Big Love in a Small Town (Contemporary Romance) (2 page)

“Hi, my name is Tessa and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?” Tessa had the hardest time getting through her normal spiel when she realized that not only was she serving someone from the set, she was waiting on Nate Wilder, one of the most well-known, up-and-coming actors in Hollywood.

Keep it together, keep it together,
she inwardly chanted. The last thing she wanted was to come across as a crazy fan. She only mildly followed celebrity gossip – just the random perusal through a magazine while waiting in line to check out at the grocery store – but still, who wouldn’t be slightly star-struck given the circumstances?

“Hi, Tessa, it’s nice to meet you. Can you tell me what you have available on tap?” Nate responded with an easy smile. Tessa rattled off a list of The Grille’s offerings as she took in his gorgeous, chiseled face, dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He was every bit as hot as every movie had made him out to be.

“I’ll take the southern pecan ale – that sounds interesting,” he replied after she had explained the different beers on tap.

Tessa laughed. “It’s really good, I promise,” she smiled, feeling more at ease the longer she was around him. She couldn't help but put emphasis on her description of the pecan ale when she listed the offerings – it was her favorite, and he must have picked up on that.

“I’m going to take your word for it,” he joked back, giving her a wink.

Tessa headed to the bar to get his beer. She was immediately surrounded by three other servers.

“Is that Nate Wilder?” one of them asked.

Tessa nodded. “Y’all need to get it together. He is just a customer like any other, and we can’t make him feel weird, or he won’t ever come back,” Tessa reminded them.

A moment later, Tessa set the tall pilsner glass in front of Nate, and hoped that he would like the craft beer as much as she did, especially since he ordered it off her subliminal recommendation.

“Thanks,” he said and took a sip. “This is so good. I looked over the menu, but I think I’d rather you surprise me with whatever you suggest. I can trust your judgment now that I’ve tasted this,” he said before taking another sip.

“Are you kidding me? What if you totally hate what I choose? The pecan beer is my favorite – everyone loves it – but food is a whole different ball game,” Tessa replied, astounded.

“I’m not that picky, I promise,” Nate laughed.

Tessa arched an eyebrow at him. She was still surprised that they were having such an easy conversation, and that the initial nervousness of serving a celebrity had dissipated.

“Alright then, I’ll be back shortly with a crowd favorite.” Tessa began to head for the kitchen.

“I’d rather have Tessa’s favorite,” Nate called out as she retreated.

Tessa stopped in her tracks. Was he flirting with her? She didn’t know how she felt about this. He could have any girl he wanted – did he consider it a game to pick up random waitresses?

Tessa turned around to face him. “I’ll bring you my favorite, then,” she replied with a professional smile before continuing on to the kitchen where the cook staff waited with anticipation.

“What does he want for dinner?” the head chef, Art, burst out excitedly as soon as she entered the kitchen.

“He told me he wanted my favorite meal here,” Tessa replied, still confused.

“Your favorite is the shrimp and grits, isn’t it?” Art asked, already starting to gather ingredients, not caring in the least about the underlying meaning of the actor wanting Tessa’s favorite dish. Tessa wasn’t surprised that Art already knew her favorite, she ordered it pretty often.

“Yep, it is. Hope he isn’t allergic to shellfish,” Tessa said as she prepped a Caesar salad, her favorite pairing with shrimp and grits.

“What do you think it means that he wanted your favorite?” Natasha asked from her perch on a stool. She had already cashed out for the evening, but obviously wasn’t leaving with such a famous person still in the building.

“I guess he wanted a suggestion,” Tessa nonchalantly replied.

“Or he thinks you’re hot,” Natasha pointed out with a silly grin. Tessa playfully shoved Natasha, and rolled her eyes. There was no way Nate Wilder was interested in her. He was Nate Wilder, for crying out loud. He could have any girl he wanted and he probably knew it, which didn’t make his attention seem all that appealing to Tessa.

“I’m just going to do my job and treat him the way I would treat any other customer,” Tessa told Natasha as she squared her shoulders, and went back out to serve her famous guest.

Tessa had a feeling it was going to be a lot harder to act like she wasn’t interested than she initially thought it would be as she took in the sight of Nate’s face lighting up with a smile when he saw her coming. She felt her willpower instantly turn to mush.

“Hello, again,” Nate commented as she placed the salad bowl on the table.

“Um, hi?” she ventured, unsure of how to respond to his flirty banter.

Tessa’s uncertain question made Nate laugh. “You are a breath of fresh air, Tessa, and you don’t even know it,” he said on a more serious note.

“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m not sure what you mean by it.”

