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“Shall we?” He motions to the building.

“Hazel, can you hold on a second?” I ask, reaching out a hand, but dropping it before it can make contact with her wrist.

She turns in my direction but looks somewhere over my shoulder. “Yes?”

My stomach drops, along with my hopes that maybe, just maybe, there was something between us.

“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head. “We’re good.”

She gives me a smile that doesn’t reach her lovely brown eyes, and out of all the spoken and unspoken feelings between us, this fake nice smile is the thing that hurts the most.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Hazel

Levi’s team is larger than I anticipated, even though I didn’t know what to expect out of this first meeting. We all take a seat in the modern-looking conference room. The tables are arranged in a U-shape, so I get to make eye contact with everyone as they take their seat.

There are way too many names for me to possibly remember, but I make a mental note to memorize the names of Murray the swing coach, Alan the putting coach, and Bryan the short-game coach, all of whom I’ll be working closely with.

The rest—his agent, manager, physiotherapist, trainer, caddie…well, hopefully I won’t need to interact with them too much. When I agreed to this, I hadn’t realized how involved Levi really wanted me to be, but I’m excited to learn.

Still, my fingers twist in my lap with nervous energy, but I still them when Levi looks over at me from across the room. His green eyes meet mine in a silent question, and I give him a small smile in reply. The intense way he’s looking at me reminds me of that moment in the car and⁠—

No. I can’t go there.

Fuck, I almost kissed him. And we would have gotten caught by Murray. My cheeks heat at the prospect of both those things happening. The last thing Levi needs before a major tournament is having to deal with any drama. And both a physical relationship with his roommate-slash-pro-am partner and being caught making out with a member of his team would be drama for sure.

I bite my cheek and look away from his gaze. One breath in, one breath out. With each inhale, I force myself to sit still, taking in the bustle and noise of the room instead.

“Shall we start?” Levi’s agent, Mike, says.

People’s side conversations die down and everyone smiles and looks at Mike. He’s seated next to Levi, his dark blond hair neatly combed back, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled to the elbow. If I were into men twenty years my senior, I’d say he’s handsome.

The only person who comes to mind when I think of that descriptor, though, is Levi.

“Thank you everyone for joining this kickoff meeting. Most of you know the drill, but since we have a couple new friendly faces joining us, we thought a full introduction would help,” Mike says, looking at Levi to pick up the conversation.

He clears his throat, something I’ve noticed he does a lot before he speaks, and says, “It’s not common for everyone in this room to attend the training sessions. However, today we’ll go over the course, travel details, any last minute contracts that need to be signed, and so forth.”

Those green eyes meet mine again and hold, attracting the attention of other members of the team. Murray glances at me from the chair to my right and I squirm in my seat. So much for laying low.

“I want to introduce the two new members of the team,” Levi says after what feels like an eternity. “Donal, my new trainer, and Hazel, my—assistant short game liaison.” He takes a sip of water and shoots me a glance before continuing. “Hazel will be working closely with Bryan.”

“Looking forward to it,” Bryan says from my left, putting out a hand for me to fist-bump.

I do, letting my smile take over my face. My nerves about being in this room, so woefully underprepared, dissipate. These people, this team, they’re all so…nice. They joke and tease one another and ask about each other’s vacations and kids. Why did I expect a room full of cold robot people?

To be honest, I also expected a room full of men, but I see that’s not the case, either. Levi’s manager, Joanne, is a kick-ass woman in a power suit, her blond bob styled neatly, her makeup making her blue eyes pop.

“Let’s start with the course. Shinnecock Hills. Southampton,” Mike says, clicking a button on his remote.

Everyone’s heads turn to the screen at the front of the room, where there’s a soundless video playing, running through the courses at Shinnecock.

“Now, if you’ll open the packet in front of you,” Joanne says.

I open the laminated, spiral-bound notebook and my eyes widen as I take in the table of contents. This is…thorough.

Joanne runs through a few details regarding dates, hotel stays, and travel accommodations. Members of the team who are local will travel with Levi on the private jet. Those further out will be compensated for their tickets. All meals will also be included, as well as access to the various afterparties.