling in case it's the last time."

"Loren," Eddie said not knowing what else he could say to reassure her, "I promise you, there is no way I would let anything separate you from me. I would move heaven and earth to get back to you." He cupped her face in his hands and slowly, gently kissed her. He pulled back and softly rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. "You don't know the hell I went through trying to get back to you. I dreamt about you; I saw you every time I closed my eyes." He shook his head, "I don't ever want to go through that again. I love you."

"Baby, I love you too," Loren said as she kissed him and rubbed his cheek with the back of her hand. "You know, that's the most you've ever told me about what happened to you when you were with Jeremy and Lia," Loren said. "How come you don't like to talk about it?"

Eddie sat back in his seat causing Loren to lose contact with his face. He shook his head as he said, "It's just a dark time I don't want to relive. They got what they wanted from me and Jake, and I came back to you. That's all that matters."

"What did they want?" Loren asked.

"A kick start with their career," Eddie said as he put the car in gear, "And money to save their family's farm."

Loren nodded, "Well, I will forever be grateful that they brought you back to me."

"Yeah," Eddie said as he pulled back out onto Sunset and headed to the penthouse. He felt a tiny pang of guilt for not telling Loren about the kiss that Lia forced on him, but he justified it by believing that he probably wouldn't have to see Lia again anytime soon and knowing that Loren would be the only woman he would ever love.

"Hi, babe," Raymond said as he walked into Chloe's apartment.

"Hi . . . Raymond," Chloe said as she was left holding open the door after he walked in. She wondered what he was doing at her apartment. They had said "good bye" last night with no plans to see each other again. It's not that Chloe minded seeing him again; he was handsome and popular, but she wasn't sure what his intention was yet. She didn't like being used; she'd rather be the one in control. Raymond disrupted her plans, and she didn't like that.

Chloe shut the door and walked over to the couch where Raymond had made himself comfortable.

"What are you doing next weekend?" Raymond asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't have any plans," Chloe said, "But then again I haven't heard from Milton – "

"Forget about him," Raymond said. "Do you really think he can further your movie career?" He waved his hand dismissively. "You need to put yourself out there where you can be seen by the right people, and I have just the idea."

"Okay, I'll bite," Chloe said. "What do you have in mind?"

Raymond grinned, "Las Vegas."

Eddie had Loren laughing at some of the crazy things that she had to look forward to on the tour by the time they got back to the penthouse.

"And I swear to God, my pants ripped right on the seam during the song," Eddie laughed. Loren was doubled over with laughter. "I felt like I could hear it, but I know I couldn't because I was singing and the music's so loud. But I definitely felt it. It's like all of a sudden I had more room in my ass."

Loren had tears coming out of her eyes. "What did you do?" She choked out.

"The song was only halfway done, and I had another chorus to sing, but my guitar player, Mickey, you'll meet him in Vegas, he saw what happened, and he dragged out the solo while I changed my pants."

"Oh, my stomach hurts," Loren said. "Wow that is so awesome."

The elevator doors opened and Kelly was standing outside Eddie's door.

"Hey Kel," Loren said as she wiped her eyes. She was surprised to see her there. "Is everything okay?"

Kelly looked from Eddie to Loren and shook her head. "No, it's not."

"Come in," Eddie said as he unlocked the door and opened it for everyone to enter. "I hope you weren't waiting long; you should have called first."

"No, I couldn't," Kelly said. She held up her phone and shook it back and forth. "This phone was given to me by Jake, and it's under his account. I couldn't risk anyone knowing I was going to come over here."

"Why would you coming over here be strange?" Eddie asked.

"Kelly, you're starting to scare me," Loren said. "What's going on?"

Kelly looked Eddie in the eyes and started to tear up as she said, "I don't want you to think I'm being disloyal, but I think there is a leak at the office, and I think it's Jake."

"You want another drink?" a woman's voice asked.

Jake struggled to focus on the glass sitting on the table in the VIP section of the club. Being Eddie Duran's manager had its perks; he could get into any club in town and was shown first class service. This was something he never took advantage of when he was married to Tracy; she wouldn't go out. Now he was making up for lost time.

"If it's empty, fill it up," Jake laughed loudly over the thump of the music.

