Tempt Me Like This
Page 76
- Background:
- Text Font:
- Text Size:
- Line Height:
- Line Break Height:
- Frame:
“Thanks for coming all the way to New Orleans, Dad. It means a lot to me that you travel to wherever I am on my birthday.” Except for last year, when their mom hadn’t been well enough to fly or drive long distance.
“We don’t see you nearly enough. It looks like the road is agreeing with you on this tour, Drew. I’m glad to see it.”
It’s Ashley. She’s the reason everything is better.
“Everyone else should be here shortly,” his father continued. “We’ve all been looking forward to tonight.”
Drew couldn’t wait to see the rest of his siblings. But this time, his happiness came from more than simply knowing he was going to spend time with his family. He really wanted all of them to meet Ashley, too. And though he wasn’t yet able to tell them what she meant to him, he wouldn’t be surprised if they all saw it as clear as day, even without him saying, She’s my girlfriend.
“There’s someone I really want you guys to meet.” He craned his neck to see where Ashley was and found her chatting with one of the radio station staff members. She obviously intended to give him time to greet his family alone. Unlike pretty much everyone else in his world, she never wanted to invade his space. Didn’t she know she was the number one person he wanted by his side? He told his sister and father, “I’ll be right back.”
When he moved beside Ashley, it was nearly impossible not to put his arm around her or even take her hand. Just hours ago, they’d been as close as two people could be. Now, it felt unnatural not to be able to touch her. To kiss her.
“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.
“We don’t see you nearly enough. It looks like the road is agreeing with you on this tour, Drew. I’m glad to see it.”
It’s Ashley. She’s the reason everything is better.
“Everyone else should be here shortly,” his father continued. “We’ve all been looking forward to tonight.”
Drew couldn’t wait to see the rest of his siblings. But this time, his happiness came from more than simply knowing he was going to spend time with his family. He really wanted all of them to meet Ashley, too. And though he wasn’t yet able to tell them what she meant to him, he wouldn’t be surprised if they all saw it as clear as day, even without him saying, She’s my girlfriend.
“There’s someone I really want you guys to meet.” He craned his neck to see where Ashley was and found her chatting with one of the radio station staff members. She obviously intended to give him time to greet his family alone. Unlike pretty much everyone else in his world, she never wanted to invade his space. Didn’t she know she was the number one person he wanted by his side? He told his sister and father, “I’ll be right back.”
When he moved beside Ashley, it was nearly impossible not to put his arm around her or even take her hand. Just hours ago, they’d been as close as two people could be. Now, it felt unnatural not to be able to touch her. To kiss her.
“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.
