What it Takes (13 page)

Now all she needed to do was ignore what she was feeling and distance herself from him again.

Patrick put his hand on her back. “It’s time to go.” He put his cell phone back in his pocket, then held his hand out, offering to help her stand.

She stood up on her own and drew her shoulders back, but let him guide her to the exit. They left the hospital and she put her sunglasses on as he held the car door open for her. As she slid across the seat, he climbed in behind her. She crossed her arms and laid her head back, turning her body away from him and looking out the window.

The first five minutes of their ride were completely silent. Kelsey’s stomach was in knots, her mind racing, replaying every word she’d said, every response he’d made. Tears threatened to fall and she hoped her glasses would hide them.

“You must think my life’s a freak show,” she murmured, unable to look at him, afraid of what she’d see.

He leaned closer and she felt his breath on her neck. “Actually, I’m thinking you’re probably the most real person I’ve met in a long time.” Her head snapped around so she could look at him, confused. “It’s true. Did you know that outside of my family, you’re the only person I’ve worked with who’s treated me like a real person too? You’re the only one to snap at me, scold me, put me in my place, and simply tell me exactly what you think of me.” He chuckled lightly and Kelsey almost laughed through her tears. “That’s such a relief, Kelsey. And I think it’s because you know exactly who you are. You know what your life is like and you don’t try to pretend any differently. It’d be so easy for you to just turn your back on it and make a life, and a career, in California, but you won’t do that.” He slid closer and lowered her sunglasses until their eyes met. “Most people I know act like they have perfect lives with two parents who love them, flawless siblings, and nothing ever goes wrong.” He tossed his hands around with an air of mock arrogance. “You’re not like that and I’m not sure you’ve ever tried to be. I like that about you.” He rested his forehead against hers and she hiccupped. “Thank you for being honest with me.”

New tears came to her eyes. She wasn’t being completely honest with him, but she couldn’t bear to look away.

Seven

T
he next night Kelsey followed Grayson, Veronica, and Patrick into another bar, wishing she’d opted to stay in instead. Veronica and Grayson had joined forces in pleading with her to join them. Grayson swore it would do her good after her stressful Monday. Veronica had simply claimed boredom. Patrick had deferred to Kelsey. She hadn’t wanted to disappoint them all, but her agreement had been less than enthusiastic.

She’d had a miserable day on set. The stitches in her hand had been more annoying than painful. They had filmed several scenes multiple times, which also drove Andy crazy, because her bandage, small as it was, was caught on camera. That had been frustrating. But the thing that had really set her teeth on edge was Patrick’s behavior. Or more like her reaction to it.

Other than the occasional question about her injury, they hadn’t had much time to talk. There had been a couple of times she’d caught him staring at her from a distance. She’d quickly look away and curse the skip in her heart. She no longer felt the easiness she had with him before Richard had shown up. She had no idea what he thought of their conversation at the hospital. She wished she could take every word back, wished she could make him forget every detail she’d revealed of her dysfunctional family history.

“How’s this?” Veronica asked as she stopped at a high table against the pale yellow wall, directly across the room from the bar. Kelsey shook her mind back to the present as Patrick held a chair for her. She sat down and he took the seat to her right. Grayson, to her left and scanning the crowd, hadn’t noticed. Veronica, directly across from her, had a slight smirk on her face.

“How’s your hand?” Patrick asked as he leaned closer.

Kelsey just barely resisted rolling her eyes before she turned to him. “Fine,” she said quietly, then turned away. If her injury was all he wanted to talk about, she’d prefer it if he ignored her.

“How about a drink?” Patrick asked everyone. Grayson and Veronica made their requests and Kelsey felt his eyes on her a moment before he asked, “Kelsey, what would you like?”

His question momentarily stunned her. In all the time she was with Tim, he had never once asked her what she’d wanted. Now that she remembered it, Grayson hadn’t asked either the last time they’d gone out. That couldn’t be true, she didn’t always drink beer. Did she? No, there had been a few, very few, times she’d gone out with girlfriends in college, and they’d always asked. But never Tim.

“Kelsey?” Patrick asked and she glanced at him. His eyes were intently focused on her.

“Margarita,” she answered softly. It was the first thing that had popped into her mind. Patrick nodded and walked away.

Grayson glanced at the crowd for another moment then turned to Kelsey and pointed to her hand. “So, how’d you do that anyway?”

“I already told you. I was cutting an apple and the knife slipped,” she replied.

“Why would you bother fixing your own snack, that’s what craft services are for,” Grayson said.

“It’s relaxing.”

“Cutting yourself open is relaxing?” Grayson teased and Kelsey narrowed her eyes at him.

“You’re such an idiot,” Veronica muttered. “I didn’t hear you complaining when you raided her trailer and salvaged the apples you could for yourself.” She turned to face him fully. “As a matter of fact, I believe you said something about asking her to feed you more often.”

“Not if she’s gonna lose a digit doing it,” Grayson said, slipping into his southern drawl for a moment and Veronica rolled her eyes.

“He ate the apples?” Kelsey asked.

“Not the ones on the bloody cutting board,” Veronica said as she turned to Kelsey. “So, did you enjoy your time alone with Patrick?” Veronica asked innocently.

Kelsey played with the napkin-wrapped silverware in front of her. Grayson took it from her and slid the knife out.

“Let’s keep this over here,” he said as he placed it next to his.

