Page 64 of Love is a Lyric
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Piper
Piper hurried toward the street she’d promised to meet Chase on, thankful he’d lost the paparazzi by the time she’d called him.
It took everything in her not to turn around and return to help Ben, but that would cause too many problems.
The rain started to let up as she slowed to a jog and wiped water out of her eyes. Her heart thundered in her chest but not from the run. A fingertip grazed her lips where only moments before Ben kissed her like she was the only woman he wanted to kiss.
She had a list of points in time she’d remember for the rest of her life.
The last morning she spent with her parents.
The day a ten-year-old Chase told her she could be his sister.
When she heard the first song she wrote on the radio.
And the exact moment Ben Evans looked into her eyes like he could for the rest of their lives.
She hadn’t wanted to fall in love with her sister’s boyfriend, ex or not. She hadn’t wanted to put her heart on the chopping block.
But the only call she’d ever listened to was the music, and she’d never felt anything quite like singing with Ben. That was the only explanation for why she’d let him kiss her, the only reason she put herself through something she knew wouldn’t end well.
A camera flash alerted her to the woman before Piper saw her.
“Care to give us a statement about Ben Evans?” The woman had a low voice that was a complete contradiction to her sprightly appearance. Blond hair matted to her face, slick with rain.
Piper looked away. “No.”
“That’s not an option, dear. Without a statement from you, we run our story as bad boy rocker caught cheating on his girlfriend and singing partner. Do you want to be responsible for breaking up an iconic band?”
Piper almost laughed. Almost.Fate’s fate—for lack of a better word—wasn’t yet known. But if it was over, it wasn’t because of Piper. Quinn broke everything long before Ben ever looked Piper’s way.
“Still no comment?” The woman tapped her chin. “Okay. I’m warning you though. My editor can be vicious. If you have a side to the story, I’d tell it.”
She was right. Piper had seen the lies printed about the band, but she couldn’t reveal the truth—if she even knew what that was.
Squaring her shoulders, Piper looked to the sky as the rain lessened to a drizzle. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the pity on this woman’s face when she spoke.
“I am a nobody. Not important. I want to apologize to Ben Evans for letting my fandom get out of control.” A tear squeezed through her closed lid.
The woman was quiet for a moment. “You’re telling me you’re just a fan?”
Piper nodded, finally opening her eyes to look at the woman. “I ran into Mr. Evans in the pub and followed him out. He was inside with his brother and just looking to sing a bit. He was gracious enough to stop and meet a fan. I…” She sucked in a breath. “I kissed him before he could stop me. See? I’m just a fan, not someone Ben Evans cares about. He is very much in love with Quinn Hayes.”
The words tasted sour in her mouth, but she couldn’t pull them back in.
A car pulled up to the curb, and Piper could have cried when she recognized Chase.
The woman pursed her lips before nodding. “Makes sense. He is a rockstar, after all.”
Piper pushed past her, those words rocketing around her brain.He is a rockstar, after all.
I’m a nobody.
Amidst all the lies, at least she’d begun telling some truths.
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