Page 20 of Love is a Dance Step
But the real Drew? The one who felt more at home in small-town Florida than big-city California, actually did care. Why should it surprise anyone he’d make sure his pregnant friend had coffee she could drink?
He shook his head as he approached his fancy coffee maker—something Nora constantly made fun of him for—and made each individual cup of coffee. They’d had enough RA meetings by now he knew what they all preferred.
Setting the cups on the tray, he rejoined them. “Cappuccino for Ben.” He set a cup in front of him. “Decaf latte for Joey.” She took her cup. “Black coffee for both Noah and Melanie because they’re gross.” He laughed. “Water for our little Daxy. And coffee with copious amounts of sugary creamer for me.”
They all stared at him as if they’d never seen him before.
Noah’s brow creased. “Who are you, and what have you done with Drew Stone? And better question… why don’t you ever bring me coffee on tour?”
Drew slid into his seat. “Because your legs work perfectly fine.” He never even asked Piper to bring him coffee. Drew didn’t believe in coffee runs from assistants. That wasn’t their job, and he was perfectly capable of getting his own. A few weeks ago, he’d caught Brooke, one of his backup dancers, ordering Piper to go to the café around the corner from the hotel for some girly coffee drink. Piper only stared at her and walked away.
Melanie took a long sip of her coffee as if fortifying herself to deal with them. “Okay, first things first. How is Leah?”
“Home.” He sighed. “I tried to get her to stay for a little while, but she’s not in a good place right now and decided she needed some space from the tour.” None of them were dancers. They didn’t get it. A dancer who couldn’t dance… well, what were they anymore? Maybe that was why Leah was his person. Only they understood that part of each other. She’d get back to it, but it would be a hard few months.
“Wait…” Noah leaned forward, his mug cupped between his hands. “She didn’t even stay to help you decide what to do about her absence?”
“I know what I need to do.” Since that night, it was all he could think about. He knew each one of his dancers. None of them had what it took to be the lead. They were too perfect, too technical. It was why they’d been chosen to dance in the background. Leah danced with her heart, not her head. “I need a new dancer.”
No one spoke for a stunned moment before Melanie looked to him. “Drew, you are in the middle of a tour. You can’t bring on a new dancer now and get them up to speed. We were able to put things off for the next week or so, but after that…”
“I don’t care what I can’t do, Mel. Only what I need to.”
“But you have a whole host of dancers who could learn Leah’s role.”
She didn’t understand, and by the looks on the others’ faces, neither did they. “You have to trust me, Mel.”
“What about Brooke?” Noah asked. “She’s the best dancer you have.”
“No. Absolutely not. I choose who dances with me, and I choose none of them.”
“You’re being unreasonable, Drew.” Melanie set her cup down.
“I know. I know we’re in Gulf City, Florida, not exactly the mecca of dancing. I know we don’t have time to make this work and that the middle of a tour is no time to bring a dancer up to speed. But I need you to trust me, to trust this is right.”
She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, but didn’t say anything.
“Okay.” Drew blew out a breath. “I’ll make you a deal. One day. Give me one day of auditions. I already had my dad talk to the local dance studio about this. If I can’t find a dancer I believe in, I’ll give the job to Brooke. One day, Mel. Please.”
She sighed, but he knew what that meant.
A smile spread across his lips.
“I didn’t say yes.”
His smile widened. “You won’t regret this.”
“I will if the label gets wind of it beforehand. Here’s what will happen, the day after tomorrow you will hold auditions, but we do not tell my bosses unless you find someone. I will not organize this, Drew. That’s up to you.”
“And us.” Jo jumped in.
Drew looked to her in surprise.
She shrugged. “I might be pregnant and grumpy half the time, Drew, but we’re only a month or two away from when I’ll have to leave the tour since I don’t want to be banging on my drums with an alien bowling ball inside me. I don’t want you to screw up before then.”
“Aw, Jo, I’m touched.” Drew nudged her shoulder.
“Don’t be. It’s completely self-serving.”
