EPILOGUE
As the stage lights went dark, Drew Morrison took a few seconds to ground himself before stepping away from the mic. He’d started recording and doing shows so that he could play the music that had always been in his head...and it had quickly turned into something bigger than he ever could have expected.
Press. Parties. Groupies.
He could have anything he wanted, but every night as he stood onstage after a show, he thought about what his mom had written in her final letter to him: “When nothing else makes the pain go away, all I have to do is put on one of your songs and it works every time. Every single time.”
Music. That was why he was here.
“Great show tonight, man.”
The crowds had gotten so big—and hungry for a piece of Drew—during the past several months that the label had hired a security team to keep away the crazies. James was well over six feet and nearly three hundred pounds. He was also one hell of a nice guy.
“Thanks, James.”
Drew and his backup players had been working out the kinks on a couple of new songs and tonight everything had finally gelled. He was planning to lock himself into the portable studio he’d set up in the back of the tour bus tonight and get it all down while it was still fresh.
“They ready for me in the meet-and-greet room?”
James nodded. “I’ll take you back.”
It didn’t matter how drained Drew felt after a show. He always took the time to meet with his fans, especially the ones who needed the music like his mother had. Sick kids and adults got priority over everyone else for the VIP post-show tickets, and they didn’t have to pay for them, either.
An hour later, he’d signed dozens of autographs and taken even more selfies with his fans, big and small, young and old. He was just about to head back to his tour bus when a woman stepped out of the shadows in the corner.
She should have just blended into the background in her conservative dark pants and top, with no makeup on and her hair pulled back from her face.
And yet, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. By miles.
How the hell could he have missed seeing her backstage until now?
“Your show tonight was really great.”
“Thanks.” He grinned to try to put her at ease. “I’m glad you came. What’s your name?”
“Ashley Emmit.” Something jogged in his brain, but he couldn’t quite nail it down before she added, “I know you’ve got to be exhausted after your show, but I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate the opportunity you’re giving me to go on the road with you for my research.”
Finally putting two-and-two together, Drew asked, “You’re Professor Emmit’s daughter?”
She nodded. “He told me you were expecting my call about setting up all the details, but I thought it would be better to meet in person the first time we spoke.”
“But…” Drew still couldn’t get his brain to work right. “The picture he had of you on his desk—”
“Is really old.” She wrinkled her nose. “I think he likes pretending I’m still his little girl.”
In the picture she’d been wearing huge glasses, so big and thick that Drew had barely been able to make out any of her features. All he’d known was that he was going to be totally safe taking her out on the road with him since he could never touch his professor’s daughter in a million years.
“Drew?”
Oh man, she wasn’t only drop-dead gorgeous, her voice had that husky edge to it that he always loved to hear after he’d made a girl come apart beneath him over and over again.
How the hell was he going to keep his hands off her while they traveled the country together in his tour bus? Especially when he was already this tempted by her…
~ THE END ~