Kevin grabbed her wrist. “You okay?” he asked.
“No, but I’ll survive.”
“Don’t go picking up any strange guys.”
“As if,” she said with a grin. “Besides, I don’t want anyone but you.”
Then, while he was still immobilized by her simple, honest and unexpected confession, she leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips, turned and sashayed her way to the side entrance to the stage.
She’d managed to hit him right where he lived, and with just one sentence. He’d be laid low for a week if she ever worked up to full paragraphs.
Kevin noticed he wasn’t the only male to catch the sway of her hips or the way her short blond hair bounced with each step. There was going to be trouble, he thought grimly, and he’d left his gun back in the room.
The first talent-show contestant seemed to be a regular. Several in the crowd called out greetings to the buxom redhead who carried a guitar onto the stage. When she was seated, the room went relatively quiet as she sang a couple of ballads.
Kevin ordered a second beer, then decided he’d better not drink it. He nursed a glass of water instead and sat through a lousy band, a magician who looked young enough to still be in grade school and two more singers who didn’t have enough talent between them to fill up a shot glass. Then it was Haley’s turn.
By this point, his nerves were stretched tight enough to be guitar strings. While the crowd had gone easy on the underaged magician, they’d hooted the band and both lousy singers off the stage without even letting them finish their two numbers. Haley was pretty enough to get the sympathy vote, but was that going to save her?
His muscles clenched tight the second she appeared on the stage. There were several whistles and catcalls as she walked to the piano that had been rolled out onto the middle of the stage. The man in charge adjusted a microphone so that it was level with her mouth. The house lights went down and a spotlight appeared on her.
“Hey, baby, why don’t you show me another kind of talent?” one of the guys up front yelled.
Haley shaded her eyes against the glare of the spotlight, glanced at the man, then shook her head. “Thanks, but I’d rather play the piano.”
The room exploded into laughter. Kevin relaxed a little. He didn’t think Haley had understood what the guy had been talking about but she’d handled him perfectly.
“I haven’t played in a while,” she said, resting her hands on the keys. “Can I have a second to warm up?”
“I’m hot already, baby!”
Haley frowned slightly, then ran her fingers up and down in a quick series of scales. Kevin sensed people getting restless. She moved into a piece he didn’t recognize but that sounded classical. He groaned. This wasn’t the place for Bach.
A couple of people booed. Somebody yelled at her to get off the stage. Haley paused uncertainly. Kevin started to stand. If she needed rescuing, he wasn’t going to let her down.
“Not your style, huh,” she said, then shrugged. “I was trying to provide a little culture, but I guess not. Then how about this?”
At the first tinkle of the keys, Kevin froze. He didn’t recognize that song, either, but it sounded like an intriguing combination of jazz and bluegrass. As people began clapping, he sank back into his seat. He raised his beer in a silent salute. Looked as though Haley wasn’t going to need rescuing at all. She was doing just fine on her own.
Haley lifted her hands from the keyboard and set them in her lap. There was a second of silence, followed by an explosion of applause. People yelled for her to keep on playing. She was about to shake her head no when she saw the nice man who had moved the piano onstage for her nodding at her to continue.
She started on another piece by a friend of hers from college, speeding it up a little and throwing in some country-sounding bass notes. If the dance floor had been crowded before, it was positively jammed now. She looked at the men and women moving together and started to smile. This was a lot more fun than playing at choir practice.
She stretched out the song, repeating the middle section. It had been so long since she’d played for pleasure that she’d nearly forgotten how much she really did like music. Somehow the piano had become part of the world she’d been trying to escape and she’d lost her joy in it.
Yet tonight she’d found it again. Her fingers moved with a lightness and confidence she’d never experienced before. It was almost as if she didn’t have to think about the notes—they simply flowed from inside of her. She could have played for hours.
When the song ended, the nice man returned to stand next to her. He motioned for her to rise, then he took her hand and raised it in the air.
“We have a new winner!”
Everyone applauded. Haley couldn’t believe it. “I won?”
“Sure thing, honey. Here.” He handed her a hundred-dollar bill. “Feel free to spend it all here.”
Haley laughed, then gave him an impulsive hug. She’d won!
After hurrying off the stage, she wove her way through the crowd, searching for Kevin. She wanted to show him the money. She also wanted to hear what he thought of her playing. Mostly she just wanted to be with him.
“Hey, not so fast.”
Someone grabbed her wrist and swung her around. She found herself facing a dark-eyed man with a moustache.
“How ’bout I buy you a drink.”
Haley smiled as she shook her head. “No thanks. I’m with somebody.”
The man released her. “Then he’s a lucky man.”
Haley nodded and headed for the center of the room. She saw Kevin and waved. At that moment, her heart thudded against her rib cage in an unfamiliar rhythm. I’m with somebody. Weren’t those the best words ever?
“You were terrific,” Kevin said as she approached.
She hurried toward him, rushing the last few feet when he stood and opened his arms.
