Dreams Do Come True Read Free Page B

hotel. She was available if they needed anything from her. She waved to the guys and Martin while making her way up to her room. The hallways were filled with people coming in from the other downtown events. She couldn’t wait to lie across her bed
    Shontell was just about to get undressed when her phone rang. Glancing at the glowing screen, she saw it was her best friend, Sandy.
    “Okay, so give me the digs. Are they really hot up close and more personal?”
    “OMG, yes! It has taken so much for me to be professional being as big of a fan as I am, but I did okay. But guess what? Remember when I asked Nico for his gum last year when we took pictures with them? He actually remembered that. Can you freaking believe it?”
    “WHAT?! Are you serious?” her best friend screamed into her ear. 
    She took the phone away from her ear and started laughing. “Yep,” she said as she crossed her legs and made herself comfortable. They talked about the rest of the evening, including the dance. While they were talking, she heard a knock on her door. She told Sandy to hold on and she got up and went to look out the peephole. When she discovered it was Nico, she quickly checked her clothes and patted her hair down. 
    Then she slowly opened the door.
     
     

Nico
     
    Nico had stood outside her door for a few minutes before actually getting up the nerve to knock. He kept glancing around and was glad that the hallway was clear.  When the guys decided to run over to the casino, he convinced himself that this idea was a good one. He couldn’t believe how anxious he was. When he knocked, he hoped that she would be okay with this.  He didn’t want her to think he was crazy.
    “Is something wrong?” Shontell asked, clearly concerned.
    “Actually, no. I was just wondering if you were up for a nightcap.” He held up a bottle of wine and two glasses.
    Hesitating for a moment, she opened the door wider. He walked in. He noticed that she was on a call as she went to grab her phone. She picked it up and spoke briefly to end the call. Maybe he was crazy for coming to her room; he didn’t know if she had a boyfriend or not. For a moment, he felt uneasy. Taking a breath, he said to himself, “ Oh well, here goes nothing.”
    “I hope you don’t mind my being bold,” he said as he gestured toward the wine. He pulled the cork opener from his pocket and set the bottle down to open it. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to sleep after we perform, and for some reason I’m very wired.” They sat on the couch in the sitting area. 
    “It’s okay. I was just up talking to my best friend anyway,” Shontell told him, helping him with what he was doing. She held her glass as he poured. “So after tomorrow, where are you headed?” she inquired.
    “Well, we have one show in Indiana, then we go for media promotions in Miami, then we are on our cruise for five days, and then we have a week off before we go overseas for about six weeks,” Nico explained as he noticed her smile. His heartbeat sped up. He wished at that moment that he had the ability to read minds. “What’s that smile for?” he asked her. When she wasn’t quick to reply, he thought it was better not to press her. “So what about you? What fascinating things do you have set up?”
    “Well, I have two corporate meetings early next week. Then, I am on vacation for two weeks while my business partner handles the smaller events we have planned.”
    “Vacation! Now that’s a word I rarely use. Do you have any plans?” Nico leaned over and refilled her glass, then his.
    Shontell laughed, and he looked at her quizzically. He felt like he was missing something. He took a sip of his wine, tasting the bitterness on his tongue as he admired her. She played with her hair. The action intrigued him.
    “Actually, I signed up for your twenty-fifth anniversary cruise. I’m so excited. I love the water, but I’ve never been on a cruise before. So I am really looking forward to this.”