Page 11 of Fore Better or Worse (Return to Starlight Bay #16)

Chapter eleven

Hays | Five Months Later

T he champagne flute in my hand might as well be filled with battery acid. I force another smile as Sean and Nicole glide across the dance floor, lost in their own world, while Ed Sheeran croons about perfect love.

The Hawaiian sunset paints everything in gold and pink. String lights twinkle overhead, setting the mood for the December wedding, yet I’m standing at the edge of the celebration, cursing the fact I’m here alone.

Sean dips Nicole, and her laugh carries on the breeze.

The same laugh my brother fell head-over-heels for more than four years ago.

I take another sip of champagne and immediately spit it out in the sand.

The bubbles remind me of sharing that snagged bottle with Leah, and suddenly, the Veuve tastes like regret and missed opportunities.

“You know, for someone who delivered a very entertaining best man speech twenty minutes ago, you look absolutely miserable.” My mom approaches, elegant in her navy dress, but flashing a knowing smile that sounds alarm bells.

“I’m not miserable.”

“You’re not working the room and charming every woman in sight. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’ve turned down three different bridesmaids who’ve asked you to dance.”

She steps closer, straightening the lei around my neck with the same gentle precision she used on me when I was eight and fidgeting in my Sunday best. “Dance with your mother?”

It’s not really a question, and I would never refuse her anything, even if I wanted to. I abandon my glass and offer her my arm, leading her onto the dance floor as the song shifts to something slower. The familiar scent of her perfume, the same one she’s worn my entire life, makes my chest tight.

“So,” she says as we begin to sway, “are you going to tell me what’s really going on, or do I have to guess?”

Shit.

“And don’t think ‘nothing’ will fool anyone, sir. Especially not me.”

As if I didn’t know that already.

I glance over at Sean and Nicole, still wrapped up in each other like they’re the only two people on the planet, and heave a sigh. She knows about Leah. About the pact. It’s not something I would keep from the woman who sacrificed so much for me. “I was going to invite Leah here this weekend.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No.”

Her eyebrows lift. “The Hays I know has always chased what he wants full throttle. No matter the consequences.”

“Then you’ll be glad to hear I’ve been learning patience lately. Not by choice.”

“Words I never thought I’d hear coming from your mouth.”

“Aren’t I full of surprises?” I say, wryly.

She smiles then pauses, her head falling to the side. “But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”

I shrug, unable to put words to what I’m feeling. We’re both quiet for a moment. When she speaks again, her voice is soft. “Any chance you’re jealous?”

“Of Sean?” I scoff, the suggestion laughable. “No. No way. That’s fucked up.”

“Language, Hays Michael,” she chides.

“Sorry. It’s messed up. I’m thrilled for them, really…” I trail off, because as I was standing up for Sean today while he vowed to have and to hold Nicole forever, all I could think about was how badly I want that, too.

“But watching your little brother get his happily ever after when you’re still waiting for yours—”

“Still trying to earn mine,” I correct, bitterness creeping into my voice.

“I thought you said Leah was right to insist you focus on golf. That you needed to win for yourself, not for her.”

“She is. It’s just… Sometimes, I wish that wasn’t the case.”

“When you’ve been chasing a single goal for most of your life, you can’t expect your priorities to change overnight, honey.”

She’s right, of course. She always is. We dance in comfortable silence for a few beats while I look off toward the ocean.

“If you ask me, I’d say Leah read you like a book.”

My gaze snaps back to my mom. “What do you mean?”

“The no-contact rule? Making you wait? She knew exactly what she was doing.”

“No, I—”

“Despite your talent, you’ve had to work at golf.

Earn every win. Even if you tried to make it look effortless.

You’ve never had to do that with women. They’ve been fawning all over you since you hit that growth spurt at fifteen and suddenly started flashing those dimples that make every girl within fifty miles lose her mind. ”

I want to argue, but she’s not wrong. Golf has been hard work, but even my worst seasons on tour have been better than many players’ best years. But women? They’ve always come easy. Until Leah. “I hate that she saw right through me. Right from the jump.”

“Smart women don’t suffer fools.”

