Page 123 of Fangirl Down

Wells looked out over the Miami skyline, to the ocean beyond, but he wasn’t really seeing any of it. He could see only the beautiful woman asleep in his sheets. His one.

The first and final woman he’d ever love.

“Have you talked to Josephine lately?” Wells asked, deep down already knowing the answer. If he was being honest with himself, he’d been blind to this moment, even though they’d been heading there since day one.

“Sure, I have,” Jim responded, brightly. “Been keeping her in the loop on the construction. Although, I’m not sure you can even call it construction anymore, since the last day and a half has been all about finishing touches. Touchups and whatnot.” Josephine’s father paused, his tone losing some of its enthusiasm. “The place is good and ready for her.”

Wells’s heart dropped into his stomach.

Good and ready.

“Josephine knows that?” Dumb question. Of course, she knew. But he asked it anyway. Maybe to punish himself, because Jesus. The Golden Tee being rebuilt in the shape of Josephine’s dream? It was the thing she was most excited about in this world. And she’d felt the need to keep the news from him. She hadn’t shared her excitement with him. She’d hid it.

“Never mind. Obviously, she knows.” Wells cleared the rust from his throat. “That’s amazing, Jim.”

“Sure is.”

Silence filled the line.

“Thing is, Wells...” Jim hesitated, mattress springs creaking in the background, as if he’d risen from bed. “Damn the timing on this.”

Wells swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Rolling Greens has made their repairs and is up and running now, back to being operational. They need the Golden Tee to open their doors pronto, so we can start processing customers. Right now, they’re renting equipment out of a tent in the parking lot and well... it’s not what club members expect.” A beat passed. “Basically, they’re giving us until next week.”

Next week.

Those two words landed on his shoulders like ten-pound sacks.

The Masters was next week.

“If Josephine is coming back, she’ll have a lot of work to do before then...”

Wells’s brows snapped together. “Ifshe’s coming back?”

He could sense Jim’s discomfort without even seeing the older man. “Haven’t you talked to Josephine about this?”

No.

No, he’d been too busy trying to pretend they weren’t living on a deadline.

Not knowing how to answer Jim’s question without sounding like a selfish asshole—and that’s exactly what he was—Wells dodged. “Did she...” He shook his head. “I mean, obviously she’s going back to Rolling Greens, right? It’s her place. It’s her... heart.”

God help him, he sounded pathetic, and he didn’t care one bit.

“I’m not so sure, Wells...” Jim trailed off. “I mean, it’s the Masters, right? You need her.”

The numbness crept into every corner of Wells’s body as the crux of the matter washed over him like a ten-story wave. “She doesn’t think I can do it without her.” His legs wouldn’t hold him anymore and he dropped into one of the chairs. “And why would she think any different when everyone has been telling her for weeks that she’s responsible for my comeback. I reinforced that. Didn’t I? I leaned on her too much and now... she’s goingto give up the Golden Tee to caddie for me. Is that what’s happening here?”

Wells was going to be sick.You selfish piece of garbage.

Jim broke into his shame spiral. “She’s trying to get an extension from the course—”

“An extension won’t matter. It’s only temporary. After the Masters, it’ll be another tournament. Another one after that.” It hurt to breathe. “She’s too loyal to leave me.”

Just like she’d always been.

Standing on the sidelines, his stubborn fangirl to the bitter end, no matter how badly he played. Holding up her sign. Wearing his discontinued merchandise. Rain or shine.Of courseshe wasn’t going back to Palm Beach to leave him to compete in the Masters alone, especially after his continual bad behavior when she missedtwo measly daysin California. How had he not seen this? How had he not recognized the pressure bearing down on Josephine?

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