Page 16 of The Love Raffle

“Yes, thank you.” Amber didn’t need him knowing that she lived in a rough area.

“So, uh, I guess I’ll see you on our actual date.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you there, Levi.” She climbed out of the limo and turned around to say bye.

“Good night, Amber.”

“Night!”

Chapter 6

Unsurprisingly, Beca had wanted to take Amber and her friends out to celebrate at a fancy Italian restaurant since she hadn’t come along to the after party last week. The sound of cutlery clinking against plates filled the air.

Beca laughed heartily, her fifth glass of wine in hand. She took a sip and pointed her finger at Amber. “You, you, you!” The sleeve of her bright red cupcake dress nearly got in her food. It was aninterestingdesign.

Elouise and Conner brought their hands together like the spectators onThe Love Raffle. They had dropped their utensils to sing her praises.

Amber’s mouth was full of chicken parmesan. She picked up a napkin to wipe her lips and shook her head, hiding a smile. “You’re going to make me spit out my food,” she said with a hand over her mouth.

The restaurant’s hired entertainment was playing a fast-paced symphony on their strings. They were standing near their table this evening.

Beca slammed her glass down and picked up the bottle of wine. “You’re going to put me on the map, kid. Who would have thought she had so much personality?” She hiccupped but kept drinking.

Elouise was not the biggest fan of Beca, but she was glad she had done this for Amber. She stuck her fork in her steak andshoved the piece she cut into her mouth. “I mean, we all know you’re a nice girl, Amber, but you were like… I don’t know. I kind of wanted to be your best friend while watching you on that stage last week. Even though I already am.”

“Definitely,” Conner said with his mouth full.

Amber giggled and sat back. “So, you guys are saying I’m boring in real life?”

“No, no,” the two rushed to say.

Beca continued to laugh for no reason. She was the loudest guest here but couldn’t care less. “Oh boy, this is great. It should be easy as pie to book you on some shows now. Amber fromThe Love Raffle.” She snapped her fingers. “Anyway, when’s the date again?”

Amber spread her arms over their table. “I call this here the practice date for the real thing tomorrow.”

“Do they record the real thing?” Elouise licked the corner of her mouth. “That Levi Marks guy doesn’t seem so bad. Was he an asshole off-screen?”

Amber took another bite. She chewed, swallowed, then sipped on her white wine. “I already said he wasn’t.”

Conner chewed on a mouthful of fish. “He was so cool on the show. Didn’t someone say he kind of made up what he did for the last round with that deep-ass philosophical question?”

Everyone laughed.

“No, because why did he ask something like that on a silly game show?” Beca was in stitches. “And Amber, how did you have an answer to something like that?”

Amber blushed. “I don’t know. An answer just came. It was weird but I’m glad he liked what I said because I was way behind.” She stirred her glass. “It’s pretty unfair but—”

Beca playfully wagged her finger. “You better be grateful for that, because without it, you would not have been dubbed ‘up and coming’ by E! News”

“Up and coming? But I haven’t even done much.” Amber laughed along with Elouise and Conner. “It’s all so surreal. I hope this exposure leads to more acting opportunities. Although, I can’t help but wonder if some producers might be hesitant. After all, everyone has seen me as myself, and now I have to prove I can be different characters. They might not approve, you know?” She couldn’t think of a single reality TV star who had successfully transitioned into the acting world.

“We got to try something.” Beca drank the rest of her drink. “Although,” she pointed her ringed finger at Amber, “like I keep saying, you really ought to try to make good use of this date with Marks. He seemed to like you on the show so get close to him.”

Amber shook her head. “I’m not fond of using people.”

“It’s the way the business works, Ambs,” Elouise said. “You don’t have to make him your boyfriend. It just wouldn’t hurt to make him like you enough that he’d be willing to help.”

Conner agreed. “But don’t make it obvious that that’s what you want.”

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