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Smith came over with a towel for Drew a couple of seconds later, grinning as he said, "Valentina and I have been too busy to enjoy the pool. Glad someone is."
"Thanks for the towel." Drew ran it over his face and hair. "I was actually just heading your way to see if I could chat with you and Valentina for a few minutes."
"Why don't you change into something of mine while we stick your clothes in the dryer? Then we can talk."
Five minutes later, Drew had on a pair of Smith Sullivan's jeans and a Hawks Baseball T-shirt. Valentina and Ashley hadn't yet emerged, so they were sitting in Smith and Valentina's home office talking about how the team was doing this year.
"I caught your brother's last no-hitter on the TV on the bus," Drew said, "but it's not like being there when Ryan throws a--"
His sentence fell away as Ashley walked into the room...and his jaw dropped. She was wearing another dress, pink instead of white. And sexy in a way that nothing else she'd ever worn had been.
"We were so lucky," Valentina said as she beamed at Ashley. "Tatiana left this dress in the closet after her visit with Ian. It fits you perfectly."
So perfectly, in fact, that the edge Drew was on wore so thin it nearly broke, almost exploding into a million pieces right then and there in front of Smith and Valentina.
*
Ashley felt just about as self-conscious in Tatiana Landon's dress as she had in her see-through white dress in the pool. Tatiana was a gorgeous movie star who probably wore outfits like this all the time, but Ashley wasn't used to wearing anything quite so form-fitting. One big breath was all it would take for her breasts to come spilling up and out of the bodice. Plus, since her underwear was currently in the dryer, she wasn't wearing any. And from the way Drew was looking at her with so much heat even the air conditioning couldn't keep her cool, she wondered if he'd developed X-ray vision and could tell that she was completely bare beneath the gorgeous dress.
She'd been nervous about coming to this party, considering Smith Sullivan was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But in her worst nightmares she couldn't have come up with falling into the pool. Only, the truth was that she couldn't entirely regret what had happened, if only because of the way Drew had pulled her close in the water and held her as though he never wanted to let her go.
Just the way he had in the elevator yesterday. And on the beach. And in the desert in the Valley of Fire.
Every time she'd ever been in his arms was imprinted on her memory like a brand. When this tour was over, she'd be replaying each and every one of those delicious moments over and over in her fantasies.
Fantasies that she knew better than to be having right this second, so she worked to pull herself together as she smiled at Valentina. "Thanks again for finding me the dress. And"--she turned to include Smith--"I'm so sorry I made such a spectacle at your party."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Smith said as he reached out for Valentina's hand so that he could draw her closer. "We should have fired that grip a week ago."
"He should know better than to get drunk here," Valentina agreed, looking utterly content in Smith's arms.
They were such a beautiful couple. It clearly didn't matter to them that Smith was famous and Valentina wasn't. They were not only equals, they were also so clearly in love that they were always either holding hands or Smith's arms were wrapped around Valentina's waist.
Seeing how good they were together, Ashley couldn't imagine that Valentina had ever worried about fitting into Smith's Hollywood world. But given the crazy business he was in, Ashley figured it was far more likely that they'd run into at least a few bumps on the way to true love. If only she knew their story, would that help her make sense of what she was going through with Drew?
"I'll go take care of the situation with the grip in a minute," Smith said to Valentina, "but first, Drew said he'd like to chat with us about something." He shifted his gaze to Drew. "I'm assuming it has to do with the soundtrack?"
Ashley couldn't miss the tension in Drew's face. No one could when a muscle was jumping in his jaw and there were deep creases beside his eyes.
She realized it was the way he always looked when he was talking about the problems he'd been having with songwriting. Oh God, the soundtrack. She hadn't even thought to ask him if that was giving him problems the way the songs for his next album were. And despite the strain between them since the beach in Los Angeles, her every instinct was to try to figure out a way to protect him.
But at the same time, while Drew had involved her in all of his other meetings so far, today she was here only because she'd fallen into the pool. She very much doubted any of them wanted her to witness this discussion.
"I should leave the three of you alone," she said, already heading for the French doors in her borrowed pink dress.
"Ashley." Drew's deep voice--and his hand over hers--stopped her in her tracks. "Stay. Please."
She looked into his eyes, and when she saw just how much he seemed to need her support, she moved back to sit with him on the couch opposite the one Smith and Valentina were sitting on. She squeezed his hand, a silent message of support that she hoped he'd understand.
