Page 24 of The Perfect Putt

“I just hope Miles is getting the same treatment,” Shaw says.

“He is, though he’ll probably tell you he has it worse,” I reply, eliciting a laugh from Shaw.

“Sounds like Miles. He’s been pretty tight-lipped about you.” He pauses. “I wonder why that is.”

I twist the bracelets on my left wrist, starting with the top one and going down the stack of five, then back up again. My face feels too hot.

“Hold off on your interrogation,” Sutton chides. “We’re here for a few days. You don’t want to scare her off.” She gives me a warm smile, but it doesn’t ease the tension in my chest.

I’m saved from responding by us arriving at the car. I drove my Kia today since it has more trunk space than any of Miles’ cars. Shaw piles their things in the back, then slides into the back seat while Sutton hops in the passenger seat.

“Sorry you don’t have much leg room,” I say to Shaw as I get in and turn on the car.

“I’ve ridden on a charter bus with a bunch of hockey players. This is nothing.”

“Yeah, this is much better than riding with the team. All of them are so giant that they take up two seats each but management doesn’t always book with that in mind,” Sutton says as she buckles her seatbelt.

“I guess forty-five minutes in here won’t be too bad then,” I say as I pull out.

“Not at all, especially if you tell us stories about how you’ve been messing with Miles,” Sutton says with a conspiratorial smile.

I get the feeling these two are going to be dangerous. And I’m not sure yet whether it’s the fun kind of danger or not.

Chapter fourteen

Miles Day

I’m about to putt on the eighteenth hole when I hear a familiar voice say, “Don’t miss.”

I stop short of hitting the ball and look up to find Shaw grinning at me. A few feet behind him are Sutton and Ellie perched on a golf cart parked next to mine. Ellie looks beautiful in a lavender polo and white skirt. As much as she says she hates golf, she sure does look good in the clothes for it. She’d probably look good in anything though. She’s not fully smiling, but I can tell she’s relaxed, which in turn relaxes me. I was worried that Shaw would give her a hard time on his quest to find something between us.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you in months and you’re staring at the woman you see every day?” Shaw laughs and I tear my eyes from Ellie. “You’re worse off than I thought.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply as he yanks me in for a hug then slaps my back.

“It’s a good thing I’m here. Maybe I’ll be able to help you.”

“Help me with what?”

He smirks. “Getting over yourself.”

I shove him away, but he only laughs harder.

“I thought I was meeting y’all up at the clubhouse,” I say before hitting the ball into the hole to finish out my game, then sliding my putter back into the bag.

I went out by myself today instead of having Fitz come along. I didn’t exactly need another practice round this week, but I knew it would be good for me to get out of my head before Shaw and Sutton arrived. It was good, even if I did think of Ellie one too many times.

“That takes away the ability to surprise you.”

“I tried to tell him we should just wait and let you finish your practice,” Sutton says as I walk over to the carts.

She hops down and gives me a hug. The embrace is quick and friendly. Not as awkward as I thought it might be to meet her in person. We’ve met before, but only as her brother’s client, never as a friend. And that’s what Sutton is now, if not more than that. She’s going to marry a guy who’s basically my brother, which makes her my future sister-in-law. I step back before I think too long about one of my best friends signing his life away to a woman who could up and leave him at any minute. It’s easier to be happy for them if I don’t think about the reality of marriage.

“And what about you?” I ask Ellie, turning toward her. “What was your stance on interrupting me?”

She smirks. “I told him if we had more time I’d stop for an airhorn.”

Shaw and Sutton both laugh. I shake my head. All the while Ellie wears a satisfied smirk. And to think I was worried about them getting along. My friends all love to make fun of each other, and it’s abundantly clear that Sutton’s love language is teasing Shaw. Ellie fits in just fine. The only problem is, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing just yet.

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