“I’ve been flirting with you since the first moment we met and you either haven’t noticed or you don’t care,” he pointed out.

Tessa thought for a moment before answering him. Should she be honest and risk pissing him off? She weighed the options before figuring she should just go with honesty. This whole experience so far had been surreal anyway.

“I did notice, and I do care. I care enough about myself to know that hopping into bed with you would be a monumental mistake,” she replied frankly. Tessa knew this was definitely not the answer he was expecting, but she went ahead and laid her cards out on the table – she wasn’t about to have her heart broken into even tinier pieces.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but you have it wrong. I apologize if I came off that way – I’m not like that at all. I’ve been acting this way because I’m genuinely interested in getting to know you. I don’t know anyone around here, except for the cast and crew, and since we will be in the area for a few weeks, and tonight I was lucky enough to be seated in a beautiful and feisty woman’s section, I thought it would be nice to hang out and maybe get to know one another,” he explained, casting his eyes down.

Tessa felt guilty. She had gone and made assumptions about Nate that weren’t founded. “I’m really sorry I jumped to conclusions like that – it’s just you have to know where I’m coming from. You can hang out with anyone that you want to, have any girl in Hollywood, and you are hitting on a waitress in Clearhill? I assumed you were just looking for a one-night stand, so I wasn’t about to let myself be drawn in – no matter how attractive you are,” she told him.

“Well, now that we have gotten this awkward conversation out of the way, can I have your phone number?” he said after a few seconds, obviously rallied from her initial rejection.

“Are you kidding me? After all that I just said, and after basically assuming you were a sleazeball, you still want my number?” Tessa couldn’t help but display her shock. Most guys would have run for the hills after this conversation.

“I like your frankness – most girls just tell me whatever they think I want to hear. You haven’t done that, that’s for sure,” he quipped.

Tessa stared at him for a second before a giggle escaped her lips. Seriously? What was she doing? This gorgeous man was sharing playful banter with her and it was as if she was making it her personal goal to push him away.

With a new determination not to be such a Debbie Downer anymore, Tessa took out an empty ticket from the pocket of her apron and scribbled down her name and number.

“Here,” she said, handing him the note, “I’m not sure if we can get our schedules to line up, but I’d love the chance to get to know you better, too.”

When Nate took the paper from her, his fingers brushed over hers, and Tessa felt a ripple of involuntary attraction shoot through her body. At the unexpected turn of events, she decided now might be the best time to check on his order. She could feel a blush spreading across her cheeks.

“Are you free tonight?” Nate asked her just as she turned, thwarting her getaway.

“Ah, yes, I suppose I will be,” she said, turning to face him again.

“Would you like to get a late-night cup of coffee with me?”

“Nope.”

Tessa didn’t realize her glib response would disappoint him so much. She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder.

“I would like to have a cup of hot cider or cocoa with you, instead?” she offered, smiling warmly.

“Not a big coffee fan?” He responded now with the light banter she was hoping for.

“Oh no, I love coffee, but I’m not typically in the mood for it so close to midnight. Another thing – nowhere around here other than the Waffle House is open, but I live in walking distance. Would you like to come over and hang out?” she asked.

“That’d be great. I’m not due back for shooting until tomorrow. It will be nice to just relax a bit with such a lovely woman.”

Nate’s ease at spouting kind words both fascinated and infuriated Tessa. It felt amazing to hear such great compliments, but it also made her just a little uncomfortable.

“I’m sure your order is up. I’ll bring it right out.” She literally bolted for the kitchen before he had a chance to surprise her with anything else.

Swinging through the kitchen doors, she nearly knocked down the rest of the wait staff – all of them finished with their shifts and simply hanging around to find out more about Nate Wilder.

She pushed through them, trying to keep as much information as possible to herself. The last thing Tessa wanted was more attention in regards to her relationships. Not that there was any sort of relationship at this moment with Nate, but it seemed like that could, despite her thinking the idea was completely out of left field, actually be a possibility in the very near future.

“
What am I doing?”
The question kept repeating itself over and over in her head as she climbed into the sleek black sports car Nate was driving while in town. Tessa had told him repeatedly that she could just walk home – she only lived a half a mile from the town square – but Nate insisted on driving her home. She did see his point that it wouldn’t seem right for him to drive over while she walked in the chilly February night, but it meant that he had to wait while she finished up at The Grille, which definitely caused more than a few suspicious looks from the other servers and kitchen staff.

Although she would be peppered with more than a million questions when she arrived for her shift tomorrow, Tessa decided she wasn’t going to worry about it anymore. This incredibly attractive man, who made her laugh and had a healthy dose of endearing charm, wanted to hang out with her, and she owed it to the both of them to see if sparks were going to fly.