She watched as he steeled himself to deliver the bad news, turning to Smith and Valentina and saying in a grave voice, "Working on the soundtrack for your movie is the opportunity of a lifetime. Honestly, when you asked me to do it, I was floored. But even then I should have been upfront with both of you about the problems I was already having." He ran his free hand through his hair, leaving it standing on end. "The rushes are incredible. You deserve a soundtrack just as good. I can't do it justice."
"Of course you will," Valentina said. "We wouldn't have asked you to work with us if we didn't think you would more than do our film justice, Drew."
Valentina's words were as firm as they were soothing. Ashley belatedly remembered that she had managed her sister's acting career for a long time. Clearly, she was good with artists.
But Drew shook his head. "Everything I've tried to write for your film--it's not coming out the way you're expecting."
"How so?" Smith asked.
Ashley couldn't quite read Smith's expression, although he didn't look worried or angry. Instead, it was as though he needed more data before he decided which way to feel. Clearly, neither he nor Valentina were the type to jump to conclusions. Not even when someone they had hired told them flat-out that they weren't up to working with them on a film.
"The songs I've been hearing in my head aren't rock. Not like my last album." Drew looked at Ashley, and even though she'd been trying like crazy to avoid temptation these past few days by keeping her distance, she hoped he knew she was on his side. Always. "There's still a little bit of rock there," Drew continued, "but there's some folk, too. Even some classical." He scowled as he admitted, "Honestly, I don't know what the songs are yet. Just that whenever I try to force them in the direction I know you're looking for, everything stalls out."
Smith looked at Valentina and Ashley got the sense the power couple was having a silent conversation before Smith said, "We trust your vision, Drew."
"Whatever your vision ends up being," Valentina added. "Rock, folk, classical, zydeco--all that matters is the emotion behind it. Style really has nothing to do with it as far as we're concerned."
After a bit of a pause where he looked more than a little gobsmacked by their instant and unconditional support, Drew said, "I appreciate your vote of confidence. But I'm sure you want to sell a lot of soundtracks, and without a guaranteed hit--"
Smith held up a hand. "Ever since Nicola married my brother Marcus and Ford Vincent married my cousin Mia, I've learned a few things about the music business. Mostly that hits may come, and that it's great when they do, but the most important thing of all is that the musicians truly believe in what they're creating." Smith looked at Drew with laser focus. "All we're asking you to do is to put your heart--the whole damned thing--into the music you create for this movie."
&n
bsp; "That's all, huh?"
Ashley nearly sighed out loud with relief when Drew's mouth quirked up slightly at his own question. So, she thought, did Smith and Valentina. Clearly, they hadn't wanted to lose Drew.
"Keep writing for the film for another couple of weeks," Valentina suggested. "And then if you're still having trouble, let us know. But we still have a good feeling about what you're going to give us, Drew."
Drew stood up to thank both of them for giving him another chance to get it right. Ashley hoped at least a chunk of the huge weight on Drew's shoulders had just fallen away.
A few moments later, Smith headed outside to deal with the drunken grip while Valentina went to see if their clothes were dry.
When they were alone, Ashley needed him to know, "I think they're right." She didn't want her voice to carry, so she spoke softly, but she hoped Drew could hear the passion behind her words. "I know we talked about it in the desert, and then again on the beach, but Smith and Valentina both just put it perfectly--you need to trust your new musical vision the way you've always instinctively trusted your old one." She hoped it wouldn't hurt him to hear her say, "It's like your mom said in her letter--you've always been perfectly in tune with the music in your heart."
His eyes were dark and intense as he reached for a lock of her damp hair curling over her chest and wound it around one of his fingers. "Thank you for being here, Ash. And for understanding, even when I barely can myself."
She was about to tell him he was being too hard on himself--and knew that confessing how badly she'd missed him these past few days would be only a beat behind that--when James knocked on the French doors.
Poking his head in, he said, "We've got to get moving, or we'll be late to the studio for your next round of TV interviews. In fact, we've got to call in to the first one in five minutes. Hey, nice dress, Ashley."
For a few moments there, she'd hoped that maybe she and Drew could get things back to where they'd been before their night on the beach, when everything had fallen apart. But within minutes of saying good-bye to Smith and Valentina, who told her to please keep the dress, not only were they back on the insanely paced treadmill of Drew's tour as he headed into a glass and steel building to do the first of a half-dozen back-to-back interviews...but her father also chose that moment to call.
Right when she felt as twisted up inside as she ever had.
