Page 39 of Forever Wild

She smiles and grabs my hand, pulling me out the door. “Yes, I’m very impressive all around. You’ll see. I’m also starving and was unaware I left you down here with ninja-mode Kelsey.” She shoots a glare over her shoulder at her sister, who wiggles her fingers in farewell.

We take my pickup the few minutes to Main Street, and when we pull up in front of the restaurant, she turns to look at me fully instead of getting out of the vehicle. “I heard Kelsey warning you about this before, but I feel like I need to give you one last chance to back out. As soon as we go in there and people see us together, the rumors will start. By tomorrow morning, the town will all know we are dating, and half of them will have already picked out our wedding colors.” She blushes as she says the last part, and I’m thrown back to our last date when she made her “taking it slow” speech that was equal parts unnecessary, awkward, and hilarious.

“Oh. Well, I mean, I think it’s kinda late to be worried about us being in public together after California. I don’t think any pictures will end up coming out from that, but we did decide to be casually official, right? It’ll be okay if the press gets a hold of this?”

She shrugs. “Oh, I wasn’t thinking about the press. Paparazzi are truly nothing compared to small-town gossip. I know you’re a big, famous golfer and all, but in this case, this is about me, not you. It has been…a while since I went on a date in Wild Bluffs, so I’m sure the tongues will be wagging.” She looks over at my slightly shocked expression. “If it makes you feel better, the fact that you’re a professional athlete will definitely add to the drama level.”

“I’m not—” I start, then decide better of what I was going to say. “I mean, okay. Anything specific I need to be prepared for?”

She taps a finger to her chin, highlighting the small dimple there. “I would like to say your media training should have prepared you for this, but I’m honestly not sure. Just don’t give more information than necessary. And, whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, tell a lie. Those people can sniff out lies like hunting dogs after a rabbit.”

Why am I more nervous about this than my first ever press conference? Maybe I should’ve called Erica for some talking points. Oh well, it’ll be worth it. “Got it,” I say, pushing open the door. Though, honestly, I’m not sure I do got it.

Chapter nineteen

Bryn

Despite what I said to Jameo in the pickup, it feels like a risk coming to dinner at The Cattlemens together. Not because of the national press or seeing my name in the gossip columns, but because this town is hard up for entertainment and this will be the biggest story of the fucking year. I meant it when I said this is not about Jameson. This is about me. These people are going to flip about me being on a date with anyone, let alone Jameson Walker. To be fair to them, I haven’t gone out in Wild Bluffs since my junior prom, but still. Get a life.

The two-story restaurant is the best place for dinner and also happens to contain the only bar in the town proper. The bar itself is on the second story of the old brick building on Main Street. The first floor is reserved for a medium-sized event space. They have concerts come through regularly, somehow managing to book fairly big-name bands as they are passing through on their way to larger cities.

It’s Friday night, and the place is packed with locals, just like I knew it would be. We walk up the wide staircase, and I only allow myself to stare at Jameson’s ass for the first half of the climb. I’d like to send whoever bought him those jeans a thank-you card. Truly, between his butt and his strong thighs, I’m not sure which looks better from this angle.

We reach the main part of the dining area, and like a scene out of the movies, every face turns toward us as we walk behind our waitress to our table. I suppress a strong eye roll as I wave good-naturedly at the people we pass. I’ve never been as popular with the town.

Luckily, once we get settled, people calm down and go back to dinner, though I know the flow of information has begun. In fact, I get an almost immediate text from Izzy telling me she’s already received two texts from her friends about me dating a professional golfer.

Small towns. You gotta love them, but damn are they a pain in the ass sometimes.

I show the text to Jameo, and he chuckles, his dark green eyes lighting up with humor.

“Damn, that’s more impressive than the gossip magazines, and they get paid to publish that shit.”

I hold my arms out wide. “Welcome to Wild Bluffs, Jameson Walker.”

We both order burgers, a staple at Cattlemens. I opt for a hard cider on ice, while Jameson orders a single whiskey.

“So tell me about this big news your boss dropped on you today,” Jameson says.

“Okay. Well, remember how I told you I’m trying to bulk up my portfolio at work so that when my boss, Tara, retires in, like, five years, I’ll be well-positioned for the promotion?”

He nods, hopefully remembering the conversation we had last week about my job.

“Well, turns out her husband recently had a health scare, and it was a wake-up call for them both. So she’s retiring. In May.”

“Wow. That’s big news for you.”

“Yep. And to make matters more intense, Tara pulled me aside to let me know that the decision is between me and freaking Kyle.”

“And Kyle is the guy from marketing that you hate, right?”

I could probably use a filter. “Um, hate is maybe a strong word. But definitely dislike.” I take a long sip of my drink. “Okay, definitely dislike so much, I can barely stand to be in the same company as the man, let alone on the same team, so, maybe hate? But whichever one of us gets the promotion, we’ll be the other one’s boss.”

“And you’ll spend your days plotting ways to make Kyle cry?”

“Yep. Like sending him notifications at five on a Friday that he has to change the entire scope of a marketing campaign before Monday morning.”

“You’ll make such a good boss,” he teases.

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