Riding into Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

tonight,” she said as she ducked her head inside.
    Her next words caught in her throat when her eyes landed on Drew reaching a hand in her direction to help her in. She hadn’t thought to ask if Drew would be joining them when Cadence had invited her to the premiere. Nervous bursts of energy erupted in her stomach.
    Alana cleared her throat and fixed a smile on her face. “Hey, Drew. How are you, Blake?” Her smile faded. “Cadence.” She greeted her friend stiffly, upset that she hadn’t given her prior notice—even a text—about Drew. Alana gave Cadence the eye , a look that was code for we’ll talk about this later .
    Cadence sunk into her shoulders just a little and smiled guiltily.
    Drew . Alana took a breath and feigned another smile in his direction as the driver took off. Wasting no time, Drew slid over next to Alana.
    â€œI know you received my many messages.” He stressed the word many . She’d left all his calls and texts unanswered since the day he showed up at her door.
    â€œI’ve been really busy.” Though the interior of the car was already dim, Alana averted her eyes as she spoke.
    â€œAll lies!” Drew exclaimed.
    Alana whipped her head in his direction. She couldn’t believe he called her a liar—even if she did just tell a blatant untruth. Drew sported a wide Cheshire grin. Alana shook her head, glad that he was teasing.
    â€œWhat’s wrong? Do my good looks and charming personality make you uncomfortable?”
    â€œOh please!” She rolled her eyes. Both Blake and Cadence snickered.
    â€œSo why are you avoiding me?”
    â€œI’m not avoiding you, Drew,” she lied again. “I’m a busy girl.” Another excuse. The night he showed up at her door, she’d told him that she wasn’t feeling well in order to get him to leave. It worked. When he left, she’d laughed, tickled by how baffled he was at her refusal to go out with him. Drew was so unaccustomed to rejection that he couldn’t comprehend the reality of that situation. He had still looked confused as he walked away that night.
    â€œOkay. I’ll accept that...this time.”
    Alana took a deep breath and turned to Blake. “Thanks so much for inviting me. This is so exciting. I don’t think I’ve actually been in the midst of celebrities before.”
    Before Blake could respond, Drew jumped in. “You’re welcome, but you’ve been around me thousands of times so what would be different about tonight?”
    â€œWait! This wasn’t Blake’s doing?”
    Donning a proud smile, Drew shook his head. “I invited all of you. This is what I called you for, but you wouldn’t answer.”
    â€œWell, then, thank you, Drew.” Alana stopped there. She didn’t want to make a big deal about her excitement now that she knew that this was Drew’s doing. His ego was big enough without her efforts.
    â€œIs anyone else joining us tonight?” Alana asked. She felt like she’d been duped into a double date. She noticed how unusually quiet Blake was. It was obvious that she was the last to know all the details about the evening’s festivities and she was more than a little annoyed.
    When the car pulled up in front of the theater on Broadway in the heart of the theater district, Alana was the first to get out. She didn’t even wait for the driver to open the door. She stood to the side until all the others climbed out of the car and then hung back to walk behind them at a distance. Alana was determined not to look like she was on a date with Drew. But, gentleman that he was, Drew gestured for her to walk ahead of him. Taking quick steps, she was on Blake’s heels, creating as much space as possible between her and Drew. Excited spectators stood behind stanchions, screaming and snapping pictures with everything from high-quality cameras to cell phones. Alana was too busy