Page 14 of Fore Better or Worse
His eyes widen. “You’re serious.”
“On one condition.”
He scoffs. “Whatever it is, my answer’s yes.”
“Maybe, you should wait until you hear it.”
“There’s nothing you can say that would change my mind, sweetheart.”
“What about no contact until then?”
“What?” He sits up straighter, his hand tightening on mine. “No contact at all? Leah, that’s—”
“Necessary.” I pull my hand free. “You’ll be traveling all over the world, focused on your game. I’d be a distraction.”
“But you’ll be able to follow every tournament, every interview, every article. You’ll have a front-row seat to my life, whereas I won’t know anything about yours.”
“You’ll have to trust me. Have faith that everything will happen as it’s meant to.”
“That’s—”
“Completely fair.” I cross my arms. I need this boundary. “I’ll be living my own life, and if what you’re feeling is real, time and distance won’t change it. And if it doesn’t hold up, then we both dodged a bullet.”
A muscle in his jaw twitches. “You’re asking me to wait three years without so much as a hello?”
The boat’s engine shifts, slowing as we approach the harbor. We’re running out of time, and somehow, that makes everything feel more real, more final. “I’m asking you to have faith.” The words come out softer than I intended. “The same way you’re asking me to believe in you. In us.”
We stare at each other in the fading light, the sounds of laughter, conversation, and the gentle slap of waves fading into background noise. He’s weighing the offer, and I hold my breath, waiting for his answer.
Before he can speak, an announcement crackles over the intercom. We’ll be docking in ten minutes. Hays shifts to one side and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out something and looks at it for a long moment before holding it out for me. I take it, not knowing what I expected, but definitely not a pressed penny. One of those little souvenirs that comes from a crank machine.
I examine the surface, worn almost completely smooth. The inscription, barely legible, reads, Pikes Peak, CO Elev. 14,110 ft. The words are stamped into the coin around a picturesque mountain range.
I stare at the penny, understanding deep in my gut it’s meaningful in a way I may never comprehend. “Hays, I can’t—”
“I want you to have it.” He plucks it from my grasp and turns over my hand to lay the warm metal in my palm. He closes my fingers around it then raises them to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. “So you know without a doubt I’m serious about this. About you. About us.”
The penny feels heavier than it should. When I look up at him, there’s determination in his expression, but also an unexpected vulnerability.
“I’m going to marry you, Leah. I’m going to win that major, come back to Starlight Bay, and make you my wife.”
The declaration sends shivers down my spine. This is crazy. Completely and utterly insane. But sinking into his sea-glass eyes, feeling the warm metal pressed into my palm, I find myself believing him. Believing in the fairytale.
“Okay,” I breathe. “It’s a pact.”
His smile is brilliant, transforming his entire face, and before I can second-guess myself, he’s leaning in to kiss me again. This time, it’s different, soft and meaningful and full of promise. A seal on this mad deal we’ve just agreed to.
When we break apart, both breathing hard, he rests his forehead against mine. “I can’t wait until you’re mine.”
My fingers close tighter around the penny. “Don’t make me wait too long, hotshot.”
His laugh is warm against my lips. “I’ll do my best, sweetheart.”
Chapter nine
Hays | Six Months Later
The California sun beats down mercilessly as Rory, my caddy and best friend, and I trudge off the eighteenth green. Four over par. Four fucking over. The giant scoreboard might as well be a flashing neon sign that readsHAYS GRANGER: CAN’T FIND THE HOLE WHEN IT MATTERS.
