CaddyGirls by V. K. Sykes Page B

little snort made it clear that would be a tall order.
    “But you said you had a plan?” She thought she might die if he didn’t finish and end her misery soon.
    “It’s pretty simple. You’ve already got a head start because the guys all like you, and they’ve seen firsthand how savvy you are around a golf course. What they haven’t seen is how you hit the ball. So, that’s the crux of the plan. Get them to agree to play a round with you this week. If you can shoot the lights out, and if I really press them—which I will—I think they might just agree to make an exception for you.”
    Torrey squeezed his calloused hand. She felt like flying around the table and kissing him senseless, but held herself back. “You really would do that for me?”
    “Yes.” His jaw was set in a determined line, and his eyes narrowed. “But you have to know there aren’t any guarantees. It’ll be ultimately up to you.”
    She knew the pressure of playing a round with everything on the line would be unbearable. But her game had been solid for months. And if she couldn’t handle that kind of pressure now, how would she ever succeed on the pro tour? “I’ll be ready, Julian. Just tell me when to bring my clubs.”
    “I’ll talk to the guys in the morning. But I need to make something clear. If you do make the pro tour next year, OTE would have to get first crack at signing you to a long-term contract.” He looked as if he might be pulling her leg, but she was so excited she didn’t care.
    “If I make the tour,” she shot back, “I’ll wear your logo till I retire, free of charge. Hell, I’ll have it engraved on my tombstone.”
    Julian laughed out loud.
    Torrey couldn’t believe this was happening. After all this time and heartache, was she really about to land a sponsor?
    “There’s one other thing we have to talk about, Torrey.”
    Uh, oh, here it comes , she thought, her jubilation screeching to a heart-stopping halt.
    “You know I have to ask you what happened. Why you gave up such a promising career before you finished college, and why you have such a limited record since then. I won’t be able to convince my partners to support someone whose past has such a big, unexplained gap.”
    She felt like she’d swallowed a golf ball. Her throat closed up, and she fought for breath. Before she could manage a word, her eyes prickled with tears. Mortified, she fought to keep them back but they wouldn’t be denied. All the pain she’d been holding inside her seemed to be clawing its way to the surface.
    Julian sat quietly, letting her compose herself. When she was finally able to look up into his eyes, she saw no trace of judgment, just quiet compassion. He brushed his finger against her skin, smoothing a single tear away from her cheek.
    She reached into her bag for a tissue and blew her nose. Her jumbled emotions had her twisted in a knot, but she gave her head a mental shake. This generous man was offering to give her wings. All she had to do was play decent golf for him and explain why her career had been derailed. She could do that—she had to suck it up and just hope that he didn’t hold her past mistakes against her.
    “Yes, I understand. Of course you need to know.” She reached for her wine and drained what was left in the glass. “It’s just that it’s still very hard for me to talk about what’s happened for the last five years, Julian. So, you’ll have to bear with me if I stumble.”
    “We don’t have to do this right now, Torrey. You can think about it overnight, and we can talk again at breakfast.”
    When she searched his eyes, she found nothing there but sympathetic curiosity. “No, I want to tell you now. I’ll die if I have to stew about this all night.”
    Julian called the server over to refill both their glasses.
    “All right,” she said with grim determination. “You want to know what happened? Hell happened, that’s what. But I should start at the beginning.” She paused a few