“Of course I enjoyed it. That doesn’t mean it was right.”

“But it was fun to watch you squirm. We should do it more often.”

I shook my head in annoyance, but I laughed. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Now,” his voice turned serious, “let’s get you home and into bed.”

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Drake and I had settled into a routine—one that I didn’t like very much. Drake and the band were constantly at the label’s office, trying to get things finalized for the album’s release. Drake would leave early in the morning, and he wouldn’t return until dinner time. He’d mentioned bringing me with him, but so far, he hadn’t been able to. He promised that once things slowed down, he would.

With no school or job to keep me busy, I was bored. I hadn’t found the nerve to go explore L.A. on my own. I was afraid I’d get lost or mugged. I spent most of my days reading on my Kindle or listening to music. I’d unpacked all of my things the day after I’d arrived in L.A., and I’d cleaned Drake’s house the following day. Our house. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact we had a house together. If something didn’t change, I was going to get a ladder and start cleaning the windows or something equally ridiculous.

Drake and I grew closer and closer as the time passed, despite the fact that we didn’t get to spend a lot of time together. Even though he wasn’t around during the day, we would spend almost every evening together. Once he walked through the door, we would be glued to each other. I smiled as I remembered how he’d wanted to christen every room in the house that first week. We had done exactly that, some rooms more than once.

There was no doubt in my mind that Drake loved me and that he was doing everything in his power to stay clean. Once a week, he would go to the rehab clinic to just talk with the doctor. I was so proud of him. Despite being bored and hating his schedule, I felt like my life was finally falling into place.

After a month of solitude, Drake finally announced that I could go with him to work one day. The tour would be starting in less than a month, and they had covered all their loose ends, so things were slow for them. Dressing up a bit for the visit, I wore a short-sleeved white button-up shirt and gray dress pants with a pair of flats. I styled my hair until it was stick straight, and I put a little extra effort into my makeup. I didn’t want any of Drake’s coworkers to think that he could do better than me. When I told him so, Drake rolled his eyes and tried to kiss the lipstick off of my lips, but I stood my ground as I pushed him away. I didn’t want to embarrass him.

I tapped my foot nervously as we drove across town to the label’s building.

“Hey, calm down. They’re going to love you. Even if they don’t, who cares? My opinion is all that matters.” Drake reached over and took my hand.

I snorted. “You always know just what to say.”

“It’s my gift.”

When Drake parked his car in the garage underneath the label’s building, I took a deep breath to prepare myself. Despite what Drake had said, I wanted these people to like me. He held my hand from the time we left his car until we walked into his manager’s office. The rest of the band was already in there. Jade was relaxing on a couch next to the window while Adam and Eric were sitting on a couch on the opposite side of the room. A man was sitting behind a desk directly across from the door.

Drake practically had to drag me as he walked up to the desk. “Brad, this is my fiancée, Chloe.”

Brad stood and held out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I wiped my sweaty hand on my pants before shaking his hand. “Likewise.”

“Drake has told me so much about you, but he left out the part about how beautiful you are.”

I blushed. “Thank you.”

“So, what brings you to our office, Chloe?” Brad asked.

“I wanted to show her where I worked and introduce her to some of the people I work with. I also wanted her to meet the crew who will be on the road with us for the tour. That way, she’ll know them before she’s stuck on the road with them.”

Brad raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize that Chloe would be going on tour with you.”

“Where I go, she goes.”

Brad’s phone rang, and he held up a finger as he answered. “Yes?” He was quiet as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. “I’ll send them down now.” He placed the phone back in its cradle and looked around the room at the band. “They need you guys in the studio for just a few minutes. They found a glitch on track three, and they need you to rerecord about ten seconds of the song.”

“Sure. Come on, Chloe, I’ll introduce you to everyone in the studio,” Drake said.

“You know the rules—no one in the studio when someone is recording. She can stay in here with me, and you can come back and get her when you’re done.”

I felt uneasy about sitting in a room with Drake’s boss by myself, but I didn’t really have any other options. I smiled weakly at Drake as he nodded, and then he followed the rest of the band out the door. Trying to put some space between Brad and me, I walked over and sat down on the couch where Jade had been sitting moments before.

“So, tell me, Chloe, how long have you and Drake been together?” Brad asked.

“Um, for about a year and a half.”

“That’s very sweet. When do you two plan to get married?”

His questions were making me uncomfortable, but I couldn’t exactly ignore him.

“We’re not sure yet.”

“I thought you were engaged?”

“We are.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t started planning a wedding already. Most women would be climbing the walls in excitement.”

“We’re taking our time,” I answered shortly.

“I can see that. Why?”

“Sir, with all due respect, that’s between Drake and me.”

“Of course it is. Forgive me. I was simply trying to understand your relationship with Drake.”

“I love him if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Of course you do. Drake is a very attractive young man with an incredible future ahead of him. I just don’t want to see anything bring him down.”

“What are you saying?” My body was humming with anger. Despite his warm welcome when Drake had been in the room, it was pretty obvious that this man did not like me.

“I’m just saying that Drake is at the beginning of his career. A lot of his fan base will be young women who find him attractive. I’d hate to see that disappear because he’s engaged to a woman who doesn’t want to marry him.”

“I do want to marry him.”

“And I’m glad to hear it. While I want Drake to be happy, I don’t see how you coming on tour with him would be beneficial. The less that you’re seen with him, the better. Your presence will be nothing more than a hindrance to the entire tour. The fans won’t like you, and you’ll take up space on the bus.”

“So, you think me breaking up with him would help the overall moral of the tour?” I asked sarcastically.

“Of course not. I want Drake to be happy. In this case, I think it would be better if you kept yourself hidden. You want him to succeed, don’t you?”

“That’s a stupid question. You know I do.”

“Then, consider staying far away from the tour. You’ll do nothing but jeopardize it, and a new band doesn’t need a clingy girlfriend,” he glanced at me and grinned, “I mean, a clingy fiancé in their way.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to go to hell, but then I stopped. What if he was right? During his shows over the summer, I’d seen girls glare at me thousands of times because I was sitting with him. I didn’t want to destroy his career just because I didn’t want him to leave me. He would never forgive me.

Brad smiled at me. “You know I’m right.”

I was still speechless when the door opened, and Drake walked back in.