Nashville by Heart: A Novel (19 page)

He
carried her over the threshold, kicked the door shut behind them, and headed up
the stairs.

“Which
room?”

She
laughed, seriously afraid he might drop her if she didn’t make a decision fast.
She thought of the one he’d shown her with the big bay window and pointed
toward it.

He
nodded and shortly deposited her on the bed. Propping herself up on a pillow,
she watched him, amused and suitably amazed, at how fast he took off his
clothes. He stood like a Greek god, she mused, staring down at her. Her heart
skipped a beat.

He
smiled that sexy half-smile. “Get naked, darlin’, or I’m going to undress you
myself.”

“Is
that another come-on line?”

He
headed toward the bed. “No, it’s a promise.”

She
hopped out of the bed before he could reach her and grabbed the little red bag.

“Be
right back.”

~~~~

In
the bathroom, she slipped the white silky nightgown over her head, letting it
settle over her hips. The girls had bought it for her from the chapel gift
shop, and it was surprisingly pretty with a lacy bodice cut low in front and
not a trace of the Elvis chapel theme. She sprayed on a scent that she kept in
her purse and stared at herself in the mirror. Adjusting one of the gown’s thin
straps, she checked her reflection one more time, her skin flushing pink with
the thought of his touch.

Already
short of breath, she opened the door. Will had lit candles around the room, and
they cast a soft glow across the bed. He rose from the mattress completely
comfortable in nothing but his own skin as her gaze swept over his body. Desire
coursed through her. He was more than she could have imagined. When she gave
him a shy, but inviting smile, he moved toward her.

~~~~

A
flood of heat surged through Will. He wanted to pull her down on the bed and
devour her, but he was transfixed by the soft glow of her skin in the
candlelight. He crossed the room, his eyes wandering over the curves of her
body, covered by the flimsy silk of her gown.

“Have
mercy,” he breathed. “You are so beautiful.”

Pressing
his mouth to hers, he drank her in, his head dizzy with the sweetness of her
lips. The only thing that could compel him to stop kissing her was the promise
of her bare skin beneath that thin slip of silk. He pulled his lips from hers,
leaving her panting as he trailed feather kisses along the neckline, struggling
not to pull her down on the bed on top of him before she was ready.

“I
love you, Gillian.” He spoke to her in between kisses, his voice husky with
desire, his body aching to be much closer. He loved how she trembled against
him, and he wanted to give her the world. Pulling her closer, he let his hands
slowly roam her curves, finding the hem of the gown and slowly inching it up.

“Oh
God,” he whispered. “I can’t believe I finally get to make love to you.”

He was
so turned on, he had to take a few deep breaths. He wanted her to remember this
night for a long time.

“You’re
mine forever,” he said. “Only you.”

“And
you’re mine,” she said.

Her
words went straight to his heart, and he smiled to think of how she’d changed
him so much in such a short time. He never wanted to be anyone else’s. With
more feeling he went back to working her gown off her, but inched the fabric
slowly, enjoying the anticipation on her face.

She
gasped softly as he peeled the gown up over her head. He tossed it to the side,
so that it lay forgotten somewhere across the room. His mouth fell open. She
was so beautiful, so perfect… so much that he wanted to touch and to taste. He
told her so, over and over.

“This
has to be a dream,” he whispered.

He
reached for her, slowly sliding his hands around her waist, restraining himself
so as to savor the silk of her skin, the curve of her hip, and letting the full
lushness of her drive him wild. When she wrapped her arms around his neck,
melding her body to his, he pulled her tight, their lips never parting as he
guided her to their wedding bed, trying not to hurry, but eager to show her all
the pleasures he’d been dying to give her for far too long.

~~~~

Her
lips still tingled from his kisses as he settled himself beside her on the bed.
She traced his cheek with her fingertips, letting his eyes search her from head
to toe. She loved the way he looked at her, the way it made her feel open and
unashamed to be stripped bare in front of him, body and soul.

She
gasped as he cupped her breasts in his palms, running his thumbs lightly across
her soft skin. How had they waited so long for this? But Will had been right. A
ring on her finger proved it was forever this time, and it made all her
inhibitions fall away. She boldly returned the touch, exploring the muscular
planes and angles, all of him, in a way she’d never done before. She wanted to
give him a wedding night to remember too, because this was their first time
together. His lips moved lower, setting her skin ablaze.

Her
words were a whisper. “Make love to me.”

His
only answer was his mouth pressing against hers, and with a low groan, his
hands traveled the length of her, his lips trailing along the surface of her
skin, her curves responding in a way that made her burn, and moving together
they unbridled a passion they’d both been battling since they first met.

