Time Out (18 page)

Alisa claimed
the other chair. “Before I met Liam, I was engaged. My fiancé
cheated on me, broke my heart. I thought I’d never get over
it.”

“But you
obviously did.”

“Thanks to
Liam. He was in a bad place too. He was a workaholic trying to make
time for a daughter he adored, desperate to be all things to all
people. There was no place in his life for a relationship, but that
didn’t stop us from falling in love.” She smiled. “The heart wants
what it wants, Megan. We can’t do a damn thing about that.”

Unsure how to
respond, Megan took another sip of her wine and waited for Alisa to
continue.

“Making excuses
about why our relationship would never work would have been so
easy. We even tried that for a while. But we both realized if today
was our last day on earth, we’d want to spend it together.”

Megan held her
breath, afraid to breathe. If she opened her mouth, all of the
emotion she’d bottled up for so long would pour out.

Alisa grasped
Megan’s hand. “Ask yourself that question, Megan. If this was your
very last day on earth, is Nick the person you’d want to spend it
with? If so, stop wasting time and grab on to what you want with
both hands before you lose it. Think about that, okay?”

Megan could
only nod as Alisa crossed the room. She waited until Alisa closed
the door softly behind her before she gave in to the tears.

***

Nick looped an
arm around Alisa’s neck. “Hey, Ali, you see my girl anywhere?”

“She’s in the
sitting room,” Alisa said, pointing to a closed door off the
kitchen. “But if I were you, I’d give her a few minutes.”

Warning bells
sounded immediately. He’d been watching Megan, when he wasn’t
standing next to her, and she seemed to be having a great time.
“What the hell happened?”

“We had a
talk.”

Nick scowled at
Alisa. The last thing he needed was other people throwing more
obstacles in their path. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her I
didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Damn it.” He
pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “I know
your heart was in the right place, but you shouldn’t have said
anything to her about us. I’m still tryin’ to get through to her,
to make her believe we could have a future together.”

“Honey, you
shouldn’t have to try so hard. That’s my point. If she cared for
you, she wouldn’t try to keep you at arm’s length.”

Nick raised an
eyebrow. “Really? ‘Cause you never tried to fight your feelings for
Liam in the beginnin’, right? Who the hell are you to pass
judgement?”

She pulled on
the front of his shirt. “Listen to me. I love you like the brother
I never had. If some girl is jerking you around, I don’t mind being
the one to tell her to back the hell off.”

“You don’t
understand. Meg’s not like that. She’s got a lot of issues, but…”
He couldn’t make Alisa understand something he didn’t understand
himself. “Could I choose a girl who made my life easier? Hell,
yeah! But she’s the one I want, Ali. She’s got me all tied up in
knots. One minute I want to shake her until her teeth chatter, and
the next I want to drop to one knee and tell her I can’t live
without her. I don’t know what the hell to do.” He thrust a hand
through his hair.

“How do you
think she feels about you?”

“I know she’s
scared, but we have this incredible connection. I’ve never
experienced anything like it.”

“Are you sure
you’re not gonna get hurt?”

“No, but were
you sure you weren’t gonna get hurt when you decided to take a
chance on Liam?” When Alisa just grinned, Nick said, “That’s what I
thought. Love’s a gamble, Ali-”

Alisa threw her
arms around his neck, causing him to stumble backward into the
wall. “I’m so happy for you! I just knew she was the one, Nick!”
She bounced up and down as she dug her nails into his biceps.

“Jesus, settle
down,” he said, holding her at arm’s length. “You’re gonna fall off
those damn heels and break your ankle. Then your husband will blame
me for gettin’ you all riled up.”

She giggled as
she pushed him toward the closed door. “Go in there and talk to
her. Tell her everything you just told me, and she’ll melt. Trust
me.”

If only it
were that easy.
He didn’t mind though. She was worth the
effort.

He tapped his
knuckles on the door before he turned the knob. What he saw ravaged
him: her tear-streaked face, big, sad eyes, shoulders sagging as
though she couldn’t bear the weight of her sadness another
second.

