Page 51 of Confusing Cade

I chaffed.That wasn’t the word or the way I’d put it.“But it wasn’t fucking. It was more than that.”

“Jesus Christ, Cade, I don’t think you’ve ever said shit like this in the whole time I’ve known you.”

“No, I probably haven’t.”

David pivoted again and set up his ball on the tee he placed in the middle of the grass. “I felt that way with Maureen. Things were different, so I just went with it.” He stepped backward and prepared to hit the golf ball with his long black driver. I stared at him, letting him concentrate on his shot, which sailed in a near perfect, straight arch across the fairway.

“Great shot, man.”

David tossed me a grin. “Those lessons over at PGA National haven’t been for nothing.”

“You need to text me your guy.”

“I can.” He walked off the grass toward me, then patted my shoulder when he got within a few inches. “Don’t worry. It will be okay.”

“What will be okay?”

“Finding love. If... if that’s what this is.”

“Thanks.”

I took the tee from my pocket and walked to the tee box.David is probably right. Things will be okay.I shouldn’t be afraid of what I felt for Bella. It was different, but that didn’t mean it was bad. Yes, I was forty. Yes, she was fifteen years younger than me. And yes, on the surface, we didn’t have much in common besides our shared history in business.

But that didn’t mean the unexpected couldn’t happen.

And maybe it is,I thought as I placed my ball on the tee.After all this time, maybe it really is.

I lined up next to the ball, positioned my driver, took two deep breaths, and pulled back for a swing. For the first time that day, my club made perfect contact. The golf ball sailed through the air, sweeping across the fairway before dropping onto the green and then rolling a short distance to the flag.

It was a hole in one.

A fucking hole in one.

“An ace, Cade. Nice going.”

A win. Finally.

Is that how I should also see Bella? An unexpected but welcome win?

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

BELLA

“You got a hole in one?” I asked over the phone, my voice laced with genuine surprise and a touch of awe. Cade was breathless, his words tumbling out fast and nearly crackling through the connection, like the excitement was too big to contain. “At the par three course?”