Page 5 of Love is a Lyric
“That makes zero sense, Mel, but whatever the publicist says.” He flashed her a grin.
It wasn’t the first time Piper had crossed paths with Drew Stone. He did a tour withFatetwo years ago, and she’d become friends with his assistant, Matt, even dated him for a second there. Now, Matt had been offered a job at the label and needed a replacement.
“Anyone seen Drew?” Matt’s voice came through Piper’s headset.
She raised a brow at Drew. Seems someone had slipped his assistant. “He’s right in front of me. Should I tie him up to hold him until you get to us?”
Matt laughed. “Probably. You near the stage?”
“Yep.”
The charity event was sort of Matt’s big farewell to Drew. Along with help from the label, he’d organized it and relied a lot on the other assistants to keep everything running smoothly.
“Uh oh.” Drew smirked. “I’m in trouble. But he just kept going on and on about what’s going to happen once he’s gone.”
Through all his bravado, she heard the fear in his voice. Just like Piper was toFate, Matt was a part of Drew’s team. He directed him, his career. “You’re scared to lose him.”
“I wouldn’t be if I had the right assistant to replace him.” He grinned, his blue eyes sparkling.
“Drew.” She sighed. It was tempting, so tempting. Working for Quinn was hard. Her sister had no respect, no appreciation. She paid her less than Piper deserved, but Piper let her get away with it because they needed each other. Her eyes drifted back to the stage where Ben stood with his eyes closed as the music poured from him. Quinn wasn’t the only reason she stayed. Somewhere along the way, Ben and even Conner had become family too. She might not walk out on stage with them, but Piper was a part ofFate.
She didn’t realize how long she’d been quiet until Drew hummed in the back of his throat. “They’re good, aren’t they?”
“The best.” The words popped out before she could stop them, and her cheeks heated. “I mean… just…”
Drew only laughed. “It’s okay to like your sister more than me.”
But it wasn’t Quinn’s voice that had always filled Piper’s mind. Her earliest memory of Ben singing was right after her parents died. He’d found her hiding from everyone else in the woods behind the Evans’ house. He’d played his guitar and sang until she agreed to come out.
“Think I could pull off the shirtless concert thing?” Drew lifted the edge of his shirt to look down at himself, consternation marring his face.
Piper shared a look with Melanie, and they both cracked up. It was much more of a Drew thing than Ben. In fact, she was pretty sure he went shirtless a few times on his tour withFate.
Piper thought for a long moment. She’d needed a change in her life for a while now. She wasn’t meant to pick up her sister’s dry cleaning or make constant coffee runs. Yet, going back to college held no appeal either. “Okay, Drew.”
“Okay… what?”
“Matt has my email address. Send me the job description, what you expect from it. And the numbers. I’ll consider your offer.” Her heart squeezed at her own words, but it was time she did something for herself. “I’m going to be in Gulf City with the band for the next three months. I can meet with you while I’m here.” She looked sideways at him. “But it has to be a secret.”
A grin spread across his lips. “I can do secrets.”
“That sounded slimy.”
He shrugged and threw an arm over her shoulders. “We’re going to make a good pair.”
“I haven’t said yes.”
“You will.”
She should have felt a bit of excitement with her decision. After all, she’d finally thought of herself before anyone else. Instead, as she met Melanie’s concerned gaze, the only emotion swirling through her mind was an immense guilt.
Matt jogged toward them and held out a fist for Piper to bump before crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Drew. “You’re an assistant’s worst nightmare.”
That was why Drew paid so well. He constantly ducked his assistants, was late to everything, and preferred sleeping in to the early meetings he had to attend. What he didn’t get was assistants talk. If he wanted her to take the job, he’d have to make some changes.
She hadn’t realized the music stopped until Ben said goodbye to the audience and ran off stage, stopping when he found Drew with his arm around her. Piper shrugged off Drew, but Ben had already moved on, greeting Melanie before wiping his face on a towel she handed him and walking away.
“That was interesting.” Drew chuckled.