~~~~

Gillian
woke late the next morning to find she was still in the fairytale world. Her
eyes sleepily traveled around the room, the blues and greens reminding her she
was in Will’s house.

Wait.
No. Her house. Their house.

She
smiled to herself. This was crazy but real.

Her
skin was bare underneath the sheets, so no way last night was a dream. She’d
fantasized about what their first time together would be like, but her
imaginings in no way lived up to the real thing.

“I’m
married,” she whispered into the room.

“Yes,
you are, Mrs. Adams.” Will walked in with a cup of coffee. He cast her a wicked
grin.

“Gillian
Adams,” she said, cradling the cup in her hands.

“Turns
out Dorothy stopped by anyway,” Will said. “I got a text to look on the front
porch and found all this.”

She
plucked one of the oversized blueberry muffins from the basket. “I love
Dorothy, and I’m starving.”

They
moved to the bay window where Gillian sat wrapped in a sheet gazing out at the
barn. “We’re getting horses, right?”

“Anything
you want. This big ol’ house isn’t going to be quiet and boring any more.” He
reached a hand out, squeezing her knee.

“Maybe
some people will think we rushed things,” she said. “But I’m so happy.”

“You
still think I’m crazy?” He winked at her.

“Definitely.”
She leaned over for a kiss. “And I love it.”

“So,
I was thinking about that song we wrote last night, before we got married.”

She
smiled. “I love that song.”

“Just
look how it ended,” he said. “No Las Vegas-style regrets.”

She
thought about the studio downstairs and how songwriting had brought them
together, how it had brought about their wedding, and how it would always be a
part of their story.

She sipped
her coffee, imagining the rest of their life together. She leaned against his
chest.

“Let’s
always write love songs together, Will.”

He
planted a kiss on her shoulder. “I have a better idea.”

She
raised her chin, shivering when he planted a kiss on her neck.

“What
could be better than writing love songs?” she asked, but she had a feeling she
knew the answer.

He
trailed a line of kisses up to her cheek. “How about we live them?”

She
relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her. She liked that idea better.

No,
she loved it.

One
more missing piece in Gillian’s life found its place, albeit after a bit of a
struggle. Upon hearing about her marriage to Will, no doubt from Aunt Cher,
Cooper Heart showed up at one of her performances. She refused to see him, so
Will had to send him away. Only after two more tries did she finally give him a
chance to explain, but through the crack of the dressing room door, her on one
side and him on the other.

He
told her he’d been wrong to abandon her, that he’d been a downright idiot by
letting fame and money consume him. He’d thought he would experience a bit of
the Nashville life, hobnobbing with all the famous people, and then come back
home, but her momma hadn’t let him. “I don’t blame her,” he’d said. “She only
wanted to protect you. And I used my money as a bargaining tool, refusing to
support you unless your mom let me back into your lives. I regret that. I was
wrong, Gillian.” Tears gathered in Gillian’s eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall,
wouldn’t fall into his arms so quickly. She told him she needed more time.

Gillian
didn’t blame Louise. Her momma had done the right thing by not letting Cooper
come in and out of their lives at his own whim. He would have been a bad
influence on her, even if her little girl heart would’ve taken him however she
could get him. She was no longer a little girl, though, and after a lot of
soul-searching, and making her dad beg, she decided it was time to move
forward. But only because it seemed her mother already had.

Louise
had decided to forgive Cooper after he’d been one of the subjects of a big
Nashville magazine article about the price of fame. Allowing himself to be
interviewed, he was quoted as saying that the biggest mistake of his life was
leaving his family, and the most despicable thing he’d ever done was to smother
the light of his talented wife, Louise Heart, who’d never been given a chance
to shine.

“Since
my daughter came on the Nashville scene, people have said she’s as talented as
me, but it’s not true. Gillian gets every bit of her talent from her momma,” he
told the reporter. “Louise raised our daughter right. She’s the reason Gillian
turned out to be so beautiful, talented and a good person.”

When
her momma, in tears, read those words out loud to her over the phone, Gillian
cried with her.

“I
think it’s time to move on,” Louise said. So they arranged for him to come to
Gold Creek Gap for the reception.

Will
had promised Gillian and her momma a beautiful reception, and by gosh, he was
giving them one. Well, the women had done the actual planning, but he was the
one who set the date six months after the wedding. At first they’d planned to
hold it at the church, but then they decided to wait until the house was built,
so they could hold it there, hence the delay.

