She doesn’t know how Jared’s selfishness stole the years from us—years we could’ve been happy. There’s no point in telling her that now, though. That’s a story for another day. The important thing is we’re together now, and I won’t let anything change that.
Mr. Chips appears at the doorway, stretching into a perfect downward dog pose before trotting over to us. He hops up on the sofa and curls up, resting his chin on my leg.
“I think you’re trying to steal my dog.” Gretchen’s gaze moves from me to him and back and she grins.
“I’m not trying to, but he seems to like me. I think he’s trying to tell you that you should keep me around.”
She smiles wide. “Always knew he was a smart pup.”
The interview continues, and when the shot changes to me and Marissa in the library of her house, Gretchen leans forward, and I stiffen, a little.
During the next few minutes, I explain how my relationship with Marissa is one that’s based in love, but it’s the love between two very good friends. It’s fraternal, not what the public thinks at all. We talk about how we became close our first year on set. Then Marissa talks about the person she’s actually in love with. She’s shy and sweet and the whole thing comes across like one of those cable movies where you think the ending will be sad, but there’s a surprise happy twist.
When the commercial breaks, Gretchen’s phone blinks and dings like a ride at the fair. Mine vibrates incessantly in my pocket. We look at each other and I take a deep breath.
She scrolls through, grinning, then her brows dip. “You first. Who’s texting you?”
“My media assistant. She says I’m trending, along with Marissa, and the town of Shiner.” I read on and smile. “Sophia’s Diner is also trending.”
She laughs that sweet, easy, melodic laugh of hers. “Okay, I don’t know what that means exactly, but I have a feeling I’ll have to hire a couple of high school kids as extra help for the weekends.”
“I suspect you’re right. How about you? What does Maisie say?”
“She and Dodger are over at Ranger’s and it seems like everybody is pretty happy with how our little town came across on the show.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. She glances down again, though, and worry darts in those big, forest green eyes.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“It’s Topix.” She swallows hard.
Topix is a website that a lot of folks use in small towns like Shiner. It’s supposed to be for information. In reality, it’s just a digital-age way for people to gossip with all the bravado of hiding behind a keyboard, no balls required like they would be if you said the same shit in person.
Her eyes meet mine, the lines in her forehead betraying her worry. “Somebody is on there saying…saying I seduced you and broke up America’s sweethearts.”
She hands me her phone, and my blood boils.
Gretchen is such a whore, coming between Tucker and somebody as sweet as Marissa. I heard she blew him in the walk-in at the diner.
I heard she had a three-way with him and Jared.
No, that’s not what happened. Jared proposed, and she turned him down because she was having an affair with Tucker. And Jared is so sweet. She’s such a bitch.
I seen her trying to cozy up to his Mama. She should be ashamed.
I heard she had TWO abortions up in San Antonio.
Heat burns my skin as my pulse drums in my temples. She’s trying to be strong. She sits up straight and lifts her chin, but when she blinks, the tears escape and roll down her cheeks.
“Baby, you know how people can be.”
“I know.” Her voice is a little creaky. “I mean, it’s all bullshit. Who cares?” She half-shrugs.
I toss her phone to the other end of the sofa and kneel in front of her, taking both her hands in mine. “Gretchen, look at me.”
She does, and her lips curl up even though her eyes are filled with tears. It breaks me. I want to find every person who wrote that shit about her and make them crawl over here on their hands and knees to apologize.
“Baby, I love you.” I press a kiss to her palm. “I’ve told you how bad it can get. How people make up so much bullshit. I literally just went on TV and told a hundred million people that Marissa and I weren’t real.”
It occurs to me that there’s still one segment that hasn’t aired yet.
“Let’s forget those redneck assholes and watch the last part, okay?”
She nods and I sit back on the sofa, pulling her close. Barbara reappears on screen with Hunter beside her at the desk.
“That’s quite a revelation, Barbara. It’s so good to hear that Marissa is happy, though. She deserves it.”
