Page 66 of A Vineyard for Two

‘She was practically shoving me out the door,’ he said. ‘And warned me there’d be hell to pay if I wasn’t back to help with dinner.’

‘Well, we better get started then,’ Brookes said, slapping him gently on the back, then picking up his clubs and moving onto the first hole.

He didn’t get down to the golf course as often as he would have liked, and today was a combination of getting his mind off things and putting things into perspective.

‘You’re off your game, mate,’ Pete said when they reached the third hole.

He was behind by four points, which was unusual because he usually came up ahead by a mile. ‘Must be something wrong with the clubs.’

‘You sure it’s not what’s going on up here?’ Pete said, tapping his index finger on his forehead.

‘Am I that transparent?’

‘How long have I known you, mate? Ten years, longer. You and Harper were a thing. You had plans to marry her, and then she left. Those feelings don’t just switch off.’

He had wanted to marry her. He was going to propose. He’d been planning just the right way to do it. She didn’t like surprises; however, it was the one time he wanted something extra special for her. She hadn’t given him the chance. She broke off their relationship and left without a real explanation before he had a chance to ask. He hadn’t told too many people about his plans to propose. Pete. Leo. Georgia. No one else knew, not even Harper. When Brookes didn’t respond, Pete continued,

‘You still love her, don’t you?’

Brookes concentrated, positioning himself to take a swing on the fourth hole. He pivoted, swung and hit the ball. It went flying across the course until it fell somewhere near the green. Finally, a decent shot. ‘It doesn’t matter how I feel. She’s not staying.’

‘Have you told her?’

‘I’m not making a fool out of myself.’

Pete smiled, paused and took his shot. It looked like it might have landed not far from where Brookes’ ball lay.

‘You know, when I fell for Nat, I made a fool out of myself for months. She wouldn’t even give me a second glance until I professed my feelings a half dozen times. I don’t think she took me seriously.’

‘Well mate, you were punching far above your weight.’

‘Thanks, nice to know what you think of me,’ Pete said and laughed. ‘Yeah, I definitely scored in that department. Anyway, my point is, you got to tell her how you feel. How else is she going to know?’

‘She knows. And it doesn’t matter.’

‘Sometimes you gotta tell them straight.’

‘Her boyfriend showed up.’

‘I heard it was an ex-boyfriend.’

Brookes laughed. ‘So, you’ve already heard the story?’

‘You know how fast news travels around here. Everyone knows everything before you do.’

‘Ain’t that the truth.’

‘So, you can’t use that as an excuse.’

‘It doesn’t matter how I feel, Pete. Harper doesn’t want to stay here, and I sure as hell won’t be moving to the city.’

‘Well, that just tells me you’re both stubborn as a constipated bull.’

‘I haven’t seen one of those before.’

‘You don’t want to.’

They reached the green.