Page 96 of Summer Ever After
“Are you sure?” she presses with a smirk. “What about last night? Anything ring a bell then?”
I lower my cards. “Okay, what do you know?”
“Nothing really.” Her lips purse. “Just that your lack of focus might have something to do with Jane and the kiss you shared.” Grandma Deedee smiles, pleased with herself.
Wow, news travels fast on this tiny island. “And how did you hear about that?”
“Angela Rose was eating dinner at the bar last night and witnessed the whole thing.”
“Who’s Angela Rose? She sounds made up.”
“Everyone knows Angela. She oversees the activities at Seaside Oasis.”
“Sounds like she oversees all the gossip around here as well.”
“No, that’s my job.” Grandma scoops another pile of cards, moving them to a different column. “Angela said Dustin Pearce almost knocked you out.”
“Some details have been exaggerated.” I shoot her an annoyed glance. “And Dustin and I are cool. We literally shook hands after the whole thing happened.” After Jane left us both alone at the bar.
“What about the detail that you and Jane probably should’ve gotten a room?”
“Also exaggerated.”Kind of.
It was the hottest kiss of my life.
I can’t sleep.
Focus.
Move on.
And I’m worried I won’t be able to golf this week.
Can a kiss besogood that you’re unable to function? I feel like it can.
I’ve never been in this position before. Relationships have always been something I could take or leave, depending on where I’m at in my career. Women are second to golf in my life. But there’s nothing second-rate about my feelings for Jane. She’s been on the forefront of my mind for weeks, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“So what now?” For the first time since I arrived this morning, Grandma pauses her game and looks directly at me.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be daft, boy. What are you going to do about Jane?”
“Nothing.” I drop my eyes back to my cards. “I mean, there’s nothing to do. It was all just for show—something she needed for the Summer of Jane Hayes.”
She said herself she didn’t feel anything when we kissed—a devastating blow to my ego. If you add that to the fact that I was never one of the single men on her dating list, how she keeps pushing me away, and how Capri wants me to stay away, I think the evidence is pretty clear.
Nothing is happening between me and Jane.
“The kiss didn’t mean anything,” I say with an impassivity I’m pleased with.
“Pfft.” Grandma Deedee rolls her eyes. “You’re not fooling anyone.”
Really? Because I thought I was fooling everyone…except myself. I keep my mouth closed, shuffling a few cards around.
“Walker.” She covers my hand with hers, forcing me to glance up. “What are you doing?”
I fake a smile. “I thought I was visiting my grandma before I left town.”
