Time Out (23 page)

“Those pictures
won’t be a problem anymore.”

“How do you
know that?”

“Bri made a
call to the
crazy bitch.
” Nick smirked. “She made it clear
that if she used those pics to smear you, she would lose every dime
she had defendin’ herself in court. It seems once she knew you had
friends in high places, she backed down.”

Megan had
plenty of acquaintances in high places, but none of those people
would go to the mat for her. “What are you talking about? Who
would-” Her mouth fell open as understanding dawned. “Those are
your friends, your family, not mine.”

“You seem to
have won them over. They’re the most loyal group of people I know.
Once they count you among their friends, they’ve got your back. No
questions asked.”

Megan tried
hard to contain her emotions, but it wasn’t easy. No one had ever
defended her. She’d gotten used to going it alone until a problem
seemed insurmountable. Then she felt she had no choice but to run
away.

“But…
who…?”

He swiped at a
tear sliding down her cheek. “Titan Records wields hell of a lot of
power, not to mention Bryson’s Hotels and Resorts… Hunt Racing…”
Nick laughed. “Trust me, that team of lawyers would make Mrs.
Alfinore wish she’d never been born.”

“Nice friends
to have,” she said, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. She
didn’t know why he was there, and in spite of the fact she wanted
to throw her arms around him and tell him how grateful she was that
he and his friends had come through for her, she had to remain
guarded.

“They’re the
best.”

“Um, Stephan
seems to enjoy working at the Triple M. Thank you for keeping him
on.”

“I think he’ll
be a great fit, once he has a little more experience under his
belt.”

“I hope it will
give him a purpose.” She swallowed, trying to conceal the fact that
meaningless small talk was driving her to the edge of sanity. “I
think he needs that.”

“Everyone needs
that.” He looked at her a long time before he asked, “This job in
New York, you think it will give you that?”

“I don’t know.
It’s different, behind the scenes work. It would give me production
experience so that maybe, in time, I can produce my own show.”

“That’s still
your goal?”

“Of
course.”

“You could do
that in Nashville, you know.”

She held her
breath, waiting for him to continue. “I lost my job in
Nashville.”

“True, but I
happen to know they’re willin’ to take you back now that they know
the images won’t surface.”

“Really? How do
you know that?”

“My mother
spoke to the station manager. She called me when I was on my way
here.”

“Well…” She
cleared her throat. “That’s good to know.” Nick still hadn’t said
he wanted to try to move past what happened. She couldn’t even
consider moving back to Nashville until he did. Living in the same
city with him, knowing he didn’t want her anymore, would be
agony.

“Do you mind
tellin’ me a little bit about your past?” Nick asked.

“Um, sure. What
do you want to know?”

“Why’d you
sleep with that producer?”

She slid back
on the couch, setting her leg between them as she forced herself to
face him. “I was still reeling from my break up with Brock. My
mother was dying, and I was dealing with all the stress and guilt
from that.” She raked her hand through her hair and propped her
head in her hand. “Robert was just a friend at first, a supportive
shoulder to lean on during a difficult time. I never expected it to
evolve into more, but obviously it did. I had no idea he was
married until it was too late.” She looked him in the eye, praying
he would believe her.

“Were you in
love with him?”

“No! I think I
was missing having a relationship with my father. Robert was older,
caring, nurturing, protective…” She shuddered thinking about the
kind of comfort he’d sometimes offered. She’d left that
relationship more broken than when she’d entered it. “He said he
was divorced. I never had reason to doubt that.”

Nick slid her
hair through his fingers. “Was he in love with you?”

“He said he
was, but who knows? The man was obviously a skilled liar. It
doesn’t matter now anyway. He’s just an embarrassing part of my
past. Someone I’d rather forget.”

“What about
Logan? I was talkin’ to Justin about your ex today. It sounds as
though he loved you… a lot.”

“He did.” She
still felt guilty about how much she’d hurt Brock. He deserved
better, and she hoped he’d finally found it. “But I didn’t love
him.”

