During the days, they were fierce nineteen-year-old rivals in a collegiate golf competition, but at night, their passion sizzled under the sheets. After Team USA won, Rio "River" Vargas returned to his native Spain and Greg Thorenson headed back to his home in the United States. But when Rio didn't respond to a letter he sent, Greg wasn't sure if Rio's silence was because Greg had beaten him for the win or because their affair had been only a four-night-fling.<br><br>Now, professionals at the height of their game, they meet again as competitors in a major tournament in the California desert, where the prize of thousands of dollars is at stake. It's been six silent years since those wild, hot nights as young men. Maybe for Rio that earlier passion had been an experiment, an aberration of who he really is and of whatever Greg may have meant to him. But to Greg, that earlier passion had been something deeper ... he had fallen in love.<br><br>Upon seeing Rio again, Greg is torn between ignoring the past or re-igniting the banked embers of emotion to see where they'll lead. But can he risk it? If Greg opens himself to love, and also wins this tournament, Rio may very well walk out of his life a second time ...

Hole in One

He closed it all out—the people, the trees, the camera hanging from a helicopter high in the sky overhead. Now it was just him, the club, the ball, and the trajectory he wanted it to make. He shrugged to loosen his shoulders, enclosed the end of the shaft with his gloved hands in the correct position, and took his hitting stance.


The worst of the summer heat hadn’t hit the desert yet, and with a whaphis club hit the ball dead center, in exactly the right spot. His drive flew three hundred yards straight down the fairway to arc into a clear sky under a brilliant sun. Amidst “oohs” and “ahs,” the gallery clapped again as he stepped off the tee and joined his caddie on the sidelines, out of any line his opponent’s ball might take.


“Nice,” Greg said as he passed him to take his place between the blue markers.


“Ladies and gentlemen, Mister Greg Thorenson of San Diego.”


Chapter 8