It was hard for him to admit his father was right... this time, anyway. Brad did like his life better now that he’d stopped drinking. Grinning, he recalled what Tyger had said at her party,you don’t need to be drunk to have a good time.She couldn’t have been more precise. Of course, he learned that the hard way, and gone through many years of waking up with a hangover the next morning. No more. He wasn’t in college any longer, and life wasn’t about who could consume the most beer.
Brad stepped up and placed his golf ball on the tee. He chose the right driver club to use for this swing. Adjusting his stance, he looked toward the white flag not far from where they were. It would be nice if he could make a hole-in-one today. He felt as if he was floating on air lately and that he could accomplish anything.
Steadying his club, he swung it a few times to get the feel before lining it up with the ball. He held his breath and...whack!The ball sailed through the air toward the white flag. When the ball hit the ground, it rolled toward the hole. The closer the ball rolled to the hole, the more his anticipation grew. However, his lucky streak wouldn’t be today, because the ball stopped at least ten feet away.
Oh, well. There was always next time.
“Wow. That was a great shot,” Corey praised and patted Brad on the shoulder.
“Yeah, well,” Brad shrugged, “I’m better with women than I am with golf.”
His brother’s loud laugh boomed through the trees, startling the other golfers. His dad just rolled his eyes. Brad chuckled.
He kept quiet for the next little while as he played through. Of course, his mind was occupied with Tyger, and especially how to win her. He’d not met her idiot boyfriend, but the ladies at the magazine seemed to think Tom was a jerk. Amanda had even mentioned how poorly Tom treated Tyger.
Brad tightened his hands on the club – envisioning it being the boyfriend’s neck – and he swung, hitting the ball farther than necessary. If he ever caught that man treating Tyger unkindly, he’d be tempted to introduce his fist to the man’s face over and over again.
What had bothered him the most about Tyger’s boyfriend was what Pat Gurrister had told him as he was leaving the party. The older woman was shocked to think Tyger would have a party at her place because she wasn’t that type of girl. Not only that, but Tyger never did anything spontaneous... not unless herboyfriendsaid it was all right. Pat described Tom to be a domineering man. The landlord even witnessed a few times how frightened Tyger was when Tom showed his temper.
Pat told him of time when Tyger and Tom were at the pool and he had yelled at her for wearing such a skimpy swimsuit. Pat had mentioned that the swimsuit was something modest women wore. But when Tyger left to change, Tom’s roaming eyes moved to other women who were there, and he ogled the girls who wore skimpier swimsuits. Pat told him how sick she’d become just watching Tom, and she wanted to slap his face.
Brad gritted his teeth. He actually wanted to do more than justslapthe idiot’s face. But he couldn’t understand why his beautiful Tyger was with someone like that. Was her self-esteem so low that she didn’t think she deserved better?
Hope rose inside of his chest. He couldn’t wait to show her how arealman treats his woman. He decided to lay on the charm thick with his little Tyger. By the time he was finished, she’d feel like a beautiful and desirable woman.
He actually looked forward to this project. Being back home with his parents wasn’t exactly thrilling. Although he had money to buy his own place here in Manhattan, he knew he was never in one place long enough to own property, which was why he stayed at his parent’s estate whenever he was in town.
He loved his parents, but he was tired of hearing the same old lecture – that he was twenty-eight-years-old and should be settling down and raising a family. His father was always yapping about Brad’s friends, and especially about thefloozieshe’d dated. His parents wanted him to find a nice girl. Well, Brad had found a nice girl, and although he still wasn’t ready to settle down, he looked forward to bringing some self-esteem into her life.
“Dad,” Corey said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to attend the dinner party on Thursday that mother has planned.”
His father lined up the tee and ball and then stood. “Why not?” he asked as he glanced across the greens.
“I have a business meeting.”
Silence lasted a few minutes until after Todd swung his club, knocking the ball into the air as it sailed toward its destination. “Business meeting, eh?”
“Yes,” Corey answered.
“What’s her name?”
Brad snorted a laugh and then quickly covered his mouth. Apparently, their father knew his sons better than they wanted to believe.
Corey rolled his eyes. “It’s really a business meeting.”
“If you say so.” Todd moved aside to let Brad go next. “What about you, Brad? Have you found a date for Thursday yet?”
Immediately, he thought of his Tyger. He’d love to take her, but he doubted she’d go out with him when she was still seeing Tom. Brad tightened his grip on the golf club. Why she insisted on staying with that jerk was beyond his thinking.
He whacked the ball too hard. He wouldn’t make his mark now. Strange how he wasn’t as worried about that swing as he was about Tyger.Snap out of it, Montgomery!
Chuckling, he shook his head. When had another boyfriend ever stopped Brad from getting the woman he wanted? “I do have someone in mind,” he answered his father’s question. “But I’ll have to do some major charming to get her to agree.”
Corey barked out a loud laugh. “What’s this? My brother has actually found a woman who isn’t easy?”
Brad threw his sibling a glare. “That’s not funny.”
Corey shrugged. “I thought it was.”