Louise
had argued about the house at first, saying there was nothing wrong with her
trailer. After all, she had a beautiful garden. Will and Gillian had assured
her that while nothing was wrong with her mobile home, they would like it if
she’d stay in the sprawling new home they had built by the lake and take care
of it when they weren’t around. Since they only made it there a couple of
weekends a month at best, due to Gillian’s tour dates, Louise had the run of
the house. This had given her the freedom and time to plan the reception, and
since Gillian was too busy living her life as a music artist to help like she
wanted to, Aunt Cher was happy to pitch in. Gillian’s only request was that
there be sushi. Her mom and Cher thought that was crazy, but she said she’d
promised Will.

The
day had finally arrived, and Gillian and Will were thrilled with the lights
draping along the deck overlooking the lake. There were people dancing,
children splashing down on the bank, and more food and wine than anyone could
ever consume.

Louise
stood there with a smile on her face, satisfied at how the rich and famous
mingled with the small town folks from Gold Creek Gap and from Will’s hometown
only a few hours away.
This is how life is supposed to be
, she thought.
People being together, not caring about where they came from or how much money
they had.

Her
daughter waved, and Louise made her way over to the happy couple. Never had
Gillian looked so beautiful or so happy standing with her husband and all her
friends. She especially loved that Tasha. She’d been a big help with the
reception. Louise thought it was sweet of Gillian and Will to let her have this
reception, since she’d missed their wedding, but they didn’t realize she was
even happier that her daughter had found a man who treated her so well and who
made her so happy.

“Thank
you for all this, Momma.” Gillian kissed her mother. “You’re the best. And you
too, Aunt Cher.”

Aunt
Cher hurried over. “Anything for you, sweetheart, and you too, Will.”

“We
sure are thankful,” he told her with a grin, but then his smile faltered.
Gillian, Louise and Cher turned in the direction Will was looking. A reunion
was about to happen, and he hoped his wife’s heart wouldn’t be broken in the
process.

Gillian
stared at Cooper Heart as he made his way through the crowd. He was handsomely
dressed in a western cut suit, and his eyes were glued to Gillian. Louise
turned to see her daughter’s face. She and Will reached for her at the same
time.

“If
you’ve changed your mind, it’s OK,” Will said. “I’ll make him leave right now.”

“I
want him to stay,” Gillian said, steeling herself as he approached. It seemed
like a long time, but when he finally reached her, all the anger that’d
gathered in her heart evaporated. She wasn’t the same little girl who’d stood
out on the front porch daily waiting for him to come home.

They
stared at each other, Gillian’s heart nearly flying out of her chest.

“Did
you mean what you said in that article?” she asked.

He
nodded, his eyes glistening.

“Please
forgive me, Gilly,” he said, and the sound of his voice calling her by her
nickname broke her in two.

“Daddy.”
She threw herself into his arms, not caring what he’d done wrong. They’d have
to sort through all of that later, but for now, he was home, and it was all she
cared about.

“Holy
praises,” Aunt Cher muttered. Louise hadn’t said anything, which led Gillian to
believe that her dad and mom had talked before the reception. She vaguely tried
to imagine what that would have been like for her momma, but she didn’t look
angry. Life is short, is what her momma always said. There’s no time to waste.
Gillian smiled as she breathed in her dad’s scent. He still wore the same
cologne. It brought back a flood of happy memories of the times they’d spent
together, before he’d left.

When
they finally let go of each other, Cooper looked at Will. He offered his hand.

“Will.”

“Cooper.
How you been?”

Cooper
smiled weakly. “I never saw this one coming, son, but I couldn’t be happier to
know Gillian’s with you.” Will nodded.

Finally,
Cooper turned to his sister, Cher. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss,
because she was like that, forgiving, and so loyal to everyone she loved that
it drove everyone else crazy.

With
obvious affection and regret reflected in the lines of his face, he turned
toward Louise. He simply stood with his hat in his hands, staring at her like a
lost puppy. Louise cast a look at Gillian and sighed. She’d always had a soft
spot for lost puppies, dang it.

“Come
here,” Louise said, and drew him to her. He wrapped his arms around her, and
while everyone knew he had as much to work out later with Louise as with
Gillian, they all nodded their approval and passed out tissues.

Will
left Gillian for a minute to speak to the band, who’d stopped when they
realized something was happening. They started playing again, and Cooper
escorted Louise onto the dance floor. Everyone smiled as the band crooned
Elvis’
Love Me Tender
and went back to dancing.

Will
held his hand out to Gillian. “What do ya say, little darlin’?”

She
smiled at his reference to their Elvis wedding. “I say, we still gotta lotta
livin’ to do.”

He
pulled her close, and they danced through the evening, until they stole away
when nobody was looking. They drove to the back of a field by the river and
spent the rest of the night under the sycamore trees in the bed of the pickup
truck underneath the stars.