Page 73 of Love is a Dance Step
“The job wasn’t yours permanently, and you knew that.”
The ice faded from her eyes, replaced with a glassy quality. “I thought if I earned it, if I proved I was good enough, you’d see me. But all you see is her. None of the rest of us will get opportunities as long as you’re playing favorites.”
He wished Leah was there. She always knew how to handle Brooke.
“I’m not playing favorites. Lola auditioned and won the job.”
“But she’s not any better than the rest of us. What makes her so special?”
His eyes drifted to Lola again. “I don’t know, Brooke. I really don’t. There’s just…” If he said there was a connection, rumors would fly the moment Brooke walked away. Yet, he couldn’t think of what to call it. “There’s just more.”
She glanced back over her shoulder before turning on her heel and marching toward Lola, bumping her as she passed.
Lola lifted her eyes to Drew’s. They hadn’t spoken since dancing together. He didn’t know if he’d been avoiding her or if she was avoiding him. Either way, he hadn’t known what to say, to do.
There’d been a moment he almost forgot about everything holding him back. The tour. His rules. Their age difference.
Asher.
Lola Ramirez was the girl his entire family thought would end up with Asher one day, the girl they wanted to bring into their family. They’d said as much at his concert in Tampa.
He didn’t realize how long he’d been staring until Lola cleared her throat. “Um, so… I’m dancing lead tonight?”
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair and glanced to the security guards who were pretending not to listen. “I’m sorry I just sort of blurted that. I hadn’t made a decision until that moment. He was saying all this stuff about you and showed the audition video—”
She put a hand on his arm, and he swore he could feel the warmth of her touch through his jacket. “Thank you. That’s all I wanted to say. No one has defended me on live television before.”
He blew out a breath. “They shouldn’t even be talking about you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She looked down at her hand still on his arm and released him, stepping back. “I’ll try not to let you down.”
He dipped his head to meet her gaze, the corner of his mouth curving up. “You’re nervous.”
“A little.”
“I’ve never seen you nervous before. When we dance, you seem like you know exactly what you’re doing.” And what she did to him. She made it impossible for him to want to dance with anyone else. Only her.
She wrapped a strand of hair around her finger as she chewed her lips. “I don’t know why…” She paused. “You make me feel like I can do anything.”
Drew’s chest tightened at her words. She claimed he gave her the confidence, but it was all her. “Lola.” He reached for her before changing his mind and letting his hand drop. “You couldn’t disappoint me if you tried.”
“You have such faith in me.”
No, he had faith inthem.But he couldn’t say that. Instead, he only offered her a smile. “I’ll see you on stage.”
She nodded once and turned to walk away. His gaze followed her to where Nolan waited. When Nolan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, Drew told himself the irritation was just the usual pre-concert anxiety.
But he’d never been a good liar.
Not even to himself.
22
Lola
They never tell people the spotlight is blinding, how it obscures the faces of the crowd, putting up a barrier between you and them.
As a background dancer for the past few weeks, Lola was used to the bright lights but not the single light that followed her around the stage, flashing as the beat quickened.
