Take a Chance (6 page)

“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.

H
arlow 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.”

Adam had turned and was looking my way. I could feel his gaze on me but I wasn’t taking my eyes off her in case she got away.

She reached for her towel and wiped the sweat from her face and neck then grabbed her water bottle and took a long swig. I waited patiently, enjoying the way she moved. I had never seen anyone
quite as poised as Harlow. She had this graceful, polished way of doing things. Even when she was out here sweating, she reminded me of some sort of royalty.

Her shoulders lifted and fell as she took a deep breath, then she turned to walk toward me. There was a determined gleam in her eyes. It did nothing to deter me. If anything, I wanted to grab
her and kiss her until we both forgot the past two months.

“What do you need?” she asked, keeping a good foot of distance between us. The uptight, cold, sexy-as-hell tone to her voice was one I was familiar with. This had been the Harlow
before I’d brought her Chinese food and convinced her to trust me.

“We need to talk. There’s a lot I need to explain,” I said.

Harlow cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not deaf or blind. No need to explain. I understand completely.”

Dammit. “Harlow, last night is not what you think. You wouldn’t talk to me. I called and you shut me out. What was I supposed to do? I was . . . Hell, I’ve been trying to
forget you. To forget us. Because that’s what you were forcing me to do. And last night I was so fucking trashed I didn’t know my name.”

Harlow straightened her shoulders, and she stared at me as a slow, angry rage lit her big, heartbreaking eyes. It didn’t look promising. “I’m not an idiot. I know that you
never called me except for that one time, and then you were too drunk to know your own name. Don’t patronize me to make yourself feel better. I’m a big girl, and thanks to you I’m
not nearly as naïve as I once was. I’ve learned a few hard lessons.” She swallowed hard and shook her head. “No. We have nothing to talk about, Grant. Talking time is over.
Please, go to Nan. Enjoy her all you want. I’m not your concern, nor will I ever be.” She turned and started to walk back onto the court.

I reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. I had to say something. I had to get her to listen to me. This whole time I thought Kiro had told her I was sleeping with Nan. I wasn’t sure
where Kiro got his info or if he was just assuming it, but from what Dean had told me that was why Harlow was ignoring my calls.

“If you didn’t know about me and Nan before, then why have you been ignoring my calls?”

Harlow stopped and didn’t try to jerk her arm free from my grasp. She stood there, so calm. The females I knew did not deal with their emotions like this. They were loud. They yelled,
screamed, and threw shit. Harlow was so unemotional.

“You called once. You were drunk. You never called again. Now please let go of my arm. I have forty minutes left with Adam and I’d like to use my time properly.”

“I did fucking call you. A million times! You wouldn’t answer. I called the house and got threatened by your dad. Even Dean warned me off. I thought that was what you wanted. I need
to explain.”

She spun around and the fire behind her eyes startled me. “No, Grant, you don’t. I’m a real smart girl and I’d know if I missed a call. You didn’t call.” She
jerked her arm free and headed for her side of the court.

This was not the way I had imagined this going. And I didn’t have a fucking clue how to get her to listen to me. She was so careful to protect herself. Walls had been erected between us
and it felt as if they were made of steel.

“If that is all, Mr. Carter, we need to proceed with our session,” Adam said in a businesslike tone.

I didn’t want to do this here anyway. Not with an audience. Instead of answering, I just walked away. I didn’t know what else to do. I needed to regroup and plan what to do next. I
also needed advice. Forget waiting on Rush. I was going to see Blaire.

A
dam acted as if nothing had happened. Even after I started missing every ball he sent my way. I couldn’t concentrate. Grant’s words
were replaying over and over in my head. He was so determined to make me believe he had called me. Yet he didn’t think about the fact that his comment about sleeping with Nan was like
sticking a blade through my chest. I just stopped trying. Adam stopped hitting and we stood there, staring at each other.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m going to be able to finish today,” I told him. He didn’t need any more explanation; I knew he’d heard us. We weren’t
exactly whispering.

“I’m free for another hour and twenty minutes. Want to grab a cup of coffee?” he asked, surprising me.

I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted. I didn’t really have a lot of friends. My books were my friends.

“I won’t ask about what happened if you don’t want me to. I just thought coffee sounded good, and I’d like some company,” he said when I didn’t respond.

I needed to do this. It was time I got a life. Dad had sent me here and made it impossible for me to hide in my bedroom. Staying at home meant being near Nan. “I’d like that,”
I replied.

Adam seemed relieved when he shot me a smile. “Good. I thought I might have to beg.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that or if he was teasing me. I waited while he used his towel to dry the small amount of sweat he’d worked up and take a long drink from his
water.

When he turned back to me I decided that I liked Adam. He was attractive and he was nice. And he hadn’t slept with Nan . . . or at least I didn’t think so.

“Before we have coffee together, do you have any relationship at all with Nan?” I asked. I knew this was ridiculous but I was protecting myself. If he had then I was better off not
spending any time with him off this court.

Adam laughed. I guess I sounded like a child asking something like that. But I didn’t care. “No. Nan is the kind of girl I keep my distance from. She’s also messing around with
August Schweep. He’s the club’s new golf pro.”

Awesome. Grant was sleeping with her while she was sleeping with the golf pro. Ew. Just ew. “He’s not the only person she’s messing around with.”

Adam’s eyebrows shot up. “Like I said. Not my type.”

Yes, we could be friends.

“Good. Not that coffee means anything. I just prefer not to waste my time with people who have had any relationship with Nan.”

“Hate her that much?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. It’s just a big red flag that the person lacks something.”

“Really? What would that be?”

“Integrity,” I replied before snapping my mouth shut. I shouldn’t have said that.

Adam, however, burst into laughter again.

We walked into a small café area just inside the doors on the large wraparound porch. My eyes immediately found Rush standing at what looked like the entrance to a larger
dining room or restaurant. He glanced from me to Adam and raised his eyebrows slightly, then nodded a hello before turning his attention back to a guy whom I recognized from the wedding.

“Is it okay if we get coffee in here? The dining room is packed this time of day. Or would you rather go in there and get something to eat?”