Free Worth the Drive by Mara Jacobs Page A

for you to dine alone,” Darío added.
    He saw her chew on her lip, knew that she must be tasting the cherry flavor of his lip balm, had tasted it on himself throughout the day. It had given him a perverse pleasure to know she was tasting the same thing as he.
    Dios Mio, get a hold of yourself! It’s only lip balm.
    She still hadn’t decided. “I promise not to let you drink any Margaritas,” he cajoled.
    Katie laughed. “That won’t be a problem. Believe me, if I never see another Margarita again, I’ll be happy.”
    “Famous last words, luv,” Binky said. He had not been part of the conversation, but had walked by at that precise moment, dropped his one-liner, and kept on going toward the clubhouse with Darío ’s bag.
    Katie smiled at his caddy’s comment. “Will Binky be joining us?” she asked.
    Good, she had accepted. Bad, she wanted Binky to come along as well.
    Darío had no illusions about dinner. He had expected to take both women. That he was only taking Katie in no way led him to believe that anything more than dinner would be happening. After the way she ranted in the car last night about her ex-husband, Darío knew that Katie was a long way from wanting to be intimate with a man. Any man, let alone one she had just met the previous day. No, it would just be dinner. A chance for him to get to know her better. But it would be just the two of them.
    “No. Binky spends Friday evenings playing poker with some of the other caddies. It is a contest, of sorts, to see which caddies are there on Friday nights and which are trunk-slammers.”
    “Trunk slammers?” Lizzie asked.
    “If a player doesn’t make the cut on Friday, he puts his clubs in the trunk of the car to go home. In theory, slamming the trunk door shut on a bad week. The caddies who are still around on Friday night are there because their players made the cut, thus their paycheck will be more than the usual salary that week.
    “ A caddy is paid a weekly salary by a player, but if he makes the cut, then the caddy gets a percentage of the player’s winnings as well. The percentage goes up based on how high the player finishes.”
    Katie and Lizzie nodded their understanding. Binky would be in a good position at this week’s poker game.
    “So, Gata , shall I come to get you at your room at, say, eight o’clock?” he asked.
    Katie took a peek at Lizzie who seemed to be silently nudging her friend with her eyes. “Eight will be fine,” she said. “But I can meet you in the lobby.”
    Darío nodded, then turned to the autograph seekers who had been waiting, some patiently, some not so patiently, for him to sign their various memorabilia. He began with the children, as he always did, then worked his way to the adults. He watched over the heads of the fans as Katie and Lizzie walked away from the group, toward the parking lot.
     

 
    Chapter Six
     
    I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father .
    - Greg Norman, professional golfer
     
    “Boy, this is kind of like getting ready for dates at State all over again, eh?” Lizzie said as she nudged Katie’s hip with her own to allow herself more room at the bathroom mirror.
    Lizzie wore light cream slacks and a pale blue sweater set while Katie, wanting to show off the sun she’d gotten over the last two days, wore a sundress and sandals.
    Katie laughed. “Except there isn’t beer on the counter in front of us, and these aren’t anything near dates. But yeah, it does kind of remind me of back then.”
    “Do you want a beer? Take one out of the mini-bar, or I could order something from room service for you,” Lizzie, always one to please, offered.
    “Ugh. No. Just the thought of alcohol gives me the heaves, but you go ahead, Lizard.”
    Lizzie ducked her head, looking away from Katie. “Um, no, none for me.”
    “Oh right, never drink in front of a client?” she asked remembering Lizzie drinking only water the night before as well.
    “God , no. You don’t know how