Nashville by Heart: A Novel (9 page)

She
was gorgeous staring at him through glistening eyes. Desire welled up in him.
He moved closer.

“I
don’t know. I usually try not to make women cry.”

Not
caring that they were in his office, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, running
his thumbs gently along the damp skin under her eyes. She didn’t move, except
for her body still quivering from emotion. He wanted to kiss away every tear,
every bit of pain and fear. He hadn’t ever cared about someone like he did
Gillian, and if he could just take her home and treat her special like she deserved,
he’d know what to do, but there in his office he was at a loss for how to help.

“It
looks like we’ve barely gotten started, and I’ve already hurt you.”

“My
dad is not your fault,” she said. “I’m still happy about your Grammy. I only
wish my own dad had told me about it.”

She
took a breath, closed her eyes. Her lips, damp from tears and pink from her
self-consciously biting them for the past ten minutes, were full and
irresistible. Eyes wide open, he leaned forward and brushed his lips on hers,
light as a feather at first. He watched her face, and when she didn’t flinch
away, he kissed the salt off them, gently, and the taste of her made him want
to kiss her full on the mouth. But he was patient, testing the waters first to
see if last night at The Steel Spur had been a fluke.

He
kissed a tear-smudged eyelid. “Listen. You can work with me instead of Dorothy
if you want to, but I can’t get any work done that way.” He kissed the other
eyelid. “Because every minute I’m with you, I want to do this.” A soft moan
escaped her lips as he gently parted them with his own, and that was all the
permission he needed to kiss her the way he wanted. Yearning jolted through him
as the pressure of her lips progressed from gentle to maddening.

She
kissed him back with a fever he hadn’t expected, and when he felt her hands
slide up his back, he wished they weren’t trapped in his office. Somewhere in
the background he heard his phone ringing, but he ignored it.

“Will,”
she whispered, gasping for breath. He forced himself to let go, afraid she’d
changed her mind about what she wanted. Her eyes still sparkled with tears,
making him want to kiss her all over again.

He
drew in a shaky breath. “What’s wrong? You don’t want this?” Disappointment

settled
like a brick in the center of his chest. He took a small step back.

“Yes
I do, it’s just that—” She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to
her. A jolt of excitement plunged through him. Obviously whatever she wanted to
say could wait a little longer. She kissed him with a passion he’d only
fantasized about when he thought of her in his big empty house at night, and he
responded by pulling her tight against him. When he felt her body meld to his,
he broke from her kiss only long enough to press his lips against her neck,
loving how it made her gasp.

A
loud rap at the door brought them back to reality.

“Damn
it.” He let her go, walked to the door and cracked it open. “What is it,
Josie?”

“Dorothy
wants to know if you’ll be letting her see Gillian Heart any time today.”

Will
turned back to Gillian who was still catching her breath. He raised his
eyebrows in question. She nodded, attempting to smooth her disheveled
appearance. Thank heavens, because he definitely couldn’t be subjected to these
kinds of office meetings every day and expect to not go crazy from wanting to
kiss her.

“She’ll
be there in a few minutes.” He shut the door and walked back to Gillian. He
grasped her hands, held them tight.

“Listen,
darlin’. I’ve been pulling my teeth out trying to figure how we can see each other
and it not be as complicated for us as agent and client. That’s the real reason
I put you with Dorothy.”

She
was silent for a few seconds. “So does this mean we get to go out on a date
now?”

“I
sure hope so.”

“Wow,
a real date. No more fake coffee meetings.”

“You
figured out they were fake?”

“It’d
crossed my mind. But now if we go on a real date, what will we ever talk
about?”

He
squeezed her hand. “You mean we have to talk?”

That’d
just slipped out. She playfully punched him in the arm. A rap on the door made
them both jump.

“Dorothy
awaits.” He promised himself he’d explain about his telling the record
executives about her dad later.

She
raised herself up on the toes of her boots to kiss him briefly on the mouth. He
caught her by the waist, and an ache that started in the center of his chest
spread through the rest of his body. Before he could stop himself, he was
kissing her again.

A
few weeks later, they were sitting on a secluded bench in Centennial Park and
had been making out like two teenagers. They’d spent the afternoon at The
Parthenon, a Nashville landmark Gillian had never visited before, then
meandered through the park. The Tennessee heat had ebbed away, and a light
breeze was flowing, giving Gillian a nostalgic feeling of home. It was nice to
have no schedule for the weekend, something that hadn’t happened since she
moved there.

She
leaned over and wrapped her arms around Will’s neck. “Kiss me again.”

His
lips were warm and urgent on hers. Emboldened by the knowledge that he felt the
same for her as she did for him, she let her lips trail from his, to his
slightly stubbled jaw, and finally the warm skin of his neck, causing him to
emit a low moan. He caught her by the chin.

“Gillian
Heart, you make me want to behave like a rogue.”

A
thrill leapt through her, giving her the same feeling she’d always felt on the
Ferris wheel during the
Fourth of July celebration in Gold Creek
Gap.

