The Gypsy Ribbon Read online

  A muscle leapt in James’s cheek, but Aaron must have ignored the warning. Beth cringed at his sarcastic laugh. “There’s no need to go to all that trouble to get laid, Jimbo. You should have seen the women there tonight. You could’ve had your pick and damn near every one of them looking a whole lot more your speed than what I’ve seen you photographed with lately. “

  Caught completely off guard by the vicious attack, Beth felt the hot tears of anger gathering and blinked rapidly. She was glad her hand was still over her mouth; it stifled the pained noise she knew she made.

  James must have heard it because he shot to his feet with a snarl on his lips. “That’s it. We’re done here. You need to leave.” Aaron sputtered in response and James’s voice faded as he stormed out of her view. “You’re talking about someone I care deeply about, and I’ll not stand by and listen while you compare her to those empty headed party whores. Get out.”

  The door slammed shut with a reverberating bang. In a moment James sat back down in front of her, his face suddenly tired and haggard. “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” he apologized. His bitter laugh held no traces of humor. “Welcome to rock and roll. That was Aaron Nicholson, the band’s manager.”

  “That was him? Is he always like that?” she asked, her voice shaking. She decided to get all warm and gooey at his defense of her later, when she could enjoy it at leisure. Right now, James was her focus and finding out what else was going on paramount.

  The object of her scrutiny nodded and glanced away. “He’s been that way ever since I told him I want a year off. I’ve had a…uh…” he faltered.

  “Vision,” Beth prompted.

  He laughed softly and inclined his head. “As you say,” he conceded. “I’ve had a…vision that he’s not going to let me out of my contract, something’s going to come up preventing it, but I don’t know what it could be.”

  Beth tried to hold her face neutral but knew the concern showed through. “What will happen then?”

  “I don’t know,” James shrugged, “everything just goes…dark, for lack of a better way of saying it.” He looked up at her with strangely sad eyes. “I wish you were here, my darlin’. Seems like the only place I feel good anymore is in your arms.” Taking a deep breath, he changed the subject. “Will I see you at the Tampa show?” he asked. “Meg and Dan can’t make it, her being pregnant and all, but Ian and Lily are going and I’ll be nigh on heartbroken if you’re not there.” He gave her a crooked smile and she steeled herself to not dissolve in a puddle of happy on the spot. There was a tiny chink as another piece of her armor fell away.

  Beth laughed. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” she said.

  “That makes me happy,” he beamed. “You’ll be treated like visiting royalty, my love. I’ve got it set up already. You’ll be backstage before and during the show. When it’s over we’ll all go to the after party, wherever it is.”

  My love. Deciding to let that little endearment pass just in case she misunderstood or misheard or missomething, Beth nibbled on her bottom lip in indecision. “What about your manager? Won’t he be upset if I’m there?”

  “Fuck him,” James’s fierce response was immediate, as was the apology that followed. “I’m sorry for swearing, my darlin’, I promise I was raised better.”

  Beth smiled and nodded. “If you’re sure it’s okay. I don’t want to get you into any more trouble than I already have,” she said.

  “You haven’t gotten me in any trouble,” he assured her with a roguish grin, “and I’m a big lad, sweet Beth, so not to worry. Christ, I wish I was there with you. I desperately want my hands on you, darlin’.” Peering at her closely through the computer screen, he chuckled. “Now I’ve gone and done it, look at you blushing all pretty like that.” He leaned back in his chair, face propped up on one fisted hand and a soft smile on his face. “That’s all I can think about, you know.”

  Holy freakin’ hell, is it hot in here or has this whole conversation just taken a turn for the bizarre? She panicked, certain he could see the riot of emotions stampeding across her features. Looking away until she got a modicum of composure back, she peeked at him through the corner of her eye. “What is it you’re thinking about?” she asked, a little more breathlessly than she intended.

