Page 48 of Wildly Inappropriate

That doesn’t bode well for me. I may be even more to handle than Bryn is. I think of the way JT has never once made me feel like I was too much for him but quickly push JT from my mind for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. No need to focus on that spark just waiting to burst into flames.

The conversation flows smoothly from there, and it feels like I’m one of the guys. While I’m super excited that I can stroll across the street in six weeks and have a buddy or two to hang out with, I can also say without hesitation that I’ve cut two more potentials from my dating possibilities list. As much as I want to find a partner and settle down, I’m also starting to realize how much I need there to be a little fire, that slightly dangerous spark, in a relationship. Unfortunately, JT Johnson seems to have thrown sand over all the men in my life, dimming the sparks of every interaction I have except for the ones with him.And he doesn’t date.

Chapter twenty-three

JT

I walk to thebar at the back of the restaurant, a bit more relaxed from the walk over here. The crisp summer night air will do that to a guy. I’ve been sitting at home for the last four hours, a bundle of pissed-off energy. It’s just a bad mood in general, definitely not something to do with Lila, the woman who is sleeping inmy bed, my arms,being out on a second date right now.

“JT!”

I hear my name called from a table in the corner and plaster on what I hope is a friendly-looking smile before turning to see who is calling to me. The locals and the staff here mostly leave me alone, but occasionally a member and their friends will be in for the weekend and will ask for an autograph or selfie. I’m typically happy to oblige, but the great outdoors didn’t impact my mood that much.

Spotting motion at one of the tables, I find Izzy Harper waving at me from her seat next to Kelsey. Both women are still in their golf attire, Izzy in a bright pink golf skirt with a black collared tank top and Kelsey in a full black golf dress. It looks like the sisters decided to hit up the restaurant after their round of golf rather than head home like Lila. Though I suppose Lila had herdateto get ready for. I feel the irritation start to flare back up inside of me at the thought of Lila out on a date but push it back down as far as I can.

“Hey, Izzy. Kelsey,” I say as I reach their table.

“Hey. Want to join us?” Kelsey nods at the empty seat next to her.

“Oh, no. I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s not an intrusion, but also, if you’d rather be alone, I completely understand,” Kelsey replies.

I don’t want to be alone with my confusing thoughts right now. If I sit by myself, I know all I’m going to do is stew over the fact that Lila is out on a second date tonight with someone who may or may not be better in bed than I am. Though I’m pretty sure she has no way of knowing that. There definitely wasn’t enough time on their first date for her to sleep with him. Plus, Lila doesn’t strike me as the type that hooks up on a first date with someone she might be serious about. An image of Lila and I in the hallway of the bar sneaks into my mind at the thought, and I feel my hand tighten on the back of the chair I’m standing behind. Shit. I’m not sure if I’m more upset that the memory has reminded me 1. How good Lila feels pressed up against me; 2. That she did, in fact, have enough time for a quick hookup with Matthew; or, 3. That, by my own reasoning, she never saw me as someone to be serious about.

Number three convinces me to sit down with the Harper sisters.

I need something to banish the thought of me not being someone she could be serious about—and the fact that it makes my chest feel like there is a gaping hole in it—from my mind. Ido notcare that Lila would never be serious about me.Iam the one who needs to be focused on his golf game right now, not a serious relationship.

“You okay there, bud?” Izzy asks, her dark eyes full of concern and sympathy.

“Yeah. Just have a lot on my mind.”

“Want to talk about it?” Kelsey asks. I still don’t feel like I know Kelsey all that well, but she’s really growing on me. She’s not as outgoing and loud as Bryn or as openly kind as Izzy, but she says what she means and, while she seems to realize she impacts the emotions of people around her, she doesn’t seem to carry the same feeling of responsibility for others’ emotions like I do. It’s refreshing to see someone who is so loved by their family and friends even though she isn’t always a ray of sunshine. Real black cat energy, that one.

“I’m not even sure where to start,” I reply honestly. “Plus, it’ll just bring you guys down with me.”

Both women shrug in an identical move that is either genetic or has been nurtured in them since a young age.

“We might not be best friends, but I assure you, we can handle listening to you work through whatever you’re dealing with”—Kelsey pauses—“unless it’s murder. I’m not interested in going down as an accessory,” she jokes.

“Don’t listen to negative Nancy over there, JT. I’m sure Kels actually has some really solid tips up her sleeve to help you get away with murder.”

“Luckily, murder is not yet one of my issues.”

We sit in silence for a minute, and I want to fill it, but I’m not sure how to make the transition.

“How about this?” Kelsey says. “We will talk about work, Bryn and Jameson, and the hot town gossip while we get two drinks in you. Then, we’ll go out to the putting green—the course was in decent shape today when we played, and they put up glow-in-the-dark flags at night—and you can tell us what’s going on while we all get a little practice in. That way, you don’t have to look at us while you talk about whatever is going on with you. It’s always harder to unburden yourself when you have to confront the ugly truths staring back at you in someone else’s eyes.”

It does seem like it would be easier to talk through what I’m feeling if I have a golf club in my hand, my head focused on my ball rather than their reaction to my words. Though it is getting pretty late, and the Harpers have been here for a long time now.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to make my problems your problems.”

“If it wasn’t clear you’re an only child before, that statement alone just really did it. Of course you should make your problems our problems. It’s what family does to help lighten the load for everyone. And while you aren’t technically family, we’ll take you in anyway,” Izzy says, and the open look on her face makes it seem like she truly means it.

“Okay,” I say, still not convinced they won’t see the dark side of me and realize they have somewhere else to be. But I suppose it’s worth a try. The Harpers do seem like a family who have each other’s backs. “But drinks are on me.”

“Obviously,” Kelsey replies, signaling for the waitress. “I sure as shit don’t make pro golfer money.”

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