Page 30 of Fangirl Down

“At least let her stay for the fireworks.” He gestured to the night sky. “They’re just about to begin.” He gave Josephine a sly wink. “I sponsored.”

Wells rolled his eyes so hard, Josephine was surprised when they didn’t pop out of his ears. He looked as though he wanted to respond to Calhoun’s boast, but a loud boom overhead prevented him. Pink sparkles plumed in the sky, raining down shimmery lights, followed by another one in green, then white. Based on the increase in conversation, guests were emerging from inside to witness the spectacle on the terrace, leading to limited space and everyone crowding toward the rail that overlooked the green.

Calhoun started to sidle closer to her, but Wells cut in, surprising her with a firm hand on her hip. He turned her to face the railing, then planted his fists on the stone barrier on either side of her, bracketing her in neatly. The position went beyond friendly. At the very least, it was an intimate way to be standing with her boss. And the crowd was pushing forward at such a rapid rate, more and more space was being swallowed up by the second.

Sensing eyes on her, Josephine sent a sidelong glance at Ricky.

His eyes sparkled with knowing humor.

Great. He thinks I’m with Wells. Likewith him, with him.

But the other caddie was totally misreading the situation. Obviously, Wells wasn’t interested in her romantically. Their arrangement was purely business. Like, come on. He wasn’t evenniceto her. The arm trap he’d created to keep the other golfersaway was nothing more than a necessity, thanks to the surging crowd.

“I leave you alone for five minutes,” he growled beside her ear, “and somehow you manage to find the worst possible company.”

“The jury is out on that. I’m still trying to get a read on Calhoun.”

“Close the book, belle. You’re done reading.”

Josephine’s spine straightened. “Am I?”

She could hear him grinding his teeth. “Don’t forget I’ve spent five years on tour with the man. His golden-boy image is exactly that. An image.”

“One could say the same thing about your bad-boy image.”

“No,thatis accurate.”

Overhead, the fireworks picked up the pace, booming and breaking apart one after the other in explosions of color. Thus, more guests crowded out onto the terrace, giving Wells no choice but to inch closer to Josephine. Her back molded slowly to his chest, his measured breaths stirring her hair ever so slightly. It was lucky that he couldn’t see her face, because his heat, the strength of him made her lashes flutter, her lips parting to drag in the magnolia-scented air. “So what are you doing? Warning me away from him?”

“That about sums it up.”

“Don’t bother sugarcoating it.”

“I never do.” Wells cursed beneath his breath. “Josephine, I need to know you’re mine, so I can concentrate.”

Her vision split into two, before swerving back together. “Yours?”

“My teammate,” he clarified in a low voice, after a moment. “The last thing I need is to worry about you defecting to some other camp.”

Josephine whirled around—and it was a huge mistake.

Huge.

Wells towered over her, his arms caging her against the railing. And his mouth, his body, all of him, was very,veryclose. So close that her breasts dragged across the hard ridges of his stomach when she turned around, her head tipping back automatically so she could meet his gaze. A firework lit his face and she saw exactly how heavy-lidded his eyes were as they watched her breasts press up against his chest, a low rumble emitting from his throat.

Oh dear.

As quickly as possible, she twisted back around, grateful he could no longer see how the contact had affected her. So much that she struggled to locate the things... the... what were those things called you said out loud? Words?

“Is that what you’re worried about? Me ditching you?” Frankly, after years of rooting for him on the sidelines, that hurt a little. “I guess I haven’t made it obvious enough that I’m the sticking around type.”

“I’ve made that assumption about someone before,” he said near her ear.

Wells was referring to Buck Lee, right? After seeing them together inside, that didn’t even feel like an assumption, just fact. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to prove I’m different.” The hard heat of his chest against her back was making her mouth dry, so when she spoke again, her voice sounded a little scratchy. “I won’t give up on you as long as you don’t give up on yourself again.”

Did the pace of his breathing pick up slightly in response to that?

She watched as his right arm dropped away from the railing.

---