31. Beau #2
Maddox goes on to tell me the high points of his proposal to my sister, which included the room where they had their first night together. While that was a detail I really never needed to know about, even though I already knew it happened, I can't help but be ecstatic for my sister.
She is absolutely glowing when she reaches a hand for me. “I’m getting married.”
“Again,” I joke before walking to her and bringing her in for a hug. “At least I like this one.”
“For the record, I’m a big fan of your wife, too.”
I look back over at Shelby, who’s now joking with Maddox about something.
I know I’m smiling, but I can’t help it.
The sight is perfect. Shelby laughing with my future brother-in-law, all while making faces at Ace before she picks him up.
My sister sitting back, getting teary eyed again as she watches her best friend—the one who is officially her sister now—interact with her son.
The five of us together, smiling and laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
This could be the rest of our lives. Sunday dinners. Impromptu breakfasts. Random summer days when they come over to hang out at my pool.
I know I didn’t get into this situation on purpose, but I’m damn glad I’m here now.
“What are you watching?”
I can count on one hand how many times I’ve come into a room and seen Shelby watching something on her phone.
If she’s in wind-down mode, she’s either buried in her Kindle or pretending not to fall asleep with something on the television.
So it shocks me to see her glued to her phone.
I’m not sure she even realized I walked into our bedroom until I said something.
“Stu sent me over our Back Nine episode,” she says. “Figured I’d watch it and make sure I didn’t say anything too out of pocket.”
I smile as I put her water jug down on her bedstand—because despite the million tumblers that have taken over nearly every horizontal surface in our house, my wife does not drink enough water. “Anything crazy so far?”
“Not yet, but we haven’t made it to the last hole.”
I crawl into bed with her and move over so we can watch together. Before I know it, I’m just as lost as she is, watching us banter back and forth on camera, Stu doing an amazing job of catching every little interaction between us.
“You know, and I’ll risk the possibility of no sex tonight for saying this, but you’re really good at this stuff.”
“Ugh, that’s the unsexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
I know she’s teasing, which is why I can sneak in to kiss her shoulder as the episode cuts to our play on eighteen.
“I’m serious, Shelby. I can understand your long disdain for media and interviews.
But you’re hilarious. Dry, but that’s what people really like these days.
But also honest. Every conversation we had about how we approach the game, it was interesting.
A different take than what I normally talk about when I have male players on. If you wanted to—”
“Stop right there,” she says, pausing the video. “Did I have more fun doing this than I expected? Yes. Does that mean I’m ready to forfeit my career for a new one on camera? Hell no.”
“I’m not saying that,” I say, resuming the video. “I’m just saying, if you and I wanted to spin something off between the two of us, I think there’s something there.”
She doesn’t immediately reject my idea, which I consider a win. “I’ll think about it. But, how would you have time? This is a full-time job, on top of the other full-time job you actually have golfing.”
“I’d figure something out,” I say, not letting myself ride the train of thought that doing social media brings me a hell of a lot more joy than a grueling weekend in August, required merely because I need to raise my money standing during the last few months of the golf season.
Or kissing a sponsor or tournament director’s ass because they think they’re in control of our lives.
“Oh!” I exclaim. “This is my favorite part.”
We go back to watch the eighteenth hole, also known as when I tricked Shelby into kissing me.
“Okay, Belle, I have to know. Did you miss the putt on purpose?”
I didn’t think about it then—I was too excited about the chance to kiss her—but since that day, I’ve wondered about it a lot. Did she actually miss it? Or maybe, just maybe, did she want to kiss me too?
I look up at her, wanting to read every microexpression and movement I can. But all I get is a nonchalant shrug, and eyes glued to the phone.
“Not sure. Guess I just read it wrong.”
Oh, she did… She so fucking did.
I bring her into my arms as I watch our kiss, and if I didn’t know it before, I do now.
I love this woman. I loved her during that kiss and I wanted the whole world to see it. I loved her in Vegas when I lifted her up when we won the Open. Hell, I think I’ve loved her my entire life.
Who knew it was going to take twenty years of fighting and a drunken marriage to get me to realize it?
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course,” I say as the kiss ends, allowing me to take her phone and toss it to the side. “I want to know all your secrets.”
She turns toward me, a blush already covering her porcelain cheeks. Her eyes drift down to my chest, a fingertip absently tracing lines up and down my chest. “I wanted you to be my first kiss.”
Yup. I’m in love with my wife.
“It was silly,” she tries to justify. “It was going to be on the eighteenth green, of course. Some dumb, romantic, movie moment I concocted in my head.”
“Not dumb at all,” I say, rolling her over so I can make sure she sees me when I say these next words. “Now, can I admit something?”
“Please, so I’m not the only one confessing school-age crushes. Unless it’s that you found me hideous. You can keep that to yourself.”
“Far from it, Belle,” I assure her, adding a kiss to make sure I start this confession off on the right foot.
“There were so many times I wanted to kiss you. I could tell you every single one of them. They’re all stored away in the part of my brain that’s reserved just for you.
But every time I nearly did, I talked myself out of it.
Either I felt bad because I had it in my head you were too young.
Or that you didn’t like me. Or that it was weird because you were my sister’s best friend.
Just know that I wanted to kiss you just as much, but I was too chicken shit to make the move. And then…”
I trail off, because Chad’s name has no place in our bed, but if we’re confessing things, might as well get this one out in the open.
“I only said yes to Chad because I thought you didn’t like me,” Shelby admits, stealing my train of thought.
“I mean, I knew you liked me as a friend. But…I don’t know…
Gabi had started dating what’s-his-nuts, Hannah had a boyfriend, and…
I hate to say that I felt left out, but I did.
And it’s not like other guys were beating down my door. ”
“They were scared you’d answer it with your driver.”
“Exactly,” she says with a laughing smile. “But the boy I wanted…well…I thought he didn’t want me. So I said yes to the first asshole who I thought did. And…well…we all know how that went.”
My heart breaks at her admission. What if I’d have been brave enough to kiss her back then? Would that have changed the course of events? Would that one wrinkle in time have changed everything?
“Hey. I know what you’re thinking, and I’m going to need you to stop that right now.”
I laugh under my breath. “Do you, now?”
“I do.” She turns the tables and pushes me to my back, giving her the space to roll on top of me.
“You’re putting on your hero cape and wondering what could’ve changed if we did kiss.
Would we have become boyfriend and girlfriend?
Then I wouldn’t have dated Chad and a lot of things probably would’ve changed in our lives. ”
“You really know me too well, Shelby Lynn.”
“Damn right I do.” She leans down, slowly kissing me as my hands instinctively slide up the back of her shirt, pressing her closer to me.
“Which is why I don’t want you to think like that.
We’re here now. No matter the weird road we took.
No matter the years of verbal jabs. No matter what happened, we’re here now. And that’s what matters.”
She’s right, and I can’t say anything more.
All I can do is show her. I can kiss her until neither of us can breathe.
Strip her T-shirt off—which is another one of mine she seems to have stolen—and kiss across her stunning tits.
Worship her body like I want to do every day for the rest of my life.
Slide into her, causing her to quiver, as I slowly work in and out of her, wanting her to feel every inch of me, while I soak up every sensation of her.
Because she’s right. The road to get here was broken. Nothing along the way was expected.
But we have our shot now. And like hell I’m going to waste it.
“Hey, Beau?”
“Yeah, Belle?”
She slowly smiles down at me. “I don’t hate you.”
I softly laugh as I pull her into me. “I don’t hate you either.”