  He met her gaze levelly. “You, and how you’ve completely gotten inside me,” he said, his voice at once deeper and huskier. “I want to touch you so bad it physically hurts me to think about it. I want to feel the skin on your back, your legs. I want to taste every last inch of you.” Her breath caught in her throat as she inhaled sharply. “I want you in my bed, darlin’. I want to look down and see you lying beneath me, feel your legs wrapped around me.” His eyes closed and his voice dropped to a mere whisper. “I want to bury my face in all that glorious red hair and feel your arms around me and…I want…” He opened his eyes again, giving her a guarded look. “I’m telling you this…” he began.

  Before he could complete that sentence she interrupted. “Finish it. What were you were going to say?”

  He ignored her question. “I’m telling you this because I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us. I want you, sweetheart. I don’t want you to wonder if I’m trying to get you into my bed. That’s exactly what I’ll be doing. And you ought to know by now that I’m hard as hell to get rid of, so I suggest you just give up now and tell me you will.” He gave her a gentle smile and tilted his head as he regarded her. “Now you talk,” he said. “Say it, Beth. Tell me you don’t want me as bad as I want you.” He reached out to her, his fingertips grazing the screen of his computer. “Tell me,” he whispered.

  Beth’s heart felt like someone had it caught in a vise, and she could barely speak as she raised her hand to touch his. “I…don’t know what to say.”

  James’s smile was slow and devastating to her equilibrium. “Yes, you do, my darlin’. The answer is yes.”

  Beth’s eyes were wide as she asked him with a bravado she certainly didn’t feel, “Are you trying to seduce me, sir?”

  His answer was swift. “There’s no trying about it, darlin’. I’m not so much after seducing you. I’m telling you straight out that I want you. That I need you. And I’m still waiting for an answer.”

  Even if nothing ever comes of it, at least I’ll lose my virginity in a big way. Every hormone in her body fired off the confetti cannons, but she tried to keep her voice level in spite of the internal celebration. “Yes, I…I do want you,” she answered in a barely audible whisper.

  He ran his fingers through his hair, gazing at her through eyes that looked ready to devour her through the screen. He took a deep breath, then another, then another. “I’ll be in touch with Ian about the show details, so they’ll let you know what the plan is.”

  “That sounds…um…great.” She nodded and gave him a shy smile, confident she was turning a shade of red that not even Crayola had imagined.

  After the call ended, Beth lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. I desperately want my hands on you, darlin’, he had said. Those few words made her entire body tingle in places she normally didn’t tingle. Her hand rose without conscious thought and cupped her breast, her thumb brushing absently over the hardening nipple.

  What would it be like with him? Her gaze rose to meet the flat eyes of his poster on her bedroom wall, and she giggled aloud at the absurdity. Who would have thought. Her and James Kelly. Her gaze drifted over the image for the millionth time, lingering on his chest and….no, I’m not going to….then she did look, staring at the large bulge at the apex of his thighs, wondering what secrets those leather pants held.

  She sat up a little and stared at his hands. Was it true what they said about a man’s thumbs? His thumbs didn’t seem anything other than regular, but his hands did seem a little big. Damn. She made a mental note to pull out a couple of her favorite romances and reread the sex scenes, just in case there were some important pointers she missed.

  Her plan firmly in place, she relaxed
and closed her eyes. With thoughts of her fingers tangled in his hair and his unshaven cheek softly brushing her neck, she drifted off to sleep.

  12

  Tampa, Florida

  James and Beth continued to talk each night and text throughout the day. Every day, a postcard or a small gift from a different city arrived in Beth’s mailbox. Sometimes it was a beautiful gift, like the hair ribbons he found in the Pennsylvania Dutch country. Other days it was an astute gift, like the book on ghosts he found in New Orleans. Occasionally the gifts were practical, like the Wizard of Oz t-shirt, but it was always something he said made him think of her.

  The best present of all came in an overnight envelope. Beth squealed with girlish delight when she pulled out the plastic bag containing the secret agent decoder ring. Lime green with a hidden compartment under the round thingy, it was quite possibly the most beautiful ring Beth had ever seen. His thoughtfulness never ceased to amaze her, and she knew she was getting to see a side of him that only a select few knew about.

