Page 93 of Love is a Dance Step
He leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands. “I’m so screwed.”
“Probably.”
He lifted his eyes to his matter-of-fact assistant. “So, there’s something I haven’t told any of you.” If Leah wasn’t around, Piper was a good substitute, and he needed to get this out. “I first met Lola Ramirez when she was five. Her and my brother used to tag along after me, but they were just annoying little kids. She was eight when I signed my first record deal, and I didn’t think much about her when I left. She was just Asher’s little friend.”
He thought back on the first concert of this tour, the one his family came to and what his mother had said. “My entire family was hoping she’d marry Asher one day. While I was gone building my career, she was at his side, integrating herself into my family.”
“You think your brother is in love with her?”
“How could he not be?” Asher would have to be blind not to see the woman who’d been by his side. “She’s… imperfect, flawed in the best possible ways. She’s beautiful and talented and kind. But what if she’s his? What if one day he comes to take her away from me?”
“First, she’s a person, not a thing, so she doesn’t belong to anyone.” Piper crossed her arms. “Second, she gets to make her own choices. If Asher wants to take her away, it’ll only happen if she lets him. Maybe it’s not Asher’s feelings you don’t trust but hers.”
He scrubbed both hands over his face. “They’ve been friends for fourteen years. I can’t compete with that.”
“The way I see it, Drew, is you have a choice. You either let yourself feel something for her and risk losing her, or you move on. You can’t have it both ways.”
Choice.
What a terrible word. There was no choice when it came to her.
28
Lola
Good boy, Drew Stone, juggles women on tour.
The truth is revealing itself about Drew Stone’s activity on tour. Fans expect bad boy behavior from their favorite British rocker Noah Clarke, but it’s Drew that has us confounded. He was seen two nights ago carrying one of his dancers—not Lola Ramirez—into the back entrance of his hotel. If you’ll remember, he has been linked romantically to his lead dancer, so this comes as a shock to us all.
Is he playing them?
It’s no secret why women flock to the handsome singer, but from a man who usually keeps his private life under lock and key, it makes one wonder, why now? Why these women?
* * *
Lola stared at the picture accompanying the article of Drew helping Brooke inside after the charity ball. She couldn’t take her eyes off his tired expression.
There was nothing between Drew and Brooke. She didn’t believe the tabloid for one moment, but they foretold what would happen if anyone found out the truth about her and Drew. Right now, it was only a rumor.
Would the press ever leave them alone if they found out the truth?
Lola leaned back on her bed and scrolled through text messages she had yet to respond to.
Asher:I don’t believe anything they say about you and Drew.
Nora:How does it feel to be famous, chica?
Mom:Mija, someone left an article on my car at work today. Call me, please.
Penny:My new dance teacher stinks.
Lola felt bad about the last one. She’d abandoned her students to chase her own dream, but Penny would survive.
Would Lola?
She hadn’t seen Drew since the ball. Now that they were in New York, he was staying at his apartment in the city. Piper told the dancers it was because they needed to put some separation between him and them for a few days until the next concert so there couldn’t be any more speculation.
There’d been no contact, not like Lola thought there would be. She wasn’t worth causing a media storm over. A few kisses didn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things.