His embrace felt like coming home. The heat of him, the feel of his body, his scent, it all felt exactly right. She belonged here. Maybe it had only been a few days, but she was more comfortable with Kevin now than she’d ever been with Allan, or anyone else she’d met.
“You scared ten years off of me when you started with that classical music,” he told her. “Then you blew my socks off. Pretty sneaky.”
She waved the money in front of him. “And now I’m rich. Dinner’s on me. Where do you want to go?”
His dark gaze settled on her face. At that moment something dangerous and fiery flashed in his eyes. Something that made her stomach clench and her legs tremble. Something that reminded her of them kissing the previous night.
Even with her limited experience, she recognized the look of a man who wanted a woman. But instead of saying anything about that, he wrapped his arm around her and said, “I think I have a taste for a burger. What about you?”
Haley didn’t mind that he wouldn’t admit his feelings. She agreed to a burger all the while knowing that they were in adjoining rooms and that it was the kind of night where anything could happen.
Chapter Ten
“You should have let me pay for dinner,” Haley said as they walked toward their motel. “I wanted to.”
“No way. Contest winnings are play money. Find something you would never let yourself buy and get it.” He grinned. “Maybe one of those stuffed armadillos you’re so fond of.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I think they’re interesting but I would never want one in my house. I’d always feel bad about it being dead.”
“You wouldn’t want a live one in the living room.”
“Probably not.”
Haley paused while Kevin pulled his room key out of his pocket. They were in adjoining rooms as they had been the previous night, but Haley was hoping that she wouldn’t be sleeping alone. She’d liked sharing a bed with Kevin, even if he had kept his hands to himself.
He pushed open the door and motioned for her to go in first. She walked into the room and flipped on the light switch, then
spun around in a circle.
“I still can’t believe I won.”
He smiled. “You did great. When you said you’d studied music for years, I didn’t know it was anything like that.”
“Oh, there were plenty of days spent on the classics, but sometimes we had fun. I’d nearly forgotten how much I enjoy music. I’m going to put playing just for pleasure on my to-do list.”
He closed the door and tossed the key on the dresser. “You have a to-do list?”
“Uh-huh. It’s all the things I want to do now that I’m free to follow my dreams.” She began ticking items off on her fingers. “I’m going to play what I like on the piano. I’m going to visit Hawaii, and become a schoolteacher.”
“What about winning a talent contest? Was that on the list?”
“Nope, just a bonus.”
He sat on the bed and rubbed his thigh.
“Is it hurting?” she asked.
“Some. I had a beer, so I won’t be taking a painkiller tonight.”
“I have some over-the-counter stuff in my suitcase,” she said. “You can take that.”
He nodded gratefully. She studied the lines of pain around his eyes and mouth, the fading bruises on his face. If only she could do something to make him feel better.
“Okay. Let me go get the bottle and also the stuff to change your bandage. I’ll be right back.”
She hurried through the open adjoining door and into her room. After turning on a light, she unzipped her suitcase and fished out the bandages and antiseptic cream, along with a bottle of aspirin. Before returning to his room, she kicked off her sandals, then walked barefoot across the carpet.
Kevin was where she’d left him, still sitting on the side of the bed. She handed him the aspirin first, which he swallowed without water. She grimaced.
“How can you do that?”
“Practice.”
The thought of that taste in her mouth made her shudder.
“Do you want me to change your bandage now or do you want to let the pain ease a bit first?”
“I can do it,” he said, taking the supplies from her.
Haley blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
“I appreciate all you’ve done, but I don’t need your help tonight.”
He didn’t sound angry as he spoke, and the words were polite enough, but she still felt as if he’d slapped her. Not need her help? But she’d always changed his bandage. Some of her fondest memories were of what had happened after.
Heat flared suddenly. Was that the problem? She’d made her interest in him very plain. Maybe he didn’t like it. Maybe he didn’t like her. After all, he’d turned her down enough times.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. Her eyes burned with tears, although she didn’t know why she would want to cry. She felt both hot and cold and very, very small. “I’ll just—”
She motioned vaguely, then hurried back to her room.
“Haley, wait.”
She didn’t listen. Instead, she pushed the door between their rooms closed and looked for a place to hide.
There wasn’t one. She was in a strange motel just outside Oklahoma City. All the pleasure of her win earlier that evening dissipated as if it had never been. Her stomach lurched, protesting what she’d had for dinner.
She should leave. She could get in her car and drive far, far away. Except then she would strand Kevin and she couldn’t do that. She was supposed to take him home. All right—she would get him in the car and they could make it to Texas tonight.
She sank onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. She couldn’t do that, either. He was injured and in pain. She couldn’t ask him to sit in the car all night just because she’d realized she’d made a fool of herself by throwing herself at a man who wasn’t interested.
She swallowed hard, still fighting the tears, but eventually they won. She was cold and lost and humiliated. All she could think of was how much she liked Kevin and how he didn’t like her and how all of this was so much worse than Allan telling her he didn’t want to marry her.
