“Relax,” he said, gesturing to her shoulders, which were lifted close to her neck. Apparently he’d struck a nerve, and he wished he’d kept his big mouth shut.
“Iam,” she said through gritted teeth, and pulled back and swung again. This time she barely nicked the ball, and it fell off the tee.
“Hey.” He moved closer to her and took the club from her hand, afraid she might start swinging it again. “I’m sorry I asked about you and Landon.”
“It’s all right.” She waved her hand at him and sighed. “To be honest, the date was awful. He’s incredibly boring and likes to talk about himself constantly.”
“What a surprise,” Joe mumbled, trying not to smirk.
“It was a waste of time.” She met his gaze. “You were right, I shouldn’t have gone out with him.”
The breeze from the fan in the corner of the stall lifted a strand of loose hair from her ponytail. He fought the urge to tuck it behind her ear. “I’m sorry,” he said again, meaning it.
She scoffed. “I’m waiting for the ‘I told you so.’”
He shook his head. “I’d never say that to you.” He handed her back her club. “We’ve got five balls left. Would you like to hit the rest?”
After staring at him for a moment, she nodded. “Yes. I would.”
“Good. You can pretend they’re Ferry’s head.”
Sophie smiled, and his knees nearly buckled. Oh boy, he was in trouble here.So much for a friendly outing.At least on his part.
***
Sophie had never experienced anything as satisfying as getting out her frustration by driving golf balls.Why haven’t I done this before?But she knew the answer. It was the answer for everything she’d missed out on during the past fifteen years. Work. Work, work, work. For once she hadn’t thought about Petals and Posies since she’d left the shop.
How could she when her attention kept flip-flopping from golf to Joe, focusing mostly on Joe the past twenty minutes. While she had gotten out her frustration over Landon being a bust, Joe had sat there drinking his lemonade and calling out a few pointers that were actually helpful. When she saw that onlyone ball was left, she grabbed it from the basket and walked over to him.
“You can hit the last one.”
He looked at the ball, then up at her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Positive.” Truth was, she needed a break. Her arms were sore from swinging the club, not to mention the way her body had tensed when Joe mentioned Landon. She’d hoped he wouldn’t, but when he did, she couldn’t be dishonest about the date. She’d also genuinely thought Joe would gloat, but he didn’t. If anything, he looked sympathetic. Strange, since he had been so insistent that she not go out with Landon.
“All right.” He took one last drink and stood up, then took the ball from her hand and walked to the tee.
Sophie sat and grabbed her lemonade, the plastic cup slick with condensation. It was a warm night, but not too humid. Very pleasant for hitting golf balls. As she took a drink, she realized it was also pleasant to watch Joe. More than pleasant, she realized, taking in how good he looked as he squared up in front of the tee. His forearms were tan and muscular, but they didn’t compare to those biceps.Who knew I was such an arm girl?
She gave her head a hard shake, nearly spilling her lemonade on her lap. Where were these thoughts coming from? This was Joe, a man she hadn’t paid a lick of attention to in fifteen years. But for some reason, tonight she couldn’t keep her eyes off him. More importantly, he hadn’t rubbed her nose in the failed date. He’d also introduced her to a game she knew she was going to play again.
Friends, remember? We’re here together asfriends.
Thwack!The sound of the driver hitting the ball broughther out of her thoughts, and she watched the white sphere fade into oblivion. Was it possible to hit a ball past the range? If so, Joe would be the one to do it.
He was grinning as he walked over to her. “Now that was a good drive.” He sat in the chair on the other side of the table. “Want to hit another bucket?”
She shook her head, then tugged the errant strand of hair that had been bugging her all evening behind her ear. “The muscles in my arms say no.”
Joe chuckled, resting one ankle over his knee. “Then we should listen to your muscles. You don’t want to injure yourself.”
Her gaze went to his biceps again, then she quickly took another sip of her lemonade. He’d caught her staring at him once; she didn’t want him to see her doing it again.
They sat in silence for a moment, then Joe uncrossed his legs. “I’ll take your driver and the bucket back to the clubhouse.”
Disappointment suddenly coursed through her. Their evening was over. They would get into their cars, and she would go back to her house. Alone. Like she always had. She glanced around the range and saw two empty stalls and no one at the clubhouse. The stall next to them had three teenage boys making the usual ruckus teen boys make.
“Do you mind waiting until I finish my lemonade?” she asked, a little embarrassed she was using such a weak excuse to extend their time together.
