“Sometimes God’s voice is hard to hear over the world.”
“Yes.” The city was louder now. Zack had to yell to be heard. The noise drove home his grandpa’s point. “Thank you. For reminding me.”
The call ended and the bodyguard returned with Zack’s hot tea. He thanked the guy, and the others, too. Then he slipped his phone in his pocket and hurried back inside. The next dance rehearsal was about to begin.
Grandpa Dan’s words spoke to him.
Zack searched his motives as he waited by the doorway. He wasn’t falling for her, right? She needed him, that was all. Or maybe they needed each other. She was still the only one who understood this crazy ride. As she reached him, he stuck his hands in his pockets. “Called home.”
“Mmmm . . . me, too. There’s cell reception in the restroom.” She came a step closer. “How’s your family?”
“They miss me.” He smiled, searching her eyes. What was it about her? She seemed different somehow, bolder, the way she’d been when they first met. He dismissed the possibility. “My sister’s still sick. She needs prayer.”
“I’m sorry.” She ran her hand over her arm. “I really do need to learn how to pray.”
“I told you.” His voice grew softer. He didn’t need a lecture from William Gaines before rehearsal. But he wanted Zoey to understand. “You just talk to God. That’s all.”
“Show me?” She tilted her head. “Later? Please, Zack.”
“I’m not sure when we’ll be done here.” He looked to the stage. The other contestants were already in place. “Come on.” He started to lead her toward the stage.
“Zack.” She hesitated.
He looked back at her. “Zoey, we have to go.”
“Did you call her? Did you call Reese?”
For a long beat he didn’t say anything. He could feel his shoulders fall a bit as defeat slithered alongside him again. “There wasn’t time.”
The slightest smile tugged at her lips. “Just wondering.” She fell in easily beside him as they walked to the stage. “I’m sure she’ll understand. We’re so busy.”
As they walked Zack suddenly realized he was still holding Zoey’s hand. Not only that, but the camera in the corner of the room was trained straight on them. He let go in a hurry and shoved his hands once more in his pockets. She hesitated. “Everything okay?”
“Perfect.” He jogged the last few steps and shouted to Demetrius. “Here. Sorry.”
The guy ignored Zack. He checked his watch, then looked at the group. “Places.”
And like that Zack began doing the one thing he needed to do for the next hour. Dancing with Zoey. Reese would understand. But whenever the two of them did talk later that night, Zack would be lying if he said he wasn’t having fun. God kept letting him stay on the show, so there must be a reason. It was okay to enjoy the process, right?
Zoey was a very good dancer. In Zack’s arms and at his side he couldn’t help but notice, couldn’t help but feel something. The electricity of her skin against his or the smell of her faded perfume. The sound of her laugh. One hour became two, and that became a night of dancing and breaks and instruction that took them way past midnight. One of his and Zoey’s best nights as a team. When he finally crawled exhausted into his bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about the dance and the music and the girl who had been beside him. It was too late to call Reese. Which was probably a good thing. Because he didn’t fall asleep thinking about God or his family or even Reese. Instead he was consumed by one thing.
The way Zoey Davis had felt in his arms.
chapter
21
Just after midnight, when the rehearsal was finally over, Kelly gathered her things and headed out the front entrance. She was the first to leave and as she opened the door, she was struck by the scene. They’d been found out. A crowd had gathered on either side of the sidewalk, smothering the doorway and spilling into the street. The bodyguards had set up ropes and stanchions, and they had positioned themselves along the boundaries to keep stray fans from blocking the path from the door to the waiting cars. Kelly paused and took a deep breath. Two guards were immediately at her side.
“Kelly! Look, it’s Kelly Morgan!” one of the women screamed, and the others in the crowd followed suit. Cell phones appeared from every angle, snapping pictures and casting a series of flashes in her direction. For a brief moment she felt good about the scene. Michael Manning gone from the picture and still she drew this kind of attention.
But just as quickly another scene flashed in her mind, even as her bodyguards escorted her between the ropes to the waiting Escalade. The image of her father running alongside her as she learned to ride her bike. “You can do it, baby. I’m right here.” His tanned face full of life, his pride for her shining in his eyes. “I’ll always be right here.”
But he wouldn’t always be here. Not anymore.
The crowd was shouting louder, screaming as the bodyguards helped her into the SUV. She blinked twice and the image of her father cleared. Two days had passed since she’d heard from either of her parents. She needed to call them in the morning before reporting for rehearsal.
The bodyguards followed her home and didn’t leave until she’d been safely inside for an hour. The staff would take over safety duties from that point until the morning, when the bodyguards would escort her to the SUV once again. William Gaines called to say another six guards had been hired.
Once inside her apartment she grabbed her laptop and settled into the sofa. The silence was heavenly. For a long time she stared at the dark screen, not ready to check e-mail or Yahoo! or do anything but sit and think. The Romeo and Juliet piece had shaken her. It was wrong what Samuel was doing to those kids.
But Chandra had talked to her before they left that night and the two of them had a suspicion. What if Zoey were in on the whole ruse? Kelly thought about Zack’s sincerity, the way his eyes shone with the faith he barely talked about anymore. He had no idea how obsessed his fans would be once he finished the run of
She thought about the look in Zack’s eyes when the production assistant forced him to dance with Zoey. Chemistry, yes. They definitely had chemistry. But what contestants didn’t, after this insane experience? Their lives were upside down and on display. Nothing was the way they’d known it before their auditions.
Once the piece on Zack and Zoey aired, there would likely be no girlfriend to go home to and no way to undo the damage. The two
Her heart kept time with the antique clock on her mantel. She had never questioned fame, never imagined it to be anything other than a dream come true. Something everyone wanted and only a few people found.
Now she began to wonder.
Certainly Chandra had paid the ultimate price, losing her parents to a psycho fan. She’d said something tonight that stayed with Kelly. They were talking about the changes in the contestants and how there was no going back to the life they once lived. Kelly commented that the world would be shocked to know how Chandra Olson really felt about being a celebrity. “You’re so self-possessed, everywhere we go. Every interview. Complete control.”
“It’s my secret. It’s how I keep my prison cell bigger.” A slight, sad smile graced her face. “Look at me, Kelly. The only guy I ever loved moved on years ago. I have no real friends. I’m constantly on tour. If I flip out and start drinking, doing drugs . . . hiding from the press and throwing things at the paparazzi, then the cell gets
