Chapter One
Marcus
I’ve heard it said that when your dreams come true, they’re never as you built them up to be. Based on my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Being married to Marissa is even better than I could’ve ever dreamed. I still wake up every morning and pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming, even after six years of marriage.
Marissa has changed my life in so many ways. She’s brought me out of my shell and gave me confidence. For the first time in my life, I’m healing from the loss of my dad. I’ve been able to open up to her and share my grief. She makes me feel safe to let go and release all those feelings I’ve had built up in me since his passing.
My daughters adore Marissa. They’ve become so close to her and I’m happy they finally have a positive female role model in their life. They go to her for advice, share secrets with her, and talk with her about problems they might be having. Gail has never been there for them and doesn’t want them around unless it’s to pump them for information about my life with Marissa.
Cassidy is twenty one years old now and has her own place. She lives in a condo not far from our house. She’s a fashion designer and has her own business. Her clothing is sold in many stores across the country and even in Paris. She’s dating her high school sweetheart, Jeremy Norton, and the two of them are inseparable. Jeremy is a record producer for Logo Records.
Jordan is eighteen years old and has her own place next to Cassidy. She’s studying photography and business at New York University. She plans to have her own photography business and has a bright future ahead of her. She’s very talented and has already sold some of her landscape photography. She also has a boyfriend, Brad Baker, who’s an investigative reporter for the New York Times. They’ve been dating for several years now.
I’m very proud of both of my daughters. They’ve grown into beautiful young ladies with a strong ambition to succeed on their own. It’s been an amazing experience watching them grow from children into young adults.
Work is going very well for us. We perform every weekend and have gone on tour a few times across the country. It’s great to get out and meet the fans and visit other areas. It’s still hard to believe how far I’ve come from my days at the New York Dance Theater. Being a star is still so surreal to me, but it suits my wife very well. She’s a pro at being a star. I guess being the daughter of famous parents and growing up in the spotlight has made her used to stardom.
Standing backstage signing autographs at the end of another show, I’m embarrassed by the flirty comments one of the fans makes to me as I hand her my autograph on a promo flier. Sensing that I’m uncomfortable, Randy walks over to us and saves me from any further embarrassment.
“It’s time to call it a night, Marcus. That’s all, folks. Thank you for coming tonight and have a great evening,” he says to the fans still standing around us.
They murmur what sounds like goodnight and walk out the back door of the arena. We watch as they file out the door one by one. Glancing over at Marissa, I notice Ruby has made the announcement that it’s time for her fans to leave, as well. They slowly walk away, turning to catch a final glimpse of a beautiful goddess before walking out the door. My goddess. I’m a very lucky man.
“She certainly made it clear what she’d like to do to you,” Randy says with a wicked grin on his face.
I look at him and roll my eyes. “Thanks for stepping in and putting a stop to it.”
“Anytime, bro. I could tell you were uncomfortable. I’ve got your back,” he says, giving me a slap on the back.
We walk over to Marissa and Ruby, who are deep in discussion about a fan of Marissa’s that seemed to be overly pushy.
“What’s going on over here?” Randy asks, looking at Ruby and then Marissa.
“People can be crazy,” Ruby says, shaking her head.
“Why? What happened?” I ask, walking over and planting a gentle kiss on Marissa’s lips.
“Some guy walked up to Marissa and asked for her autograph. She gave it to him, then he pulled a pair of scissors out of his pocket and asked if he could have a lock of her hair,” she says, looking at Marissa and shaking her head.
“What?!” Randy says, looking at them with widened eyes.
“I said ‘absolutely not’ and he looked at me as if he could kill me. I thought we were going to have to call for security,” she says, glancing at me.
“Do you think he’s a threat to you, baby?” I ask, turning to look her in the eye.
“Nah. He’s just a lunatic. He left when he was asked to. I’m not worried about him. Let’s go get changed so we can get out of here,” she says, quickly changing the subject.
“Sounds good,” I reply, reaching down and taking her hand.
“And I thought the woman hitting on Marcus was bad,” Randy says to Ruby as they follow behind us to our dressing rooms.
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