“But you
said…”

She looked at
him. If she didn’t let her walls down now, she would regret it for
the rest of her life. “I thought I knew what love was when I was
with Brock, but I didn’t.” Her voice trembled as she forced herself
to keep looking him in the eye. “I had no idea what love was until
I met you.”

He pulled her
into his arms. He trailed kisses all over her neck and face before
finally bringing his lips back to hers. “It feels like I’ve been
waitin’ to hear that forever. I am so in love with you. I’ve never
said that, never even thought that about another woman.”

She wrapped her
arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. She’d
allowed herself to believe the worst, and the thought of living
without him had extinguished all of the light in her life. She
wanted to be completely honest with him about her thoughts and
feelings. She wanted him to be the one person she could reveal her
true self to without fear of judgement or recrimination. “I was so
afraid I’d lost you. I didn’t know how I was going to put my life
back together without you, Nick.”

He held her
face as he drew back to look at her. “Whatever you want, whatever
you need to make you happy, I’ll find a way to make it happen. But
Nashville is your home now. Tell me you know that.”

Megan didn’t
care about the tears sliding down her cheeks. She didn’t care he’d
seen her at her weakest and worst. She only cared that he still
loved her. “Wherever you are, that’s my home.”

Nick didn’t want to
let Megan out of his sight for a second. Their connection felt
solid, but he knew the fear she could lose it still lurked beneath
her smile.

Weeks had
passed since they’d returned to Nashville, and they’d settled into
a comfortable routine. She’d returned to her job, and he was
dealing with the demands of operating a huge ranch and owning two
of the most sought after horses in the world.

Megan had even
started to forge a relationship with her father and siblings, and
that seemed to give her a sense of peace she hadn’t had before. But
Nick knew only one thing would prove to her he was with her for the
long haul. He wanted to put all of her fears to rest. He only hoped
she could do the same for him.

“This was a
nice idea,” Alisa said, slipping her arm around Nick’s waist as he
grilled steaks at the barbeque. “But you never said, what’s the
occasion?”

“Isn’t gettin’
together with the people who mean the most to me reason enough?” He
grinned when she poked him in the stomach.

“It makes me so
happy to see you like this. Megan is perfect for you.” Alisa laid
her head on his shoulder.

“She’s
everything I ever wanted and probably a hell of a lot more than I
deserve.”

Alisa laughed.
“I can’t argue with that. I like her brother too. I wasn’t so sure
about him at first, but he’s really grown on me.”

Stephan had
worked hard to prove himself to Nick. He was the first one to work
and the last one to leave. He shadowed the other guys, learning
everything he could about working on a ranch. Nick hoped that by
the time Joe retired next year, Stephan would be ready to step up
and accept the job as his manager. “I agree.”

“Things still
seem kind of tense between you and Manny though.”

“They are. He
reached out to Meg when we got back to town. He seems sincere about
wantin’ to build a relationship with her. If it makes her happy,
I’ll find a way to deal with it.”

“But you don’t
like the idea?” Alisa watched her son giggling and chasing the ball
his daddy kicked around the open grassy area.

“I have a hard
time warmin’ up to anyone’s who’s hurt the woman I love, Ali. If he
proves to me, and more importantly to Meg, that he’s changed, we’ll
be all right.”

“Speaking of
parents, yours obviously love Megan.”

Nick smiled.
“What’s not to love? She’s perfect.”

Alisa rolled
her eyes. “Man, you have got it bad.”

“It feels good
though. I just don’t wanna do anything to screw this up.” He plated
several steaks and raised several others to the warming rack. “I
want her to know how much I love her, that she’s the only woman I
wanna be with, but I don’t want to push too hard.”

“That’s always
a risk in a relationship. Sometimes one person takes a little
longer to come around. Are you afraid Meg isn’t quite ready to
promise you forever?”

That was
exactly what he was afraid of, but he worried he would jinx himself
if he admitted it aloud. “How do you know when it’s time to take
the next step with someone?”

Alisa laughed.
“You’re asking the wrong person. I married my husband a few hours
after I met him, remember?”

