Free All the Right Things (Love in LA) by Audrey Harte

I don’t have anything special planned.”
    “Great. Pack a change of clothes. You can crash at my place tonight, and then we can spend the day together tomorrow… if that’s okay with you.”
    “Hmm, where will I be sleeping?”
    Laughing, Casey assured her he didn’t have evil designs on her. “Well, my bed is the most comfortable, but don’t worry—I’ll keep my clothes on.”
    “Okay,” she agreed. “What are we going to do tomorrow? Like what kind of clothes should I bring?”
    “Just something casual. I thought we could go to the Grove and have lunch, maybe see a movie, and you can shop if you want.”
    “Music to my ears. Sounds perfect.”
    “So hurry up and leave already. I’ll see you soon?”
    Barely stifling a happy giggle, Annie agreed. “Okay, fine. Give me five minutes to pack an overnight bag, and then I’ll start heading over.”
    After she hung up the phone, she quickly called Alex and explained to him what had just happened. Thankfully, he was only too delighted to take a rain check and didn’t give her too much shit about cancelling their usual Sunday dinner date. Before hanging up, Annie made him promise that they would go out another time soon; she was still determined to get him out of the apartment for an evening on the town. Quickly she packed a bag with her cosmetics and toiletries, a change of clothes and a cute pair of Victoria’s Secret pajamas.
    Pulling up in front of Casey’s apartment building about half an hour later, Annie checked her make-up and put on some fresh lip gloss. She grabbed her things, and then locked the doors before starting up the walkway to the front gate. After locating his name on the callbox, she dialed the number and waited as the phone rang once, twice, then finally someone picked up on the third ring.
    “Hello?” a female voice said.
    Taken off guard, Annie paused for a moment before saying anything. “Hi, um, I’m sorry. I think I dialed the wrong number.”
    “Are you looking for Casey?” the girl asked.
    Feeling a knot beginning to form in her stomach, Annie said, “Yeah, it’s Annie. I’m here for the party.”
    “Who?”
    “Annie,” she repeated.
    “What?”
    “An-nie,” she said again, slowly and loudly drawing out the two syllables.
    “Oh, right. Annie. I’ll buzz you in. Here’s Casey.”
    “Hey babe.” Casey’s voice came on over the line.
    “Hey, I’m at the front gate downstairs, but she—whoever she is—buzzed me in. Where do I go from here?”
    “Oh yeah, that was Trisha. Okay, you’re going to take the elevator up to the third floor, go all the way to your right and then all the way to your left. I’m the corner unit at the end of the hall.”
    Who the hell is Trisha?
    Pushing the jealous thought from her mind, Annie headed for the elevator. When she reached the end of the hall and knocked on the door, it immediately swung open. Casey stepped out and reached for Annie, pulling her firmly toward him as his mouth slanted down across hers. He kissed her like a man who was dying of thirst, yet still savored her lips like they were a fine wine.
    “I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he confessed, nuzzling against her neck as he hugged her tight, then stepped back to look her over from head to toe.
    “Me too,” she said, smiling shyly at him.
    “Mmm… so damn cute. Makin’ me crazy, girl,” he said as he gazed down at her, then pecked her on the lips again before pulling her inside the apartment after him.
    “Hey everyone, this is Annie. Make her feel welcome.”
    She grinned at all of the various greetings coming from different directions as they walked in.
    Casey took her bag and ushered her over to sit down in an empty spot on the couch while he disappeared down the hallway. She assumed he was going to put her bag in his room and would be back shortly, so she tried not to panic when the roomful of people started to introduce themselves to her. How was she ever going to remember everyone’s name? She