“What did you do after that?” I asked her. “Kick her ass? ’Cause that’s what I would do, if I heard some chick talking shit about you.”

“Well,” she hesitated, “I’m technically her boss, so I can’t really get physical with her…but I did make her wear a giant drumstick and walk up and down the block all afternoon. It was awesome.”

I laughed at her story as I lay back on the bed. I could totally picture Anna getting revenge on a lippy employee that way. Nobody messed with Anna and got away with it. “I also wrote her up and threatened to fire her if she ever called me a silicone-enhanced slut again.” She scoffed. “As if I’ve had implants. These puppies are real.”

I groaned as her breasts flashed in my brain. “Yes. Yes, they are. They’re perfect…just like you.”

She let out a happy sigh. “I’m nowhere near perfect, Griffin.”

“You’re my kind of perfect, and really, mine is the only opinion that matters.” I laughed, then sighed. “Well, mine and the entire nation’s…”

Understanding my reference, Anna murmured, “Are you nervous about tomorrow? Picking the final four…that’s a big one.”

Just her words gave me anxiety. “They’re all big ones…and yeah, I’m a little stressed.”

“Well, you were amazing tonight,” Anna said in encouragement. “I’m certain you’ll make it through.”

I wasn’t so sure. Everyone who was left was good. Really good. Over the past several weeks, the original twenty contestants had been tested, tried, and then, almost cruelly, weeded down. Since there were so few weeks in the contest, the cuts had been drastic. I’d been close to the chopping block a time or two, and positive that I was finished more than once. But somehow, I was still here. There were eight of us left, but after tomorrow…only four. Then next week, only two. Then the week after that was the finale, and only one person would be left standing. God, I hoped it was me.

Changing my focus, I told her, “Thank you for going on this crazy journey with me. I love you with every part of me. You’re my best friend, my soul mate, and I’m one lucky fuck for having you in my life.” I said something similar to this every time we talked, and the words flowed from me now. It was almost ridiculous that they’d ever been hard to say.

Anna was silent a second, then she said, “You don’t have to tell me that all the time, you know? I know you love me, Griff.”

“No, I do have to say it. I don’t want to be the douche who doesn’t let people in. I want those I care about to know I care about ’em. And you and the girls…well, nothing is more important to me than you three.”

A throaty laugh escaped her. “I like this new sensitive side to you, babe. It’s incredibly hot.”

I smiled in the darkness. “If you think that’s hot, just wait until this is over with. I’ll be so sensitive, you won’t know what to do with me.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something…Good night, babe. Good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Night.”

We hung up and I stared at my ceiling for thirty minutes before I finally passed out.

The next morning, I woke up with a very familiar pain in my stomach. It sort of felt like I’d eaten a pile of rocks last night, and they had all merged together into a super-rock that my body was never going to be able to pass without fatally injuring me. I knew the sensation would go away as soon as the results were read though. I was either moving on or not. Simple as that.

As I walked around backstage with Gibson on my shoulders—because even a rule about sequestering couldn’t keep my daughter from the stage—I muttered complaints about how the producers should give the contestants a heads-up on the results. “I mean, the polls closed at midnight, so they’ve known the results for hours. How hard is it to slip notes under our doors, letting us know if we should pack or not?”

“Well, I think it’s supposed to be a surprise…otherwise the people who didn’t pass would just leave. Kind of anticlimactic for filming.”

I looked over at Liam with knitted brows. “I know I asked a question, but I didn’t really want an answer. Especially a logical one.”

He looked at me blankly for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re all in the same hotel. It would take them five seconds.”

A huge grin erupted on my face. “Exactly!”

I heard the kitschy theme music beginning, and saw Sam coming around the corner to collect my daughter. He always watched over her for me when it was my turn to perform. “Time’s up, baby girl,” I told her.

She whined as I removed her from my shoulders. “I want to go with you!”

I’d heard this before, but the producers had made it quite clear that she couldn’t go onstage with me, not even for introductions. They said it would give me an unfair advantage. I had to agree with their assessment. Anyone who laid eyes on my angel’s blond curls and sky-blue eyes would vote for me in a heartbeat. The backstage footage of the two of us together was probably the real reason why I’d even made it this far. God, I hoped I passed.

Liam squatted to her level when she began to pout. “Gibby, you’ve got to stay here and look after Crock for me, remember?” He handed her the stuffed crocodile he’d bought early on as a bribe. Gibson snatched it away from him and hugged it tight. Liam held his arms open. “I need my good luck squeeze.” She obliged him, and he laughed as he held her.