Worth the Drive by Mara Jacobs Read Free Book Online

can’t let him walk out of here and drive after drinking.” She grabbed her purse, opened her wallet, got her keys and made her goodbyes all at once.
    Darío waved her hand away as she went to pay for the drinks she and Katie had consumed since joining the men. The drink Katie had consumed. Lizzie had drunk only water all evening as far as Darío could tell. “Please, Lizzie, allow me,” he said.
    “Thanks, Darío . It was great to meet you. And you too, Binky. Come on, Kat,” Lizzie said, rising from the table. “We’ll take my car, leave his and then I’ll pick him up in the morning and bring him back here. Yes. That will work.” She said the last to herself more than her companions. She was still watching Chad who was fumbling with his keys. She didn’t seem to notice that Katie made no move to leave. She had gone several steps toward Chad when she finally realized Katie was still sitting.
    As their eyes met, Katie folded her arms across her chest and gave her friend a firm shake of her head. “Uh-u h. I don’t want to leave yet, Lizard,” Katie said.
    “Kat, really, I can’t let Chad drive. Please, we’ve got to go. This could ruin my plan.”
    Before Darío could, Binky jumped in, “We’ll get Katie back to your hotel, Lizzie. Not to worry.”
    Lizzie looked from Katie, to Binky, then finally to Darío , who nodded. “We’d be happy to bring Katie back with us. We won’t be too much longer.” He saw Lizzie’s eyes glance toward Darío ’s glass of water, which he’d switched to long ago after having his one beer. He liked that she was looking out for her friend as well as her prospective client.
    Lizzie looked at her friend. “Are you sure you want to stay, Kat?” There was concern in her voice. Darío could see she was visibly torn between getting to Chad in time and making sure her friend would be all right.
    “Please, Lizzie, Binky and I would be happy to bring Katie back to the hotel,” Darío assured her.
    “Okay. Thank you both. See you later, Kat. Stick to water from here on out, eh?”
    Katie laughed. “Yes, mother.”
    He watched as Lizzie caught up with Chad at the entrance and gracefully removed the keys from his hands as she led him out the door. Darío turned back to the table to see Binky and Katie both staring at him. Binky had a mischievous grin on his face. Katie was licking her sunburned lips. Her beautiful, full, tempting lips.
    “Okay. Now that our resident stick-in-the-mud is gone, let’s get this party started,” Katie said and waved her empty Margarita glass at the bartender, pushing her water glass aside.
    Binky laughed and waved his glass as well, while Darío could only wonder what he’d just gotten himself into.
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    Eighteen holes of match or medal play will teach you more about your foe than will eight teen years of dealing with him across a desk.
    -Grantland Rice, former sportswriter
     
    Katie wasn’t sure if she’d said goodbye to Blanche. And she knew she’d wanted to. But here she was in the front seat of Darío ’s courtesy car, provided for the players at each tournament, and she wasn’t exactly certain how she’d gotten there.
    The car was stopped in front of room number 18 at a Motel 6.
    Oh God, she hadn’t just made a monumental mistake, had she?
    Headlines of pro athletes being accused of sexual transgressions flashed through her head. Headlines she’d proofread herself.
    “What…what are we doing here?” she asked. This was not t he Imperial where she and Lizzie, as well as the golfers, were staying.
    Just as she was trying to remember all the things she knew Alison and Lizzie had learned as single women about being alone in this kind of situation, she saw movement in front of her. Binky was motioning goodbye and disappearing into the motel room. Darío gave his caddy a wave as Katie felt a wave of relief.
    As he backed out of the lot, she saw that Darío realized she had awakened from her…uh cat nap..she