Page 72 of Forever Wild

The sounds of a crowd reach us almost as soon as we leave our building. When I asked the staff at WBCC if they’d be able to accommodate me this winter, they were happy to oblige. Since the course is officially closed, it’s an easy, steady source of income to have me in the house. That said, they had asked one thing in return—to come to the event tonight, which a number of their bigwig members and potential members were in town for.

Knowing that Bryn will hate being pulled into my public-life persona any sooner than necessary, I drop my arm from her shoulders as we near the building, my stomach dropping with it. I feel like a piece of me is missing when she’s not right there with me.

We hand off our coats as we enter, and I note the number of men who check out Bryn as she turns to face the room. I can’t blame them, even if the unease I feel in my gut is almost certainly a flare of jealousy. I quell my need to pull her into my arms and claim her with my body in front of the entire crowd, but it flares again as she waves at a man across the room.

Suddenly, my view is obstructed by Conrad Ferguson, the elusive owner of Wild Bluffs Country Club.

“Jameson, how are you, man?”

Conrad and I met a few years ago at a fundraiser event and had hit it off right away. At the time, he was the newest partner in a VC, and I had a few major wins under my belt.

We kept in touch sporadically, getting together whenever our various professional obligations landed us in the same city. Unsurprisingly, based on how sharp he is, Conrad excelled over the last few years, and he and two of his brothers are now a huge deal in the business world. We actually spent a weekend at Pebble Beach, discussing if golf courses were good investments or not. Many struggled and went under during the last recession, but some of them are extremely profitable. Conrad decided to pursue it as a line of investments for his firm, and he now owns eight courses across the world. When I was in need of a place to escape last summer, he had offered up Wild Bluffs Country Club.

He reached out a couple times over the past nine months, but I’ve always declined anything more than a drink at the clubhouse. I was in a shit headspace and was avoiding everyone, including the people trying to pull me out of the darkness.

“Conrad.” We shake hands. “Doing well. Can’t thank you enough for suggesting this place to me last summer.”

“Rumor on the street is that you’re becoming a long-term renter.”

“Yeah. I got an offer on my house in Florida and need somewhere to land. Don’t worry, though, I’ll make sure to be gone before the course gets busy and you need that cottage again.”

He just shrugs. “You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

Bryn reaches out, squeezing my arm to let me know she is headed to the bar.

“Oh.” Conrad looks between us. “I didn’t realize you’d brought someone with you tonight, Jameson.”

Shoot. How could I have forgotten? “Conrad Ferguson, meet Bryn Harper. Conrad owns the club. Bryn is from Wild Bluffs.”

She nods her head. “I grew up in Wild Bluffs, but now I actually live all over the place. I’m director of technology for Hungry Guy.”

Conrad chuckles. “I love Hungry Guy. I’ve actually been trying to acquire them for a while, but the owners aren’t ready to sell. It’s one of the reasons I’m here in town.”

“Good luck with that,” Bryn replies. “They love running the company. It’s not about money for them at this point, so I’m not sure what you will use to convince them.”

Conrad shrugs. “Ah, well, I do like a challenge.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place,” Bryn replies as Conrad’s assistant taps on his arm.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Bryn. Jameo, let’s get together soon. Maybe when you’re in New York for the tournament in February?”

“That’d be great. It’s been way too long, man.”

We slap backs in a quick hug before Bryn and I head to the bar.

We both order drinks, grabbing seats at the bar while we wait. Bryn smiles at the man next to her before leaning a bit closer to me and asking softly, “Is there a reason you introduced me as ‘from Wild Bluffs’?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just found it…odd, I guess, that you introduced me to that guy as ‘this is Bryn. She’s from Wild Bluffs,’ like I’m some acquaintance from town. I was just wondering if there is a reason he shouldn’t know we are dating.”

I notice the slight droop to her shoulders, the hint of uncertainty in her now blue eyes. I grab her hand, swiveling around on my stool so I can pull her up to stand between my thighs. I kiss her. “Never. I would never want to keep the fact that I’m dating you from someone.”

“Good.” Her warm mouth melts on mine for a second before she pulls back, sliding one of the thin blue straps of her dress back onto her shoulder.

I pull her forehead to mine, staring straight into her eyes, not caring that we are likely making a bit of a scene. “I mean it, B. I’m sorry. I truly meant nothing by it.” I look around the room for Conrad. “Come on. Let’s go talk to him again. I’ll make sure I introduce you as my truly fantastic, amazingly sexy girlfriend.”

She giggles but shakes her head. “No. That’s okay. It just hurt my feelings a little, I guess, so I thought I should do the mature thing and let you know.”

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