That Night in Nashville (Ticket to True Love)

by Savannah Kade

  No, her emotions veered as wildly as the bus, swinging between sharp highs and deep boredom. When she was up, she breathed in the euphoria of being on stage, holding the mic out for the crowd to sing along to a chorus they had just learned, clapping over her head, and basically providing the energy for an entire festival and the occasional small arena. But when she was low, her thoughts were turning to the song she’d written. The “What if” one in which she sung about the other path she might have taken. Only now, she was thinking about it with regret.

  Brenda had called four days ago and rerouted them. In the new venue tonight, Hailey had been the very first act, before the opening act of the opening act of the big band. The arena had been mostly dead when she and her band had gone out on stage, but the crew had graciously turned down the house lights, put the spotlight on her and let her sing her heart out. She’d done her best to fill the place with energy and music.

  It had been beyond thrilling singing on an arena stage, even though she saw more empty chairs than faces. It was a definite checkmark on her list. She was on her way up, just as she’d planned.

  But what she hadn't put on her checklist was the crippling depression of being cramped on the bus with the same four people for days on end. She smiled as Carrie and Melissa went by, their own bags of chips and cans of coke in their hands. Well, at least she wasn't the only one whose diet was going to hell.

  Working out had been an unmitigated disaster, too. She'd tried the first handful of mornings to stand in the narrow aisle of the bus and do jumping jacks or at least some stretches. She hadn’t tried again. Now, she was left to running the back hallways of the arena or a loop around the festival fairgrounds before she took a shower to go on stage. After doing her sound check she would take another shower. She’d do the same the next day, do the show. Shower. Hit the bus. This was what her life had been reduced to.

  On top of all of it, she missed Adam terribly. Even when she’d first been on her own, right after she’d left him it had been easier not to miss him. Back then, she'd been so mad that the anger had fueled her, flinging her far out of Carroll Hollow and all the way into Nashville. It drove her to make her rent every month on time because she was going to show them all. She was driven, proving to an ex-boyfriend something he’d never see.

  Now, she was on the road on her own bus. Why didn’t it feel better?

  Getting here had taken her years of steady improvement, even if it wasn't at the pace that she wanted or even what she’d expected. She reminded herself that the tour bus was something she dreamed of, even if her dream tour hadn't included the Cornbread Festival or being the opening- opening- opening-act.

  She reached down into her purse to grab her phone to text Adam. She would have a conversation with him, not about how she missed him and not about how she really felt, but just to say Hi. Just to ease the tight pressure in her chest. As she dug for the phone, her hand bumped the tiny, sealed Mason jar.

  With a sigh, Hailey pulled it out and shook her head. This was the dumbest thing. Mabel had pulled her aside and pushed the adorable mini-jar into her hand.

  “This is for you.”

  “What do I owe you?” Hailey asked though her mind had been elsewhere. Mabel was shrewd, telling them they needed drinks and then subtly letting them know there was a charge. Now she was pushing a product into Hailey’s hand. Next on Hailey’s checklist was learning how to graciously tell pushy old ladies “No thank you.”

  “You don’t owe me anything.” Mabel had curled Hailey’s fingers around the jar. “You need this.”

  At the time Hailey hadn’t looked at it. Carrie and Melissa were already out the door and about to leave her behind. She wondered if she’d been handed a jar of vodka or maybe even something illegal, but she’d shoved it into her purse, thanked Mabel for being a great hostess, and bolted after her friends.

  Now, she could read the label on the jar in swooping, old fashioned cursive. If she hadn’t dug Adam’s grandmother’s old letters out of his attic one day, she’d never have been able to read this. But it said, “True Springs Fountain Water.” Under that, in smaller letters, Mabel had written “Take as needed.”

  Hailey pulled it out of her purse and pushed it down into the drawer built in under her bed. She didn’t need to carry a jar around with her and it could stay here—out of the way—until she figured out what to do with Mabel’s odd little “gift.”

