Love's Road Home (9 page)

But Beth really wouldn’t consider the music that Roadhouse played true country. Country rock was probably more appropriate, because while the songs they sang still revolved around the joys and sorrows of daily existence, the men performed with a definite edge. Roadhouse exuded so much energy when they were on stage that their concerts were the complete opposite of relaxing.

Even now, Tom was whaling out a solo on his guitar and looking for all the world like a wild rock star. He bent his trim body around and let out kicks like a hyperactive child who’d consumed too much sugar. She knew how great of shape that body was in because she’d felt it against her last night. And she couldn’t wait to find out what kind of contortions they could engage in together.

"They sound good, don’t they?"

Beth jumped at the question, having been so consumed with watching the activity on stage that she hadn’t heard anyone come up beside her. She reluctantly pulled her gaze from Tom and turned to face her father.

"Yeah, they do. And they seem to love what they’re doing."

"Well, of course they love it. Anybody in this business has to enjoy what they’re doing to put up with all the crap they’ll get, both from the public and the recording industry. They’d have to be insane otherwise."

She remained silent, and George offered another comment. "I hear you and Tom had a date last night."

Beth rolled her eyes and let out a resigned sigh. She’d known this would happen. Between Tom’s asking Mike for a suggestion on where to take her to dinner and Liz and Hannah’s teasing after she’d entered the RV last night, Beth was sure the news would get around to the rest of the crew.

"We had dinner together, yes."

"Dinner? I heard you got back kind of late. Did they have to kill the cow before they cooked it?" Her father raised an eyebrow and gave a teasing smile, obviously hoping for more information.

"And we played miniature golf afterward, okay? Anything else you want to know?" Not that she would tell him. Beth was only willing to share so much with George. The intimate details of her evening with Tom were her business only.

"Yeah. How serious is this? Am I finally going to walk my baby girl down the aisle?"

Beth shook her head and let out another sigh, this time of exasperation. "Dad, we’ve eaten a couple of meals together. He’s a nice guy, and we like each other. That’s it. Don’t make more of this than it really is. You know I’m only here for a little while."

"Why do you say that? There’s nothing holding you in
San Francisco
anymore. You could work anywhere in the country with your accounting degree. And you were great at your job. It was the circumstances that forced you to leave, not your poor job performance."

"Yes, Dad, indirectly it was my performance." And lack of judgment, she added silently. "Besides, I’m not even sure if I want to keep working as an accountant. The whole episode left a bad taste in my mouth."

Her father reached out and laid his hands on Beth’s shoulders, giving her a little shake. "Now,
Bethany
, you worked damn hard to get where you are. Don’t let one bad experience sour you on something you honestly enjoyed doing. Just use these next few weeks to take a break and relax your mind. Maybe another opportunity will jump out in front of you."

Beth gave George a quick hug and then stepped back. "You’re right, Dad. This is my time to relax and do something totally different for a while. Have some fun before returning to the rat-race of corporate finance."

"Any of that fun going to be had with Tom?" Her father seemed hopeful for an affirmative answer.

"I’d like to say yes, but we’ll see what happens." Beth shot a quick glance at Tom, now busy wrapping up the rehearsal on stage, before giving her father an earnest look. "And Tom doesn’t know about what happened in
San Francisco
, so make sure you don’t say anything in front of him, okay? Promise?"

Her father dodged her question by throwing out one of his own. "Why haven’t you said anything to him? You didn’t do anything wrong."

"I haven’t said anything because it’s not his business. I consider him a friend, but it’s not something he needs to know. It’s not like we’re going to see each other once this tour is over, so why share unnecessary information?" The thought of not seeing Tom on a daily basis sent a twinge of pain through her heart, and Beth was shocked. She didn’t think she’d grown that attached to the man after less than a week. Obviously she was wrong. "Anything that develops between us will be finished in a few weeks."

And Beth knew that, logically, that was the way it had to be.

"Maybe you should tell that to Tom." George tipped his head to the side, and Beth turned to see Tom approaching from the stage. There was a smile on his face as he sauntered their way, his eyes on her the whole time. "I don’t think he has the same idea you do about your relationship."

•

Tom kept his gaze on
Bethany
as he neared, watching as a slight flush arose over her face. Good. He wanted her to feel as unsettled as he did, especially after what had happened between them the previous night.

"Hi," he said softly, staring into her wide blue eyes. Getting lost in them. Wanting to stay lost in them …

"A-hem."

The less than subtle disturbance made Tom tear his gaze from Beth’s in order to give a nod to her father. "Hey, George." Then he turned back to Beth.

"Well, I can see I’m not needed here. I’ll just go play with some equipment somewhere." And with an indulgent smile on his face George ambled off, leaving them alone.

"Oh. Bye, Dad!" Beth belatedly called out after him, casting only a quick look in her father’s direction before returning her focus to Tom.

"You sounded good up there." A hesitant smile accompanied
Bethany
’s words, but her gaze slid down, away from his. It was a sure sign she was nervous, and that was the one thing Tom didn’t want her to be.

