His mouth curved up in the biggest smile in the world, and then he was twirling her around and kissing her again. Around them, the crowd cheered...which was when Drew obviously realized everything they were doing in front of the venue was for public consumption.
"Let's head inside."
She nodded, slipping her hand into his. Saying I love you to Drew had just made her so happy, but given that at least one of the videos his fans had just shot of the two of them was bound to make it on the Internet within the next few minutes, she was going to have to tell her father about them really, really soon.
"Ashley."
Wait...she hadn't just conjured up her father's voice out of thin air, had she?
She was still holding Drew's hand when she turned to see her father standing in the middle of the crowd.
Chapter Thirty-Three
"Daddy, what are you doing here?"
Instead of answering her, Charlie Emmit scowled at Ashley's and Drew's linked hands, then turned his fury on Drew. "What the hell is going on here? What have you done to my daughter?"
Before she or Drew could answer, James and his local security team descended, blocking the three of them from Drew's fans. "We need to get Ashley and Drew inside immediately, sir," James said when her father started to protest at being led away.
She wanted to try to fix things with her dad before he got any angrier, but Drew didn't let go of her hand.
"It's going to be okay," he said to her in a low voice. "Let me handle your father."
But she couldn't do that, couldn't expect anyone to take the reins of her life but herself. Going to see her mother today and talking everything through had opened her eyes to so many things--most of all to the knowledge that she was a strong person. In fact, it was in large part because she tended toward the quiet side and always took her time to think things through that she realized she could trust herself to make the right decisions. Even for the really hard questions, like whether she was willing to risk all of her heart with Drew.
"You need to get on stage as soon as possible, Drew," James said.
His fans were hollering for him to get on stage, and his band was waiting in the wings, clearly wondering just what in the hell was going on, but he was completely focused on her. "You're more important than the show. A million times more important."
It meant the world to her that he thought so. And it was amazing to actually be able to shelve her doubts that he could truly mean it. But she still needed to have this conversation with her father alone.
"I love you, Drew. So much it's crazy. And I definitely want you and my dad to patch things up. But first, I need to talk with him. Not just about you and me...but about everything."
Her declaration of independence had been a very long time in coming.
Drew's eyes roved her face as if he were trying to make absolutely sure that she meant what she said and wasn't just trying to let him off the hook. "If you need me, even if it's in the middle of a song, tell James and he'll grab me."
She had to kiss him again then, even though her father still looked as furious as she'd ever seen him. "Everyone here in Miami loves you, Drew. Promise me you won't be distracted by this while you're out there."
"You never distract me, Ash. You inspire me. Every second of every day."
He stroked her hair back from her face and gave her the gentlest, sweetest kiss in the world, before finally signaling to his band that he was ready to take the stage. And even though Ashley knew the conversation she was about to have with her dad wasn't going to be an easy one, she was smiling as Drew stepped out of the curtains and twenty thousand people went wild.
When she finally turned to head over to her father, he looked stunned. She didn't know if it was because of how much Drew's fans obviously loved him...or if he still couldn't quite wrap his head around his little girl having fallen in love.
"Dad, this is James," she said, realizing that in the heat of the moment she'd forgotten to introduce her father to anyone.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Emmit. Your daughter is a treasure, and you've obviously done a great job raising her."
"Thank you," her father said, clearly taken more than a little off guard by the heavily tattooed bodyguard being so respectful and complimentary.
"James, is there an open room back here where my father and I can talk?"
"Absolutely." James led them down the hall to an empty dressing room that had a couple of couches and a table with a few chairs around it. But neither Ashley nor her father sat. Instead, they stood facing each other as the door closed quietly.
There were a thousand things Ashley needed to say to her father, but the most important was, "I love you just as much as I always have. Just because I've also fallen in love with Drew doesn't mean that has changed."
"You love him." Her father ruminated on that information for several long moments, before he finally asked, "Does he love you, too?"
"He does. And I understand that all of this must seem really crazy and unexpected to you, because that's how it seemed to me, up until today...when I went to see Mom."
She hadn't thought her father could look more stunned than he had earlier, but his eyebrows went up nearly to his hairline. "Has she known about this the whole time?"
"No. No one has. But I needed to see her today." She shook her head. "I should have come to see her in Miami before now. But I was too scared that if I came here, I might want to stay. And I couldn't leave you, Dad."
"Ashley." Her father reached for her hand, and even now his touch was as warm and comforting as ever. "I thought you stayed in California because that was where you wanted to be."
"I love where we live, but now that I've been to Miami, I can see why Mom loves it so much. And I can see that there's a part of me that would have loved it, too. Everyone just seems so free. So relaxed. Like they know the rules, but don't treat them like a prison."
"I didn't mean to make you feel like you've lived in a prison all these years."
"Oh Dad, you didn't. Not at all. But it's always been easier for me to hide out in a library or behind a computer. Coming on this tour was the first really scary thing I've ever done."
