Chapter 28
“How’s your golf swing coming?”Grandma Deedee asks as she places a ten of hearts on the jack of spades.
I glance at her solitaire board on the table in front of her, comparing it to mine. She’s killing me with all four aces already up at the top and several cards down in each pile. I guess when you haven’t played this game in fifteen years, you’re bound to lose to an old woman in a retirement home.
I would’ve thought bright and early Monday morning was a happening time for the elderly, but there’s no one in the Seaside Oasis recreation room besides me and my grandma.
“My golf swing?” I shrug. “I played okay last week when I went home to Jupiter. And Pete liked what he saw over the weekend. He says I’m ready for the Rocket Mortgage tournament this weekend.”
“And do you think you’re ready?” She moves a whole row from one stack to another, revealing the six of clubs.
“Probably not. I’m having a hard time focusing on golf right now.”
“Why is that?”
“Um…I don’t know.”
I do know.
I know exactly why I can’t focus on the looming tournament a few days away.
My mind is stuck in limbo—Jane limbo—and has been since we kissed last night. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet, but that kiss messed me up so much.
The angry phone call from Capri following the kiss didn’t help either.
Anger is too strong a word to use with Capri. I don’t even know if she’s ever felt that emotion, but she did scold me.
She scolded me hard for kissing Jane, especially when she told me she was off-limits. I tried to explain that I really like her. This isn’t just some game to me. But beyond that, there was nothing else I could promise, which is the exact reason why Capri wants me to stay away from her and definitely not kiss her again.
The truth is, I don’t even know why I did it the first time. I mean, I know why. I’ve wanted to kiss Jane since forever, probably since I was a fifteen-year-old boy. But the feeling is entirely different when you’re a man.
My attraction to her is so intense. It encompasses everything I love about her. Her smile, her positive energy, her humor, her witty comebacks, her body, her brown eyes, her tenacity. It all built together below the surface until I exploded and kissed her.
And I haven’t been able to think of anything else since.
That’s why I showed up at my grandma’s at the crack of dawn.
“Is there anything that happened to you lately that could be distracting you from your golf game?” My grandma raises one brow over her reading glasses.
“Nope.” I shake my head innocently, keeping clear of her probing stare.
“Are you sure? Because I haven’t seen you since Saturday, when you took me to the farmers’ market in town. Lots of things could’ve happened in the last two days.”
“Nothing I can think of.”
“Are you sure?” she presses with a smirk. “What about last night? Anything ring a bell then?”
I lower my cards. “Okay, what do you know?”
“Nothing really.” Her lips purse. “Just that your lack of focus might have something to do with Jane and the kiss you shared.” Grandma Deedee smiles, pleased with herself.
Wow, news travels fast on this tiny island. “And how did you hear about that?”
“Angela Rose was eating dinner at the bar last night and witnessed the whole thing.”
“Who’s Angela Rose? She sounds made up.”
“Everyone knows Angela. She oversees the activities at Seaside Oasis.”
“Sounds like she oversees all the gossip around here as well.”
“No, that’s my job.” Grandma scoops another pile of cards, moving them to a different column. “Angela said Dustin Pearce almost knocked you out.”
“Some details have been exaggerated.” I shoot her an annoyed glance. “And Dustin and I are cool. We literally shook hands after the whole thing happened.” After Jane left us both alone at the bar.
“What about the detail that you and Jane probably should’ve gotten a room?”
“Also exaggerated.” Kind of.
It was the hottest kiss of my life.
I can’t sleep.
Focus.
Move on.
And I’m worried I won’t be able to golf this week.
Can a kiss be so good that you’re unable to function? I feel like it can.
I’ve never been in this position before. Relationships have always been something I could take or leave, depending on where I’m at in my career. Women are second to golf in my life. But there’s nothing second-rate about my feelings for Jane. She’s been on the forefront of my mind for weeks, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“So what now?” For the first time since I arrived this morning, Grandma pauses her game and looks directly at me.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be daft, boy. What are you going to do about Jane?”
“Nothing.” I drop my eyes back to my cards. “I mean, there’s nothing to do. It was all just for show—something she needed for the Summer of Jane Hayes.”
She said herself she didn’t feel anything when we kissed—a devastating blow to my ego. If you add that to the fact that I was never one of the single men on her dating list, how she keeps pushing me away, and how Capri wants me to stay away, I think the evidence is pretty clear.
Nothing is happening between me and Jane.
“The kiss didn’t mean anything,” I say with an impassivity I’m pleased with.
“Pfft.” Grandma Deedee rolls her eyes. “You’re not fooling anyone.”
Really? Because I thought I was fooling everyone…except myself. I keep my mouth closed, shuffling a few cards around.
“Walker.” She covers my hand with hers, forcing me to glance up. “What are you doing?”
I fake a smile. “I thought I was visiting my grandma before I left town.”
“No, I mean, what are you doing about Jane?”
I sit back in my chair, staring across the rec room at the nautical decor hanging on the walls.
“You can’t kiss a woman and then drop off the face of the earth.”
“Grandma, I’m not dropping off the face of the earth. I’m flying to Detroit for a golf tournament. It’s kind of my job.”
“So you’re leaving without saying goodbye?”
“Jane doesn’t want to see me. She made that abundantly clear last night when she almost ran over my foot with her golf cart just to get away from me.”
“Maybe she should have run over your foot. Then you wouldn’t be able to golf in your tournament, forcing you to stay and face what’s happening between you two.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t think anything is happening between us.”
It’s not like I haven’t tried. I’ve tried with Jane harder than any other woman in my life. I’ve tried even when I shouldn’t be trying, but she keeps pushing me away—after she’s pulled me in. It’s actually really confusing.
“Fine. We’ll forget about it and talk about golf.” She leans forward, moving some of her cards around. “When do you leave town?”
“In about a half hour. My flight is at noon on the mainland.”
“And what about the Sunset Harbor golf fundraiser? When is that happening?”
“Two and a half weeks.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Jane canceled the event now because she wants nothing to do with me.
“So we have you here a little while longer.” My grandma smiles at me with a softness in her eyes. “You’re going to do great this weekend at your tournament. Just believe in yourself.”
“Thanks. I hope so.”
I smile despite the tightness growing inside.