I dropped my club in the golf bag. Saturday rounds of golf with Flynn comprised much of my rare time away from work. Might as well get in a full day of play before the course closed for the season. The gray sky promised dropping temperatures as the afternoon grew later.
Flynn put his ball and overshot. He swore and glared at the offending green. “I’ll beat you at this yet.” He settled in for another shot. “Have you notified Sam’s piece of ass her reckoning has come?”
“She’s been trying to confront me every day since.” I gulped as he thought of pink bangs and a little tongue I was sure would’ve been all over my dick within minutes if it weren’t for the phone call.
Laughing, Flynn adjusted his stance to putt again. “What are you waiting for, dude? Rip into her.”
Oh, I’d rip into her all right. “Just so happens, I met her at my club.”
Flynn’s gaze popped off the ball. “And did it get ugly?”
My grin had to look like I’d nailed a hole in one. “No, because I told her my name was Sam.”
“Story. Now.” Flynn straightened and waited.
Other golfers were making their way to their hole. I didn’t care to share my private business with the world. “Make your damn shot and I’ll keep talking.”
Flynn swung the club down and hit the ball without looking. He cocked a brow toward Wes, not caring where it landed.
“Fine. She came in asking for me, so I went to check her out. I realized who she was and that she didn’t know it was me.” I lifted a shoulder. “So I decided to tell her my name was Sam and find out what had made my dad willing to hand over a major piece of property to her.”
“Did you?”
Yes. “Almost. Supposedly, she got a call that her mom was in the hospital.”
“You don’t believe her?”
“Maybe. It’d be a good setup.” I had thought about it while waiting for my driver. She’d mysteriously gotten a call and called it quits before we’d hit it. It wasn’t like a hookup would follow her into the ER, but she could snag my sympathy and use it to squeeze me dry.
“So now what?”
I pinned my friend with a determined stare. “Now I wait for her to call. I can sample the goods while getting my revenge.”
I’d expected a fist bump from Flynn, but he wore a slight frown. “What if she plays you, too?”
“No way. I’m in this with my eyes open. She’s the one who doesn’t know who I am.”
“Whatever, dude. Keep me posted so I can tell you to abort the mission when she starts draining your wallet. She’s going out of business thanks to you, by the way.”
I studied Flynn. Genuine concern emanated from him. As if Mara could get one over on me.
We hopped into the golf cart and jetted to the next hole.
“So, what’s she look like?” Flynn draped his arm over the wheel and flashed the dimple-baring grin that brought the girls flocking, along with the limit-free credit card.
I blew out a breath. I wished I could say she looked like a wet mutt that’d been homeless and out in the rain for a month. “Pretty, in a simple way. Beautiful, really, and all without much makeup.” I settled back and let the images of Mara laughing and dancing run through my head. “She had her hair in ponytails, but it was cute. She’s short, too, but doesn’t seem like it because she’s not, like, meek or anything.”
Flynn studied me, saying nothing.
Irritation spiked. “What?”
“I thought you’d just say she’s hot. Or she’s fugly. But I’d swear you’re going to break out in song, spout some poetry.”
I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t enamored.
I wasn’t.
“I have to know my target.”
Flynn grunted but didn’t sound convinced.
“I know it might all be contrived. Mara’s a woman in a male-dominated business. I doubt Sam was the only one who ‘helped’ her along the way.”
Especially after seeing her house. Had all of her money gone into the store, or had she spent it on exotic vacations? I made a note to check into it.
A simple, bordering on rundown, house would give the effect that she had nothing and needed help.
We climbed out of the cart and chose our next clubs. Flynn asked, “When do you see her again?”
“After this, I’ll go to the office and get some work done. If she hasn’t called by then, I’ll text her.”
“Maybe you should play hard to get.”
What if that kept me from her bed? No, I wanted more than a nibble of Mara Jade.
Mara
I rubbed my eyes and blinked away my tiredness. It didn’t help.
“Are you all right?” Ephraim, one of my regulars, glanced at me while he meticulously arranged the pieces of his Axis & Allies game. The light from my store danced over his dark scalp as he bent over the table. He was probably about my mom’s age, but where my mom was dependent on a wheelchair, he was trim and fit with an athletic six-foot frame.
I shot him a reassuring smile. “Late night for all the wrong reasons.”
“Your mom?”
My heart twisted. Not just at the reminder of why I’d been up late, but that my regulars had become such a mainstay of my life, not just my store. I considered many of them friends. They gave me sound business advice and recommended various items I should stock. I rarely failed to heed their advice—after much consideration, of course, thanks to therapy.
“She’s in the hospital again. I can’t thank you enough for recommending Golden Meadows Living Center. They’ve taken such good care of her.” I thanked my lucky stars that I could afford quality care for my mom every time I walked into the clean, cheery facility.
Ephraim’s expression crinkled with tenderness. He inspected the minute game pieces before setting each one down. “They took good care of my dad, and then Mom when she developed dementia. I’m glad it’s
