Asher chuckled before Faith shot him a glare. “I’ll do better than you!” She stuck her tongue out at him.
Luca winked at her, and his eyes found mine. Delilah was nowhere to be seen, which brewed curiosity in the back of my mind that was better left alone. It was none of my business where the cute pink-haired woman was.
I pulled my gaze away from him and gave Declan a forced smile. “Are you any good at this?”
He flashed his perfect smile at me. “Oh, I’m a putt-putt master. Our duo will win for sure.”
“Actually, Decker, was it?” Luca strolled over to us. “I’m a team member short. Care if I join your duo and make it a trio?” His eyes roamed my body from head to toe.
Thank goodness I wore my cute athletic outfit; it consisted of lavender leggings that fit like a glove and my supportive sports bra to match. I had on my pure white sneakers. I felt like a damn snack, and the way Luca was ogling told me he thought so too.
Declan cleared his throat. “Declan, actually.”
My heart dropped. Not that it mattered what Luca thought. Declan’s opinion was what really mattered. I needed to remember that.
“Declan, sorry man.” Luca flippantly played with the club. “Do you guys mind?”
He shrugged. “It’s cool. The more the merrier.”
I groaned, of course, he’d be on our team. I pressed my lips together to prevent any negative words or complaints from tumbling out.
An hour later, we were in the lead, and on the last course; the huge ass windmill that we had to hit the ball through. Luca had been extremely dramatic about this one, and Declan assured him he could win it for us.
Declan smirked, his eyes shifted from Luca to me. “As long as I get a good luck kiss.”
The man wasn’t as oblivious as I’d thought. I laughed and walked over to him. “Of course.” He puckered his lips, and the gesture sent a jolt of nausea through me. I bent forward and planted a swift kiss on his cheek. “Good luck.”
His smile dropped as he turned around to the golf ball. I stepped back behind him as he positioned his feet and took a deep breath. Unlike the other times where he barely tapped the ball, Declan reared back the golf club and the heavy metal end whacked me in the face.
The sickening crack of the club to my face caused everyone to stop. Blood pooled in my mouth, and pain erupted from the point of impact. Colorful spots clouded my vision, and I dropped to my knees and covered my face with trembling hands.
Fuck, that hurt.
Strong arms pulled me to my feet, and I rested my head against someone’s torso. The smell that invaded my senses reminded me of home: a woodsy and spicy scent. I knew it wasn’t Declan that had a hold of me, but the man I’d been trying to avoid. I welcomed the comfort of his embrace.
“I’m an ER nurse. Back the fuck up. I’ll take care of her,” Luca’s voice surrounded me as I tried to focus on what happened.
“She’s my girlfriend, dude. I feel awful!” Declan’s voice was rough, and he sounded pissed for the first time since I’d known him.
Not his girlfriend.
“You should feel awful.” Luca didn’t give Declan a chance to reply as he scooped me up in his arms and started carrying me somewhere. “I’m taking you to the family bathroom. We’ll see the damage the fucker did.”
I groaned in reply and refused to move my hands from my face. The wetness of the blood and tears slid around on my hands as he walked. He opened a door and placed me down on the ground. I heard the door shut and lock behind me, accompanied by a click of the lights being turned on.
“Let me see,” Luca’s voice was hushed. He grabbed both of my trembling hands and lowered them from my face. His eyes widened, and I saw the heavy amount of blood that coated them.
My lip stung, and my face throbbed. I couldn’t help but admire Luca’s take-charge attitude. “How bad is it?” I hissed as pain erupted through my face when I spoke.
He walked over and grabbed paper towels to wet in the sink before he came back over to me. “Do you want the truth?” he asked as he dabbed the wet paper towel on my lip.
I winced and flinched away from it. “No. Lie.”
“It looks great. Hardly any swelling,” he quipped as his hand cupped the back of my neck.
My breath caught. “What’re you doing?” I could feel the heat from his body with how close he was. The faucet dripped into the dirty sink, each droplet reverberating around the room like a cymbal.
“Making sure you don’t move.” He dabbed my lip again, and I stiffened.
He used the wet paper towel to dab the blood away. Each time it hit anywhere near my lip pain sliced through me. He hesitated before bringing his thumb up to delicately press around my mouth. He leaned in, staring at my lip, and his minty breath fanned across my face. Goosebumps pricked at my skin, and sweat started beading in between my breasts.
Boob sweat was my enemy.
He pulled away from me and tossed the bloody paper towel. He grabbed a dry one and folded it a few times before he handed it to me. “It’s still bleeding but doesn’t need stitches or anything. Don’t see how though. That was a wicked hit you took.”
I pressed the dry paper towel to my lip. It was scratchy and caused more tinges of pain to shoot through my face. I walked over to the mirror and lowered the towel from my lip.
I gasped. A deep gash went through my bottom lip and to my chin. A bluish-purple bruise began to form around it. Blood oozed out and dribbled down my face and hit the top of