  23

  "Oh my God, are those for me?"

  Adam's heart had thumped in his chest as Hailey smiled and reached out either for him or the flowers.

  He couldn't tell which she wanted but showing up had worked in some way. He'd been standing here in the back parking lot at her label when she came off the tour bus, even though it was ten PM and she was supposed to have been in by eight.

  Two hours, he'd been sitting out in the sultry Nashville night air, listening to cicadas. He wouldn’t have thought they would be a problem in downtown Nashville, but the noise was loud when the streets were mostly empty.

  It didn't matter that he waited two hours. He'd driven three to get here and he’d come into town early enough to stop and eat and get the flowers. He was clearly a fool, and he might as well admit it. But damn, she'd been gone for three weeks and he'd been the idiot who played his games and didn’t call before she left. He did it to supposedly “cool off” after the hot and heavy night when they’d decided that they should at least be exclusive.

  So he stood in the parking lot, leaning against his car and playing with his phone as he waited. He’d set the flowers on the hood of the car but scooped them quickly into his hand each time a semi-large vehicle came down the back street.

  This time, the bus pulled up and Hailey emerged, her eyes letting him know she was pleased to see him, but her actions said she was trying not to make a scene. Though he was clearly a lovesick fool, he tried not to act one hundred percent an idiot.

  So he'd stepped back and watched silently as the others came down the steps, bags in hand. One woman, mostly in black, a piercing through her nose and a matching leather backpack slung over her shoulder, merely looked him up and down and said, "You must be Adam."

  His heart swelled to think that at least someone knew who and what he was. He wondered what else Hailey might have said.

  At some point, he’d decided she would hop off the bus and into his car and he would drive her home. But he’d never greeted a tour bus before, and he realized now that he should have played this smarter. His company ran trucks and he knew that when they showed up on site it often took several hours to unload. Sure enough, it took Hailey quite a while to get all her bags, check out with the manager, or do whatever the routine was while he stood around watching and waiting. He still had the flowers clutched in his grip until, at last, she turned to face him and he suddenly realized he'd been even more of a fool than he’d planned.

  "It didn't even occur to me that you would have a ride." He blurted out the words even as he realized his mistake.

  "My car is at my apartment. I was going to hit Cassie up." She motioned with her thumb over her shoulder. "But it appears Cassie has found another passenger."

  With a quick glance beyond Hailey, Adam saw the two heads together, Cassie's red hair gleaming in the streetlight and another blonde head tucked up close to hers.

  "Yeah, you would have been a third wheel there," he said, "but I can give you a ride." It was maybe the dumbest thing he'd ever said in his life, but Hailey's grin made it worth it.

  At last, he pushed the flowers into her grip and climbed into the car. He had the engine on before he asked her, "Where do you want to go?"

  Adam figured she'd say “home” and maybe fall asleep in the passenger seat, but instead she didn't say anything and he found himself offering up his own hotel. “I have a room at the Alton nearby.”

  The spark in her eyes had been worth every penny on the pricey room that he absolutely didn’t need. He’d just wanted it. The smile curving her lush mouth was worth e
very hour he’d spent on the road with no other purpose than to get here and meet her when she got off the bus.

  The drive to the hotel started in a taut silence. They both knew what was going on, and Adam understood that if he didn’t focus on the road ahead, he was likely to throw the car into “Park” and pull onto the side of the freeway. It was only a question of whether or not they’d get arrested for some kind of public indecency. He thought they might be safer if he kept his mouth shut.

  At last, the lingering space between them became too much and he opened his mouth in an effort to start a conversation that would get them all the way to the hotel. "How long are you home for?"

  He might as well ask. After all, he'd already basically played his whole hand just in the way he showed up.

  "Well, there’s a week off of the tour."

  His heart nearly crashed as his brain scrambled to figure out how he could spend the entire week in Nashville, but Hailey kept going. "However, the next three-week leg of the tour is going to be Wilder, not me."