“What made you
do that? I mean, how’d you know Liam was the one for you?” Nick had
no doubt Megan was destined to be his wife, but he couldn’t help
recalling a time when she said she wasn’t interested in getting
married at all after her experience with Brock.

They’d lived
together since they returned to Nashville, but neither had talked
about the future beyond the next few months. Megan told him she
wanted to keep her condo in L.A. for a while
just in case.
That comment ignited a firestorm of fear that made him want to drop
to one knee and put all of his doubts to rest, once and for all. He
didn’t know whether proposing would signify the beginning or the
end for them.

“You just
know.” Alisa patted his stomach. “But I don’t have to tell you
that. You know what I mean. You feel it. A life without that person
isn’t a life you want to imagine living.”

“Ain’t that the
truth.” That’s what scared Nick the most. Megan had infiltrated
every area of his life. She’d taken full advantage of the gourmet
kitchen, preparing meals that made his mouth water. Her clothes
dominated his walk-in closet. Her toiletries claimed prime real
estate in his ensuite bathroom. She curled up with him at night to
watch TV, went riding with him on weekends, lured him up to bed
with sexy lingerie… He knew without her, his house and heart would
be haunted forever.

“What’s wrong?”
Alisa asked. “You okay?”

Ty slapped his
son on the back. “I was just gonna ask you the same question.” He
took the tongs out of Nick’s hand and passed them to Evan. “Take
over here, Ev. We’re gonna go inside and grab another case of
beer.”

“You got it,”
Evan said.

Ty and Nick
walked back to Nick’s house in silence. He heard Megan’s laughter,
and his stomach clenched in anticipation and dread. He didn’t know
if facing his fear that night was the right course of action, but
living in limbo, trying to hide their concern from each other,
would inevitably hurt their relationship, and he couldn’t take that
risk.

They stepped
inside before Ty said, “Okay, let’s hear it. What’s goin’ on with
you?”

Nick didn’t
bother asking how his father knew he had a problem. Ty always knew.
Nick only hoped he would be as attuned to his own children. The
children he hoped Megan would want to have. He hadn’t even asked
her if she wanted kids because he’d been afraid of her response. If
she told him she didn’t want a family, he would have to choose
between the woman he loved and the family he wanted. That was a
choice he wasn’t prepared to make.

“It’s Meg.”
Nick sank down on his suede sofa and dropped his head into his
hands. “I’ve never been this messed up over a woman in my life,
Dad.”

Ty chuckled as
he claimed the seat beside Nick. “Ah, it must be love then.”

“It is. I know
she loves me, and I sure as hell love her, but that’s not enough. I
want more. I want it all.”

“What does that
mean? You think you’re ready to marry this girl?” Ty asked,
propping his elbows on his knees.

“I know I am. I
just don’t know if she feels the same way about me.”

“You’ve never
talked about the future?”

“Not really.”
Nick thought of all the times he’d fallen asleep beside her, the
questions he wanted to ask on the tip of his tongue, but he
couldn’t force the words out. He’d never been a coward or run from
a fight, but he felt as though he was fighting for the most
important thing in the world. The one thing he couldn’t afford to
lose.
Megan’s love.

“Why’s that?
Y’all are livin’ together. Marriage would seem like the next
logical step.”

Nick said, “I’m
scared. What if she doesn’t want the same things I do? She told me
once she didn’t want to get married or have kids. What if she still
feels that way?”

“Could you live
with that? If she told you she just wanted y’all to continue with
your relationship exactly as it is, would you be okay with that?”
Ty asked, leaning back.

Nick could
never live with half of her without wanting all of her. “No. I want
her to be my wife. It may seem crazy, but I need her to promise
she’s gonna be there with me every day for the rest of our lives. I
want her to have my babies and…” Nick sighed. He was babbling, but
he couldn’t help it. He wanted everything with Megan, and he
couldn’t settle for less.

“There’s
nothin’ wrong with wantin’ all those things, Nick. I felt the same
way when I met your mama.”