Wrong Way Renee (18 page)

He buried his head in his hands
.
“I can't believe you beat me.”

Sh
e kissed his cheek.
“Fac
e it, I'm better at two games.”

“I'll never admit defeat.”

“Yeah, okay.
”
She took his cue and returned it with hers to the rack.
“Ready to go, cowboy?
”

He followed her
to his cruiser
like a wounded puppy. “At least I can catch bad guys better than you.
”
He leaned toward her and fixed his smoky stare on her lips.
He
grazed her cheek
with a gentle hand, then
raked his fingers through her hair. When he kissed her, it was soft and
sweet yet at the same time demanding
.

Heat spread from the top of her head all the way down to the tips of her toes.

“Ever do it in a police car?
”
he asked, grinning.

“No.
”
She stared at him, wide eyed.
“Have you?”

He sat ramrod straight.
“Against the rules, ma'am. I'd never do anything like that.
”

“Couldn't beat my pants off, mister. I guess you'll have t
o get them off me the old fashioned way.”

He
ventured a sideways glance at her
.
“Will I get that opportunity tonight?
”

“No, sorry. I feel like I have loads of testosterone coursing through my body
tonight from my various kills.”

“Must be where all mi
ne went. That is so not funny.”

Much as everything inside her wanted to feel Joe’s body next to hers, to hold him all night, she couldn’t bring herself to sleep with him as long
as she was also dating Cleave.
Soon she’d have to decide between them. And either way, one man would be hurt because of her.

* * * * *

Cleave
gave Renee a peck on her cheek as she let him into her place
Sunday afternoon. Apple circled around his feet, causing him to stumble into a chair.

“Sorry.
” She handed him a glass of ice tea.
“
She does that to me all the time. I'm such a klutz
that
I trip when I just
think
about her getting under my feet. You should try negotiating a room in the dark with her weaving
in and out of your path.”

“I'd like to ha
ve that opportunity some time.”

Her cheeks warmed.
“So where are we off to?”

“I think Jordan's has a great selection of golf clothe
s. I thought we'd start there.”

Sh
e opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind.
Biting her top lip, s
he glanced around the room
and tried to come up with
a reason to nix the Jordan's idea.

“Is that okay?
”

“I
don't like Jordan's any more.”

“Why is that?”

She turned away from him and busied herself with straightening a pile of unpaid bills on an end table
.
“Well
…
they pulled a bait and switch on some shoes that were
on sale. I'm boycotting them.”

“
How about Outdoor Wo
rld, near International Drive?”

“Great, that's great.
”
R
elief swept through her
.

An hour later, they found two golf outfits and golf shoes at the store.
Cleave
insisted on buying all of it for her. He dropped over three hundred bucks like it was nothing. Despite herself,
sh
e was impressed. She'd never had a man spend so lavishly on her. Except her father.

Next,
Cleave
took her to the restaurant at
the
country club where they had
cobb s
alad, croissants and appletinis.
By time they
climbed into a golf cart
, she was feeling a little tipsy
.

He talked about the game like it was some sacred rite only the privileged few could understand. He took his time with each shot, lining it up and calculating the best strategy.

When it was Renee's turn, he stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her to show her how to swing the club. His hands caressed her, moving over her bare arms.

She had to admit, she enjoyed having him so close and doting on her. Each time she got back in the golf cart, she tried to muster up the courage to ask him if she could drive it. But she didn't want to appear too forward.

At the fourth
green, another cart approached and
a young, big-breasted
sister
asked
Cleave
if she could get him a beer or wine.

“What do you think, Renee? Shall we indulge?
”
he asked.

“It's not like my game could get any w
orse. I'll have white
zin
.”

By the time they hit the eighth green,
she’d
polished off the wine.
T
he drink cart approach
ed
again as
Cleave
putted.

“Another
, please
,
”
she told the
buxom barmaid
.

Cleave
held up his hand.
“Not
hing
for me. I've got to d
rive. But you have one, Renee.”

That was all the encouragement she needed. May as well drown her sorrow over her inadequacy as a golfer.

At the fifteenth green,
she eyed their golf cart
.
“
Cleave
?
”

“Yeah?”

“You think I could drive that thing?
”
She
tipped her chin toward
the cart.

He sat on the passenger side and grasped the edge of the seat.
“Carefully now.”