  The morning of the Tampa concert, the phone rang only once before Beth snatched it up. Lily shrieked, “James is on TV, channel 9, hurry!” Beth leapt for the remote and turned it on just in time to hear “…up next, we’ll talk to the members of Horizon about tonight’s show at the Sun Coast Coliseum.”

  After a car dealership blowout sale commercial and another for the cable company the news was back on. Beth squealed to see the band standing behind the female reporter in the hotel lobby where they had apparently just arrived from the airport. She spoke to each one in turn, asking the standard questions. “Do you like the area, will you have time to sightsee, where are you headed next?” etc.

  Finally the veteran reporter turned to James, noticeably affected by his roguish grin. Clearing her throat, she fawned coquettishly. “And you’re James Kelly, the lead singer,” she said. “I understand you’ve been particularly looking forward to this show tonight. My sources tell me you have ties in the Bay area.”

  His smile got even brighter, if that was possible. “I do. My sister and brother-in-law own Castle Wilde in Brandon. My brother, his wife and my girlfriend live here as well, so yes, I’m very happy to be here.” With that, he casually reached up and touched his fingertips to his lips then placed them over his heart. All business after the G word was mentioned, the reporter smiled and turned back to the camera as the spot ended.

  Beth, who had been standing throughout the interview, fell back on the couch stunned by the familiar gesture she knew was meant for her.

  ****

  There was a long, drawn out silence before Lily asked, “Um…what was all that?”

  There was no answer for several moments then in a tremulous voice, Beth finally spoke. “I’m sorry. What?”

  Lily’s voice was tinged with incredulity. “Girlfriend? I’m thinking you may have downplayed your involvement just a teensy bit. What you told me was that you and James had been seeing each other as in hanging out, a little light kissy stuff. What I just saw was a lot deeper than that.” Lily didn’t wait for her friend to respond. “Him kissing his fingers and putting them on his heart was for you, wasn’t it? Of course it was,” she said, answering her own question.

  When Beth didn’t say anything, Lily asked, “Did you see his face when he did that? He’s in love with you.” More silence. “ Are you in love with him?”

  Beth let out her breath in a whoosh of air. “Maybe. Yeah, I guess I am,” she admitted, “but don’t tell anyone.”

  “Does James even know?” Lily asked cautiously.

  Beth danced all the way around her question. “It’s funny, we talk for hours every night, but we’ve actually only gone out a couple of times. It’s an…unusual…relationship, I guess you’d say.”

  “Does. He. Know?” Lily repeated patiently. She sat on her own couch in front of the fireplace, Tarot cards spread out before her. She pulled a single card. The Moon. “No, you haven’t told him and he hasn’t told you.” She drew another card, Two of Cups. “And you do love each other.”

  “You’re doing a damn reading. Stop it this minute,” Beth demanded, feigning outrage.

  Lily pulled another card, the reversed Empress, and burst into laughter. “And you haven’t slept with him yet.” She pulled yet another card and froze. Ten of Swords. Immediately uneasy, she forced herself to laugh again and stuck the card back in the deck before putting them away.

  * * * *

  Beth glanced over toward the paper taped to the front of her refrigerator. “Speaking of readings, I’ve got one I want you to look at when you get time,” she said.

  “I’d love to. Now listen, here’s the plan,” Lily’s voice took on a bored, aristocratic affectation. “The limo is picking us up at 5:30. We’ll be over to get you right after that, so be ready. We’re going straight to the hotel to hang with the band before the show,” she said, as if the whole evening were just another night out. She couldn’t finish the sentence without giggling and both girls burst into excited squeals of excitement.

  After the call ended, Beth sat back on the couch trying to digest what she had just seen. When her phone chimed to announce the arrival of a text message, it nearly startled her out of her wits.

  thinking of you, can’t wait to see you

  She grinned and answered.

  thinking of you too, can’t wait for you to see me

  James’s response came quickly.

  funny lady, you always make me laugh

  Before she could respond, another text came through.

  tonight

  A shiver of anticipation ran through her at the thought of the coming evening. The delicious warmth bloomed in her chest, scattering throughout her body like heat lightning. Deciding staying busy was her only hope of surviving the wait, she squared her shoulders and resolutely put another coat of polish on her nails.

