Page 35 of Putting Out
9
“Ican’t believe you’re not going to tell me what you’re going to say! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Because I’m close, Reilly. I’m very, very close.”
Reilly pulled the cell phone away from her ear as her agent’s ranting became progressively louder. She’d let him know about the mini press conference in the school auditorium as she was standing outside of the school ready to go inside. He was not happy about the short notice.
“Look, Gus, I’ll call you as soon as it’s over, which should be in ten minutes. But the truth is I wasn’t in the mood for another lecture. I’ve had reporters up my ass, Kenny on my back and I’m getting a little annoyed. We’re not talking about going to the moon. We’re talking about a golf tournament.”
“TheGolf Tournament.”
Reilly sighed. “I know. Look, the reporters are waiting inside for me. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.”
“Please think about this. Think about what we could do in endorsements!”
“You mean think about how much money you could make?”
“Exactly!”
“See you, Gus. I’ll talk to you.” Reilly turned off the phone with a sigh of relief. If she’d let Gus know what she was doing then he would have insisted on coming to Little Creek to stand at her side, despite having no idea where the state of Nebraska was. More than likely he would have used every strong-arm tactic in the book to get her to do what he wanted. When that didn’t work he would use guilt.
She hated guilt.
Glancing at the time display on the phone, she figured she couldn’t put it off any longer. Erica and Kenny, along with Pop, were already inside. Grams chose to avoid the “to-do” as she put it, and Reilly didn’t know where Luke was. He’d left earlier this morning with a note under her door saying he’d meet her at the school, but there was no sign of him and the press conference was about to begin.
If Reilly could even call it a press conference. About fifteen reporters from assembled golf magazines, golf news shows and a few representatives from the bigger sports magazines. Plus a guy from ESPN. They were all ready to have at her. She had memorized her prepared statement. She would deliver it. There would be a rush of questions and then it would be done. The “to-do” would be behind her. Luke was right to make her agree to this. This was the easiest way to rip off the Band-Aid.
So where the hell was he?
Not that she needed him here. She had no problem doing this on her own. It’s just his presence over the past few days had been… settling. He had a tendency to remind her of who she was at her core and it had helped her to make a firm decision.
Or if not a firm one, then a semi-hard decision.
But it was done. She was ready. He wasn’t here so she would go in without him. If she found out that he’d already taken off for the Pro-Am without at least saying goodbye, then she would hunt him down like the dog he was and kick him.
The door, which served as a fire exit for the auditorium, opened and Luke stepped out with an easy smile on his face. The whoosh of feeling running through her stomach almost made her pitch the eggs and bacon she’d eaten for breakfast.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” she blurted out.
“And miss all this? I don’t think so, Slice.”
Nodding, she made her way over to him realizing her legs and arms felt stiff. She wasn’t sure what the problem was but if she had to attribute it to something, she guessed it would be nerves. It was sort of how she felt when she accepted Buck’s engagement ring.
“You ready?”
Rather than speak, she nodded. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and her bangs brushed her eyebrows. She’d chosen a dress, maybe to remind herself she was a woman, and paired it with long, high-heeled boots. Luke took her hand and led her inside to the back end of the stage. They climbed a few steps and Reilly could see the curtain to the stage was closed.
Behind it was a mumbling noise that sounded like a hundred bees buzzing about. “This is just the reporters, right?”
“They’re here. Yes,” Luke answered. “I’ll take your coat.”
Reilly shrugged out of the heavy coat and let Luke slide it off her arms. The wool turtleneck dress clung to her body with static so she had to stretch it out a bit to feel comfortable.
“Nice,” Luke mumbled in her ear.
She turned her head to see him standing behind her with a look in his eyes. A look she had been very familiar with at various points throughout their relationship.
“Are you complimenting me on my choice of outfit or my body?”
“Both.”