“Haley.”
She looked up, then quickly wiped her cheeks when she saw Kevin standing just inside the adjoining door.
“How did you get in here?”
He held up the credit card he’d used to pop the door open. Her gaze flew to the dead bolt she hadn’t bothered to latch, then back to him.
“Don’t cry,” he said, limping toward her.
“I’m not,” she said automatically, even as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“I can’t help doing that.”
He sat next to her. She wanted to move away, but that seemed kind of childish. Worse, when he put his arm around her, she found she couldn’t move because having him hold her felt too good. But wasn’t he her problem to begin with? How could he be the solution?
He pulled her close. She resisted, determined to stay upright. He sighed and shifted back so he could face her.
“You don’t understand,” he said quietly. “I’m trying to be the good guy here and you’re making it damned hard.” He frowned. “What happened to your swearing lessons? I thought you were going to practice.”
She sniffed. “I don’t think I’m the swearing kind of person.”
“Probably not.” He took her hand in his and turned it over so he could study her palm. “But I am. I’m a lot of things that you’re not used to.”
He turned her hand back and laced their fingers together, then looked at her face. “Women are easy for me. They always have been. They find me attractive and enjoy my company in bed.”
She stiffened. Great. So not only was he not interested, she was one of a crowd. Her face burned even hotter. She tried to pull her hand away, but he didn’t release her.
“Getting laid has never been the issue,” he said.
She didn’t know what to do with that information. “What’s your point?”
“I told you the difference between making love and sex. Do you remember?” She nodded.
He stared into her eyes. “I can find plenty of women for sex, but finding women to make love with—women who matter—well, that’s a different story.” He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m shallow. Or maybe I just have bad luck. I can’t seem to find women I really care about. After a while, just having sex isn’t enough. I want to be with someone I respect and care about.”
This time she jerked her hand free and clenched it against her stomach. Pain sliced through her. It was worse than she thought. Not only didn’t he want her, he didn’t even like or respect her.
“I see,” she said, although the words hurt. It was as if her throat had been rubbed raw by the pain.
“No, you don’t.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Dammit, Haley, I’m trying to tell you that I like and respect you too much to just have sex with you.”
Now she was really confused. “But I like you, too. You said I should wait until I cared about someone, and I care about you. I don’t understand. If you don’t want me, then just tell me. I’m sorry I’ve been throwing myself at you. I never meant to make you uncomfortable. I thought—”
Her insides got all tight and she was afraid she was going to cry again. “I thought you wanted me, too.”
Kevin let loose a string of swearwords he was pretty sure that Haley had never heard. She looked startled but didn’t run for cover, which he guessed was something.
“I’m saying this all wrong,” he told her.
The problem was, he didn’t know how to say it right. His goal from the beginning had been to not hurt her. Yet he had. He could see it in her eyes, in the set of her mouth. He’d wounded her and all he’d been trying to do was be a good guy.
He sucked in a breath. “This is all new to you,” he said. “You’re on an adventure for the first time in your life. You’re experiencing new things and that’s great. I’m having a good time with you. I can’t remember enjoying anything
more. You’re sweet and funny and you experience everything with your whole heart. There’s no holding back. I admire that.”
Some of the pain faded from her eyes, but she still looked wary. “And?”
“And I wonder how much of what you’re feeling is about this being a new and exciting situation. I don’t want you reacting without thinking of the consequences.”
He couldn’t believe that a beautiful woman was throwing herself at him and he was trying to talk her out of it. He deserved the Moron of the Year award.
Haley stared at him for a long time, then nodded slowly. “You’re afraid I’m more caught up in the moment than in you. That this is about the new experience, not who you are as a person.”
Kevin didn’t like the sound of that. It made him feel like a touchy-feely New Age tofu eater.
“I have enough regrets for two lifetimes,” he said, sidestepping her comment. “I don’t want you to have the same.”
“I want to say that I won’t, but things are happening so fast. Sometimes it’s hard to catch my breath.” She ducked her head. “I’m sorry I’ve been throwing myself at you. Guys get the ‘no means no’ lecture all the time and I’ve been guilty of ignoring what you were saying.”
She was apologizing for coming on to him? Okay, now he knew they were in an alternate universe.
He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “No matter what happens or doesn’t happen, never doubt that I’ve wanted you from the beginning.”
She glanced at him from under her lashes. “Really? So it’s okay for me to suggest stuff?”
He had a feeling he was going to regret agreeing to anything but he would rather walk on hot coals than hurt her again. “You can suggest all you want as long as I’m free to say no.”
Was he really saying that? What the hell was wrong with this picture?
She straightened and smiled at him. “Okay. I won’t ask for sex or anything, but can we sleep together tonight?”
They might be sharing a bed but Kevin knew he wasn’t going to be sleeping. Not while he was hard enough to hammer nails into concrete.
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