He rushed into
the room and closed the door behind him. He knelt in front of her.
“Baby, what is it? What’s got you so upset?”

She was crying
so hard she could barely get the words out. “I… had… a talk… with
Alisa.”

Nick vowed to
deal with his well-meaning friend later. Anyone who put Megan in
this state would have to deal with him. “Tell me what
happened.”

Megan sniffled.
“She’s… right.”

Nick’s heart
started beating double time. “About what?”

“She said I,”
she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, “should just
leave you alone if I’m not in this for the long haul.”

Nick thought
every curse word he knew. “Alisa doesn’t get to decide that.”

“She loves you.
She’s just looking out for you. You would do the same for her.” She
touched his face, a look of longing on her face that made him
wonder what she was so afraid to say.

“Of course I
would. But that doesn’t mean-”

She pressed her
index finger against his lip. “Don’t pretend this isn’t hurting
you, Nick. This back and forth, hot and cold… I know it must be
hell. It is for me.”

Nick kissed her
hand, then lowered it to her lap. “I don’t mind. I can be patient
if you need a little more time.”

She looked at
their joined hands a long time before she said, “If only it were
that simple. I’m afraid you’re getting your hopes up. I know I’ve
told you half a dozen times I don’t intend to stay in Nashville,
but I can’t help but worry about whether you’re really getting that
message.”

The word Nick’s
family and friends would likely use to describe him was obstinate.
When he set his mind on something, he found a way to make it
happen, no matter the obstacles. But Megan wasn’t business or
sports or school or any of the other things he’d conquered in his
life. He couldn’t put in the work and expect to reap the reward.
Megan had to decide whether a relationship with him was worth the
effort and sacrifice, and he had a sinking feeling she didn’t think
it was.

“I’ve heard you
loud and clear, but I can’t help the way I feel about you.” He’d
never said those three little words to a woman because he knew a
serious commitment would be the next logical step, and he’d never
felt ready to even consider that possibility… until now.

His instincts
told him Megan was
the one,
and if he let her get away, he
would have to live with the regret for the rest of his life while
he tried to find a substitute for the real thing.

“I knew this
was a bad idea. Relationships based on sex always get complicated,”
she said, wringing her hands.

Nick didn’t
like the sound of that. Their relationship was so much more than
what happened in his bed, and reducing what they had to their
physical attraction irked him. He was torn in two. The part who was
her jealous, insecure lover didn’t even want to think about her
past or the scars on her heart, but part of him wanted to know
everything about her. He asked, “You speakin’ from experience?”

She looked him
in the eye. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I haven’t
had sex with a lot of men, if that’s what you’re asking.”

His breath
escaped in a whoosh, and he knew he’d revealed how grateful he
was.

She withdrew
her hands from his. “You were wondering if I had? Is that how you
think I got this job, or maybe the last one? I slept with the right
people?”

Nick’s mind
flashed back to the Internet photos he’d seen of her and her
producer. He had been at least twenty years older than her and
apparently married with grown children.

“Oh my God, you
do think that, don’t you?”

He stumbled
backward when Megan pushed him out of the way to clear a path to
the door. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life wondering
what she’d seen in that guy. He wanted to hear her side of the
story so he could put his concerns to rest once and for all. “Meg,
where the hell do you think you’re goin’? We need to talk about
this.”

“I’m spending
the night at a hotel.”

Nick beat her
to the door and stepped in front of her before she reached the
knob. “I’m not judgin’ you, okay? We’ve all done things we’re not
proud of.”

She pushed him
hard, scowling when she failed to budge him. “I don’t give a damn
what you say. You think I’m a whore, a gold-digger, an
opportunist.”

He grabbed her
shoulders. “Would you stop it!”

She crossed her
arms and stepped back. “Look me in the eye and tell me you’ve never
said or thought all of those things at one time or another.”