“You
aren’t a rogue.” She traced a hand up one lean, muscular arm. “But we are two
grown individuals in a public park.”

“At
sunset,” he said. “That’s when I turn into a rogue.” He pulled her against him,
his hands on her waist softly nudging away the barriers she’d erected to
protect herself from men like Robert who use women, who leave their hearts
bruised, and who leave, period.

“Mmm,”
she moaned. He nuzzled her neck, and shivers spread through her body.

“You
know,” he whispered, his voice gruff with heat. “We could take this back to
your apartment.”

Her
heart was like a hummingbird caught in a cage. He probably wondered why this
hadn’t happened already, but while her body was willing, her brain still
wasn’t. What was she supposed to tell him? Um, sorry, I can’t have sex with you
unless it’s for forever, as in I would prefer to be your wife first, since the
last man I had a relationship with used my body and broke my heart. She ran a
hand up his arm, enjoying the way he was built, because as protective as she
was about her heart, she wasn’t immune to his charm or his physique.

He
kissed the skin below her ear, causing a shiver at the back of her neck.

“What
do you say, darlin’?”

She
pulled back, her mind clouded with a smoldering desire that was too easily
smothered by memories of being hurt. Will’s reputation for trifling with women didn’t
help at all in the trust department, either. She didn’t even want to think
about how many times he must have taken a woman home. She, on the other hand,
was a small-town, simple girl whose few experiences in relationships hadn’t
taught her much about love, except that it ended in broken hearts. Running her
hand affectionately along his arm, she teasingly squeezed his bicep and tried
to change the subject.

“You
are very fit,” she said. “Especially for someone who happens to be a
card-carrying workaholic.”

“It’s
from all the running. That’s why I’m so skinny.” He made a big show of flexing
his guns. “Sorry I’m not a buff body builder. Is that your type?”

“No.”
She laughed at his antics. “But I wonder, do you run in boots or something?”

“You
think I live in cowboy boots?”

“No,
but you would if you could.”

He
laughed, reminding her how she loved the way his eyes crinkled at the corners
when he smiled. “I do mostly live in boots, but I take them off when I need
to.” She didn’t miss the implication behind his words. He tipped her chin up,
taking her face in his hands. His lips were gentle, tender, slow—tantalizingly
slow. A sigh slipped from her as quiet as the rustle of breeze in the trees of
the park.

“Take
me home,” she said. In the fading light, his eyes brightened. “Just for a
drink,” she added coyly.