The woman let out a throaty laugh as she filled Jake's glass with more vodka. Jake took another long drink and sighed as the liquid went down his throat and warmed his belly. Alcohol was the only way he was coping with the last several weeks. His lawyer told him that Tracy wanted a quick divorce, but also wanted her share of the fortune he had made since Eddie's star took off. Jake didn't want to contest it; Tracy put up with a lot while he was out living his dream. There were many lonely nights and long days. There was even a missed birthday.

"So," the woman said with a purr, "What's going on this week?"

Jake took another long drink. He closed his eyes and rubbed one with the heel of his hand trying to get it to focus better. Realizing it was futile, he just started laughing, "I don't know what the hell is going on," he finally laughed. "I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow."

"C'mon Jake," the woman urged, "You know I love hearing about your life."

"Oh yeah?" Jake said as he put his arm around her shoulder. "What is it about me that fascinates you?"

"This," she said as she leaned in and gave Jake a kiss. Jake leaned into her and enjoyed the feeling of her lips on him. She was different than Tracy; she had fire and excitement, both things he hadn't felt in a while.

Jake pulled away and shook his head, "I think I need to pour myself into a cab and head home."

"What?" the woman pouted. "I thought I could come home with you."

"Why?" Jake asked standing up from the booth, "So I can talk your ear off again?"

"You need a friend," the woman said as she stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. "And I can be that for you."

"Why do you think it's Jake?" Eddie asked as he brought Kelly a glass of wine and handed it to her as he sat on the couch. Loren was sitting on the coffee table across from Kelly rubbing her knee lightly trying to offer her support. Kelly was on the verge of tears as she spoke.

"He's been acting . . . weird since Tracy left. I mean really, really weird," Kelly said and then took a drink. "His business," Kelly stopped and looked directly at Eddie, "And you, were his life. He did everything when it came to you. If I even tried to step in, he would quickly put me in my place." Kelly continued, "Do you remember that first time you two worked on 'Mars' and he and I came over to listen?" At their nods she continued, "I suggested you work with Loren on more songs, Eddie, remember? When we got back to the office he was upset that I stepped in and offered advice on your career. He said it was his domain."

Kelly took another drink and then a deep breath. "I won't get into what's happened between us, because honestly that's secondary. But this . . . apathy towards your career," Kelly shook her head, "It's not like him. He's missed more and more things. Frankly, I'm shocked he's going to Vegas. I completely expect him to bail before the plane takes off."

"I won't let him," Eddie said. "I've never known Jake to be apathetic about anything." He shook his head as he said, "I've turned a blind eye too long because of my loyalty to him, but if he has a problem we need to help him."

"How do you think the information is getting out?" Loren asked.

"Either someone has bugged our phones or office, or . . . " Kelly said.

"Someone, most likely a female," Eddie said, "Has gotten close to him, and he's spilling secrets."

"Eddie?" Loren said as she walked out on stage. The arena was empty. There was no one backstage. All of the band's instruments were set up as if the show was about to start, but there was no one there to play them.

"Eddie?" Loren said again as she walked to the middle of the stage where a microphone on a stand was set up. A spotlight, bright as the sun, tripped on and shone on her when she reached it. She tapped the microphone and heard that it was turned on by the echoing thump. Despite herself, she smiled and started to sing. She panicked. Her mind went blank. She couldn't remember the words to a single song. She looked behind her and all of the band members were now there staring at her, waiting for her to sing so they could start the song, but Eddie was nowhere.

Her heart was racing. Her eyes started to sting from the tears that were welling. She turned back around to the arena and saw that it was now filled. Everyone was wearing black and many were holding lit white candles like at a memorial. She looked out into the crowd and noticed posters and pictures of Eddie. One caught her eye on the front row. It had a picture of Eddie, the poster with the guitar and black jacket that she had had hanging in her room for so long, and under it said, "RIP Eddie."

Loren sat up in bed and looked over to find Eddie fast asleep next to her. She tightened her hands into fists and fought the urge to scream in frustration. Her dreams were turning into nightmares, and she couldn't control them. She had to get her fears out of her head where they were ruling her subconscious the only way she knew how. She slowly got out of bed and headed downstairs to find a guitar.