A young guy in a white polo and white shorts walked toward my car when I pulled up to the valet. I reached into the backseat and grabbed my racquet before he opened my door.
“Good morning, Miss,” he said with a friendly smile. His long blond hair fell over one eye and he tucked it back behind his ear. I imagined that he was a surfer. He looked like one.
“Good morning,” I replied, pulling my bag over my shoulder. “I’m new here. Can you tell me where I can find the tennis courts?”
He nodded. “Go into the main entrance here. Take the first left and head to the double doors leading out onto the back veranda. Go down the stairs then take a right. You’ll see the courts straight ahead.”
That sounded easy enough. “Thank you,” I replied, handing the young guy my keys.
“Can I see your card, Miss? I need to register your car into the system.”
I reached inside the car and got the card off my dashboard and handed it to him.
He quickly read it then ran it through a card reader before handing it back to me. “Just let us know when you’re ready for it, Miss Manning,” he replied.
“Thank you.” I thought about telling him he could call me Harlow but there was no point. He would probably get in trouble with management if he were ever caught calling me by my first name.
I headed inside. The fact that I knew I wasn’t going to run into Nan here was the most relief I’d had all morning. A man dressed like the guy outside opened the door for me, and I followed the valet’s directions to the tennis courts.
I passed a restaurant on my way and decided I would come back for lunch. It looked nice and the food smelled amazing from out here. A girl in white shorts and a white polo stopped in front of me. A slow smile touched her face. Her brown hair was pulled up high in a ponytail, and it was obvious she was an employee—her outfit was the same as those of the men who’d helped me, only more fitted. But she looked familiar.
“Harlow?” she asked.
I recognized her. I had met her at Rush and Blaire’s wedding. “Yes,” I replied, frustrated because I couldn’t remember her name. Grant had messed with my head that day and I couldn’t remember much more than my conversation with him.
“I’m Bethy. Blaire’s friend. We met at the wedding,” she said.
I felt my face heat up. I hated not remembering people. It was part of my socially inept thing. “I remember,” I replied with a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.” I hoped that was the correct thing to say and that I didn’t sound like an idiot, because I sure felt like one.
Bethy’s expression was friendly, but there was a sadness in her eyes. “I understand. You met a lot of people that day. I didn’t know you were in town.”
I liked this girl. She was making me feel comfortable. That was rare. “I’m here while my dad’s on tour. He sent me to live with Nan.”
Bethy’s eyes went wide and she let out a low whistle. “Damn. I thought you were the daughter he liked.”
She obviously was very close to Blaire and knew exactly what our family situation was like. “He bought Nan the house here, but in return I get to live in it, too, when he’s on tour. He doesn’t like leaving me alone in L.A.,” I explained, trying not to sound too defensive about Dad.
Bethy let out a long sigh. “Personally, I’d brave L.A. if I were you.”
I felt like laughing but I didn’t. I bit my lip to keep it in.
“You know I’m right. The bitch hates you,” Bethy said. “She hates Blaire, too, so the two of you should team up and join forces.”
“I really like Blaire. I’m so glad Rush found her.”
Bethy studied me a moment. “I guess you and Rush have a lot in common. You two were practically raised by Slacker Demon.”
There was also my brother Mase. No one ever mentioned him. He lived with his mother on a ranch in Texas. Dad had gone to see him several times that I knew of, but he rarely came to L.A. He liked his life in Texas. He was also very close to his stepfather. “Yeah. We’ve seen a lot,” I replied, deciding not to mention Mase. That would only lead to questions I wasn’t sure how to answer. Dad hadn’t seen Mase in over a year but Mase called me at least once a month to check in with me and see how I was. It gave me a chance to ask him about his life. My grandmama used to make sure I saw Mase several times a year. I hadn’t seen him since she passed away. I never told Dad about it because I worried that he would be hurt that Mase didn’t reach out to him that way.
“Well, I’m glad you’re in Rosemary, although I wish you had better accommodations. You need help finding anything around here?” she asked, then looked down at my tennis skirt and the racquet over my arm and smiled. “You’re headed to the tennis courts. Follow me. I need to make sure you don’t get molested by Nelton, our sleazy tennis pro. We have a much nicer pro, Adam. That’s who you need.”
Good to know. Stay away from Nelton. She spun around and we headed toward the doors. Her ponytail swished back and forth as she went, but there was no bounce to her step. Even though I didn’t know her very well, that seemed odd.
We headed out the door and she waved at several people. Most of them members. It was interesting that she was on friendly terms with members yet she worked here. I wasn’t used to that sort of country club. I liked it. Very much.
“So you play tennis a lot?” Bethy asked, glancing back at me.
“At Dad’s place they have a court. I use it for exercise and just to have something to do. Gives me time to think.”
“And here you’re going to use it to get away from Nan. Good idea,” Bethy replied.
This time I did smile.
A tall, blond man with a dark tan and green eyes saw us walking his way and his eyes began to travel down my body. I didn’t like it at all. The visor he was wearing was turned around backward and he was dressed in an all-white tennis outfit.
“Not for you, Nelton. Stick to your cougars. I’m looking for Adam,” Bethy told the man, and I found myself moving closer to her as we passed him.