“We’ll
see about that,” he said, pulling her to her feet and leading her toward his
truck.

~~~~

Inside
her apartment, she ran around picking up stray clothing and Tasha’s coffee
cups, which Tasha had a way of leaving all over the place. She gathered a pile
of magazines to move them out of the way.

“I’m
sorry,” she said. “I need to clean this place up.”

“If
you’d move in with me, you wouldn’t have to. I have a housekeeper.”

She
froze in place, waiting for her heart to start beating again.

“What?”

“Move
in with me,” he said.

Her
face flooded with heat.

She
cleared her throat. “Why would you want me to do that? Are you wanting to help
me out or something? Because Tasha and I are doing fine here.” She gestured around
her tiny apartment.

“Sure.
I’d like to help you out.” He grinned. “I have a list of things I could help
you with, if you moved in with me.”

“I’m
sure you do,” she said, enjoying his little game. “How much would rent be?”

“No
rent.”

She
grinned. “Are you serious, or is that another come-on line?”

His
expression grew thoughtful. “It’s actually not a come-on line, unless you want
it to be.”

He
took the magazines she held and tossed them to the coffee table. Her heartbeat
quickened when they slid sideways to reveal several bridal titles. Reading
bride magazines was one of the things she and Tasha did to unwind after work
while they watched romantic movies, flipping through the magazines like two
teenage girls and planning their weddings. They each had a Pinterest board for
the same purpose, and a few days ago Tasha had played a joke on her by pinning
a picture of Will Adams in a cowboy hat on Gillian’s wedding board. Thank
goodness Will wasn’t the pin board type.

She
noted the smile on his face and wondered if he was serious about the moving in
or just teasing her. They didn’t know each other well enough to be moving in
together.

“When
does Tasha get home?” he asked.

“She’s
in Memphis visiting her family.”

“So
you’re all alone?” He grinned like a Cheshire cat.

“Yes.
A drink?”

“Definitely.”

She
grabbed a Coke and a beer. They toasted the fact that they’d found each other
as they leaned against the counter side by side.

“I’m
serious about you moving in,” he said. Setting his beer down, he moved closer
and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I want to spend a heck of a lot more
time with you and not just when we’re working.”

The
idea of moving in with him sent a thrill right through her, and then it soured
in her stomach. Someone else had asked her to move in once, and it had ended
badly.

“We’re
not working now,” she said.

“That’s
a good point,” he said. “Which means we should be talking less and doing more
of this.” He pressed his lips softly against hers, teasing, and then he leaned
lower to trail kiss after kiss along her neck, causing little shivers to dance
across her skin. A sigh escaped her lips, and she leaned her head just so,
letting him know he could keep doing that. Before she realized it, so swept
away with her desire to be touched by him, he’d picked her up and set her on
the countertop in front of him. She gasped when he inched her shirt up, sending
a surge of heat through her body.

Will
whispered between kisses. “You know I’m serious, don’t you? Move in with me. We
could be alone like this all the time.”

“Hmm.
Tempting.” He had no idea.

“How
tempting?”

“More
than you know,” she said, breathless.

He
pulled back to look at her. “The idea of living together makes you nervous.”

She
kissed him on the cheek. “It’s not my style to move in with someone because
we’re dating. Been there and done that. It turned out badly.”

Letting
go, he leaned back on the counter beside her and took a long drink. She tried
to read how disappointed he was about her response, but if she was going to
date someone like Will, she needed to let him know her standards. She needed to
know what he thought of them. She wasn’t going to be in a situation like the
last one, where she had given up everything to a man, and got nothing but pain
and sorrow in return. No wonder there were so many country songs about cheating
and broken hearts. They were based on truth.

“I’m
curious,” he said. “How many boyfriends have you had?”

She
blinked. “A few. One was my senior year in high school, if that counts. We
broke up after graduation.”

“Poor
guy,” he said.

“Such
are the lessons of young love.”

“What
lesson did
you
learn?”

“Boys
just wanted to mess around,” she said. “They didn’t understand that I had
responsibilities other girls didn’t have. And besides, boys were a distraction
from my dreams.”

“So
you’ve had two serious boyfriends? Your high school love? And then the one you
moved in with?”

“During
my first year in Nashville.”

He
was silent for a while. “He hurt you?”

“It’s
not a big deal,” she said.

“Is
that why you’re so reluctant to give in and let yourself fall for me?”

She
laughed. “Trust me. I’ve fallen for you.”

He
nudged her with his elbow. “But you’re holding back.”

She
gave a sad sigh. “I’m just being careful.”

He
laced his hand through hers. “How long are you going to keep being careful?”

She
wanted to say, not long, but the thought of taking another risk like the one
she’d taken before both excited and terrified her.

“Before
you, you know, I’d given up on men altogether, at least while pursuing my music
dreams. So being with you now is me giving men another chance.”

“Most
women don’t give up on men until they’ve been divorced a couple of times.”

“Most
women don’t also have a dad who—” Her voice cracked, and she chugged her Coke.
She couldn’t finish her sentence. They’d known each other just long enough that
she hoped she didn’t need to.

He
squeezed her knee. “Dads can really screw things up for little girls, can’t
they?”

She
shrugged. “Not all dads. You have sisters. Did your dad treat them well?”

“He
was a saint with them,” he said, his eyes staring at the dark window behind
her. “They are, all but one, married now with kids of their own, none the worse
for wear. Happy.”

She
felt wistful. “Lucky girls.”

“Listen,”
he said. “Just because your dad didn’t do his job, doesn’t mean your mom didn’t
do a damned good job in his place.”

She
raised her drink in the air. “To moms.”

“They’re
special, and so are you,” he said, his eyes serious. “Someday, you’ll be like
my sisters, with a litter of kids running around at your heels, and you’ll be a
great mom and have a great career at the same time.”

She
decided not to chastise him about referring to kids as a litter, and instead
let her thoughts wander, imagining what kind of father he’d be. He didn’t seem
like the kind of man who wanted to settle down, even if he had just asked her
to move in.

“Was
your dad good to you?” she asked.

“I
didn’t think so at the time. It’s hard being a preacher’s kid. He was hell-bent
on making a man out of me, but it took a long time. I wasn’t an easy kid.”

She
laughed. “I bet my momma wouldn’t have let me go out with you.”

“I
bet my dad wouldn’t have let me go out with you, to save your momma the worry,
but I would have anyway. And the two of us together would’ve been trouble.”

She
smiled wider, thinking about what he’d have gotten her into if his charm in
high school was anything like it was now.

“You
turned out to be a good man,” she said.

“I
think the jury’s still out on that.” He swung his gaze back to her, his
eyebrows crinkling. “So, I take it you moved in with this man you dated when
you first moved to Nashville?”

“For
one week, and then on the seventh day, I came home to find him in a very
compromising position with a girl from the diner. Thank the good Lord Tasha
hadn’t found another roommate to replace me yet.” She hopped down from the
counter. Realizing she needed something stronger, she grabbed the opened bottle
of chardonnay from the fridge and poured herself a glass.

“Holy
smokes,” he said, gently.

She
took a sip and looked up at him, a sad smile on her face. “Before I moved in,
he gave me a ring.”

He
set his beer down. “Oh, darlin’.”

“It’s
crazy, right? Ask a girl to marry you, and then cheat on her as soon as she
moves in?”

“Yeah,”
he said, nodding his head. “But what’s worse is if the girl he hurt never moves
on.”

She
shot him a dirty look.