“She does, Hunter. She’s such a lovely person. That’s not all I learned in my time with Tucker Kane, though. Let’s take a look at this last segment for one more revelation that took this reporter by surprise.”
They cut to the segment with me and Barbara walking on the beach.
“So, Tucker, we’ve learned a lot about you this week. If you ask me, I think Hollywood’s bad boy might secretly be a good guy, deep down.”
“Yeah, maybe. I think, though, there’s good and bad in everyone. You have to decide which voices you want to listen to—who you want to be. You have to live your life with intention.”
“I have to ask, you know, the question that women all over the world are going to want to know the answer to when this airs.” Barbara touches my arm as we walk, the sun setting over the water behind us. “You have such close friendships, but what about love? Is there love in your life today?”
They pan to a tight shot of me. I look out across the water, then back at Barbara.
“I’ve thought a lot about that lately. I’ve been feeling like something was missing. When I look back at the years, I’ve been so fortunate to have so much success at a young age. But I realized recently,” I look right into the camera. “There was something missing. The woman I love hasn’t been with me, and I aim to do everything within my power to change that.”
“So there is someone special?”
I do my own version of Mama’s shake, rattle and roll.
“There has always been someone special. I was just too stupid and too full of pride to tell her how special she is. I’ve always loved her.”
“Sounds serious. So, now she knows how you feel?”
I look back into the camera.
“I’m in love with her, and I have been since I was nineteen years old. If she’ll let me, I’m not just going to tell her. I’m going to show her. I’ll spend the rest of our lives showing her how much she means to me if she’ll have me.”
I look over at Gretchen and tears are streaming down her face.
“I plan to show you, from now on, how much I love you, Gretchen. I’m done talking about what we should’ve done or could’ve done. From now on, I’m a man of action.”
She chews on her bottom lip and I’m done. I dip my head and crush my mouth to hers. Our kiss is urgent and full of need. It’s as if we’ve waited so long to finally be together, that we’re desperate for as much of it as we can get.
She stands and tugs at my hand, pulling me to the bedroom. We’re a tangle of touches and kisses, laughter and heat as we shed our clothes and fall to the bed. I’m lying on top of her, devouring her mouth with mine. She has her arms and legs wrapped so tight around me, her mouth open, her tongue desperately exploring as she presses her warm, soft flesh against me.
Her hands move to my jaw and she breaks our kiss. “Just promise me, Tucker, you’ll always tell me the truth. The truth about what we are and the truth about how you’re feeling.”
“I promise. I won’t lie to you, Gretchen. This won’t be easy. What you saw on that message board is nothing compared to what the press will try to do to us. There will be rumors about me and costars, photos that look so real, even though they aren’t. I promise you, though, with everything that I am, that I’ll never lie to you.” I press her palm to my
heart, and I press my palm between her breasts. “This is real. What we are might be the only real thing I know.”
Her eyes glisten. “Okay. Just love me, then, and I’ll love you back and if either of us is ever worried or scared, we’ll tell each other, okay? Because we’re real.”
I nod. “Okay. Because we’re real.”
I kiss her, hard and deep. My dick is a heat-seeking missile that’s trying to find its way inside of her, so I grab a condom from my pocket before I can’t resist anymore.
I am so fueled by my lust that I can’t be gentle. I press at her opening and look down as I take her hips in my hands. I fill her in one long stroke, and she says my name on a gasp. Her pussy is tight, wet Heaven wrapped around my cock.
When I look at Gretchen’s face, her eyes are heavy with desire, her lips are full and red from our kisses, and she is beautiful, sexy perfection. I pull out and thrust forward and she gasps again, her perfect mouth hanging open. I move my hand behind her knee and pull her leg up so I can get deeper. I try to slow my stroke because I want this to last.
