Big Love in a Small Town (Contemporary Romance) (4 page)

“So you’re telling me that you and Nate Wilder are just friends,” Natalie stated, completely in disbelief as she and Tessa ate lunch together.

“Yes, that’s what I’m telling you,” Tessa fibbed, thinking about the amazing shower sex she had before work this morning. Sure, she’d only met Nate three weeks ago, but they spent every moment that they could together. If he wasn’t on set, Nate was at her apartment. They simply could not get enough of one another.

In that short time, Tessa felt like she was constantly walking on clouds, and a permanent smile was affixed to the lips that Nate had kissed awake every morning for the past three weeks. Things between them were amazing, and beyond perfect. Not only was their physical chemistry like nothing Tessa had ever experienced before, but she also enjoyed just hanging out with Nate. They made each other laugh, they shared secrets with one another and pretty much existed in a perfect bubble that Tessa loathed leaving whenever she had to work or Nate had to film.

Tessa loved every moment of their time together and would have gladly shouted from the rooftops that she was dating a wonderful man, but they were trying to keep their fledgling relationship a secret, and it was proving to not be an easy task. Her recent and radical mood change from deep, dark melancholy to bright, shining euphoria was quite obvious to her circle of friends. She knew that she needed to finally tell them something, and saying that she had made a new “friend” in Nate Wilder seemed like a sufficient enough story to her.

“You know I don’t believe you,” Natalie stared at her from across the table. Tessa took a bite of her salad, refusing to budge any further on details, but couldn’t help the slight slip of a smile at the mere mention of Nate’s name.

“Are you really not going to eat, Nat?” Natalie was continuing to stare as her sandwich sat untouched on her plate. Tessa took another bite, hoping Natalie would follow suit. Their lunch break didn’t last all day, after all.

“Not until you admit the truth to me.”

“I don’t have anything to admit.”

“You are so full of it, Tess. Are you sleeping with him or what? Have you at least kissed? Come on! Tell me something that at least resembles the truth. I’m not buying the ‘we’re just friends’ crap. I’ve known you forever, and all the signs are there that you are either getting it on, or you are about to be getting it on, with him.”

Tessa felt her cheeks flush at her friend’s frank words. She didn’t like lying to Natalie, but at the same time, she didn’t want Natalie’s opinion on what was happening with Nate either. “You seriously aren’t going to give up, are you? I can’t believe you won’t just drop it. If there was something to tell you, then I’d tell you.”

“And I would totally believe you if you weren’t acting like a lovesick teenager. I’d also believe you if this could be filed under normal circumstances, but Nate Wilder isn’t normal circumstances. You are holding out on me and I know it. Just admit it – I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

They were at a stalemate. Tessa knew that Natalie was not going to stop pushing the issue, and Tessa wasn’t about to spill the beans. The crazy whirlwind that she had been swept up in over the past few weeks with Nate was new and special, and Tessa thought if she wanted it to stay that way, she wouldn’t be sharing the news with anyone anytime in the near future.

Tessa gave her a wink and pretended to lock her lips with an imaginary key and toss it over her shoulder before rummaging in her purse for her wallet. She figured that the little gesture should at least somewhat satisfy Natalie’s rabid curiosity without Tessa actually having to say anything or go into details.

“I KNEW IT!” Natalie shouted before grabbing her sandwich off of her plate and taking a huge bite.

“You don’t know anything! Hush!” Tessa defended, now regretting her momentary lapse in judgment. She shouldn’t have given away anything.

“Sorry! Not another peep from me until you say something more. But for the record, I. Knew. It. The. End.” Natalie winked at her and proceeded to finish her lunch without mentioning Nate’s name again. Tessa rolled her eyes at her silly friend.

When they had parted ways, hurrying to get back to their respective offices, Tessa couldn’t help but walk a little slower than she should as she passed by the set where Nate’s movie was currently filming. She strained her neck to try and get at least a peek of him somewhere on the town’s square. It was weird being so close to him, but at the same time, a whole world away.

Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her jacket. Pulling it out, she hurriedly read the text message she’d just received from Nate.

“I see you
,”
it read. Tessa lifted her head up and looked all around in every direction. Where was he?

“Where are you?” she quickly typed back.

“To your left, waiting for the director. Surrounded by crew. You look so hot with your hair pulled back like that.”

She looked in the direction he’d told her, her hand subconsciously patting the sleek ponytail he had just complimented. Although there were what felt like a hundred crew members in black T-shirts milling around, she finally spotted him standing in the middle of the crowd as someone tucked and fiddled with his clothing, and a stylist worked on his hair. He must have been waiting to officially film a scene, hence the need for the stylist’s sole focus on him.

Nate caught her eye and gave her a sexy wink. She felt the blush on her cheeks and the heat spread inside of her as she recalled what they had been doing only a few hours ago.

Tessa sent him another message. “Will I see you later?”

She saw him look down to read the message, then he found her eyes and gave her that look, the look that caused her to shiver, and not from the chilly day, before replying, “I should be finished shooting by six. I’ll head right over. I miss you.”

Tessa smiled as she read his words and gave him a little wave before she semi-sprinted back to the newspaper office to avoid being late from lunch. A stack of assignments was waiting for her, but she didn’t mind. She cheerfully settled in, knowing that keeping herself busy would make the time tick quickly by until she would be with Nate once more.

