Chapter 15 #2
He wouldn’t go further than this, he promised himself as he savored another long, lingering kiss.
And this, he added, gliding his mouth to her ear, her neck, and back to that tempting dip along her collarbone, a spot he traced with his bottom lip.
A groan sounded deep in his throat as his thumb grazed her bare skin just inches below her ribs, having inadvertently slipped beneath the hem of her shirt.
That’s when his country-boy manners began to rally.
Slow down, cowboy, they told him. And though he didn’t want to listen, Nash knew it was time to pull back the reins.
He tugged the hem gently back over her jeans.
It wasn’t like they needed to test the chemistry between them; they had that part down pat.
Nash did, however, want to know more about her. He wanted to know what she saw her future looking like and if she wanted to have a family one day, an item at the top of his nonnegotiable list. Ellie had said she wanted to leave Hollywood, sure, but what would a life outside of it look like for her?
A list formed in his mind—a standard he used for any woman before getting serious. Yet he hadn’t exactly done that with Ellie. Hadn’t wanted her to say anything that might break the spell.
That acknowledgment alone seemed to at least dampen the spell’s effect, just enough for him to softly break their kiss, groan with desire for more, and then plop onto his back.
“You’re dangerous,” he accused.
Ellie sighed. “I was about to say the same thing about you.”
“Just to clarify, in case you’re curious,” he said, “the shirt thing—I didn’t do that.
” His face flushed with heat at the mere mention, but since he’d already brought it to the table, Nash kept on.
“It must have hiked up somehow, and when I noticed, I pulled it right back down like the good country boy I am.”
She grinned, seeming to study him in the low light. “I noticed that,” she said softly, reaching for his hand. "And I liked it. Impressive.”
Nash sighed slightly, glad they seemed to be on the same page. He wasn’t interested in taking advantage of her. She probably had enough people doing that in her life.
He recognized the song that came on then, Always, a boy band song that Nash had teased Ellie for liking. He pretended to hold a mic and began singing along, missing more words than he got right and not exactly singing in tune.
“I think you missed your calling,” Ellie said during a break in the song.
“Thank you,” Nash said, knowing he was terrible at it. “I am pretty good. Have you ever sung at a karaoke club before?”
“Actually, yes.” Ellie began telling him about a time she’d done that very thing on a cruise ship. She and her friends had dressed up for the occasion, so no one knew it was her.
The music faded into the night as their conversation carried on. Some of it was silly and surface, having to do with movie quotes or pet peeves. Some of it was practical, and yes—thank heavens—it turned out Ellie did want to have kids. Check.
But as was becoming more and more common with Ellie, much of their conversation went deep, reaching into meaningful spaces. Vulnerable ones.
Nash wasn't sure how—in a relatively short amount of time—Ellie had become such a safe place.
He guessed it went back to something Uncle Lloyd once said.
Nash couldn't remember the exact statement, but in essence, it suggested that identifying one's match—something nearly all of humanity longs to do—can happen through mere conversation.
Essentially, when one found their list of untouchable topics rising to the surface one by one, they could bet they were falling in love.
Nash had found that very thing happening between him and Ellie. Topics he typically left untouched and buried clawed their way to the surface in Ellie's presence, somehow wanting to be tested and tried.
Call it natural selection—eliminating those who’d be frightened off by those parts—or the human desire to be fully seen and loved despite one's darkest secrets and flaws.
The crazy thing was, the nature of his conversations with Ellie was veering closer to that definition every day.
Which could only mean one thing…
Nash closed his eyes as the realization pulsed through him. He wondered if it was too early to say it but remembered Tucker’s advice to go all in.
Yes. Maybe it wasn’t too soon. Heck, he’d be headed for Dallas with her while she shot her next film.
Hopefully, her last film now that they’d signed the contract.
A contract which, if he thought about it, was another indication that Ellie was just as serious about quitting as he was about seeing if this could work.
It could also mean, his inner voice reminded, that she was only saying she wanted to leave it behind…that she was just using him to redeem her image. Nash didn’t believe that, but he also worried that if he told any of his brothers about the contract, they’d suspect that very thing.
Who cared what they may or may not suspect? His brothers were living their own lives, and Nash needed to do the same. Besides, he knew her best, knew she was falling for him the way he was for her.
With that, he tested the words in his mind, wondering if he dared say them aloud.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Ellie said, pulling Nash from his musings.
“Hey,” he said with a grin. “That’s my line.”
Ellie trailed her fingers up the length of his forearm, gently tickling the thin, rather sensitive skin along his inner elbow and wrist. Even that felt amazing—so good he let his eyes close for a moment to take it in.
“Yep,” she admitted, “I stole it.”
Nash pried his eyes back open to see Ellie biting her lip. Her hand froze in place, and Nash sensed a new sort of tension rising in her.
“You’re not second-guessing all this, are you?” she asked, her voice suddenly shaky and unsure.
He stared at her, realizing, with a level of surprise, that she still had insecurities of her own about all this. Didn’t that, in itself, put his concerns to rest?
Nash shook his head and moved a hand over hers, waiting for her to meet his gaze in the low light. At last, she did, and a flare of heat flashed between them.
He gulped. “Ellie?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I’m…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I mean, I’m pretty sure that I’m…” Man, he was slaughtering this. “I’m falling in love with you,” he blurted at last.
Ellie’s eyes went wide with surprise. Luckily, her grin was even wider. “Really?”
He nodded, hoping she’d say she felt the same. “Really.”
She let out an adorable-sounding squeal, then slipped her hand around the back of his neck. “I was hoping you’d say that, Nash, because I’m falling in love with you, too.”
Ellie brought her lips to his.
Nash didn’t think it’d be possible to top the kisses they’d already shared, but with their declaration of love still hovering in the space between them, the exchange felt more intimate than before.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Nash knew this could all be a sham. It was the reason he hadn’t wanted to run things past his family. Ellie Blaire was an award-winning actress; surely, she could fake falling in love with him for the sake of benefiting her career.
He didn’t think that was the case, but even if it was, Nash would do as Tucker suggested. He’d give his love to her—cowboy manners in check, of course—with a full awareness of how wrong things could go. He’d love her anyway and pray that she really felt the same.