“So where do we go from here?” Nate asked after he’d held the door for her, and had taken his own place in the driver’s seat.

“I guess we just hang out and see what happens, no pressure, you know?” Tessa replied, happy that some of the questions swirling inside of her head were able to be vocalized. Nate’s bewildered face, however, did not give her any comfort.

“I meant, like, literally. Do I take a left or right?” he explained with a laugh. Tessa felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. She’d totally just stuck her foot in her mouth.

“Pull out, take a left and then it’s the second street on the right, fourth house on the right,” she told him, and chose not to mention anything else about her slip-up.

Two minutes later, Tessa directed Nate to pull into the drive and head just past the large antebellum style home to where he parked in front of the carriage house apartment that Tessa called home.

She led Nate up the stairs and onto the tidy little porch complete with potted pansies and her great-grandmother’s rocker. Just inside her front door was a small foyer that held a small bench and a coat rack and led into the rest of the apartment. Thankfully, the entire top floor was hers to call home.

“Welcome to my home. It isn’t anything grand, but it’s comfortable here and I love it,” Tessa said as she clicked on a few lamps when they walked into her main living area. A slip-covered sofa and tufted wingback chair were her main furnishings, and the left wall held built-in bookshelves that flanked both sides of a stone fireplace. Just to the right, a galley kitchen and a small pedestal table claimed most of the space.

A tiny hall held two doors, one to her bedroom and the other to the only bathroom.

“If you’ll excuse me for just a moment, I’d really like to change,” Tessa said as she hung her bag on the hook in the foyer.

“Of course, take your time,” Nate told her, taking a seat on the sofa. He definitely didn’t seem to have any problem making himself at home.

Tessa scurried to her bedroom and opened the closet door, not sure what in the world to wear. She couldn’t pull out a stunning ensemble – that definitely wouldn’t fit the situation, but she also didn’t want to look like a total bum in a pair of sweatpants. After a couple of moments, she finally settled on a pair of patterned leggings and an ivory sweatshirt tunic with the words, “All that glitters is gold,” written in sparkly lettering across the chest.

“What would you like to drink?” Tessa asked as she breezed back into the living area. “I have hot tea, apple cider, I do have coffee if you really want some, and there’s a bottle of red wine I’ve been saving for a special occasion,” she rattled off all that her kitchen had to offer.

“Oh, I’m definitely thinking the wine,” he said with a confirming nod.

“Good, that’s what I was hoping you would say,” she said with a smile.

After she’d poured them each a glass, she brought it over to the sofa and sat down close, but not too close, to Nate. As she handed Nate his glass, he leaned it back to her direction as if to toast her and with a tender smile softening his rugged features, he said, “To you, Tessa, and to what I hope will be the beginning of something wonderful.”

Tessa clinked her glass against Nate’s, and gazed sweetly into his eyes. She was mesmerized. This wasn’t turning into the fun and casual thing she thought she had signed up for – it was much more intense. Things were taking a romantic turn swiftly, and although she was determined not to fall too quickly for Nate, as she sat there beside him on her sofa, all of her reasonable defenses weren’t working.

Before she completely got ahead of herself, Tessa cast her eyes down, and took a sip from the glass in her hand. “I’m really glad you’re here, Nate,” she told him, even if she didn’t trust herself to look at him at the moment. Just the nearness of him was driving her crazy, and if she were to lock eyes with him again, Tessa knew that she would be a goner.

“Right now, there isn’t a place in the world that I’d rather be,” he murmured softly. Nate’s words resonated deeply within Tessa, and she decided to venture another look into his beautiful eyes. Somehow, subconsciously they had edged closer together and were now sitting mere inches apart, and their legs were brushing against one another. When Tessa finally allowed herself to glance up, she was staring directly into Nate’s eyes, and what she found in their depths gave every indication that he was as smitten as she was.

“Nate, you have no idea what you are doing to me,” she said, shaking her head, hoping the movement would shake off the heady spell he was putting her under.

“It’s like I can’t help myself. I’m drawn to you like a moth to a flame,” Nate said, softly but frankly. Tessa understood what he meant – she was feeling the exact same way. But, it didn’t change the fact that she was determined to stay strong in her resolve not to tumble into bed with him tonight.

“I think I need to move around or something,” she said, setting her glass on the side table and stretching. Nate followed suit, and his face lit up with an idea. “Let’s dance,” he said, standing up and reaching out a hand to help her up from the sofa.

