What it Takes (14 page)

Patrick lightly touched her bandaged hand, tracing the shape of her slender fingers with his eyes as he considered intertwining them with his. “I’m not worried. I’d just rather sit with you.” He looked up and saw her shake her head quickly a couple of times and wondered what she’d been thinking.

She turned her attention to the dance floor again. As the song changed Patrick watched Grayson moving from one group of women he didn’t know to another. Women surrounded him in clusters and Patrick realized he wasn’t the least bit interested in switching places with him.

He turned to Kelsey and met her emerald stare.

“Really, I want you to enjoy yourself. If you want to dance—”

Patrick held up his hand to stop her. “Kelsey, I
am
enjoying myself.” He brought his hand down and rested it on hers as he leaned closer and teased, “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No,” she said. Her eyes wandered to his mouth and her cheeks colored slightly. Patrick fought a laugh as Kelsey brought her gaze back to his eyes and she reddened even more.

“Are you Patrick Lyons?” a sweet voice asked and Patrick turned toward it. A perky blonde was staring at him from behind Veronica’s chair.

He slowly moved his hand off of Kelsey’s and tried not to feel agitated by the interruption. “Yes, I am.”

“Can I get your autograph?” She held out a notebook and pen. Patrick tried to look pleased as he took it. “Are you an actress?” she asked Kelsey as he signed the notebook. Kelsey laughed as she answered. “You’re so lucky to get to work with him,” the blonde said. Kelsey nodded her agreement and Patrick let out a sigh of relief. The woman turned back to him. “Would you dance with me?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Patrick said kindly and the woman nodded and glanced at Kelsey before walking away. “I don’t want to hear it, Kelsey.” He turned to her and she giggled.

“Well, if that’s the way you’re going to be,” she teased.

“I just don’t want you to try to get me to dance with other women.” He tried to find Veronica or Grayson on the floor.

“I wasn’t.”

He quickly looked at her. She was standing and holding a hand out to him. He was confused but took it anyway and held it tightly as she tried to pull him to his feet. He had no idea what she was trying to do, but he was enjoying her effort.

She rolled her eyes and stepped closer to him. “I was going to ask you to dance with me.”

Patrick didn’t even fight his large grin as he stood and led Kelsey to the dance floor. A new song began and he took her hand and pulled her closer. Her body was warm and soft against his and he took a deep breath to control the effect she had on him, inhaling her sweet scent that totally undid his noble effort.

“I didn’t think you wanted to dance with me,” he whispered across her ear.

She leaned back to look into his eyes. “I never actually said that.” Her face reddened and he regretted his statement. “You could’ve said ‘no.’”

“Why would I do that?”

“You’ve said ‘no’ to everyone else tonight,” she pointed out.

He chuckled quietly. “True,” he agreed. “I guess I was just waiting for the right offer.” He put his cheek closer to hers and they swayed to the music. “So, why do all of these bars only play country music?”

She giggled. “Well, you are in Tennessee, the Country Music Capital,” she answered tartly, with a twang, and Patrick tried not to laugh.

“Yes, but there
are
other types of music in Tennessee,” he argued.

“True.” She nodded. “Maybe they try to appeal to the masses.”

Patrick rolled his eyes and briefly listened to the song.

“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad.” She sounded slightly exasperated.

He shrugged. “This song is.” She shook her head. “So, what do you hear then?”

Her lips tightened as she listened. She looked like she was analyzing the lyrics, but he felt sure she already knew them. “It’s about a woman who’s been hurt in love, praying for angels to give her strength.” She swallowed and Patrick had the feeling she wasn’t thinking about the song. “To say no to a man who could hurt her again.”

“Why would she need to do that?”

“Because she knows she’s weak.” She narrowed her eyes on him. “Do you even listen to lyrics?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No, not usually,” he admitted as he lifted his chin and listened. In the refrain, the singer was lamenting her heartbreak and Patrick paid closer attention. “Ah,” he sighed as the chorus started. “I hear it now.” He pulled Kelsey nearer and they danced a few beats as he continued to listen. “I’m sure you’d know nothing of that kind of hurt, would you?” he questioned hopefully. Her silence was his answer. He looked at her, at the far-off look in her eyes. “Or maybe so,” he whispered.

“Don’t we all?” she murmured.

“Maybe.” Patrick knew he was on thin ice, but he wanted to know what had happened to her. “But most people don’t hold on to that pain.” He stopped dancing and Kelsey looked him in the eyes. “And most of us are open to trying again, just in case,” he added, hoping to clear the clouds in her eyes just a little.

“Well . . .” She looked away. “If you know how it’s going to end, why not do your best to just avoid it?”

Patrick tensed for a moment then slowly started to sway again. He knew where this was heading but he couldn’t help himself. “That doesn’t stop most people.” He peered at her, worried that she was still hurting, knowing in his soul that it had something to do with her reaction to him.

She didn’t look at him in return. “I guess I’m not most people,” she replied curtly.

He’d just fallen through the ice.