"You were scared? You didn't say anything about being scared."
"Because I didn't want you to worry about letting me go any more than you already did. And it turned out that coming on tour with Drew was the best thing I could have done, for so many reasons. Not only because I met him and fell in love...but also because I had to learn to trust myself. My own decisions. And I've been learning how strong I can be. Strong enough to take risks that are worth taking."
"You've always made good decisions. And you've always been strong. How could you ever doubt either of those things?"
"That's just what Mom said." Ashley stared at her hand in her father's and decided it was long past time to delve even deeper into the hard stuff. "She also said that she left because of me."
"No." Her father shook his head so hard that his hand pulled free of hers. "She left because I could never be what she needed. What she wanted. Not because she wanted to be apart from you. She hates not being close to you."
"I know that wasn't how she meant it, Dad. She just didn't want me to be stuck in the middle of you two anymore, always trying to mediate or to feel like I needed to go hide."
He looked stunned. "You were the only thing either of us could ever agree on. How much we loved you. That we wanted to protect you. Always. If we'd known we were putting you in that spot--"
"You would still have tried to stay together, just like you did for fifteen years. Because you loved each other, Dad. I could see that, even when you were fighting. I could see the love that was still holding you together. And that's what scared me the most--that even when you love someone, it doesn't mean things are guaranteed to work out. Which is why I thought it would be better not to let myself love at all."
Looking shell-shocked, her father said, "I did love your mother. You and she are the two great loves of m
y life. I lost her, but I don't want to lose you, Ashley."
"You haven't lost me, Dad. And you won't, even if I grow up and move away and fall in love."
He put his arms around her, and his hug felt so good. But even though they'd talked about so much already, there was one more thing she needed to discuss with him. She pulled back slightly and said, "There's one more thing, Dad." Before she lost her nerve, she said, "Drew told me what you said to him before I joined his tour. That you were trusting him to keep me safe." Neither of them had really ever been angry with the other before, but evidently there was a first time for everything. "It's like we were living in medieval times and you wanted to send me out in a chastity belt."
At the words chastity belt, her father's face turned a ruddy red. "That's not fair, Ashley. I just wanted to protect you the way I always have."
"I know you did, but I'm twenty-two. I'm not a little girl anymore, like that picture you insist on keeping in your office that was taken almost ten years ago. You had to know that I was going to grow up and fall in love one day."
"I did know that," he said in a resigned voice, "but I hoped it would be with someone normal. Someone steady. Someone safe."
"Drew is normal and steady and safe. He's also exciting and brilliant and the most fun person I've ever been around." Despite his enormous fame, she'd seen that right from the start. "You know how great his family is and how great he is, too. So why would you think that would change just because he's a big star?"
"It's less that he's a big star," her father said slowly, "than that he's always had big dreams and plans. I can't see him being happy buying a house in Palo Alto and settling down."
"But you're assuming I would be happy doing that."
Her father started at the unintended sharpness in her tone. "Well...I suppose I have always assumed that."
It wasn't fair to be angry with her father for that. Not when she'd always assumed the same thing. "Like I said, I was really nervous when I first joined his tour, and I thought I would be totally out of my element and that I belonged in an office somewhere. But I love being on the road. I love how every day is a new adventure. I love coming up with new ideas and trying new things. And, most of all, I love being with someone who has never for one second thought about making his big dreams smaller."
"You really are happy, aren't you?"
She reached for her father's hand again. "I really am. I mean, I'm still scared, too. But I'm starting to think that some fear is good...because it means I'm risking. Risking for what really matters. Risking for love."
Her father's eyes grew watery then. "I love you, honey. But you have to understand that it's going to take a while for me to learn to deal with all of this. And not just because it's Drew. It could have been any guy and I would have had just as hard a time letting you go."
"I'm not asking you to let me go, Dad. Just to let him in."
Finally, her father nodded and gave her a small smile. The first one she'd seen from him so far. "I'll try, honey."
That was all she could ask him to do, just to try to give her boyfriend--oh, what a lovely word that was--a chance. "Do you want to go watch his show?"
Her father began to shake his head, then stopped himself. "Sure."
She put her arm around him, and he did the same. Together, they walked out of the room and headed to the side of the stage, where James was keeping an eagle eye on Drew. She gave him a smile to let him know everything was going to be okay, then let Drew's music take away her worries and fears, just the way it always had.
*
Two and a half hours later, Drew strode off stage and immediately pulled Ashley into his arms to kiss her. For the entire show, she'd been at the forefront of his mind. Thankfully, part of the way through she'd appeared side stage with her father, their arms around each other. Now it was his turn to make sure his former professor knew just how much he loved and respected his daughter.
"Professor Emmit, I'd like to speak with you once I'm done with my after-show duties--in about an hour, if that's not too late for you."
Her father's expression wasn't exactly open and friendly as he looked at Drew, but he nodded. "Certainly."