  Adam’s chest expanded with sweet oxygen coming in along with the knowledge. Still, Hailey kept talking. Did she, like him, feel a need to fill the space with something other than reaching hands and ripped clothing?

  “So I have four weeks before I go out again.” She was still talking when he pulled up under the portico in front of the hotel. “And I’m very grateful for the break. I didn’t think I would be, but Brenda was right.”

  He popped the trunk and grabbed her bag rather than letting the valet get it, though he did toss the keys to the man waiting at his door. Adam had grabbed Hailey’s hand and didn’t have one left for the ticket for his car, so she reached out and thanked the man, tucking the ticket into her pocket as though it was her own. It shouldn’t have made his heart turn over like it did. She wasn’t his. There wasn’t a future for them here. But right now he didn’t let that stop him.

  It occurred to Adam as he tugged her up the steps and through the lobby, that he’d dreamed of this. Once. A long time ago.

  He’d saved up his money and bought them a single night in the Days Inn outside of Kingston once. But this was lush and expensive and he took a moment to appreciate that he could afford to bring her here. She might be on stage, but he’d really “made it,” even if it wasn’t the way high school Adam had thought it would be.

  It struck him then that he was very happy with the business. He’d sucked it up and told Jerry to buy the projectors, putting his payment plan back by a good margin. But as he pulled a warm and willing Hailey Watkins into the elevator with him, he breathed out a sigh that he’d done the right thing.

  The rest of his life was right on track. Now if he could just figure out what to do with her…

  Her eyes darted around the elevator and it took him a moment to realize she was checking for cameras. When she found none, she plunged her hands into his hair and pulled him close for a kiss that shot all his blood to his groin and sucked every thought from his brain.

  By the time the elevator doors dinged, he had one hand on her ass under her skirt and the other down her shirt. He’d dropped her bag and his nice, silk t-shirt was shucked up under his arm as her hands roamed his chest.

  Hailey Watkins was pressed into the railing along the side of the elevator as he looked into the hallway, grateful that it was empty. Then he grabbed her hand—almost forgot her bag—and tugged her down the hallway to his door.

  24

  Hailey sucked in a breath as she tumbled backward onto the hotel bed. It was plush and thick and she bounced a moment as Adam settled over her.

  He felt right here, with her fingers in his hair and his hands tugging at her clothes. Her brain had been going non-stop for three weeks—thinking about being in public, which song was next on stage, keeping her “performing smile” in place all the time. But now, everything turned off except what she could feel. And Adam always made her feel amazing.

  His focus said she was not only the only woman he saw, she might as well be the only one in the world. He wanted her. Other men wanted sex, and she fit the bill. Some of them wanted a girlfriend, someone to date or make their friends jealous. Sometimes, she’d fit that bill, too. But Adam didn’t want something, he wanted her.

  She gasped for air as he peeled the last of her clothing and began shucking what was left of his. The air was warm and charged around them even though he’d moved away and she missed the heat of him, even as it allowed her to look her fill.

  The body in front of her was both new and familiar. She knew the scar on his arm and how he’d gotten it. She knew the line of dark hair that directed her eye downward. The wide shoulders and muscles were new, as was the distinct cut of his jaw. It was no longer angular, but manly. He was no longer just tall; he’d lived up to his potential.

  Her mouth watered. It was so easy to want him. So easy to forget the world around her. Tomorrow didn’t matter. The tour didn’t matter. She was here now and Adam was making her writhe.

  Leaning over her again, he kept his fingers where they were, stroking her toward a climax. His mouth claimed hers, taking her sighs and gasps and almost-whimpers in a deep, needy kiss. Her breasts pressed against his bare chest and the contact felt almost cosmic, as though she and Adam, naked together, was the way the universe should be.