I lean forward to get closer to her. My weight is on one elbow as I hold her leg with my hand, pressing deeper and deeper in to her slick, heat with every stroke. She presses her fingers into my back as she pulls me closer. I tip my head back, lost in this woman.
“Fuck, baby, you feel incredible.” The words are a desperate murmur.
She leans up and licks my neck, her soft, hot tongue tracing a trail across my Adam’s apple and up to my jaw. It is one of the hottest things a woman has ever done. I push deeper and she moves her hips more, urging me on.
“Yes. Tucker!” She cries out and clenches around me and I’m done.
“Hold on to me, Gretchen. I’m close…so close.”
I move faster, harder, and when the wave rolls up my spine, I don’t hold back. I feel my release deep inside of her as I give her everything I have.
I clean up afterwards, and when I return from the bathroom and crawl in bed beside her, I pull her into my arms. Her head is laying on my bicep, her perfect little peach ass nestled against me, and my arm is wrapped around her, my fingers lazily tracing up and down her belly.
She breathes a little sigh that’s almost a purr, and I lean down, pressing a kiss to the shell of her ear. A soft I love you falls from her lips.
“I love you, too.”
Wrapped around her warmth, I know. She’s mine. I’m hers. We can get through whatever comes our way, because this is how things were always meant to be. We’re real, and no one can take that from us.
Thirty-Eight
Routine is a funny thing. You can roll along through life, going to work, shopping for groceries, walking the dog, and you think nothing of it. Those everyday things become routine and you don’t even realize it’s happening.
I have a new routine, these days. I walk my dog, and go to work at my little diner, and at night, I come back to the same little house I grew up in and spend the night with the hottest star in America. We watch TV, we play cards, we cook together, and go for long drives in the country. Sometimes Maisie and Dodger bring over Chinese take-out and we all sit around the living room, laughing, drinking, and eating noodles and dumplings.
Then, Tucker and I go to bed and make love all night and in my wildest dreams, I never thought it could be like this.
Maisie walks in smiling and leans her hip against the prep table in the back kitchen while I wipe it down. “You look happy.”
“I am. I just got a twenty-dollar tip.” She holds up the bill and I dip my brows.
“From who?”
“The strawberry blonde in the side booth.”
“I saw her. Must be passing through town or somethin’.”
“She’s been in a couple of times. Maybe she’s workin’ over at the brewery?” Maisie shrugs. “As long as she keeps tippin’ like that, she can come back as often as she wants.” She folds up the twenty and puts it in the pocket of her apron. “Hey, I wanted to ask you, too…do you mind if I take off early?”
“Sure. Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She grins and lets out a sigh. “Dodger’s taking me up to The Bistro for dinner and I want plenty of time to get ready.”
“Ooh, sounds fancy. Is it a special occasion?”
“Not as far as I know. He said he just wanted to take me someplace nice for a change is all.” She shrugs, and I swear there are practically stars in her eyes.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“I know, I’m a total hypocrite. I always said all that lovey-dovey shit only happens in the movies, but Gretchen, he’s just,” she casts a quick glance over her shoulder. “He’s just so damn good. Sometimes I’m afraid he’s too good for me and when he figures it out, he’ll be gone.”
I turn to face her and reach out, grasping her hand in mine. “No way. He’s lucky he has you and he knows it.” I chuckle. “But yeah, you are a total hypocrite.”
She punches my shoulder and laughs. “You’re hardly one to talk. You’re the one who’s shacked up with your movie star boyfriend.”
“We’re not shacked up.” I scoff.
She crosses her arms and peers at me from under her brows. “Gretchen, you live together.”
“We don’t! He just doesn’t have a place here, is all, so he stays over.” I shrug.
“Which brings up a good point. What happens when he has to go back to California?”
It’s not like we haven’t talked about it. He has talked about me coming out to see him in LA. In the past week, we’ve been inseparable, but we haven’t made any solid plans.