  * * * *

  James’s body spent the morning and most of the early afternoon doing interviews, signing autographs and mingling with some local radio station contest winners. His mind, however, was on pins and needles waiting for Spider to return with the information he had asked for. When he finally spied his partner in crime heading through the lobby, he excused himself from the gaggle of fans surrounding him and met him halfway. “What do you have for me?” he whispered.

  “All is in readiness, Bossman, your bag’s already there,” Spider winked, handing James an envelope. “You have fun, now, you hear?”

  He gave it a perfunctory glance before stuffing it in his pocket. “I owe you big, man,” James said gratefully.

  Spider shrugged. “Anytime. Now about tonight…” he said, assuring James that he would be the one meeting the car with Ian, Lily and Beth and would personally escort them to the suite. “I’m dying to get a look at her in person, you know,” he laughed.

  “You and me both,” James laughed, “It’s been way too long.”

  * * * *

  Mrs. James Kelly

  Mrs. Cassandra Kelly

  Mr. and Mrs. James Kelly

  James and Cassandra White-Kelly

  James luvs Cassie

  The doodled Algebra I notebook lay open and forgotten on her bed. Cassandra Ann White pawed through drawer after drawer in her messy bedroom, searching for her white Aeropostale tee. “Tonight has to be perfect,” she fretted. No less than a hundred James Kellys watched her from pictures torn out of magazines and newspapers, his sexy grin plastered from floor to ceiling. Several large posters hung directly over the bed where Cassie could see his emerald eyes every night before she fell asleep.

  After several more minutes of frantic scrambling, she found the sought after shirt. Tugging it on over her slight frame, she appraised herself in the mirror then pulled the thin cotton shirt tightly across her budding chest, binding it behind her with a rubber band. She slipped into a pair of stretch jeans then twisted her long blond bangs into a topknot with one narrow strip hanging down her forehead. “With a little makeup, I’ll be perfect.” She nodded w
ith approval.

  Her older sister Mindy stuck her head in the door. “Mom says I have to have the car back by midnight, so if the concert’s not over we have to leave. We’re meeting my friends outside the hotel, and you better not embarrass me.” The seventeen-year-old looked around the room in distaste and grinned. “Your room’s trashed. Mom’s gonna have a shit fit.”

  Cassie shook her head. “I’m not leaving ‘til it’s over,” she said stubbornly, “and her scrapbooking club thing always runs late. She won’t see it until tomorrow, and it’ll be clean by then.”

  “Bring your ID,” Mindy snapped. “If I get drunk, you’ll have to drive home.”

  “If I get caught driving I’ll lose my permit,” Cassie hissed. “You better not mess this up for me. I’m telling you, this is going to be the best night of my life.”

  Mindy let out a bark of laughter. “You’re fifteen. What the hell makes you think James Kelly is going to notice a little kid like you with all the women that are going to be throwing themselves at him?”

  Cassie caught her reflection in the dresser mirror–her scowling face was a mask of steely resolve. “He’ll notice me. I’m his destiny,” she insisted. “We’re supposed to be together, I just know it.” She snatched up her purse and strode toward the door. “If we leave for the hotel now, we’ll be right by the front door when the band leaves for the show.”

  “Whatever,” her sister sighed. “Just try and act like a grownup for once, alright?”

  * * * *

  Beth paced back and forth on the landing in front of her apartment door, scanning the parking lot with watchful anticipation. She trailed her fingers over the lace hem absently, wondering for the hundredth time if she shouldn’t have worn something else. The contour design hugged her body like a rayon glove. The scooped neck was modest enough, she supposed, with flirty ruffles crisscrossing her breasts and stomach. The latticed back was another matter. The deep V plunged almost to her butt, showing off the voluptuous curves of her back and waist.