"Ash, I'd like to introduce you to my family. Come over and join us."
"I'd love to. But I know your time with them is limited, so maybe I shouldn't--"
He moved another step closer, close enough to inhale her fresh, clean scent. "You definitely should."
"Okay." She made an adorable face. "I don't know why I'm being so weird about this. Especially since your sister and father look so nice."
"You don't have any reason to be nervous. They're going to love you."
He put his hand in the small of her back and led her over to where his father and sister were standing. "Maddie, Dad, this is Ashley Emmit. She joined the tour last week as part of a research project she's doing on the music industry for her Stanford Business School application."
"It's very nice to meet you, Ashley," his father said as he shook her hand.
"It's so nice to meet you, too, Mr. Morrison."
Maddie's smile was huge. "Wow, you're really pretty. Are you having fun on tour? Isn't Drew great? All of my friends are in love with him. I swear at least a dozen of them begged me to bring them with me today. I can't believe you've been in Palo Alto all these years and we've never met before. Have you met Olivia or Sean or Justin or Grant at Stanford?"
Drew laughed out loud as he watched Ashley try to process everything Maddie was throwing at her. Luckily for her, before she had to figure out which question to answer first, his brother Sean walked in hand in hand with Serena, his supermodel girlfriend. Ex-supermodel, actually, since she'd recently given it up to study English at Stanford.
"This is Ashley, guys," Maddie said before Drew could introduce her. "Her dad is Drew's former professor, and she's on tour with him to learn about the music business. Ashley, Sean is one of my older brothers. His twin, Justin, will be here soon. And Serena is Sean's girlfriend. They met at Stanford, and she's not modeling anymore because she's super into books."
Drew loved his little sister, but she was a handful. Someday she was going to make some guy really happy...and drive him crazy all at the same time. Just as crazy as she drove all of them.
Fortunately, Sean, Serena, and Ashley were all laughing as they shook hands. "I've heard so much about all of you," Ashley said. "It's really nice to meet you in person."
"It's great to meet you, too," Sean said, before turning to give Drew a look that he easily read. If she's heard all about us, then why haven't we heard about her?
Drew sent back a silent message: It's complicated, but hopefully it won't be for long, because she's special. Really, really special.
If anyone knew about things being complicated, it was Sean and Serena. They'd had a heck of a time when they'd first started dating. Being a new couple wasn't easy for anyone, but due to Serena's fame, they'd had to deal with paparazzi--and a crazy, lecherous professor, too. Thankfully, the two of them had come out on the right side of it all, and he could see that they were more in love than ever.
Sean's twin, Justin, was laughing with someone Drew couldn't see as he walked in, but Drew would bet his savings account that it was Taylor, his brother's closest friend. A moment later, when his father shifted to one side, Drew confirmed it.
Justin and Taylor had been friends ever since their first day at Stanford. And yet, for some reason none of them could understand, given that Taylor was cute, fun, and as brilliant as Justin, they'd never dated. Drew had hardly been able to wait a week to kiss Ashley. How the hell his brother had already waited three years was beyond him.
Drew pulled his brother in for a big bear hug, but he was much gentler with Taylor. Before Maddie could beat him to it with Justin's and Taylor's full histories, Drew said, "Ashley, this is my brother Justin and his friend Taylor."
"Are you having a good time on tour?" Taylor asked.
"The best. The most I had hoped for was to be on the fringes of the crew and observe from a distance. But Drew includes me in absolutely everything."
When she turned to smile at Drew, he was this close to chucking his promise to keep their relationship private. He wanted to hold her hand the way Sean was holding Serena's. But even more than that, he'd never held back something so important from his family before.
As if she could read his thoughts--and felt guilty about withholding this final piece of herself from him--her smile fell slightly.
Life, he'd learned the hard way, could be far too short for holding back. But at the same time, pushing her right now would be akin to trying to bend her to his will. Ashley was one of the strongest people he'd ever met. And the smartest, too. Surely it wouldn't be long before she took in all the data she needed and made the same decision he had: That they belonged together for the whole world to see.
"I'm really lucky," she told his whole family.
But he needed everyone to know, "I'm the lucky one."
His two other siblings, Grant and Olivia, arrived just then. After they hugged and he introduced Ashley, Grant said, "Drew emailed me a couple of days ago with an idea that you gave him about a radically new way to approach a record label. It struck me as really smart, and I'd like to chat with you about it in more detail, if you can spare a few minutes over dinner."
"I'd love to," Ashley said, flushing with obvious pleasure at the compliment. "I actually have my laptop with me, so I can show you the business plan I've been putting together if you're interested in seeing it."
"The restaurant we're headed to is just down the street," Drew said. "It's supposed to have the best gumbo in New Orleans. So why don't we all head over, and then the two of you can geek out once we're sitting down?"
Olivia was quiet as the group headed out to the restaurant, walking beside their father. Maddie, of course, was talking Ashley's ear off. Sean and Serena were lost in each other. Justin and Taylor were too busy trying to ignore the sparks between themselves to pay much attention to anything else. And Grant brought up the rear with Drew.