It was easier
than she'd imagined.
As they appr
oached the sixteenth green, sh
e decided to open it up to see how fast a golf cart could go.

“Slow down,
”
Cleave
warned
.
“
You're too close to the water.”

“I know ho
w to drive. Will you calm down?”

“Look out!
”

She took her eyes off the course just long enough to veer left next to the pond. Before she even knew she'd done anything wrong, the cart glided into the water. Thankfully, it was only a foot deep.

Cleave
jumped out and
managed to push
it back onto the grassy bank. They both had water up to their knees.

“
Oh God,
I'm so sorry.
”
Had she ruined everything with him?

“Next time listen to me when I
tell you something, will you?”

She
lowered
her head in a pout.
“I said I was sorry.
”

H
e dropped his shoulders
.
“No, no. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I’m sorry, too.”

When t
hey emerged f
rom the pond, legs soaking wet,
h
e
looked them over and
chuckled
. Renee resisted at first but then couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing too, partly because she was relieved that his anger had subsided.

“Remind me next time to give you a golf cart lesson before the golf lesson. I guess we should have p
ut the cart before the course.”

Sh
e doubled over with laughter.

Cleave
called the
club
office
to tell them what had happened and promised
to pay for any damages before he hung up.

Alarm bucked through her.
“I'll pay for it. It was my stupidity.
”
But she knew he'd never let her.

“No you won't. It's no big deal. It was wort
h it to see you having such a good time.”

He’d definitely moved up several notches in her book today
.
“You're a very
generous man
.
And not just with your money.”

He led her to his car then
placed towels he borrowed from the club on
the
seats and floor to protect them from the pond water. They drove past Lake Henrietta Shores to Woodland Heights, an exclusive gated community.

In the stone guardhouse
a uniformed man waved them through the gate. They wound their way around a circle of huge two-story homes on large manicured lots.
Cleave
pulled his car into the drive of a white colonial ho
use
with a three-car garage.

Sh
e took the bag with her clothes, got out of the car and
strode toward
the
boat
parked at the far end of the garage
, h
er shoes squish
ing
watery footprints on the floor.

“Nice toys you have.
”
She ran her hand along the side of the boat. Like his car,
it
appeared to be
very well cared for
with a fresh wax job
. She wondered if he'd pay as much attention to her if their
dates
led to a more serious relationship.

“Come on inside.
”
He
held open the door for her as he switched on the kitchen light.

It was the most beautiful kitchen she'd ever seen. Dark wood cabinets and floors complimented green marble counter tops and
stainless steel commercial grade
appliances. A massive cooking island stood in the center with a rack of copper pots hanging over it. As
sh
e started to explore, a huge German shepherd
bounded
into the room, nearly knocking her over.

She resisted her natural reaction to scream since Cleave immediately gr
abbed the animal by his collar. “Down, boy.
S
it
, Duke
.”

When t
he dog complied
, she
set
her hand over her chest.
Her heart was beating a wild tattoo against her ribs.
“I'm sorry. I'm afraid of big
dogs. He's beautiful, though.” She tried to gather the nerve to pet him but with the animal’s teeth bared at her, she decided against it.

“Thank you.
Good boy, Duke. He's a great watchdog. Let me show you around.
”
He
led her through the house
.

Every room was neat but sparsely furnished as if no one lived there
. Duke followed them wherever they went, making
her
a little
nervous. She made sure
to stay
right next to
Cleave
for protection.

The kitchen opened to a big family room with soaring cathedral ceilings, a stone fireplace and a view of the pool area. The furniture was cozy and warm in shades of brown and gold. The family room led to a foyer with the same high ceilings. To the right was a formal dining room, to the left, the living room.

She followed him
to the master bedroom. Two closets with mirrored doors formed an entrance hallway into the bathroom. A white marble vanity held two sinks, each with a mirror surrounded by lights. The shower was the size of her whole bathroom. Leaded glass windows flanked a sunken Jacuzzi tub on three sides.

“You should find everything
you need in that drawer.
”
He
gestured
to the sink vanity.

“It's beautiful,
Cleave
.
The whole house is.”

“As you saw, two of the bedrooms are unfurnished and the living room needs some work. Go ahead and take a bath or shower. I'll make us some hot chocolate.
”
He left, thankfully taking Duke with him.