“You saw me in the bar?” I ask, grinning mischievously.
“Yep,” she snaps, “picking up putt sluts.” I can sense a hint of jealousy. I like it.
“That’s not nice, Leah. You shouldn’t talk about other women like that.”
“Whatever,” she mumbles.
“How’s your brother?”
“What do you care?”
“I care,” I tell her even though I don’t. He says he hurt his wrist but won’t tell us how, so automatically we assume he wasn’t stroking the right shaft and pulled a muscle.
She waves me off. “Whatever.”
“Come in the water with me,” I beg her.
“You’re crazy.”
“I am, about you. Let’s have dinner tonight?”
“Nope, you’re not my type.”
“Leah, what is your type?”
“Not you,” she says and the women around us snicker. I use them to my advantage.
“Ladies, help me out here. I’ve been asking this beautiful woman out for two years and each time she turns me down. Yet, here we are. At the same resort, enjoying a vacation away from work. What a better way to get to know each other than a nice candlelit dinner and a late-night stroll?”
“On the golf course, where we stop at the ninth hole?” Leah retorts.
I shrug. “I mean, if you want to stop at the ninth, I hear the view is amazing from there.”
The women don’t really help me out, which doesn’t bode well in my favor. Leah stands and walks toward me. “Listen here, Greyson Jennings, things between us will never ever happen. My brother hates you and by proxy, I ha . . .” but she doesn’t get to finish her sentence because I grab a hold of her legs and use all my strength to pull her into the pool. When she comes up for air, she sputters and flaps her arms.
“Sorry,” I say. “There was a bee by your head. Thought I’d save you from getting stung.”
She slams her hands down on top of the water and splashes me. “You’re going to pay for this, Jennings.” She’s even more sexy when she’s pissed off.
“Name the time and place and I’ll be there.”
She grunts and makes her way out of the pool. I watch her until she’s out of sight and then chance a look at the women who I tried to entice into helping me.
They’re glaring . . . oops.
2
Leah
Out of all the people in the world to be at our damn hotel, it had to be Greyson. It’s not enough that I run into him at all the tournaments. The man is like a plague. Always there in the shadows, and then bam, it hits you like a ton of bricks. With being a nurse, if he were a plague, I would know how to easily get rid of him. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. If my brother had seen Greyson at the pool yesterday, I fear all hell would’ve broken loose. It’s only the beginning of our vacation so they’re bound to cross paths at some point. Not that I would exactly call what I’m on a vacation, especially since it’s a mandatory weeklong family reunion with my entire family. It happens every year and my brother and I are obligated to attend. At least this year we’re in Charleston, one of my all-time favorite places.
Breakfast is finally over. I had to suffer through eating my eggs and bacon while listening to my great aunt Agnes talk about how, in her own words, how she sprayed and prayed in the bathroom to get ready for her colonoscopy. That then led to my other aunts and uncles commenting about their bathroom experiences. My family is a special kind of crazy.
Once everyone is done eating, they slowly disperse. My mother stays in the seat across from me, her eyes lit with humor. Everyone says we look exactly alike with our dark reddish-brown hair and green eyes. I got my height from my father. She used to be a nurse just like me, but retired early when my dad made his fortune as a professional golfer. My brother followed in his footsteps while I followed my mother’s.
“Do you want to come shopping with the girls today?” my mother asks, already knowing the answer by the look on her face.
And by girls, she means her sisters and her aunts. As much as I love them all, I need my space. “I think I’ll stay here,” I reply, laughing. “There’s only so much I can handle of your side of the family.”
She snorts. “Tell me about it. Your father’s already hating life and it’s our first day of vacation.” We both glance over at my father who is at the hostess stand, paying the bill with my brother, Bryan, beside him. They could easily pass for brothers with their light brown hair, same athletic build, and golden-brown eyes. A group of my uncles and male cousins are standing off to the side, waiting on them.