James, who already knew them all, was keeping an eagle eye on everyone and everything. Drew appreciated the way he paid especially close attention to Ashley's safety. Though Drew knew she could take care of herself, she wasn't familiar with any of the big cities they were touring through. Plus, he knew his fans could get a little overexcited sometimes, and he couldn't stand the thought of Ashley ever getting hurt because of him.
"So," Grant said, "that's Ashley."
Drew grinned at his oldest brother. "Beautiful, isn't she?"
"Damned smart, too, and you only gave me a hint of her ideas, didn't you?" When Drew nodded, Grant shot him a serious look. "You really are thinking about going indie, aren't you?"
Until now, the only person Drew had talked to about this was Ashley. Despite all the rules she'd obviously tried to follow in her life to please her father, she was a fiercely independent thinker. Day by day, he found himself depending on her more and more. Especially when he couldn't just drop into his brother's office on a whim to talk things through.
Even more thankful that his family had shifted their busy lives around to clear this day in New Orleans for him, Drew told Grant, "The label is pushing hard for my next album. But I know what they want, what any label would want given the sales we've had--more of what I've done before. My manager keeps calling and emailing about the new contract on the table. But I just don't think I can do it, Grant. And even if I could, things have changed too much for me to want to repeat the past."
"Whatever you decide," Grant said, "keep me in the loop and let me know how I can help."
"I will." But Drew needed to talk more than business with his brother. He needed the inside scoop on his family, since he couldn't be there to see them day to day. "How's everyone doing lately?"
"The good news is that Dad seems to be surfacing a bit more. Olivia, on the other hand, doesn't say much, which worries me. But you know how she is--the harder you push, the more she closes down. Justin spends most of his time trying to pretend he isn't in love with Taylor. Maddie is still playing cheerleader for Dad way too much, so I've been making sure she get
s out with her girlfriends this summer before they all head off to college. Only Sean seems truly happy now that he and Serena have found each other. He's always got his camera with him, which is good to see."
Grant had always been one hell of a listener. It was one of the many reasons why he'd earned his first billion before he was thirty. Grant also wasn't one to talk about himself. He didn't need to build up his ego like so many guys in his circle did. But tonight, Drew wasn't going to let his brother get away with skipping his own update.
"What about you?" Drew asked. "How are you holding up?"
"All right." But his brother was frowning as he said it. "We're in the thick of a couple of pretty intense acquisitions right now, so the hours are even longer than usual. I don't mind the work, though."
Drew understood why Grant was perfectly willing to work from sunup to sundown and most of the hours before and after, too. Working helped a lot of people block out painful memories. But it had never really been the solution for Drew. Not when the songs had stopped coming and the music playing in his head had become barely recognizable.
"I don't think Ashley has been able to get a word in edgewise," Grant commented as he nodded up the sidewalk to where Maddie had looped her arm through Ashley's and was still chattering a million miles a minute.
Drew let his brother change the subject. Even when they were kids, Grant had always mulled things over for a really long time. Clearly, he needed to work through his emotions awhile longer. And the truth was that Drew would have been right there with him were it not for Ashley.
"She's a good listener," Drew told his brother.
"Is there anything she isn't good at?"
"Nope. Everything about her blows my mind."
Finally, Grant smiled.
*
After their meal, one that thankfully was full of more laughter than Drew had seen out of anyone in his family for months, they hopped onto his bus, which Max had pulled around to the curb, and headed to the venue. Maddie made all of them laugh some more as she played with the knobs and switches on the high-tech vehicle, before turning to Ashley and asking, "How has sleeping on a bus been?"
Ashley's eyes were huge as she looked at Drew. He knew she hadn't intended to do so, but in that moment she gave them completely away.
Fortunately, Sean stepped in. "I could never get much sleep on the bus when we traveled for games. But Drew has always been able to sleep like a rock, anytime, anywhere."
"I've actually slept really well," Ashley finally answered his sister. "Drew's schedule is super busy. He's up early for radio, has interviews or recording sessions all day, and then his shows and meet and greets don't end until late. By the time my head hits the pillow, I'm pretty much out."
Except, Drew thought, when I'm keeping you up by making love to you.
"You're recording again?" Olivia asked him. "Does that mean you're writing again, too?"
Olivia hadn't said much all night, but she'd obviously picked up on the most important points. First, that Drew couldn't keep his eyes off Ashley. And second, that he'd finally busted through his musical block.
"I am."
"His new songs are incredible." Thankfully, Ashley seemed to have forgotten the awkwardness from a few minutes ago as she smiled at him and said, "I can't wait until the whole world gets to hear your new music."
"I'm really inspired, Ash." Because of you.
"Who has gotten to hear the new songs so far?" Maddie wanted to know as the bus pulled into the lot behind the venue, and James checked in with security to make sure everyone was in place for their arrival.
"Just the engineers I've been working with in the studios we've dropped into on the road...and Ashley." If his family hadn't figured things out by now, that was the final piece of the puzzle they'd need to slide into place.
They were all inside the venue a few minutes later. Drew and his father stood off to one side while Ashley chatted easily with everyone. He was glad to see that her earlier nerves seemed to have all disappeared.