“Why don’t you let her decide who she wants? I got a free hour for that one,” he replied.
“Yuck, ew, go away,” Bethy snapped, and kept walking.
I was really thankful for Bethy right then.
“Sorry. Nelton thinks he’s God’s gift to women. If he weren’t so creepy he’d be attractive but he’s just . . . ugh. The older women love him, though. Adam is new. Woods, the owner of Kerrington Club, hired Adam two weeks ago—or maybe I should say Della, Woods’s fiancée, hired Adam two weeks ago. She wasn’t a fan of Nelton and wanted another option out here.”
I didn’t know Della but I liked her for that reason alone.
“Adam,” Bethy called out, and I looked out on the court to see a tall, muscular man turn around. His hair was red. Maybe more of a strawberry blond from being out in the sun so much. He had a white sweatband around his head, and he was also wearing the white tennis outfit that Nelton had been wearing. I noticed the words “Kerrington Club” stitched on his shirt in small, scripted letters and “Tennis Pro” under it.
Adam came jogging over to us with a smile on his face. As he got closer, his clear blue eyes came into focus. They were startling and very pale. He wasn’t as tan as Nelson—he was more on the fair side. He even had freckles on his muscular arms. He would be what my grandmama called a ginger.
“Hey, Bethy, what’s up?” he asked, smiling at Bethy and glancing over at me with a grin then back to Bethy.
“I have a new member. She’s a friend of Rush’s and, unfortunately, Nan’s half-sister. We won’t hold that against her. Like Rush, she’s nothing like Nan. Anyway, she wants to play. Set her up and schedule her; she’s gonna need some place to escape while she’s living with the wicked bitch. Anyway, Harlow, this is Adam. Adam, meet Harlow.”
Bethy really hated Nan.
“Nice to meet you, Harlow,” he said, holding out his hand. I slipped mine in his and shook it. It was brief. Nothing awkward or uncomfortable. I didn’t like shaking hands or touching people I had just met.
“I have a couple of openings in my schedule I need to fill. Nelton stays pretty booked and he gets most of the regulars,” Adam informed us. His teeth were perfectly straight and very white. I had a thing for pretty teeth.
“Okay then. My job is done,” Bethy said, then turned to me. “You’re safe with Adam. He’s not a creeper. Enjoy your day.”
“Thank you for your help,” I replied.
Bethy flashed a smile, but again the sadness in her eyes was there. “No problem. Blaire has sung your praises. I wanted to make sure I took care of you for her.”
I nodded and Bethy waved back at Adam before heading back to where we came from.
“Why don’t we look at my schedule over here on the Mac and set up your daily sessions? That is, if you’re coming every day.”
“Yes. I’m going to need something to do,” I assured him. Adam was easy to be around, and the idea of having something to look forward to and someone to talk to, even if it was about tennis, sounded appealing. Besides, he was attractive and his smile made his eyes twinkle. I liked that. I liked it a lot.
Grant
Harlow wasn’t answering my calls, dammit. Just like before. She was shutting me out. The look on her face this morning had been so painful. She hadn’t answered my calls and she believed I had been fucking Nan all along. It was why she was shutting me out . . . right? I had caved and started sleeping with Nan again when I realized Harlow wasn’t letting me into her stone fortress. I had tried to wipe her from my mind. It hadn’t worked. But I was fucking trying. The hurt, betrayed look in her eyes was eating me alive. What was she thinking? Had I gotten all this wrong?
I needed to talk to her.
I stalked into the club and almost ran over Bethy. I hadn’t seen much of her over the past few months. She’d stayed to herself and kept busy with work.
“Hey,” I said as she stopped and looked up at me with a forced smile.
“Hi” was her only response.
“What’s up?” It was an empty question but I didn’t know what else to say. Out of all of us, she’d suffered the loss of Jace the most.
She shrugged. “Headed to work. Just got Harlow signed up with Adam, the new tennis pro, so now my good deed for the day is done.”
Harlow.
“Harlow’s on the tennis courts?” I asked, trying not to take off running in that direction.
Bethy nodded. “Yep. Hiding from Nan for the day. I feel sorry for the poor girl. But then you wouldn’t understand anyone’s dislike of Nan,” she replied and rolled her eyes before stepping around me and walking out the door.
I wanted to defend myself but I was too focused on getting to Harlow.
When I stepped onto the brick sidewalk toward the courts, I noticed Nelton with Thad’s mother. I was pretty sure Thad’s mom wasn’t one of Nelton’s groupies. She was a nice lady. I couldn’t imagine her sleeping around on her husband. Besides, she wouldn’t do anything to let Thad down. The boy was spoiled and lucky as hell.
I walked past them and my gaze immediately singled out Harlow. She had a pinched, determined frown on her face as she hit every ball Adam sent her way. She also looked like a fucking dream in that skirt.
“That’s it, girl,” Adam called out in appreciation. I didn’t like his tone of voice. He seemed too happy for her. Too . . . interested.
“We’re gonna take it up a notch. Think you can handle it?” he asked.
“Bring it on.” She stopped when her eyes found me. I could see the series of emotions before she closed them off and turned her eyes back toward Adam. “Give me a minute.”