Tessa couldn’t believe this night was taking yet another completely surreal turn. In what world did a movie star ask to dance with you in your living room after meeting you randomly at the restaurant where you waitress? Surreal. Totally surreal. With a toss of her ponytail over her shoulder, she decided to just go with it, and live in the incredibly crazy moment.

“Hold on just a second, let me find a good song,” Tessa said as he helped her up. She grabbed her phone, hit a play list she’d already saved, and stuck it into the docking station.

Nate’s face showed his surprise as the first few notes filled the air. “Really, Tessa?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Really,” Tessa winked at him as a classic country song filled the air.

“I seriously don’t even know how one would go about attempting to dance to this,” he said as he extended his hand.

“Well, let’s just make it up as we go,” she smiled, and he pulled her into his embrace. It definitely wasn’t a typical dance song – it was sort of slow with the singer crooning about his lonesome heart, but it wasn’t rhythmical in any way, shape or form. After a few swirls around the room, they both burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay, you’re right, it isn’t working,” she admitted with an amused roll of her eyes. She flipped through the songs, settling on a cover version of “Problem” by Noah Guthrie. As the first notes began to fill the room, she took the hand Nate was extending to her and they began to move around the room to the sultry song.

“I really like this song,” Nate murmured, his lips close to her ear.

“Yes, it’s very good,” Tessa replied, closing her eyes and drinking in the nearness of Nate and the beautiful lyrics. Maybe she was crazy, opening her heart and feeling so much emotion for someone she’d known for only a few hours, but the tender way Nate’s hands securely held her waist and the intimate embrace they now shared was like a healing balm. All of the hurt and pain Davis had inflicted was melting away. Even if the reprieve was temporary, Tessa welcomed it wholeheartedly. She needed this.

As the song ended and another soft, acoustic ballad filled the air, Tessa laid her head against Nate’s shoulder and he rubbed his hands slowly up and down her back. He exuded a protective nature that literally made every inch of her tingle with desire for him. Tessa smiled into his shirt, thinking how ironic it was that the fact that he wasn’t coming on to her made her wish that he would do just that.

A moment later, as they continued to slowly move to the music, Nate leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Tessa lifted her cheek from his shoulder, stared into his lovely deep blue eyes, and she knew it was about to happen. The moment was there – that mesmerizing web that seemed to be woven before an epic kiss took place.

Nate leaned down and placed his lips softly against hers. Tessa welcomed his kiss as she molded her lips to his. The kiss started slowly and gently. It was obvious that they were each afraid of scaring away the other and were both holding back as the intensity continued to grow. But, holding back actually caused the slow kiss to smolder into something incredibly hot.

Neither pulled away, instead they just stayed still in the perfect moment, locked in one another’s arms, lips melting together in a sizzling kiss that was slowly but surely turning into a blazing fire. The intensity heightened, and the sweetness gave way to eager desire. Nate pulled her more tightly against him and Tessa ran one of her hands into the slight bit of curl at the nape of his neck.

This moment was delicious, and she didn’t want it to ever end. Nate pulled his lips away from hers to place them against her ear. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered before reclaiming her lips with his.

An unbidden tear slipped down Tessa’s cheek, and she didn’t care. She hadn’t ever felt this...cherished. When Nate caressed her face and felt the dampness of her cheek, he pulled back and studied her face.

“What’s wrong, Tessa?” he asked, putting his forehead against hers.

“Not a single thing. I just didn’t expect...this.”

“Neither did I. I expected fun, and I expected attraction, but not this level of intensity – this deep, almost raw feeling.”

“Exactly. It’s almost scary.”

“Don’t be scared. Let’s just dial it back a bit,” he said, wiping away her tear. Tessa nodded. Nate let go of her, took her hand in his and led her to the sofa.

“Why don’t we just talk?” he suggested.

“I’d like that a lot,” Tessa replied, snuggling up against his side as he put his arm around her.

For the next several hours they talked, and talked, and talked. They talked about things they loved, God, family, their childhood fears, their past relationships, their favorite foods – literally nothing was kept off of the table. And as the sun began to change from the deepest of blacks to a fuzzy shade of just-before-dawn gray, Tessa couldn’t hold her eyes open any longer, and she drifted off to sleep with her head in Nate’s lap and a smile on her face as he played with tendrils of her hair.

The bright, midday sun was warm on her face when she began to stir from her very uncomfortable position on the sofa. Tessa sat up and stretched her arms and yawned as the memories of the night before flooded her thoughts. It had been one of the best nights of her life – she’d never opened up like that with a guy, not even Davis.

She looked around the room. Where was Nate?