The Perfect Stroke (Lucas Brothers #1)(61)

“I was looking for Gray. I was hoping I could meet with him before the press conference this afternoon introduces him as the face of Riverton golf clubs and merchandise,” she says, sounding put-out. “It’s extremely important we present a united front and send this venture out with a bang,” she explains, but honestly, her voice is droning on so I’m tuning her out. I pull the door to my and Gray’s hotel room back to give her room to enter.

“I’m ready, Cammie. Just give me a minute to grab my jacket and tell CC bye.”

“Oh, no rush, Gray. I’m just excited to get this venture underway. With your face and our quality product, our clubs will become a household name,” Cammie says, and Gray turns his back on her and rolls his eyes. I grin. God, I love him. Shit.

“You sure you don’t want to go with us, sweetheart?”

“Of course she doesn’t, Gray. What on Earth would Claude do while we were talking to the press and deep in business? She’d be bored silly,” Cammie interjects.

I stick my tongue out at her. Sadly, the gesture is hid by Gray’s chest as he blocks me. He laughs, though. His hand rest on my hips and he looks at me when he answers Cammie.

“CC is very astute when it comes to business. I can always use her in my corner. I admire her.” The way he stresses the last part of that sentence is like a verbal blow that sails right over Cammie’s head.

“I suppose, but honestly, that little garage that Claude runs can hardly be compared to the millions we are dealing with. I doubt CC could imagine the money this contract between you and Riverton involves.”

I close my eyes and try to count backwards. I shove down the old insecurities which threaten to rise to the forefront. I’m not the innocent little girl that the Riverton’s nearly destroyed—not anymore. I’ve been trying to play nice with Cammie and her father before I had Banger to worry about. Why do I care now? Why am I not lashing out? Habit? Do I still have the fear? Hell, maybe I just don’t care enough to try and defend myself.

“Cammie, do you have any idea how you sound when you talk?” Gray says, and I freeze. I look up at him and I can see anger and frustration on his face, but it’s not directed at me. It’s totally focused on Cammie. Wow…

“What? I’m sorry, Gray, I don’t mean to hurt Claude’s feelings…”

“You’re not,” I interject.

“You do,” Gray says at the same time, and I look up at him again. “Claudia Cooper is one of the smartest, most dependable women I know. I have no doubt she would have no trouble running a Fortune 500 company if she wanted and do it amazingly.”

“Yes, well… I think you might be exaggerating a little, Gray. But maybe we should just agree to disagree and make it to our press conference,” Cammie says.

“You do realize you just made me sound like a Volkswagen or something, right?” I chastise Gray, because honestly, his words blew me away. Unlike Cammie, I don’t think he was trying to get laid or just defend me; I think he truly believes them—and believes in me.

He kisses my forehead and laughs. “Always busting my ass, Cooper. You own my dick now. I think you get that to me, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“To you? So you’re saying other men wouldn’t do the same?”

“Jesus,” he grumbles, shaking his head.

“I think I’ll just meet you at the meeting. I can tell you’re not in the mood to listen to anything logically.”

“No, he’s leaving now,” I tell her, but all my focus is still on Gray.

“I am?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking of calling Apple. Their stocks fell last quarter. I’m going to pull them out of their dark tunnel and show them the light.”

“I’m going to spank your ass when I get back,” he grumbles, giving me a quick kiss and then walking to the door with Cammie following him like an obedient little dog.

“I’ll look forward to it, Lucas.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Cooper,” Gray says over Cammie’s exaggerated huff of breath.

“Go knock ‘em dead and leave me to my financial planning,” I tell him. He winks and then closes the door as they leave. I just stand there watching the door with a sappy look on my face. Then, I do something every teenager does when the boy they like picks them for the prom—or what I imagined they did, because I was never that girl: I run to the bed and jump on it, squealing.





“What are you doing?” I ask Cammie once the press conference is over. It went really well, I suppose. I’m always kind of lost at these things. Since CC, honestly, I’m getting kind of bored with it all. Golf isn’t even fun anymore; it’s a means to an end. When did that start? Once I get this tournament behind me, I think I may take a year off. Hell, maybe I’ll buy that farm across from Blue. Would CC like to live on a farm? Would she be willing to let go of her garage? I could live in Kentucky. I wouldn’t hate it, though it wouldn’t be my first choice. Still, if I get CC in exchange, I could live there happily. Decisions… I need to make some decisions.

“Texting father some information he needs to know. He asks that we meet him in the south banquet room for lunch with the stockholders.”

“I need to get back to CC, then I will. She’s probably hungry, too…”