  Though she was trying to hold back, Adam wasn’t having it, and she was coming apart in his arms. Her fingernails dug into his biceps as she clung to him and let the sensation rock through her. Her head tipped back, her eyes glazed over, and her breath came in needy gasps.

  Just as she began to come back to earth, she felt him move between her legs. God, there was more. There was always more with Adam. He pushed inside her as her ankles hooked behind him and her nails bit into his back, her greedy little heart beating harder.

  He answered with sharp strokes letting her know he was close to his own edge. The intensity told her he wanted her to come again…and he could do it. He was the only one who’d ever taken the time to figure her out and apparently she still had the same triggers.

  She called out his name, unable to stop it from flying from her lips as he practically growled with his own release, tumbling down on top of her. She stayed still for a moment, unable to move, spent and sated. Her open eyes would have been staring at the ceiling if she could see anything but sparkles floating in her vision.

  Breathing heavily until the urge subsided, Hailey rolled over into Adam’s arms as he lifted himself off. She was exhausted, but—in addition to having mind blowing sex—she'd been on the road for a long time. She sighed into darkness, grateful that the bed wasn't rumbling beneath her.

  When she fully returned to her senses again, she stopped and savored the feeling of being in his arms for a moment. He wasn’t asleep. She knew. This was earned knowledge of the man she was with.

  Giving one more deep sigh, she let her head tip back, her heavy limbs spread across the cool sheets and almost laughed as her stomach growled.

  “Hungry?” Adam grinned across the short space at her.

  “Clearly.”

  “They've got twenty-four hour room service here,” he said it with a grin, but she could feel her eyebrows raise.

  “Part of your plan?” It seemed so convenient that he already knew.

  His silence was more than an adequate answer.

  So he intended to bring her here, make love to her into the night, and maybe even order room service. Or at least he’d been ready for that option. She had the option to say no, even if she didn’t have the willpower. Still, Hailey wasn't sure how she felt about that.

  She did like a man who could plan ahead. She wasn't sure if this was what she wanted him to plan for. Still, it irritated her a bit, even if she knew she had no grounds to be angry. Propping up on one elbow, she pushed the feelings aside and said, “Well then, let's see what they'll deliver at three a.m.”

  Five minutes later, he was sitting naked, cross-legged on the bed staring at her as they looked through the menu. “A
ll these options, and you want oatmeal?”

  “Oh, God. Yes,” Hailey replied. The sound of her voice might be as drenched in desire as it had been while they've been making love. “Do you know what we ate on the road? Nothing healthy. Oatmeal sounds so good right now. And look, a side of peaches and blueberries. Fresh fruit!”

  “You didn't get fresh fruit on the road? That seems inhumane.”

  “Well,” she shrugged. They’d been offered fruit as some roadside dives and the gas stations they passed had little plastic containers of grapes and cheese or the occasional banana, but none of it had been enticing. “The fresh part was questionable a lot of the time.”

  Adam quirked one side of his mouth and proceeded to order her a very expensive bowl of oatmeal. He, however, didn't hold anything back and ordered steak, eggs, hash browns and more.

  But after the call was in, it didn't seem there was much more to say. Hailey began wondering if he really was just her friend with benefits—less emphasis on the “Friend” part. It was what she’d agreed to but, sitting in the hotel with him at three in the morning, the idea had lost some of its shine. She was opening her mouth, unable to stand the silence any longer and not knowing if he really wanted to talk to her or not, when his words cut her off.

  “I missed you while you were gone.”

  “Really?” The admission startled her and she wasn't able to stop her stunned question before it tumbled out. She wished she had clothing on, because suddenly she felt naked. “You missed me? But what did you miss?”

  Why did she ask hard questions? This was supposed to be an easy relationship—if it was a relationship at all. Wasn’t it more of a handshake agreement and great sex? But she’d chucked her question into the space between them and now she had the uncomfortable task of waiting for the answer.

  25

  Adam felt her words almost like a punch to the gut. She didn't believe him.