Take a Chance(14)

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.