“No, you’re not,” he mumbled and gave up the conversation. She wasn’t going to relent. Her wall was back up and she wasn’t going to talk to him anymore.

They finished their dance in silence, then rejoined Grayson and Veronica at the table. Patrick took a nice long pull of a fresh beer as he sat and avoided meeting Grayson’s curious look. Kelsey was slower to sit as she kept her eyes on the crowd. Patrick was letting the conversation between Grayson and Veronica roll past him until he recognized the coolness emanating from his left. He felt a small rush of anger over how his dance with Kelsey had ended. Her taciturn behavior grated more than Veronica’s bubbliness or Grayson’s light-hearted humor.

Patrick scowled as he took another swig of his beer and cast a quick glance at Kelsey. She was tapping her glass with her fingernail and staring, dazedly, at the liquid filling it. Patrick suddenly wanted to be somewhere else, at least long enough to calm down. “Veronica, would you like to dance?” he abruptly asked, ending the conversation Veronica was having. She cast a brief glance at Kelsey before she said yes and they immediately walked to the dance floor.

“So what happened?” Grayson asked as soon as Patrick and Veronica were gone.

“What do you mean?” Kelsey mumbled.

“With the two of you? You seemed happy when you started dancing and then all of a sudden, it looked like a chill went through the air.”

Kelsey avoided Grayson’s eyes and looked at the dancers. “It’s nothing, really,” she stated, hoping he’d change the subject.

“Right,” he murmured.

Kelsey watched Patrick and Veronica. Veronica looked elated, talking non-stop. Patrick’s back was turned and Kelsey saw her opportunity. Standing, she pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her pocket and laid it on the table.

“Kelsey.” Grayson turned and his eyes widened. “What’re you doing?” He suddenly sounded panicked.

“What does it look like?” she asked as he stood too. “Sit down,” she hissed. “I don’t want him to know.”

“You’re leaving?” He slowly sat and Kelsey nodded.

She pointed to the money on the table. “That’s for my drink. You can drink the rest.”

“Kelsey,” he called as she turned.

Kelsey walked directly to Sam, the Samoan teddy bear of the guards, and asked him to take her back to the hotel. She felt Grayson put his hand on her arm and squeeze it lightly. She turned to him, her eyes starting to swell with tears as she silently pleaded with him.

“What’s wrong?” Grayson asked, all joviality gone.

She glanced around him to see whether Patrick and Veronica had noticed. Patrick’s back was still to them. He and Veronica were deep in conversation.

“I don’t have time for this,” Kelsey said with a surprisingly steady voice. “I’m not in the mood to talk to you or to him. I just need to leave. Now,” she looked at Grayson’s hand, still lightly gripping her arm, then back at his face, “let go.”

Sam stood beside her. Grayson nodded and released her arm. Kelsey peeked around him again and saw Patrick, frozen in place, watching them. When he took a step toward her, she turned and walked to the door with Sam two steps behind. She made it out of the building before the tears escaped.

Some people exercise to relieve stress. Some drink or eat. In her hotel room, Kelsey calmed herself the only way she could. She prepared food, currently in the form of baking chocolate chip cookies. As one batch baked in the small oven, she paced the floor and thought about the dance.

And that song.

Everything had been going smoothly, until Patrick had fully drawn her attention to it. It was the song she constantly sang to herself after she and Tim broke up. And Patrick couldn’t leave it be. He’d persisted in talking about heartbreak, leading her back to thoughts she hadn’t had in a long, long time. Just the memory of how much pain Tim had caused reminded her why she couldn’t let anything happen with Patrick.

Even after her two-day frozen therapy session with Janelle, Kelsey had still felt the sting of Tim’s abandonment. Even after the baby was born, after she’d moved to Hollywood and found an apartment with other aspiring actresses, for almost two years, she’d completely avoided dating. She really couldn’t muster up enough interest in any man she’d met. She only began dating again as a favor to her roommates whose dates had friends who’d needed dates.

Eventually she’d felt comfortable enough to go out with men who asked her out, rather than as favors to her roommates. But somewhere around the third date, she’d begin to question everything. Their gestures, words, actions,
everything
, and a sort of panic would begin to settle in. She never consciously thought about Tim, but the fear of being hurt again would pop up. The more dates she had, the stronger the fear became. It wasn’t long before she’d stopped dating entirely.

Kelsey took the cookies out of the oven and put a second batch in.

She’d loved Tim with all of her heart and her world fell apart when he broke up with her. It had been close to six years, but she could still feel the pain. Until she’d started working with Patrick, that pain had been dull, barely noticeable. Now it almost felt like Tim had just dumped her again, the memory was that fresh in her mind. She hadn’t loved anyone since. She hadn’t even tried, for fear of being hurt again. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t be and had no intention of breaking that promise now.

Patrick had been slowly chipping away at her wall and she’d barely noticed. She had to build it back up. She’d told Patrick too much at the hospital. She’d let her guard down, and it scared her to think about that now. As long as she kept her wits about her, she could avoid the heartache that would likely follow any sort of romance with Patrick Lyons.

Eight