"Ashley is great, Drew." His father was smiling as he said it, the first real smile Drew had seen on his face in a very long time. "She's exactly the kind of woman I was hoping you'd find one day."
Michael Morrison had always known what his kids were thinking and feeling. Even better, he'd understood them. Just as he understood Drew now, regardless of all the things Drew couldn't say yet about the woman he'd fallen head over heels for.
"I'm lucky to have found her. Really lucky. But--" Damn it, he hated having to say, "We're trying to keep things private for now. Even though I want to tell the whole world she's mine."
"I'd be nervous about being with a big star, too," his father said with a nod, as if Ashley's request made perfect sense to him. "Heck, your mother wasn't even famous, and I was still terrified about asking her out. And then when she said she'd go out with me? I completely panicked and almost told her to forget it."
Drew had never heard this story before. What's more, he hadn't heard his father talk about his mother at all since she'd passed away, as if it hurt too much even to share memories. "If Mom said she wanted to be with you, why'd you panic?"
"Because she was the most beautiful, vibrant, incredible woman in the world. And I was just me. I honestly couldn't see how it could work."
"It worked great. You had the best marriage of anyone I knew growing up."
"We did." His father inhaled a shaky breath. "We sure did." He shook his head as if to clear it before adding, "I know you would never want to overshadow anyone, Drew--"
"No one could overshadow Ashley."
His father met his gaze and held it. "Because she's the most beautiful, vibrant, incredible woman in the world to you?"
"Damn straight she is."
His father pulled him in for a hug, and they both held on tight. But Drew could see that Olivia's brain was on overdrive as she watched Ashley talking about the music business with Grant.
Ever since their mother had gotten sick, Olivia had tried so hard to step into Lisa Morrison's shoes and keep the family together. She'd done a great job, but Drew didn't want her to think she had to worry about him anymore. Not now that he had Ashley.
James gave him a hand signal to let him know he had ten minutes before he needed to hit the stage. "I'm going to see if I can grab Olivia before the show starts. Thanks, Dad. For everything."
He gave his father another hug, then headed toward his sister. "Can you hang with me in my dressing room for a few minutes?"
"Sure, I've been wanting to grab you for a private chat."
Olivia didn't say anything as they headed for his dressing room, but as soon as the door closed, she said, "I thought you weren't going to go near your professor's daughter." She parroted his words from a family barbecue a while back: 'I wouldn't touch her in a million years.' Isn't that what you said to all of us? Does her father know about you two?"
"Not yet."
She raised an eyebrow. "You say that like you're actually planning on telling him."
"I am."
"I haven't had Professor Emmit for any classes, but I know plenty of people who have, so I think I have a pretty good sense of what he's about. He likes rules. Likes everything to line up neat and straight. Especially his daughter, I'm going to guess."
His sister was too damned smart to miss a thing. "Right."
"Which means you're the very last guy he'd ever want to see her with." She held up her hand before he could respond. "You're my brother and I love you and I think you're great. The greatest. But the fact is, you're still a rock star. And life with you is the exact opposite of straitlaced and neat and tidy." Just then, screams from his fans pierced the door, and she shook her head. "Plus, it's gotten even crazier than it was before. You're really, really famous now."
He couldn't deny any of that either. But that didn't mean he was willing to give Ashley up. "We can make it work."
"How? Long distance, with her in school and you on the road?"
"If that's
what it takes. I'm not willing to give her up, Olivia." Just the thought of it made every part of him tense up. "Anything but her."
His sister's expression softened. "You're different with Ashley, Drew. Happier. And so much lighter, too. I know how hard losing Mom has been for you."
"For all of us."
"Yes. All of us." She closed her eyes, and in that moment, he watched her fall apart, then put herself back together. "Sean is lucky. He found Serena, and she's helped change everything for the better for him. And Justin always has Taylor to lean on, even if they're both too dumb to realize that they're actually in love and not just best friends."
"Things are going to hit a breaking point soon for them," Drew predicted.
"God, I hope so, because it's just gotten downright painful to watch the two of them circle each other." She pinned him with her laser-focus gaze. "Do you think that maybe what you're feeling for Ashley seems so strong because she's helped heal you?"
"She has helped heal me," he told his sister. "But that's only one of the reasons why I love her."
His sister's eyes went big. "Love?"
He'd been circling it himself for a while now. Since the very beginning, if he was being totally honest with himself. "I'm in love with Ashley." It was the biggest thing he'd ever known. And the best. If he could have shouted it from the rooftops, he would have.
"Does she know?"
Just then, a knock came at the door. "Two minutes, Drew," James called.
"Not yet," he told his sister as they both got up to head out of the room.
And he'd be counting every second until it was just the two of them alone on the bus so that he could tell Ashley she was absolutely everything to him.
"Thanks, sis," he said to Olivia. "I miss you, miss hanging out with all of you."
"I miss you, too," she said, her voice as thick with emotion as his. "But we'll always be there whenever you're ready to come home. Just like Mom always said, we want you to live your dream."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ashley was blown away by the Morrisons.
Not just because they were all so beautiful that it almost made her eyes hurt to look at them standing together in the VIP section of Drew's show. And not just because they were all so smart and successful.