Page 53 of What Would Dolly Do?

O ur song ended to whoops and cheers from the partying crowd but Tom and I were locked in a moment all of our own.

We stood facing each other, neither of us wanting to break the spell, our eyes taking in every little detail.

Tom looked so good I couldn’t stop staring at him, he was here, really here, right in front of me and I’d never seen him look so damn handsome.

Under the twinkling fairy lights his rusty hair appeared slightly darker than usual and I thought it looked a little longer now too; unruly tufts giving him a dishevelled just-got-out-of-bed look that was irresistible, especially with a stray lock falling over one eye.

Oh! His eyes. They were the brightest blue I had ever seen, it was like this guy was lit from within.

Forget ‘The Great Marveloso’ I felt I was being hypnotised just by looking at Tom.

He was also pulling off the dreaded double-denim look with absolute ease.

A pair of well-worn, tan cowboy boots looked perfect with his faded jeans.

The light blue chambray shirt he wore was rumpled like he’d slept in it, but looked so velvety soft I longed to snuggle up against it, especially when I spotted a few studs had popped open revealing a tantalising glimpse of his tanned chest.

I watched his eyes sweep over me as the lights above our heads made my red hair appear flecked with gold.

I felt my face flush as his gaze roamed over the tight-fitting bodice of my green tartan mini dress and down my bare legs to the tips of my toes, encased in fringed suede boots.

The outfit was sassy and I felt sexy, even more so when I saw the look of appreciation on Tom’s handsome face.

‘Hell Reba, I missed you so much.’

‘I’ve missed you too.’ The truth was impossible to deny and the statement was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

But that was okay, I was being honest and they say the truth will set you free.

It was time to tell the truth … the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

I’d had a lifetime of listening to love songs, singing them and sometimes even believing them.

But what happened when the song ended? The dying strains of the backing track had faded away and I knew I had to find out if our hearts fitted together as well as our voices.

Tom grabbed my hand and we left the Pleasance Courtyard at a sprint.

As we reached the road we were blessed by the sudden appearance of a black cab with its yellow light shining.

Tom hailed it with a whistle and we jumped into the back.

I had no idea where we were heading but with Tom holding onto me so tightly I really didn’t care.

By the time the taxi pulled up outside my apartment block in Comely Bank Tom had managed to explain almost everything. Despite the fact we had only travelled a relatively short distance across the city it felt like during that journey Tom and I had come a very long way.

He wasn’t engaged to Juliana Ripon, he never had been and never would be. The real truth of his relationship with the Hollywood actress was more of a shock to me than her revelation that they were going to be married.

‘She was never my girlfriend,’ Tom stated. His tone was matter of fact but his words had me confused. What did he mean? I’d seen photos of the two of them, read articles about their relationship, I’d even met the woman and it was not an encounter I was likely to forget.

‘It was all fake, a publicity stunt to boost both of our careers. It was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done but you have to believe me Reba, there was no romance, it was all just a staged “showmance”.’

‘Did someone explain that to Juliana? She seemed pretty convinced it was real when she found me in your house?’ I was trying to get my ahead around what Tom was saying and at first it didn’t really add up.

‘She is a pretty good actress,’ Tom admitted before going on to also describe her as ‘rather volatile’.

He then, choosing his words more carefully, told me why he thought Juliana had been so desperate to try and keep their sham relationship going.

He said the idea for them to couple-up had first been cooked up by his manager Waz Monsoon and her Hollywood agent Bebe Blair.

‘Individually both Waz and Bebe are formidable,’ Tom said with a grimace, ‘but together they’re pretty terrifying.

It’s no excuse though, I’m not making excuses, I shouldn’t have agreed to it.

I kidded myself it wouldn’t, couldn’t hurt and I thought I was helping Juliana.

But I should never have lied, not to my fans, not to people around me and certainly not to you. ’

The way Tom told it, Bebe was keen to elevate the status of her ingenue actress client and Waz was looking for a way to get Tom some extra media attention.

Record sales had been slipping and tickets for tour dates were becoming increasingly difficult to shift.

Tom had needed more persuading than Juliana to agree to the deal but he’d thought she was a sweet girl and so he’d agreed to be pictured with her on his arm at various events and let the press make them a new celebrity couple, one that brought together the glitz of Hollywood and the charm of Nashville.

Bebe Blair had apparently even tried to get the name Tomliana trending.

Tom nodded but lowered his voice and looked furtively towards the glass screen separating us from the taxi driver as though he feared the balding man could be eavesdropping on our conversation.