“Look, honey, I don’t mean to stress you out.” Maisie squeezes my hand. “It’s just that I don’t want you to forget he’s not some hometown boy anymore. He’s got a life out there and at some point, it’s gonna want him back.”
After Maisie leaves, I try to pump Dodger for information about their plans for the night, but he won’t give up a thing about what he’s got up his sleeve, so I let him keep his secret.
Once we lock up, I walk back over to my place, and when I hit the front door, a savory aroma is wafting through the house. If that wasn’t enough to make my mouth water, when I head toward the kitchen, I see Tucker in pair of low-slung jeans, no shirt, and an apron.
He must not have heard me come in. He’s too engrossed in what he’s doing. He has Pandora cranked up on an old country channel and he’s singing as he tosses potatoes and oil in a bowl.
“Okay, Mr. Chips. When Gretchen gets home, we’re gonna do just like we practiced, okay?”
Mr. Chips sits at Tucker’s feet and wags his tail furiously as he looks up at him with his tongue hanging out. Tucker tosses a piece of roll in the air and the pup catches it. I cross my arms over my chest and smile.
He looks so…domestic. It’s the cutest damn thing I think I ever saw, and it makes my heart feel like it might burst. I back up into the living room and make a little noise as I walk back toward the kitchen again, so he doesn’t know I was spying on him like a stalker.
“I’m home,” I call out.
Tucker wipes his hands on his apron and strides forward to meet me at the edge of the living room. He cradles my face in his big hands and dips his head to capture my lips in the sweetest kiss.
“Hi, beautiful. How was your day?”
“It was good. Looks like yours was pretty busy.” I nod to the kitchen behind him.
“I thought I’d make dinner for you tonight. Tri-tip steak and roasted potatoes with carrots and rolls.” He wriggles his eyebrows and smiles wide, clearly proud.
“Sounds delicious. I’m starved.” I press my palms to my back and stretch.
“Here, let me. Turn.” He points his finger downward and makes a stirring motion indicating I should turn around, so I do.
His broad palms slide down my back, his thumbs press into my tired muscles, and I melt, a little. He moves his thumbs to either side of my spine, low on my back, and kneads gentle but firm circles and a sigh escapes.
“Mm.”
“I take it I found the spot?”
“You did, indeed.”
He kisses the crook of my neck while his fingers knead, and it makes me feel weak in an altogether different way. His lips sweep soft, tender kisses up my neck and a familiar spark ignites in my belly.
“I missed you today, sweetheart. I might need you to start coming home for an afternoon quickie, so I don’t have to go without you for so long.” His teeth nip at my earlobe and send a shiver up my spine.
Mr. Chips joins us where we’re standing in the living room and barks up at Tucker.
“Shit. He’s right. I don’t wanna burn dinner.”
Apparently, he speaks dog now, too. He takes my shoulders and turns me to brush a kiss onto my lips. “Go shower. Rinse off some of that tension and I’ll finish up in here. Mr. Chips and I have something to show you after dinner.”
My lips turn up at the corners. “Sounds perfect.” I turn, then turn back to ask, “By the way, what happened to your shirt?”
“I kept splashing shit all over it. I changed twice and finally gave up and decided wiping my chest off would be easier than a whole load of laundry.” He shrugs.
My boyfriend is so fucking adorable.
After an amazing dinner, I start to pick up the plates, and Tucker stops me.
“Here, let me. I’ll load the dishwasher. You go relax.” He takes the plate from my hand and kisses my temple.
“Okay, but…the dishwasher? I don’t have a dishwasher.”
I follow him into the kitchen. “Yeah, about that…” he slides a palm across the back of his neck as he grins at me. “I had one installed today.”
“Tucker! You bought me a dishwasher? You didn’t have to do that.” I walk into the kitchen since I hadn’t walked all the way in when I first got home, and sure enough, at the far end next to the sink is a compact dishwasher, the energy efficiency label still emblazoned across the front.
The Last Virgin in Texas Page 22
