Page 27 of Fangirl Down

Why was he studying her so hard? Was the concept of friendship so foreign to him? “You... miss her. A lot.”

“Yes,” she said, pressure creeping in behind her eyes. “A lot.”

After a long moment, Wells nodded.

He started to take another sip of his beer, but he hesitated to press the bottle to his lips when a group of men entered the room doing a lot of laughing and back-slapping.

One of them was Buck Lee.

Now in his mid-sixties, the legend himself didn’t spend a lot of time in front of cameras anymore. He’d retired two decades ago, but his indelible mark on the game kept his influence strong in the golf world, as evidenced by the room quieting at his entrance.

He wasn’t tall or short, falling somewhere in between, his bald head covered by a tweed newsboy cap. He walked with several tour golfers, all of whom Josephine recognized, since they were all leaderboard regulars, including Chance Montgomery, Ryan Kim, and Buster Calhoun. As one, they slowed to a stop in themiddle of the room and basked in the crowd’s undivided attention, before breaking off into smaller groups.

Buck’s eyes settled on Wells and Josephine, as if he’d known they were there all along, but was simply taking his time acknowledging them. Wells didn’t move a muscle, but there was a sudden electrical charge in the air.

“Are you two on speaking terms?” Josephine ventured.

“Sure.” Wells’s tone was one of forced nonchalance. “He ran interference with the powers that be to get me back on the tour.”

You got your answer. Let it drop.“Things just seem a little strained.”

Or just invade his privacy.

“I’d rather not talk about it, Josephine.”

She nodded. That was fair. “Okay.”

“I guess I just expected my mentor to be a little more... constant. In my life. But I guess my losing streak was making him look bad. Can’t really blame him for wanting to keep up appearances,” he finished dryly.

“It sounds like you do. Blame him.”

Wells cut her a look. “He knew what he was getting into. The day he met me, I had a black eye and two pockets full of silverware from the country club restaurant. I’ve never pretended to be anything other than exactly what I am.”

Josephine chewed that over. “Good to know. What are you planning on robbing from the premises tonight?”

“What?”He snorted. “Nothing.”

She quirked a brow. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not the same person... I was.” A low whistle from Wells. “Wow. I walked right into that, didn’t I?” Slowly, he rocked back on his heels. “Are you implying that what happened with Buck was my fault?”

“No,” Josephine said firmly. “How could I do that? I wasn’tthere. And if I’m being totally honest, I’m always going to default to being...”

“What?”

“On your side,” she said as fast as possible, trying not to enjoy the way the lines around his mouth softened. “I just think hurt feelings might cause a person to see a situation differently.”

“Do I strike you as the kind of guy who gets hurtfeelings?”

“I am very sorry to inform you that everyone has feelings.”

“I’m going to deeply regret hiring you.”

“No, you’re not.” A lot like they’d done in the hotel room earlier, Josephine and Wells seemed to gravitate toward each other when having a conversation, until their toes were pressed together and she had to tilt her head back. And she couldn’t help but wonder if it looked... intimate to the rest of the party.

Of course it did. Because it was.

There was no other word for feeling his body heat through her clothes.

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