"Hey," he said, reaching out to take her hand. "Are you okay? No regrets about last night?" He slowly rubbed his thumb over her skin, waiting for an indication that things were still going well between them.

"Oh, no! Of course not!" She looked surprised he’d even asked the question. "But, um, I didn’t think you’d come talk to me, and, you know, draw more attention to the two of us, together." Beth glanced over to the stage where his pals were avidly watching Tom’s activities. Then she lowered her eyes again.

"Hey," Tom said again, this time in a not so gentle way. He used an insistent finger to urge her chin up, forcing Beth to meet his gaze. "What goes on between us stays between us. The guys can think what they like. Anything that happens between you and me is our business only. They’re my friends and my band mates. They’re not my conscience."

Beth frowned at his words, drawing her dark blonde brows together and causing cute little wrinkles to appear on her forehead. He wanted to lick them away.

"Does that mean you’re going against your conscience if you get involved with me? You think it’s wrong?"

Tom let out a frustrated sigh. "Absolutely not. Bad choice of words. The only thing I meant was that I have relationships with whomever I choose. My friends have no influence over that part of my life. And besides, I told you before—we already are involved. I would’ve thought last night proved that to you."

He tugged Beth’s hand up for a kiss and then pulled her along behind him, heading toward the backstage area. "Be back in a few!" he called to his band mates as he and Beth passed by.

"Where are we going?" Her question was meaningless since Beth showed no resistance to coming with him.

Tom pushed her into the first dressing room he came to. Thankfully it was empty.

"What are we doing in here?" Beth looked curious but not uncomfortable.

Tom followed her into the small area and closed the door behind him. "You seemed tense in front of everybody, so I figured we could find some private space for a few minutes. But mostly I just couldn’t wait to do this..."

Tom hauled Beth into his arms and lowered his mouth to taste the sweet lips he’d been craving since last night. She quickly opened to him, allowing full access to the deep recesses of her mouth.

He wrapped his hand around her long blonde braid and tugged, slanting her head to obtain better contact.
Bethany
’s arms wound around his neck, her fingers tousled his hair. She definitely was a full participant in this embrace. Glad to know her interest hadn’t waned since yesterday.

Tom lifted his head to gulp a much-needed breath before returning his mouth to Beth’s. He turned around to press her up against the door, then moved his hands down to the hem of her T-shirt.

"Okay?" he asked in a guttural voice.

She nodded jerkily, her breaths coming in harsh gasps.

He pushed his hands under her lime green shirt, sliding them over the warm, smooth skin of her belly, then up toward her firm, high breasts. His lips took a slow, meandering path over her face, touching on her well-defined cheekbones, her pert nose, the area of her brow that he’d wanted to lick earlier. There were no lines there now. Nope, she had no worries at all that he could discern.

His mouth closed over hers at the same time his fingers closed around her breasts. He remembered how they’d looked and tasted. He wanted to taste them again. He pushed Beth’s shirt up, reached to release the front clasp of her satin ivory-colored bra.

"Hey, Tommy, you in there?"

A loud banging on the door at Beth’s back accompanied Leo’s intrusive question.

"You
wanna
grab something to eat before we go on? George ordered in some Chinese."

Tom lowered his hands to Beth’s hips and rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and let out a haggard breath.

Bad timing once again, but it really was for the best.
Bethany
deserved better than to be groped in a dressing room while various cohorts milled nearby. If she still intended to have sex with him, he was going to make sure it happened in a relatively classy place. Not backstage at the Macon City Auditorium.

"Yeah," he called back to his friend. "I’ll be right there."

Tom adjusted Beth’s shirt and stepped back from her. She looked just as dazed as he felt. When he kissed her he lost all touch with reality, and Leo’s knock had brought him back with a crash.

"Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get so carried away. Not here, anyway."

Beth’s gaze sharpened. "I’m glad you added that last part. If you’d tried to apologize yet again for kissing me, I would’ve clocked you. In case you didn’t notice, I wasn’t telling you to stop."

"I know. You were right there with me." Tom grinned. "I guess you really do find me irresistible."

Beth rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his arm. "Oh,
pul-leeze
," she said. "You just happened to be available at the moment. I could suck face with any one of a million guys if I really wanted to."

Tom’s grin faltered a bit, but he quickly caught it. He knew Beth meant it as a joke, but he also realized the truth. She was so beautiful and funny and intelligent that she really could be with whomever she chose. He felt lucky she’d picked him.

"C’mon," he said, pulling Beth away from the door so he could open it. "Let’s go get some grub before all the orange chicken and egg rolls are gone. I need more than rice to sustain me."

Beth followed him into the hall but then stopped.

"I need to go check out some lines. Cole thought he’d seen some fraying but he can’t remember exactly where. I told him I’d help him look."

Tom was disappointed he wouldn’t be seeing her again until after the performance, but he understood. Beth wasn’t one to take her responsibilities lightly.