Time Out (6 page)

“I’m fine.”
Megan allowed Lena to guide her to one of the overstuffed chairs in
the dressing room. “I’m sorry, I think I’ve had too much caffeine.
I didn’t sleep well last night, and it’s been a crazy morning at
work.” She looked at her watch. “Speaking of which, I have to get
back soon.”

“You stay put.
I’ll grab the dress you like in your size and a few others for
comparison’s sake,” Lena said.

“Could you grab
a couple pairs of sandals as well, Lena? You know what I like.”

“Size seven,
right?”

“You got
it.”

“No problem, be
right back.”

Alisa sat down
next to Megan, holding her son’s hand. She reached into her bag
just as her cell phone buzzed. “Oh, that must be Liam. He’s
supposed to meet me here to pick up Trey. Can you keep an eye on
him for a minute? He always makes a grab for the phone when he
hears his daddy’s voice.” She smiled.

“Of course.”
Megan reached for him. She remembered Alisa telling her Trey was
approaching the ‘terrible twos,’ running, not walking, getting into
everything the second his parents’ backs were turned. The little
boy seemed content to just sit in her lap though.

Megan played
with Trey’s tiny fingers, outlining the little dents in his
knuckles while he snuggled into her. She held her breath, almost
afraid to break the magical spell. Inhaling his sweet scent, her
throat filled with emotion. She didn’t have any experience with
babies or toddlers, or children at all, so she was surprised he was
willing to trust her.

“Oh, look at
that,” Alisa whispered when she ended her call. “He’s fallen
asleep.”

Megan looked
down to see long, dark eyelashes brushing his chubby cheeks as his
breathing became shallow. “He’s so beautiful,” she whispered.

“So are you,” a
male voice said.

Megan looked
up, stunned to see Nick leaning against the doorframe. “What are
you doing here?” she whispered.

“I had a
meeting downtown, and my mother asked me to stop by and pick
something up for her.”

“Oh, that’s
right. Her suit came in yesterday. Let me grab it for you, Nick.”
Alisa jumped up.

“Thanks.”
Sitting down in the chair Alisa had just vacated, he leaned in. “He
sure is a cute little guy, isn’t he?”

Megan was
stilling reeling from the fact he’d called her beautiful, so she
could merely nod.

“It looks like
you’ve been doin’ this forever.”

“I haven’t.”
She shifted the little boy in her arms. “I mean, I don’t have much
experience with children.”

“Think you’ll
ever have any?” Nick reached out to touch Trey’s little brown
sports sandal.

“Um, I don’t
know. I haven’t given it much thought.”

“Not even when
you were engaged?”

She didn’t want
to discuss that with Nick of all people. She still didn’t trust
him. In spite of her body’s reaction to him, she couldn’t get past
him openly admitting he hated her less than twenty-four hours
ago.

“Look what I
have,” Lena said as she came back into the dressing room, her arms
overflowing with dresses and boxes of shoes. “Oh, hi, Nick. I
didn’t know you were here.”

“My mama asked
me to pick somethin’ up. Alisa’s gettin’ it.” He grinned at the
clothing in her arms. “You hopin’ for a big sale, or what?”

“No, just
tryin’ to help Megan get ready for her date with Shaw tonight.”
Lena smiled at Megan. “That poor man isn’t gonna know what hit him,
girl.”

Nick’s gaze
traveled to Megan. Their eyes locked. “You’re goin’ to all this
trouble for
him
?”

“It’s, uh, not
for him. It’s for me.” She treated him to the same smile she gave
celebrities who hit on her while she was working. “You know how it
is, any excuse to shop.”

“No, I don’t
know how it is.” He stood when Alisa returned with a garment
bag.

“Avery’s
pre-paid, so you’re good to go, Nick.”

He gave Alisa a
kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, hon.”

Just when Megan
thought she was safe, Nick backtracked.

Bracing both
hands on the armrests of her chair, he let the garment bag graze
the floor. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to Trey’s forehead.

She could
barely breathe when his eyes stalled on her mouth.

“I guess I’ll
see you tonight.”

“What,” she
tried to ignore the tremor in her voice, “are you talking
about?”

