‘But I suck. I mean, I really, really suck,’ she says with a quirk of her lips.
‘You have other talents that compensate.’
‘Yeah? Such as?’
It’s been a huge day. We were on the reef for three hours, then in the restaurant for lunch with Orion Karakedes. I could have done without it, to be honest—Grace was back in business mode, so sexy and in control, so incredibly intelligent—but I didn’t want to hear about the historical expansion of the resort, nor the design of the golf course. Everything can be put in a report—a report I can read later.
The time is ticking—no, it’s rushing—and soon Grace will be gone, I’ll be gone, this will be over. I’d rather not have wasted ninety minutes sharing a table with Orion Karakedes.
She went back to her room after lunch for an hour and I fought an urge to follow her, to knock on the door and tell her to scrap the afternoon. I had work to catch up on anyway, emails that couldn’t wait. Golf, though, seemed like a torturous prolonging of our day.
Now, however, her body so close to mine, her butt pressed against my cock as she tries to perfect her swing for the hundredth time, I think I’ll never play a round of golf without wishing Grace was with me—lousy swing included.
‘Good,’ I murmur as she brings the club up again. This time, when she draws it down, she chips the ball nicely and it sails down the fairway.
She watches it and, despite the fact it hooks left and lands wide of what could be considered a fair placement, she jumps up and down in excitement.
‘I did it!’ She’s so damned excited, so proud of herself, my gut rolls and I nod, returning her beaming smile.
‘Yeah, you did.’
‘And I thought this would be hard.’ She laughs, sliding the club back into the bag.
‘Your go.’
I arch a brow. ‘Sure.’ I line up my tee and swing at it, knocking it down the fairway and onto the green.
She pouts. ‘So, you’re really good at this.’
I nod. ‘Yeah. I’ve had a lot of practice.’
I choose an iron for her and we walk towards her ball. ‘The country club.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Was it like this?’ She sweeps her hand, gesturing to the course.
I stand still, my eyes following her movement. The hills roll gently in every direction, the sky is a bright azure blue and the ocean glistens just beyond the course, spectacularly turquoise and inviting. This morning I saw colours I didn’t know existed in the corals on the bottom of the reef. Knowing that’s out there, this ancient, exotic wilderness, calls to something inside of me.
‘No.’ My voice is gruff. I clear my throat. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’
When I flick my gaze to her face, there’s a knowing—and somewhat smug—smile hovering on her lips.
‘Don’t,’ I say. I laugh, though, and resist an urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her. Helping her golf swing is one thing—but we’re still technically in the ‘professional’ part of our time together.
‘Don’t what?’
‘I can think a place is stunning without wanting to buy it.’ Just like I can think a woman is the most fascinating, beautiful creature I’ve ever spent time with and be willing to walk away at the end of three days together.
The thought comes out of nowhere but I hold onto it, reaffirmed by the sense it makes.
‘I know—’ her grin doesn’t drop ‘—but you will.’
Her confidence is sexy. Hot. Addictive. ‘What makes you so sure?’
‘You’re buying up properties just like this.’ She shrugs. ‘You have the cash. And there’s nothing like it on the market. Hell, there’s nothing like it out there. You’d be crazy to let the opportunity go by.’
She’s talking about the golf course but something stutters a little in my chest. I nod, pointing towards her ball. ‘You got this, or do you need me to help?’