“You’ll see. Welcome to the club.”
Penny’s meaning was crystal clear as soon as Indy stepped through the doors at Deuce.
A group of fellow OBX players rushed her, pulling her in for hugs and congratulating her.
“You were awesome, Indy,” Addison said, hugging her tightly.
“Beyond amazing,” a girl whose name she didn’t know said, grasping her hand and squeezing it. She even saw Lara standing at the edge of the crowd, though she wasn’t quite brave enough to join in. Could they be any more superficial? She was suddenly grateful for the way they acted when shefirst arrived. There wouldn’t be a struggle to weed out the genuine people from the fakes.
“Thanks, guys,” she said, pulling away from them, only to be intercepted by Dom. Her coach’s arm came around her shoulders as he led her to a group of gentlemen, the rep from Solaris Beachwear among them. Jack was there, chatting with a man she didn’t recognize, and a step or two away, Caroline was all smiles next to Harold Hodges, chatting with her hands flying around her as the reporter nodded along with whatever she was rambling about.
After more handshakes than she could count and hearing more names than she’d ever be able to remember, Indy was practically swaying on her feet. She had no idea where Dom had vanished to, but she was caught in a sea of well-wishers, all of whom seemed desperate to congratulate her.
“Indy, what a win,” yet another man in a suit said. She had no idea who he was, but that was par for the course. She had to get used to people she didn’t know knowing who she was. “I’d love to talk to you about representation.” Apparently he was an agent. He held out a business card. Indy took it, but before she could even glance at the name, a hand snatched it from her grip.
“Now, now, Mark, you know better than that,” Jack Harrison said, shoving the card back at the man, whose mouth turned down into a scowl, but then he nodded sharply and walked away.
Indy looked up at Jack, brow furrowed, but before she could speak, his hand cupped her elbow, and with the gentlest of pressure, he steered her away from the group.
“Sorry about that,” he said when they reached an empty corner of the room. He stood in front of her, blocking her from view. “Mark D’Angelis is the worst kind of agent. He runs his clients into the ground, sucking every dollar from them, and then drops them as soon as their play suffers. Signing with Caroline Morneau is one thing. She’s a shark, but she wants what’s best for her clients. D’Angelis is a snake.”
“Oh,” she said, the tension that had been building in her shoulders since she arrived at the party suddenly loosening when she realized no one could see her. “Thanks for getting me out of there. I was… This is so…”
“Overwhelming? You looked like you were about to keel over,” Jack said. “All this can be difficult at first.”
She laughed a little. “Yeah, I think Penny tried to warn me, but I wasn’t expecting… I don’t—I guess I wasn’t expecting anyone to care.”
“Of course they care. You won. Congratulations, by the way.”
Shrugging, she said, “It doesn’t seem real. I can’t believe it yet.”
Jack laughed, his green eyes hypnotizing in their intensity. “I can.” The soft tone of his voice sent her back to the night before the tournament. Just thinking about the kiss he gave her on the cheek made her toes curl. It was so innocent. But it still made her mind reel. If his lips against her cheek felt like that, what would it feel like to really kiss him? His mouth on hers or maybe her neck, and his hands, his hands at her hips and her thighs and then between them, forever making her own hands feel incredibly inadequate at the task.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked, trying to banish those unhelpful thoughts and keep him talking, hoping he wouldn’t shut down on her again.
“There were a couple of sponsors I had to firm things up with before they left town,andI wanted to congratulate you.”
“Indiana!” Caroline’s voice carried into their corner.
She groaned, not thinking, and leaned forward, her forehead landing against Jack’s shoulder. He stiffened for a moment before his large, warm hand came up to rest against her back, not quite an embrace, but close enough for Indy to pretend. She let herself relish the closeness for a second and then she stood, straightening her shoulders.
“Ah, there you are,” Caroline said, reaching out to drag her away again, but Indy pulled back.
“Just a second,” Indy said, and Caroline stepped back a few feet, keeping her eyes locked on her.
Jack cleared his throat. “I should get going.” He hesitated for a moment before he stepped closer, pressing his lips against her cheek. Indy tried to fight the instinct to tilt her head a fraction of an inch and end this torturous game he insisted on playing. It was a losing battle for them both. She turned, and so did he, their lips brushing softly, chastely, but it was enough to send instantaneous electricity snapping through her veins at the ghost of the touch, her entire body swaying forward into his. At the contact, he pulled back and stared at her wide-eyed, mouth opening and closing, breath ragged, but not uttering a word. Then, after a few silent, tense moments, he nodded a farewell, turned, and left.
Indy watched him go, pressing her fingers against her still-tingling lips.
“He is very handsome,” Caroline said.
“Yes, he is,” Indy agreed.
“He is Penny Harrison’s brother and agent as well, no?” Her tone was casual, too casual to truly be so. Caroline was a shark. Jack was right. Of course he was right. He was brilliant and she’d kissed him—kind of.
“Indiana?” Caroline said, looking at her expectantly.
“Sorry, were you saying something?”