“The boys and I
are meetin’ up at Jimmy’s.” He straightened before turning his
attention to the dresses in Lena’s hands. He pointed at the dress
Megan had selected. “I like this one. You’ll look great takin’ a
spin around the dance floor in
my
arms.”

Megan knew she should
have called Shaw and asked him to meet her somewhere else, but she
didn’t want Nick to think she was running scared, especially after
he’d promised her a dance. At least, that’s what she told herself
as she parked her car in the crowded parking lot of Jimmy’s
bar.

She smoothed
her hand down the front of her dress after climbing out of her BMW
Roadster. She’d almost chosen something else, just to spite Nick.
But Lena was right. The hanger didn’t do the dress justice, and she
wanted to look and feel her best tonight. Not because Nick would
scrutinize her every move, but because she had a date with a man
she really liked.

J.T. stood at
the door talking to one of his bouncers when she approached.

He tipped his
cowboy hat, a wide grin splitting his handsome face. “Well, hello
there, pretty lady.”

Megan had met
J.T. several times, both at Jimmy’s and at his brother’s home.
She’d liked J.T. instantly. It was easy to understand why Jimmy’s
was a favorite spot with a charming proprietor who went out of his
way to make everyone feel like family.

She held his
hand as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Hi, J.T., it’s nice to see
you again. Where’s your lovely wife tonight?”

Megan had
interviewed Nikki Spencer McCall for her TV show. She was as sweet
and genuine as she was talented. Nikki had joked that once she set
her sights on J.T., he didn’t have a prayer of maintaining his
single status.

“She’s down
with a cold, I’m afraid. I’m headed back to her now. I promised her
I’d pick up some chicken soup on my way.”

“Awww, you’re
such a good husband.” Megan couldn’t explain why his thoughtfulness
hit her square in the chest. Perhaps because she wanted a man who
loved her enough to drop everything to bring her soup when she was
under the weather.

J.T. stepped
away from his doorman. “She’d do the same for me.”

“How have you
guys made it work under the intense pressure of your careers?”

J.T. smirked as
he placed a hand at the small of her back to lead her through the
crowd. “Is that question off the record?”

“Sorry,” she
said, smiling. “I guess I can’t help myself. Living in L.A. and
doing what I do tends to make a person cynical about relationships.
But you guys seem to have it all figured out around here. What is
it about country musicians that makes them so much different than
other celebrities? I mean, they’re all about family and friends
and…” Except for one country musician who came to mind. The only
family her father cared about was the one he shared with his
current wife. She realized she’d gotten lost in her thoughts when
J.T. shot her a curious glance. “Never mind.”

“I thought you
weren’t lookin’ to put down roots here?”

Megan didn’t
know if confiding in Nick’s uncle was so easy because of his roots
as a bartender, but she found herself saying, “I don’t. I mean,
Nashville isn’t my home. L.A. is, but that doesn’t even feel
like…”

“What?” J.T.
put his arm around her shoulder.

Shaking her
head, Megan decided against finishing her thought. “It’s just been
nice getting to know you guys. Your brother and Avery have made me
feel at home out at the ranch, almost like part of the family.”

J.T. squeezed
her tighter. “I know that’s how they feel about you. They’ve told
Nikki and me plenty of times they think you’re a great girl. I know
how much they’d love it if you’d at least think about stickin’
around.”

Her life would
have been so different if she’d had a father like Ty or J.T.
instead of Manny Moore. Someone she could depend on, who would
listen when she had a problem or dry her tears when some boy broke
her heart.

Nick appeared
at her side. “Change of plans?” he whispered in her ear.

She flinched,
hoping he couldn’t tell his presence affected her. “No.” She smiled
at J.T. “Excuse me, J.T. It was great chatting with you again, but
I see my date over there.”

“Have fun,
sugar.” He kissed her hand. “Listen, why don’t you stop by for
lunch sometime? I’d like to finish our chat.”

Megan knew
Nick’s uncle was the last person she should confide in, but she
didn’t want to offend him. “How does tomorrow sound?”

“Perfect. I’m
lookin’ forward to it.”

***

Nick watched
Megan approach Shaw’s table, his eyes roaming her curvaceous body
in that tight little dress. No matter what, he wouldn’t let Carver
be the one peeling it off of her tonight.