Ashley looked a little nervous as she glanced between the two of them, but she simply said, "Can we both come to your meet and greets?"
"Of course." He slid his hand through Ashley's. "I was hoping you'd be there."
When she smiled at him and he saw the love she felt for him shining from her eyes without shadows anymore, even the major upcoming confrontation with her dad couldn't dim Drew's joy.
*
An hour later, Ashley headed back to the bus with Max, while James took Drew and the professor to a small, late-night coffee shop a short way from the Miami strip.
Making sure he was facing the corner rather than the door, after they ordered two cups of coffee, Drew took off his baseball cap and said point-blank, "I'm in love with Ashley. She's brilliant and funny and beautiful and has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known."
"She is all of those things," her father agreed.
It felt like he was talking to an impenetrable brick wall, but Drew couldn't let that stop him from trying to break through it. "I know I'm the last person in the world you want her to be with. She knows it, too, which is why we both tried so hard to fight what we were feeling for each other. But I couldn't stop falling more in love with her by the second."
The waitress brought their coffees, but instead of picking up the cup, her father closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. After quite a long while, he opened them and looked straight at Drew. "I promised Ashley I would try. But I have to tell you just how hard it is, after you promised me you would keep her safe."
"She is safe with me, sir."
"If it were just the two of you in Palo Alto, then maybe I could find that easier to swallow. But your life--I honestly can't even begin to understand how crazy, how unpredictable, how unsteady it is. All I've ever wanted is for my daughter to feel secure. She should have everything she wants."
"And if she wants me? If she wants this life?"
Professor Emmit shook his head. "I don't understand it."
"I see a lot of you in Ashley," Drew said after a few moments. "How methodical she is, how she keeps asking questions and doing research until she feels that she truly understands something."
"She and I have always been a lot alike."
"Doesn't she also share a lot of qualities with her mother?"
"Well... I..." Her father frowned into his untouched coffee. "They have the same eyes. And their laughter sounds the same." His frown deepened. "And I suppose Ashley always loved riding roller coasters and diving into the ocean in a way I never have."
"Just like her mom."
The professor's gaze met his again. "Yes. Just like Camila."
Drew could hear all the longing, the frustration, in the other man's voice as he spoke of his ex-wife. "What if," he said slowly, "Ashley is living the life she wants? What if being in a relationship with me is just the perfect mix of steady and unpredictable?"
Her father pressed his lips together. "It's not easy for me to see things that way, but for my daughter, I'll try. Although there is one thing I will never bend on, Drew. You'd better go out of your way to make her happy every single day or--"
"Or I wouldn't deserve her." He smiled at his girlfriend's father. "She's everything to me. Just like she is to you. Absolutely everything."
Her father still didn't smile. He didn't reach out to shake Drew's hand. But he wasn't scowling or frowning anymore. And when he asked the waitress to bring him a fresh cup of coffee, then said, "You put on quite a show tonight," Drew hoped he'd succeeded at taking the first important step toward Ashley's father accepting him as her boyfriend.
Chapter Thirty-Four
An hour later, Drew and Ashley were alone on the bus. He would be playing in Miami again tomorrow night, and there was a hotel room they could have gone to for the night. But both
of them wanted to be here on the bus where they'd first made each other laugh. Where they'd first fallen in love. And where they'd first slept in each other's arms.
Her entire face was lit up with the biggest, brightest smile he'd ever seen as she took his hands in hers. "I love you. And I don't want to hide our relationship from anyone anymore. I want the whole world to know that you're mine."
"I love you, too, Ash." He'd never grow tired of hearing her say I love you to him, or saying it to her. Just as he'd never get enough of kissing her gorgeous mouth the way he was right now. "And I'm going to love telling everyone on the entire planet that you're my girlfriend," he whispered against her lips.
"I still might be a little nervous about it," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean I don't want it. It just means I'm still getting my feet wet with all of this. I've never been in love before."
"I haven't either, Ash."
"Aren't you even the slightest bit nervous?"
"Only with your father."
She bit her lip, clearly worried as she asked, "How'd your talk go?"
He didn't want to upset her, but he couldn't lie to her. "It was pretty rough going there for a while. For most of our talk, actually. But I have a good feeling that he's going to come around." He smiled and added, "Eventually."
He was really glad to hear her laugh out loud. "I think it's all hard for him to take in. Both that I'm officially grown up now and that I won't be right there at home all the time anymore."
"Because you'll be..."
"With you."
"There's nowhere I want you more. But my dreams aren't the only ones that count. Yours do, too. So when Stanford Business School begs you to attend, you can't turn them down to be on the road with me."
"Honestly, I've finally accepted that getting into the best graduate program in the country is a pretty big if. And if they do accept me next year, we can figure things out then. But even if they don't, I'm going to be okay with it--especially after the email Grant sent me while you were doing your meet and greet tonight."