“Really?” Kelsey protested as she sat back and crossed her arms and Grayson laughed.

“Well?” Veronica prodded, encouraging Kelsey to answer her question.

“Well what?” Patrick asked as he set the drinks down on the table and sat back down. He slid his chair closer to Kelsey’s as he grabbed his beer.

“Well . . . do you see anyone you want to dance with?” Veronica lied, smiling at him and waving toward the crowd.

“You asked Kelsey that?” Patrick questioned, furrowing his brow.

Kelsey sat up and put a hand on either side of her glass. She glared at Veronica, who grinned innocently in return as she sipped her wine.

“What did she say?”

Kelsey began spinning her glass on the table.

“She didn’t,” Grayson chimed in. “So how about you? What hot, young lady will you be honoring tonight?”

Kelsey took a sip of her drink as she waited for Patrick’s answer. She set her glass down and fixated on it, unable, or unwilling, to make eye contact with him. She wasn’t sure why the idea of him dancing with someone else should bother her more than it had the first time.

“I’m not sure I’ll be dancing tonight,” Patrick replied.

Kelsey silently exhaled.

Grayson gasped dramatically. “What? Nothing here interests you?”

From the corner of her eye, Kelsey saw Patrick look out at the crowd. After a few moments, he shook his head once and took a pull on his beer.

“Oh, that’s too bad. So Kelsey, did you see someone you’d like to boogie with?”

Kelsey looked at Grayson and noted the mischievous tilt in his lips. Between his immature behavior and her unsteadiness with Patrick she wanted to scream. Why had she decided to come out tonight? “I haven’t decided yet,” she said coolly and looked away.

“Well, which one of you boys is it going to be?” Veronica asked with a flourish at the dance floor.

Patrick turned to Veronica and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, they were joined by a woman with dark brown hair and a low-cut shirt. Kelsey noticed the tightening of his jaw as he gave the newcomer a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“O-M-G, you look so familiar,” the woman said in a bouncy voice that also managed to bounce other parts of her body. “You’re Patrick Lyons, aren’t you?” Patrick nodded. “You’re even hotter in person, you know that?”

“I’ve been told, yes,” he replied with a hollow laugh.

Kelsey had never heard him treat a fan, or really anyone else, with such cool cordiality. This was not the same Patrick she’d seen in the first bar, or at movie night, or daily on set when he was acting the part of the heartbreakingly handsome movie star.

“So, would you dance with me?” asked the newcomer hopefully.

Patrick maintained a friendly expression as he shook his head. “No, I’m sorry.”

The woman visibly deflated. “Oh.” She glanced across the room. “Well, if you change your mind, my friends and I are over there.” She pointed to three other young women whose attention was focused on them. “You’re an actor too?” she asked, quickly scanning Kelsey and Veronica’s faces before giving Grayson her full attention. When he told her he was, she flirted with him for a couple of minutes before walking away.

“Well, that could have been fun,” Grayson said to Patrick, annoyance flashing across his face.

Patrick shrugged. “You’re welcome to it,” he stated flatly and finished his beer.

As much as she liked this side of Patrick, Kelsey was baffled as to what had brought it out. He was always “on” when he was around fans; happy, upbeat, doing almost whatever they wanted so they’d have a positive impression of him. Usually, anyway. He was decidedly not “on” tonight.

Grayson turned away and drank as he glanced at the woman and her friends. Without a word, he stood and made his way across the room to their table.

“Great,” Veronica muttered. “Guess it’s you then.” She held a hand out to Patrick and he shook his head. “Kelsey?”

Patrick heard Kelsey’s replying laugh and it was music to his ears. He hadn’t heard much of it throughout the day. He sympathized with her frustration over her injury, he’d been there before, but as the day had worn on, he realized there was something else bothering her. She’d barely spoken to him all day; he’d even tried to strike up several conversations. He probably shouldn’t have started them by asking about her hand, but she’d simply answered his questions and shut down. Her eyes would gloss over, she’d start to frown, and he knew she wasn’t going to say anything else. After her openness at the hospital, he felt like they’d taken ten steps backward.

Hearing her laugh again released some of his tension. And watching her dance with Veronica might actually be fun.

“No,” Kelsey said. “But it looks like your problems are solved.”

A man approached their table, his eyes darting from Veronica to Kelsey. He was smiling as he stopped next to Veronica, but his eyes were focused on Kelsey’s face. Patrick didn’t like the way he was looking at her and was thankful she was at the back of the table.

“Good evening, ladies.” He winked at Kelsey and Patrick felt a surprising surge of possessiveness. She looked at the stranger with kindness in her eyes and a slight lift in her lips, then turned away and looked out at the crowd. The man looked a little disappointed and slightly annoyed.

“Hi there,” Veronica said sweetly. He turned his attention to her and they had a brief conversation before Veronica stood and they made their way to the dance floor.

Kelsey and Patrick sat quietly as he studied her and she watched the dancers.

“I thought he was going to ask you,” Patrick eventually said.

“Me too,” she murmured then turned and smiled at him. “You don’t have to sit with me.”

“I know, but I want to.” Patrick had absolutely no desire to leave her side. “In case you get nostalgic again,” he added, lifting the corner of his mouth.

Kelsey slowly shook her head and tried not to laugh. “I’ll be okay. Look, Grayson even took my knife away so I won’t hurt myself. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”