accompany Kel in his place and she’d immediately refused. Yet the moment Kel had tried to reschedule the round with her father, Darcy had magically agreed. It was obvious she didn’t want him spending any more time with her father.
“I swear, you’ll learn to love it,” Kel reassured her. “Just keep your eye on the ball, keep your head down and swing. It’s not that hard.”
Darcy groaned. “I’m not athletic. I was always picked last for teams in school. I hate sports.”
Though she’d laughed at her mistakes and generally been a trooper about the whole thing, it was clear Darcy hadn’t had much sleep the night before, through no fault of his own. Her father had kept her busy for most of the day yesterday, then insisted that they all have dinner together. Kel had hoped they’d be able to sneak away to his room once Sam retired, but Darcy’s father had other plans for his daughter. According to Darcy, they’d worked until three a.m.
Kel walked over to Darcy and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and covering her hands with his. It felt good to hold her. “Maybe you need to loosen up your hips,” he said, his breath soft against her ear. “They seem a bit tight.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Darcy asked.
Kel checked her grip, then placed his palms on her waist. “You just shift slightly when your weight moves from one foot to the other.”
She turned to him. “Can’t we try something else? There are so many more interesting things to do than chase this stupid little ball around in the grass.”
“Try one more hole,” Kel suggested.
“Loosen my hips,” she murmured. Darcy wriggled her backside, leaning into him and making direct contact with his groin. “Oh, there!” she said, feigning surprise. “That feels good. I think they’re getting looser now.” She wriggled again. “Oh, that feels good.”
Kel clamped down on her waist. “Darcy, stop it.”
This time she bent forward suggestively as she pressed her backside into his crotch, her little golf skirt riding up. “I think I feel it now,” she said playfully. “Is that better?”
Kel couldn’t control his reaction. He looked down at the growing erection pressing against the front of his trousers. “You’re right, this was a mistake.”
Darcy turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, then brushed a kiss across his lips. “I’m glad you finally agree. How can golf possibly be any fun if we have to keep our clothes on?”
“We don’t need to keep our clothes on,” Kel said. He reached for his belt and began to unfasten it, but Darcy grabbed his arm.
“We’re not playing nude golf. But if you come with me, we can get naked for all sorts of other reasons.”
Kel pressed his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. “We can’t spend all our time in bed, Darcy. Don’t you want something more than that? Something…normal?”
She sighed, turning away from him. “Why do we have to talk about this now? Can’t we just enjoy ourselves? We only have one more day together. And with my father here, who knows how much time we’ll have?”
“That’s my point,” Kel said. “I just thought we might be able to spend a nice morning together, doing something other than rolling around in my bed.”
Darcy put her fingers at the corners of his mouth and forced him to smile. “There’s no one I’d rather spend my time with. But we aren’t a normal couple,” she said. “We’re just having fun here-that was the deal.”
“You’re right,” Kel said, his voice curt. “I keep forgetting the deal.”
“And you’re angry now,” Darcy countered. “I’m sorry. It seems, since my father arrived, all we’ve been doing is fighting.”
“I consider it renegotiating,” Kel said.
“I just don’t understand what we have to fight about.”
“What are you afraid of?” Kel asked.
“Nothing,” Darcy replied. She walked back to the tee box and picked up her golf ball before strolling back to the cart.
Kel struggled to put his feelings into words, but that had never been one of his talents. A great curveball, a charming smile and a decent short game on the golf course, that’s what he was good at. But he’d spent his adult life trying to avoid any emotional entanglements. And now that he’d gotten himself so tangled up in Darcy, he wasn’t sure how to handle it.
Every instinct told him to hold her close and not let go. At first, it was all about the sexual fireworks between them. It felt so good to touch her, to have her touch him, to lose himself inside her. But with every minute they’d spent together, things inside him had begun to change.
Unfortunately, he’d managed to fall for a woman who had absolutely no feelings for him at all-at least none she’d admit to. She seemed perfectly happy to go on as they had, enjoying their time in bed then going back to her life as it was before he came to The Delaford.
Odd how the roles had been reversed. Usually he was the one who looked for a way out. Now, he was searching for a way in-into her heart and her soul, maybe even into her life. Perhaps signing the offer for the house on Crystal Lake hadn’t been the best idea, but Kel had to believe that there was a chance for them.
“Why don’t you take the cart back and I’ll finish the round?” Kel suggested, unwilling to fight her any longer. “I could use the exercise.”
She gave him a strange look. “Will I see you later?”
If he ever expected to get out of this mess without regrets, then he’d have to put some distance between him and Darcy, starting now. It would do him no good to hope that she wanted him for anything more than his talents in the bedroom.
“I don’t know.”
“I could always ride along with you,” Darcy suggested, “and watch you golf. Maybe I could learn something.”
He shrugged. At least she was willing to compromise. That was a step in the right direction. And for all that he wanted to regain some perspective, he still preferred to spend the day with her. “All right,” he said.
She hopped in the cart, sitting behind the wheel, and watched as he teed off. “Wiggle those hips,” Darcy shouted.
Kel hit a nice drive, straight down the middle and Darcy steered the cart over to him. But just as they prepared to drive down the fairway, Kel noticed another golf cart approaching at a fast speed. He recognized one of the bellmen from the hotel.
“Mr. Martin? Mr. Martin, I have an emergency phone call for you.”
Darcy straightened. “An emergency?”
The bellman handed Kel a cellphone. “It’s a Mr. Waverly.”
Kel turned to Darcy. “My agent,” he explained. “Every time he calls, it’s some kind of emergency.” He took the cellphone from the bellman and sent Darcy a reassuring look. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
His agent’s voice crackled over the fading connection. “Kel. Ben Waverly here. I’ve got some news.”
“I’m on the golf course right now, Ben,” Kel said into the phone. “Can this wait?”
“Kel, they want to trade you. To Atlanta. I just got a call from the front office. You need to fly out there for a meeting and a physical. They want to know what’s going on with the shoulder before they sign on the dotted line. You’re going to have to make a decision, Kel, and pretty quick.”
“Let me get back to the hotel,” Kel said. “I’ll call you from there.” He switched off the phone and handed it back to the bellman.
“Is everything all right?” Darcy asked.
“Not really,” he murmured. He glanced around. “We should go back. I’ve got to take care of this and I can’t do it from here.”
“Tell me,” Darcy murmured, her eyes filled with worry. “If something is wrong, I’d like to help.”
Kel winced, then rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension that always came with a call from his agent. At least if he retired, he’d never have to deal with Ben Waverly again. “Would you? Come on, Darcy, that’s not part of our deal,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I wouldn’t want you to have to pretend that you cared.”
“Why have you become so obsessed with our deal? This was supposed to be simple, wasn’t it?”