“Man, she’s
somethin’ else. You gotta be outta your mind to let Shaw have her,”
J.T. said as he shook hands with a patron who passed by.

“I didn’t
let
him have her. She met him her first day out at the
ranch. They’ve been seein’ each other ever since.”

“You think it’s
gettin’ serious?” J.T. watched the couple. “Maybe he’s the reason
she seemed a little more hesitant about leavin’ Nashville.”

“You think so?”
Nick wished he had some insight into her thoughts and feelings.

“I don’t know.”
J.T. nudged his nephew. “You want me to try to find out for
you?”

Nick knew he
shouldn’t even consider using his uncle’s friendship with Megan,
but his window of opportunity seemed to be closing, and he wasn’t
ready for that. “Yeah, see what you can find out.”

“You know
anything she tells me in confidence is off limits.”

Nick wasn’t
surprised. The McCall men were all cut from the same cloth. Honor
your word, no matter the cost. “I get that.”

“Man, if you’re
into her, don’t waste time.”

“I’m afraid it
might be too late to undo the damage I’ve done. She doesn’t trust
me.”

“Why’s
that?”

“I gave her a
real hard time when she came here. I found out some stuff about
her, things that didn’t sit well with me. I worried she was usin’
my parents.” Nick watched Megan throw her head back, laughing at
something Shaw said, and his gut tightened. Nick wondered if he was
too late to explore his feelings for her.

J.T. elbowed
him in the ribs, trying to get his attention. “You don’t still
think that, do you? Anyone can see she’s an honest, hard-working
girl just trying to make a decent life for herself away from
everyone and everything she knows.”

“I’m startin’
to see that now, but I’m wonderin’ if I might be a day late.”

“What do you
mean?”

“Megan walked
in while I was talkin’ to Anna last night. She heard me call her a
gold-digger and tell my sister I couldn’t stand her. Now she thinks
I’m workin’ some angle because I told her I wanted to try to get
along.”

“Are you?”

“No.”

“What changed
your mind?”

Nick couldn’t
describe the way Megan had made him feel when they stood mere
inches apart: the hitch in his breath when her soft curves brushed
against him, the scent of her perfume, the smoothness of her skin
that made him want to discover whether every secret crevice was as
soft as the skin on her cheek.

He wanted to
know if she would tremble in his arms when he kissed the back of
her neck or if thrill bumps would rise on her skin when he slid his
tongue along the slope of her shoulder…

“Hello,” J.T.
said, snapping his fingers in front of his nephew’s face. “I asked
you a question. What happened to change your mind?”

“I’ll be damned
if I know.” Nick watched Carver lead her to the dance floor when a
slow song started. “Last night, I started feelin’ somethin’. It
caught me off guard.”

“Did it
really?”

“Yeah.” Nick
tore his attention away from Megan just long enough to look at his
uncle. “Why?”

“Seems to me
you’ve been fightin’ your attraction to her for a while now.”

“What makes you
say that?”

“You didn’t
want to like her because you saw her as Carver’s woman, but you
couldn’t help yourself. You told yourself she was an opportunist
because you weren’t willin’ to admit the truth.”

“Which is?”

J.T. gave him a
wry grin. “Carver has somethin’ you want a hell of a lot more than
you’ve ever wanted that Derby trophy.”

Nick closed his
eyes to shut out the image of Megan wrapped up in Carver’s arms.
Damn
. His uncle was right. He wanted Megan. He just had to
figure out how to make her want him.

***

Megan tried to
ignore Nick’s laughter, but it wasn’t easy with him sitting in the
booth right behind her. He was having drinks with Evan and Ryan
Spencer and Aiden Cooper. They sounded as though they were having a
great time, especially if the women who frequented their table were
any indication. The other men were married or engaged, so the girls
must be trying to score points with Nick.

“Excuse me,
Megan,” Shaw said, getting to his feet. “I’ll be right back. Why
don’t you order us another round? Unless you’d like to go somewhere
else?”

If she was
smart, she would jump at the opportunity to leave, but her
intelligence seemed to take a backseat to her baser instincts. “No,
I have to call it an early night. I have an interview with Tori
Warner in the morning.” She’d nursed the same glass of wine all
night, knowing she had to drive home. “Maybe I’ll just order a cup
of decaf before I hit the road.”