Page 89 of More Than Friends

I stare at Tyson, a grin tugging at my lips as he still doesn’t respond to me. His blue eyes stay pinned on the two people having a conversation out the window. His face is stone-cold as he pays close attention to them. I wish I knew which one he was staring at, but they’re too far away to be able to tell. But whatever it is, I can’t help but be curious why Tyson is so focused.

“You know all the Pembroke members, don’t you?” Tyson asks, completely ignoring my question.

My eyebrows pull in on my forehead in confusion. “I’d like to think I do. Why?”

He finally looks away long enough to meet my gaze for one moment before his attention goes back to the two people on the sidewalk. “Then do you know the name of that blonde woman?”

I strain my neck to see if I can catch her at a different angle. I don’t know how he expects me to fully recognize someone just by the back of her head, but I try anyway. She finally turns just enough for me to see her profile, but she’s still too far away for me to know who it is.

“I don’t think I can tell from here. Why?”

Tyson shakes his head. He keeps his attention on the blonde I don’t recognize. I can’t tell what he’s thinking by the look on his face, but something about her definitely steals his attention. Eventually, he shakes himself out of whatever trance he’s locked in and returns to look at me. “No reason. Ready to get checked in? We’ll share a cart and wait for the others. Someone’s going to have to ride solo and tag along. Charlotte sweet-talked Teddy into letting us have a fifth person out with us today.” Typically, there are only four people for each group, but since it’s a private club where everyone knows everyone, sometimes the rules can be bent.

I can’t help but frown at his mention of Teddy. My mind immediately remembers the way that it felt to read his name across her chest the day she was wearing his jacket. That same familiar twinge of jealousy hits me at just the mere mention of him.

“Is that so?” I grit out, my teeth grinding against each other as I look across the shop at Teddy. I hadn’t even noticed he was working today until Tyson mentioned it.

“Why do you look like you want to kill the poor pro shop employee?” Tyson asks, humor in his tone. He seems to have all but forgotten about the woman he was staring at moments ago. I don’t look at him as an idea pops into my head.

“Let’s get checked in. I need to talk to Teddy anyway.”

Tyson hums a response, but I feel him follow close behind me as I walk up to the desk.

Teddy immediately smiles at me, but it falters when I don’t return the smile. “Hi, Mr. Kensington. We’ve been wondering where you’ve been.”

“Mm-hmm.” I stare at him, jealousy blooming in my chest again at the memory of Charlotte wearing his jacket. It’s ridiculous. The guy has always been nothing but nice to me. “I’d like to purchase a Pembroke jacket,” I tell him.

Teddy looks at me, confused for a moment, but regains his composure. “Okay. What size?”

“Small.”

“Small?” Tyson asks from right behind me.

Teddy looks just as confused as Tyson sounds.

I nod. “Yes. A small. And then can you make sure you hang it up in Charlotte’s employee locker or wherever she keeps her things?”

Teddy’s eyes go wide as it seems he finally comprehends the reason behind my purchasing a jacket. I meant to buy Charlotte one the moment I saw her wearing Teddy’s, but then Ava wasbrought into my life, and I got distracted. She’s been coming to work since, and I can’t help but wonder if there were any other days she wore his jacket that I don’t know about.

“Sure thing,” Teddy gets out nervously. His eyes look to Tyson for some sort of help. “Are you ready to be checked in?”

I step aside, not wanting to have any more of a conversation with Teddy. If I do, I might be a dick, and I’m not used to being that. I’m also not used to being jealous, so allowing Tyson to finish getting us checked in while we wait for the others is probably best.

“So,” I begin, meeting the gazes of my friends as we all stand in a circle deciding the order for golfing today. “There’s something I just want to tell everyone before we get the day started.”

Cal gives me a smile as his eyebrows lift on his forehead. I can’t help but wonder if he thought I might back out of telling the others about Ava today. I can’t wait to prove him wrong and finally tell the guys about Ava so they will better understand my absence recently.

I scan the rest of the guys in the group, my heart suddenly thundering in my chest. I took a few sips of beer in an attempt to get some liquid courage for the news, but the alcohol hasn’t kicked in at all. They all just stare at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

I swallow. “I’m a dad.” The words come out hurried, and they’re muttered to my feet instead of to the guys, but still they’re out.

I don’t look up, not wanting to see their faces at first.

“A dad?” Beck asks.

“Who’s pregnant?” Archer questions moments later.

I press the toe of my shoe into the golf green for a moment before working up the courage to look at them. I focus on Cal since he already knows the news.