Nick couldn’t
lie to her, not after all the times he’d preached about honesty,
but if he admitted the truth, he would lose her. “I was an idiot. I
thought I had all the answers.”

“Get out of my
way.”

“You don’t
understand-”

“I understand
perfectly. Now get out of my way.”

Nick stood his
ground until it became obvious he wasn’t helping his cause. “I’m
sorry. I was wrong about you. I judged you when I should have
gotten to know you first. I-”

She held her
hand up. “It’s okay. No harm done.”

He knew she was
lying. He could only hope the harm he’d done wasn’t irreparable.
“At least let me take you home.”

She reached for
the door handle again. “I told you, I’m staying at a hotel tonight.
I’ll send for my things tomorrow. I think you and I should keep our
distance for a while.”

“Damn it!” He
reached for her hand, feeling the sinking desperation of trying to
hold onto something that was already gone. “That’s the last thing
we need, Meg. We need to sort this out. We need to be
together.”

She looked at
him. “Trust me, you don’t need me anymore than I need you.”

Megan had just downed
her fourth pain reliever of the day when a knock at her hotel room
door made her groan.
This miserable day is never going to
end.

“I’m coming.”
When she caught a glimpse of her visitor through the peephole, she
wished she could retract the statement. Her half-brother,
Stephan.

Megan pulled
the door open just enough to ask, “What the hell do you want?” She
had already given him a place to stay at her condo in L.A. If he
wanted money, he was out of luck, and she was out of patience.

She’d left Nick
five long days earlier, and every night without him seemed longer
than the last.

“Is that any
way to greet your big brother?”

She gave him a
cursory once-over. He looked as though he hadn’t slept or showered
in days. Pathetic. She’d given him what he asked for, help getting
his life back together, and he was throwing away his second chance.
She wasn’t surprised. In her experience, if she gave someone a
chance to disappoint her, they were usually happy to oblige.

“I really don’t
have time for your bullshit right now. Just cut to the chase,” she
said.

He peered over
her shoulder and whistled under his breath. “Pretty fancy digs you
got here, sis. I’m impressed.”

Megan rolled
her eyes. “I can rest easy tonight knowing I’ve impressed you.”

“You mind if I
come in? We need to talk.”

Megan was too
tired to ask again why he was there. She just wanted to have a hot
shower, slip into her pajamas, and order some comfort food from
room service. She opened the door farther for him. “Make it quick.
I’m tired.”

She didn’t have
to ask how he knew where to find her. She had left a message for
him on the voice mail at her condo, in case of an emergency.

He reached into
the mini-fridge and grabbed an over-priced bottle of water. “You
don’t mind, do you?”

“Would it
matter if I did?” She pulled her terrycloth robe tighter around her
and wished she’d kept her power suit on when she came in. She
needed all the strength she could muster to deal with Stephan. “Why
don’t you tell me why you came all the way here to see me?” As if
she didn’t know. She could already see the dollar signs in his
eyes.

“You mind if I
grab a shower before we talk?”

She couldn’t
deny he needed one. He smelled of stale booze and cigarettes.
Apparently, he’d taken a detour from the straight and narrow path
he’d vowed he’d been on since she left town. “Fine, but make it
quick. I’d like to go to bed.”

He eyed the
second queen-size bed. “You mind if I crash here tonight?”

“Are you crazy?
You can’t stay here with me.” She’d have to put everything of value
in the safe, or he’d walk off with it while she slept.

“Why not? You
have an extra bed.”

“I gave you a
place to stay: my condo. You shouldn’t have come all this way
without thinking about where you would stay once you got here.”
She’d only agreed to let him stay in her condo because he’d begged
and harassed her until she gave in. By the time she’d left L.A.,
she was already so worn down from her personal problems, she was an
easy target.

She sighed when
he gave her
that look
he seemed to have perfected. It said,
without words, ‘
Come on,
gimme a break, sis.
’

“Just take your
damn shower, say what you came here to say, and get out.” She knew
putting him up in another room would cost her a couple hundred
dollars, but it beat the alternative.