“And I’m the fool in this scenario?”

“Of course.” She squeezes my hand. “But the kind worth rooting for.”

The song changes again, something more upbeat, but we keep swaying. I catch sight of Sean lifting Nicole off her feet, and that familiar pang hits my chest.

“It seems to me you’re putting so much pressure on yourself that you’re forgetting why you fell in love with golf in the first place. When’s the last time you played just for the joy of it?”

“Did you and Rory compare notes?” I scoff.

She laughs. “You’re lucky to have him. But no, I don’t need to talk to Rory to see the obvious.”

She’s right. I can’t remember the last time I played for the joy of it. Even yesterday’s round with Sean and the groomsmen, I was grinding over every putt as it it was Sunday at Augusta. Sean just wanted to have fun with his buddies, and instead, I worked on my swing plane.

“You’re in your head, sweetheart,” she observes. “And as tough as your mental game is, you’re thinking too much about the finish line instead of playing each shot.”

“Leah said she’d be a distraction until I won a major. I told her she’d be the best thing that ever happened to my game.”

“Maybe, she wants to be more than just your lucky charm.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I insist, seeing now how I might have come across. “She’s more than that. A hell of a lot more.”

“How so?”

“Her debut novel comes out in just a few weeks. A whole novel. She sent me an early copy.”

“And?”

And there was no note this time, but each of the sexy scenes was flagged with a Post-It. Not that I’ll lead with that fact to my mom.

“It was incredible. She writes like she talks. I could almost hear her voice in my ears. It was brilliant and addictive. A small town romance full of heat and heart was what the back-cover quote. I read the whole thing in one sitting. She’s got this way of making you care about people in just a few pages.

” I can’t hide the pride in my voice. “I wanted to call her immediately and tell her how proud I am, but…”

“But you made a promise.”

“Yeah.” I guide Mom through a turn, grateful for the distraction. “I made a fucking promise. But that won’t stop me from sending flowers. Enough to fill her house.”

“You gave her your ball marker.” It’s not a question. I have no idea how she knows. Maybe, Rory told her, but it doesn’t matter. She knows exactly what that meant.

“You carried it for how long? Fifteen years?”

“Sixteen,” I whisper.

“You really love her, don’t you?”

The question stops me cold. We’re still moving to the music, but my brain has gone completely blank. “I… What?”

“It’s a simple question, Hays. Do you love Leah?”

I think about catching Leah by the bar. The way she was different from any woman I’ve ever met before.

How she looked in that mint green dress, and how perfectly she fit against me when I kissed her.

Her smile, her laugh, the letter she sent that was smart and sexy and so completely her that I still have it folded in my wallet to this day.

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I think I do. Which sounds insane since I spent less than three hours with her, but I just…felt it. I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. Other than the fact I’ll win a major one day.”

“It’s not crazy, honey. It happens. You know that.”

“But you and Dad were different. You—”

“Do you think she felt something, too?”

I think back to that night. How Leah searched me out after the proposal. The way she stayed with me even when she had friends there she could have been having fun with. The way she leaned in when we kissed, as if she couldn’t get enough. “I think so.”

Mom’s smile is smug but tempered by the love in her eyes. “Trust your feelings. You don’t need to justify them. When you know, you know.”

“Well, I’ve got eighteen months and—”

“I thought you were practicing patience,” Mom interrupts, shooting me a look.

“I didn’t say I was good at it.”

“This time doesn’t have to be just about waiting, honey. Think of it as an opportunity to become the man Leah deserves.”

She’s right. Again. And her suggestion gives me an idea I’ll have to talk to Rory about tomorrow.

“Dad would’ve loved her.”

“He would’ve loved watching you fall this hard for someone.” She places her hand flat on my chest. Right over my heart. “And he would be proud of you, too. Because of your career, but more so, because of the man you are.”

I glance around the reception, at the happy couples and the families celebrating, at Sean and Nicole starting their life together, and I swallow the lump in my throat.

She steps back, her eyes bright. “Now, go get yourself another drink, and stop looking like Scrooge canceled Christmas. This is supposed to be a celebration.”