Mr. Franklin drew his eyes away from Penny’s retreating back and shook Indy’s hand. “I’m really looking forward to watching you play this week.”
“Thank you.”
“Caroline was telling me about the featureAthlete Weeklyis doing on you.”
Indy felt her face flush a little. “Well, it is on a few of us…”
“Modest, too. Here’s my card.” The man passed it over to her. “Good luck in the tournament, Indiana. Caroline, I look forward to hearing from you.”
He excused himself and Indy turned to Caroline with an eyebrow raised. “Solaris Beachwear?”
“It’s not Nike, but you haven’t actually won anything yet. Then again, neither has Penelope Harrison—a bigtournament, yes, but certainly not a major. They’ll come calling eventually, but for now…”
“You think Nike is going to want me?”
“I speak as I find. You win something, Indiana, like this tournament, and Solaris Beachwear won’t be the only one knocking on our door.”
“We’ll see,” Indy said. “And anyway, you’re still not my agent.”
Caroline’s smile grew wide like she knew something Indy didn’t. There was meaning in that smile that didn’t sit quite right with her.
As Caroline started to speak again, Indy saw Teddy Harrison pushing through the crowd in her direction. Jacket and tie nowhere in sight, the sleeves of his burgundy dress shirt were already rolled up to his elbows.
“Sorry, Caroline, gotta go,” she said, and met him halfway. “Dance with me?”
“Do you really want to dance or did you just want to get away from her?” Teddy asked, laughing, as they moved through the dancing couples, the band playing a slow jazz tune.
“Sorry,” she said, shrugging. “I know I need an agent, but there’s something about her. She’s…”
“She’s a shark, at least that’s what Jack says, and he’s usually right.”
“Is he?” Indy said, the memory of Jack’s touch still at the center of her back, but Teddy didn’t answer as she wrapped her arm around his neck and looked out over his shoulder. In the corner of the room, Jasmine, Lara, and Addison were twittering away and staring at them, not even pretending they weren’t.
“We have an audience,” Indy whispered.
Teddy’s shoulders tensed under her hands. “Do you mind if I…” He nodded in that direction.
Indy glanced back at the girls, and the daggers flying out of Jasmine’s eyes could’ve shredded her to ribbons. “Go,” she said, and Teddy offered her a tight smile before leaving her on the dance floor and walking over to Jasmine.
Indy watched as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his feet. He nodded out to the dance floor, but Jasmine simply marched away, the others trailing behind her.
She made sure to stay clear of their path as she made her way to the bar. She had enough enemies at OBX, mostly because of things totally out of her control. She didn’t need to earn any more by going after Jasmine’s best friend.
“Seltzer and lime, please,” she asked the bartender, leaning back against the bar to observe the party while she waited.
“Jack and Coke,” a voice next to her ordered, and she glanced sideways to see Jack Harrison. Earlier, she’d been so focused on the feel of his hands against her skin, there hadn’t been enough time to admire how well he filled out his navy-blue suit.
The bartender placed her drink on the bar, which was the perfect distraction from staring at Jack just a little too long.
“You haven’t seen my sister anywhere, have you?” he asked her by way of greeting.
“Oh, um, she’s…” She nodded to the other end of the bar, where Penny’s eyes were glued to the television mounted high on the wall: A replay of a match in Rome was airing.Zina Lutrova was soundly beating the world’s number three player, Jin Jun Huang.
“Great, torturing herself.”
“I don’t know. If I were an agent, I’d be thrilled if my client wanted to win as much as she does.”
“As an agent, I am thrilled. As a brother, sometimes I wish she could relax a little bit. I wasn’t like that when I played.”