***

Nate didn’t care to take the time for official goodbyes when shooting finally wrapped for the day. He was beyond ready to be at Tessa’s. All day, every day, all that he could think about was Tessa – her sweet, thoughtful ways, her beauty that would put anyone in Hollywood to shame. Tessa was the whole package, gorgeous both inside and out. And now that he had just been informed he would only be in town shooting for three more days, Nate didn’t want to waste a single second longer than he had to being away from her.

He knew he had to tell her that he would be leaving soon, but it wouldn’t be a problem for him to continue their relationship despite the long distance. Nate hated the idea of not seeing her every day, but there was no doubt in his mind that they could figure out a way to make this wonderful relationship work.

Nate raced up the stairs to her apartment, and Tessa opened the door before he even had a chance to knock.

“I was waiting for you,” she explained, wrapping her arms around his neck as he scooped her up and kissed her. This was what he looked forward to the most whenever they were apart for any amount of time – the moment when they first connected again, the moment that felt like
home.
Tessa would wrap her arms around him, truly happy to see
him
, not Nate Wilder, the actor or celebrity or whatever, but Nate Wilder, the regular guy that was head over heels for a beautiful girl with long, brown hair that smelled like apples.

“I love that you were waiting for me,” he whispered against her neck, still holding her as he shut the door with his foot.

They wasted no time as they headed straight to her bedroom and spent the next few hours wrapped in each other’s arms. Nate hadn’t even realized how much time had actually passed as he traced along her side with his fingertips until he heard her stomach beginning to growl.

Looking over at the vintage alarm clock on her nightstand, he couldn’t believe it was nearly eleven. “No wonder you’re hungry! I’m starving myself! Time flies when you’re having fun, you know,” he murmured against her shoulder before kissing it. He would never get tired of kissing her.

“Well, what should we do for dinner?” Tessa asked.

“Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

“Waffle House?”

“Sure, why not?”

Tessa and Nate hopped out of bed and quickly dressed before heading out to the one restaurant in town that was open at that hour. It had actually become a regular thing over the past couple of weeks for them to dine at Waffle House. Mainly, because they were always in need of food at weird times and Waffle House was open twenty-four hours, but also because the cinnamon waffles tasted like heaven, and had quickly became his favorite thing about Clearhill after Tessa.

“I sure am going to miss these,” Nate said absentmindedly as he took a bite of the scrumptious waffle. They were sitting in a booth – the only customers in Waffle House at this time of night. As soon as the words left his mouth, the look on Tessa’s face made him immediately regret them.

Tessa held her fork frozen in midair and her face turned pale. “Why did you say that? Are you leaving soon?” she asked, trying to seem nonchalant, but her voice wavered.

Nate ran his hand through his hair, cursing himself for his slip of tongue. He wasn’t mentally prepared for this conversation yet.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that earlier, but we kind of got carried away...” he trailed off with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. Tessa, however, stared at him blankly. She was clearly not amused as she waited for him to continue.

“I was informed today that we should be finished shooting in three days.” There, he said it.

“So you’re leaving in three days?”

“Not necessarily – these things are never set in stone, it’s just a rough estimate, and it’s not like I have to leave the moment shooting is finished.”

“So you are leaving in three days. Roughly.” Tessa’s deadpan face worried Nate. This did not bode well.

“Tessa, please don’t think whatever it is that you’re thinking. You and I both know that this isn’t just a fly by the seat of your pants kind of fling. I truly care about you,” he reasoned. The last thing he wanted to do was lay his cards out on the laminate table at the Waffle House, but he couldn’t just sit there without making it clear how much she meant to him.

“Look, Nate, you really don’t have to explain. I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course, you have to finish shooting and of course, you have to go back to LA. Where you live,” she said with a too-bright smile suddenly plastered on her face. It was as if Tessa had decided to detach and put on a mask, and he didn’t like it at all. Why was she shutting down so abruptly?

“Tessa,” he lowered his voice and looked intently into her eyes, “please don’t do this. I can see and feel you shutting me out. I want you to know that...that I’m falling in love with you.” He had wanted to tell her that in the right place at the right time, but seeing her slip through his fingers was causing him to pull out all the stops. It was the truth anyway.

She looked up when he admitted those words. Surely, Tessa must have known that this was the case. Wasn’t it obvious to her that he couldn’t get enough her? That seeing her smile made the most trying days on set absolutely worth it?

“What did you say?” she quietly asked.

“I said that I’m in love with you. I love you, Tessa,” he repeated.

“That’s what I thought you said. How could you do this, Nate?” her voice broke. Nate watched in horror as unbidden tears spilled down her cheeks. What was happening?

“Tessa, I don’t understand. I’m telling you that I love you and you’re mad at me. What am I missing?”

“There’s no way you could be in love with me after just a few weeks. Clearly, I mean very little to you, and you are just saying anything and everything to make your last few days here pleasant before you move on to someone else. Just take me home,” she said.

Nate could sense the moment she reined in her emotions and a frosty glaze encased her heart, protecting herself from him. How could things have gone so wrong and why did she insist that she knew how he felt about her more than he himself did? Now it was his turn to get mad.

“Fine, Tessa. I’ll take you home, but I hope you get the chance to sit back and really think about what just happened. At what point did I ever give you any reason to doubt that I’m telling the truth? That I truly do love you, and think about you all the time and can’t wait to just simply be in your presence?” he said with emphasis.

Before Tessa could respond, he jumped up to pay the check and then waited to hold the door open for her so that he could take her home. If she was going to be this way, he was going to give her the evening and the space to get over it.

He’d call her in the morning after she had time to process her feelings. Surely, she would come to realize that she was being hasty in assuming that his feelings were only for sport, and then they could move on and put this first little spat behind them.