Page 2 of Love is a Lyric
“She wants me to take my shirt off.”
A laugh burst out of Connor, and he bent to catch his breath. “Well, this is for breast cancer awareness.”
It was a national tragedy the day Drew Stone’s grandma died of the disease. His enormous fan base held vigils. Now, they filled the arena in Tampa, Florida to support him.
As Ben gazed out at the screaming crowd, a smile tilted his lips. None of them would be able to do this without support from the fans.
“I’ve been looking for you two everywhere.” Piper Hayes panted as she ran toward them. “You’re on next, and you two idiots are all the way back here.”
Connor slung an arm over Piper’s shoulders, squeezing her to his side. “Aw, Pipes, were you worried about us?”
Piper tried to push away, but Ben wrapped an arm around her, sandwiching her between the two. She grunted in frustration, her dark eyes meeting his. “Benjamin Evans, get your tush back to your dressing room to finish getting ready.”
As Quinn’s little sister, Piper had always been around. She’d only started working for Quinn two years ago as her assistant, and the band had never been run more efficiently. She was just as much his sister as Quinn’s and seeing her frazzled always brought a smile to his face.
He released her with a laugh. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve gotta go get beautified.” He followed her back to the dressing room where Quinn lounged on the couch sipping a bottle of water.
Piper plucked the bottle from her sister’s hands.
“Hey,” Quinn protested.
Piper raised a brow. “You always have to pee when you drink too much before hitting the stage. Do you want to hold it through the entire performance?”
Quinn slumped back onto the couch.
Piper handed the bottle to Ben. “You, on the other hand, drink. Unless you want to get dehydrated from your buckets of sweat.”
“I don’t sweat that much.”
“Yeah, okay. But I’m not picking you up when you pass out.” She eyed Connor. “And you just stay out of the way.” She pressed a hand to her headpiece, speaking to someone they couldn’t see. “Got it. Tell him to suck it up.” A giggle escaped her, and all three band members stared at her. Since when was Piper a giggler?
“Care to share with the class?” Quinn crossed her arms.
“Just Matt.” Her cheeks heated.
Ben removed his glasses, replacing them with irritating contacts, and busied himself applying the eyeliner he hated.
“Matt?” Quinn sat up straighter. “You mean Drew Stone’s cute assistant?”
Piper looked down at the clipboard in her hands, and Ben studied her in the mirror. Coffee-colored hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, revealing intelligent green eyes. He’d never understood why Piper came to work for Quinn instead of finishing college. She chewed on her lip, telling him there was something she didn’t want to say.
Quinn must have noticed too because she scowled. “What is it?”
Piper’s shoulders dropped. “I wasn’t going to tell you. Matt has been trying to convince me to take over for him when he leaves for his new job with the label.”
Ben froze with his gel-covered hand halfway to his ashy hair. It shouldn’t have surprised him. Piper was the best assistantFatehad ever had. But Drew? He waited for Piper to say more, but she only stood in a silent stand-off with her sister.
“As Drew Stone’s assistant? You’d leave me?” From anyone else, those words would be a little sad, pathetic even. But Ben knew these girls, he knew his girlfriend. Each word was perfectly crafted for manipulation.
Piper sighed. “No. I’ll never leave you, Quinn.”
Quinn’s face brightened. “I know.” She shot Ben a wink before sauntering to the door. “I’ll see y’all on stage.”
Connor followed her out, leaving Ben alone with Piper. She sat in Quinn’s vacated spot.
Ben finished transforming himself from the curly haired, glasses-wearing man to a rockstar before turning. “You stare any harder at that clipboard, and you’ll go cross-eyed.”
She lifted her eyes and offered him a weak smile. “I’m okay.”
