Suddenly, Ashley could see it all so clearly—this was Drew Morrison’s gift. Not only could he write one heck of a chorus, but he was also able to tap into the purest of emotions again and again with every song he wrote. Tears to laughter. Pain to joy. And everyone in the venue was more than happy to be taken on the roller-coaster ride with him. To let him take the wheel as he whirled them up and around, inside and out.
After his encore, however, Ashley forced herself to watch, to listen, to examine the reactions of the audience members, the managers of the venue, the employees running concessions, and to note her impressions in the tablet she took out of her bag. An impressive number of people had walked in wearing T-shirts with his face on them before the show, but pretty much everyone bought one on their way out and put it on. She could only imagine how gleeful Drew’s label must be at the way his fandom was growing.
A few minutes after he left the stage, the staff was quickly working to clean up, and she was one of the only people out on the floor. Having previously arranged over email with Drew to meet backstage after the show, she fished her VIP pass out of her purse and showed it to the large man guarding the door.
“Drew is just about done with pictures and autographs,” the man said as he gave her a surprisingly nice smile, “but if you hurry, I’m sure he won’t leave you hanging.”
“Thanks, but I’m not a fan.” The man’s eyes widened, and as she realized what she’d said, she fumbled to say, “I mean, of course I’m a fan. It’s just that I’m here to go on tour with Drew.”
“Are you Ashley?”
Surprised that this man knew her name, she said, “That’s me.”
He grinned even wider as he reached for her hand and gave it several good, hard pumps. “I’m James. It’s my job to keep Drew safe.”
Resisting the urge to rub her shoulder socket after he let go of her hand, she smiled back at Drew’s security guard. “It’s lovely to meet you.” Of course, as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she had to fight the urge to groan out loud. Lovely to meet you made her sound like she was an eighty-year-old grandma rather than a twenty-two-year-old woman.
“I’ll let Drew know you’re on your way.” James pulled out his phone and sent a quick text, probably also letting Drew know he should expect a supernerd backstage. “Welcome to the madness, Ashley.”
As she walked down the hall in the direction in which James had pointed her, she mused that Drew’s bodyguard really was a lovely man. And though he’d just referred to touring with Drew as madness, the truth was that he’d helped make her feel a whole lot less nervous about being here.
Ever since the night she’d introduced herself to Drew after one of his shows and realized just how ridiculously good-looking he was in person, she’d been more than a little anxious. Going on a rock tour at all was a huge leap away from her normal life, but going with Drew?
It might very well be madness.
Ashley took a deep breath and tried to push her nerves away as she walked through the door at the end of the hall. A group of women were all talking and laughing at once, obviously still on a high from the show. She didn’t see Drew at first and thought maybe she was in the wrong place. But then, when the crowd parted to reveal him standing in the opposite corner of the room, she swore it was as though everything slowed down and then went completely still as Drew looked right at her.
His eyes held hers with a look so intense, and so full of heat, that she actually forgot how to breathe for a moment.
Oh God. He was beautiful. So beautiful that it almost hurt to look at him.
The record label didn’t need to put makeup on him to make him better-looking in pictures. They didn’t need to put him in special clothes or cut his hair a certain way to make him attractive to the masses. All they needed was for him to smile...and the person he was smiling at felt as though she was the center of his entire world. Like he would live and die only for her.
A woman’s super-sultry voice saying, “Drew, can you do a really special signature for me?” broke Ashley out of her frozen stance by the door.
Drew held Ashley’s gaze for another moment before turning to the woman. “Sure,” he said, his smile easy now, rather than intense. “Where do you want it?”
Before Ashley knew it, the woman had pulled her tank top up—and off! All the way off, so that she was standing completely topless in the middle of a room full of strangers...and the rock god she was obviously hoping to entice with her bold move.
To Drew’s credit, he didn’t so much as blink. Not even when the woman moved way too close to him and said, “You can write your name anywhere you want on my body. Absolutely anywhere.”