He then told me the secret he had been keeping on top of the one about his and Juliana’s unreal romance and the real reason Bebe Blair had wanted to invent a high-profile love affair for her client – Juliana Ripon was gay.

Tom explained how an actor’s sexual preference shouldn’t make any difference in this day and age but studio bosses and casting directors didn’t need much excuse to look along the line for the next actor angling for any part.

When he asked me how many gay movie stars I could name I realised there were shockingly few.

I knew rumours about some, but an actor or actress who was gay and openly ‘out’?

That was a short list. As Tom described what a truly risky, back-stabbing business the movie industry could be I began to see why Juliana’s need to have a cover story was so important to her.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all this Reba, but this part wasn’t my secret to tell.

’ He looked completely anguished and I finally understood why he had been so cagey about what had been going on.

He said he thought Laura might have sussed his high-profile affair was not genuine.

A little sister would have a nose for something like that, I told him.

I was also thinking that it was rather honourable of him to attempt to keep Juliana’s confidence, even from his own family, when I realised Tom was saying something else now.

‘Sorry, what did you just say?’

‘I said … I never expected to fall in love for real … and that’s what caused all the problems.’ He grinned then and my heart thumped as he leaned towards me.

‘Say that again, Coltrane,’ I said, grinning back.

‘The bit about all the problems you caused?’ he said, then as if he could hear my pulse thundering, he gave in, ‘Or the bit about falling in love?’

I could have stopped the cab and just stayed there till dawn listening to him say that over and over again. But I knew there was an even better use of our time.

And so we kissed … and kissed … I didn’t want to stop.

The car drew to halt on the pavement beneath my flat and he paid the driver, giving him a hefty tip. As we watched the car pull away it seemed to remind Tom of the method Juliana had used to track my movements in Nashville and then seize the moment I was alone in his house to confront me.

‘I’ve fired Dawn,’ he said with a shrug. ‘She’s gone to work for Juliana full-time so don’t feel too bad for her.’ I have to say I didn’t feel bad for her at all.

I did feel a little sympathy for Juliana Ripon, though.

Acting was a tough enough profession without having to pretend to be someone else in your real life as well.

The stress of all that must be enormous but it didn’t justify her trying to wreck my life.

As I unlocked the door to my little apartment with trembling fingers I was struck by how close Juliana had come to destroying everything I’d dreamt of.

And not to hurt me – but simply out of fear her own cover would be blown.

I knew enough about playing a part and hiding behind a role.

But right here, right now, I’d discovered what it was to step into your true self.

Her affair with Tom Coltrane was pure fiction but here he was right now, standing in my hallway, and the connection between us was undeniably real.

We stepped towards each other, his hands on my waist while I lightly stroked my fingers across the stubble on his chin and then up to his mouth.

He kissed my finger tips and his hands moved up my back, pulling us closer and, as our lips met, his hands were in my hair, caressing, massaging.

I pulled his denim shirt apart, desperate to expose more skin.

His fingers found the zipper at the back of my dress and the tartan fabric was soon pooled around my feet.

Undressed and undone we stumbled to the bedroom.

The mid-morning sun was shining through the open shutters of my bedroom when I woke a few hours later.

It reminded me of the first time I had woken up in bed with Tom in his hotel following the Free ‘n’ Easy night at Sonny’s Bar.

I’d considered that hook-up to be ‘free and easy’ too back then.

I’d had no expectations that it could be the start of something more but as I sensed Tom’s sleepy body stir next to mine I knew now I didn’t ever want to let him go.

I made us some coffee and when I came back into the bedroom Tom was sitting up in bed, ruffling a hand through his red hair.

‘Ahh that’s just what we need,’ he said as he reached for the mug, ‘once we’ve had this I’ll help you get your things together then we can get going.’

My head was still fuzzy and I didn’t understand what he meant. Get going? To where?

Tom read my confusion and grabbed my free hand, pulling me towards him. ‘I’ll ask you properly this time. Will you come back to Nashville with me, Reba? Give me the chance to show you around and show you off like I’d always planned?’

A return to Nashville? That was music to my ears.

It’s where I’d longed to go for so long and been so sad to leave prematurely.

It’s where I would have been right at that moment if things hadn’t taken such an unexpected turn.

Robbie had been drafted in as stand-in manager at Sonny’s Bar and I wasn’t expected back at work for another couple of weeks, so I gave Tom his answer with a smacker of a kiss.

‘Don’t just sit there looking all smouldering and sexy,’ I told him, ‘there’s no time for all that, you need to help me pack.’