The Trustworthy Groom (Texas Titan Romance) Read online

  “So I think it’s only fair we get the lines drawn right now,” Hailey said, still smiling sweetly at him.

  “Lines?” Brady’s eyebrows lifted. “What lines?”

  “The lines you aren’t going to cross.” She winked sassily.

  Brady threw back his head and laughed. He liked her. “Hmm. I’m pretty sure I just got permission from the preacher to cross any line I want.”

  Her beautiful mouth drew in a thin line, and she stiffened in his arms. “Don’t plan on it, Mr. Giles. Unless you want to wake up missing a limb.”

  Violent and cute? Yep, she was the perfect wife for a football player, especially a defender. This was the third time a member of the Knight family had threatened him with dismemberment. It made him smile. He’d grown up with a lot of brothers. The threats made him feel right at home.

  “Okay, okay,” he said. “I like my limbs. What lines do you want drawn?”

  “I was going to say no touching, but I don’t want to be illogical about it as we’ll have to act married. I think hugging and holding hands is fine, but no kissing or anything more will be the safest plan.”

  No kissing? Safest? What had he gotten himself into? Had he been the only one who felt that incredible zing when they’d kissed over the altar? “How about a deal?”

  She tilted her head and considered him. “I’m listening.”

  “You can kiss me any time you want to.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “That’s pretty safe because I’ll never kiss you. I don’t date football players.”

  He grinned. “I’ve heard that one. And I will kiss you when you ask me to.”

  “Also not happening. So we’re good?”

  It didn’t feel good. The thought of not kissing her again stabbed at his abdomen like an ice pick, but he wanted her to feel comfortable and know she could trust him. “If it will make you happy, we’ll embark on our no kissing pact. At least until you ask or initiate.” He winked.

  She gave him a mischievous smile then they got split apart to dance with their parents and other people. Brady talked with his mom about his nieces and nephews, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from straying back to his bride. He wanted her in his arms again. At least, she hadn’t said no touching. What would happen when they were on their honeymoon? Was she going to let him hold her and snuggle at night? Probably not. He needed to stop thinking about that kind of thing, unless he wanted to wake up missing a limb. He smiled to himself.

  The dancing continued, but Brady found himself next to Hailey in a sort of receiving line. He didn’t know most of the people, but they were all hugging and gushing over Hailey. Not that he blamed them. He’d hug and gush too if she would let him.

  When William Fonnesbeck was next in line, Brady’s neck tightened. He forced himself to shake the man’s hand, wondering who invited this loser. Maybe it was good he was here and could see for himself that he’d better stay far away from Hailey.

  “Congratulations. You are one lucky man.” William’s eyes trailed over Hailey, and Brady’s grip on the man’s hand tightened.

  “Thank you,” Brady said. “It’s fabulous to know that no man but me will ever touch my wife.”

  William pulled his hand free and stared haughtily at him. “Keep hoping for that.”

  The idiot tried to move past him to Hailey, but Brady grabbed his arm and whipped the VP back to face him. He’d deal with a lot more than a suspension if it meant protecting Hailey. “There’s no hope about it. I don’t even want you looking at her, do you understand?” He said the last three words very slowly as if William was an imbecile.

  “Brady,” Hailey whispered, squeezing his arm.

  He realized Hailey was trying to warn him to calm down, but her eyes didn’t match her voice. Her eyes glowed up at him like he was her protector. He tried to send the message back that if any man hurt or scared her, Brady would destroy them and keep her safe.

  She smiled at him. “He’s not worth messing up your handsome self in this tux.” She winked.

  Brady grinned and released William, pulling his new wife close and giving William a challenging glare as he savored the feel of her body close to his.

  William sneered at him. “I’d be very careful if I were you, Mr. Giles. You have more questionable hits than any player I’ve ever seen.”

  Brady’s lips tightened. He would’ve shown William a questionable hit if Hailey wasn’t tucked against his chest.

  “Brady doesn’t do questionable hits,” Hailey said. “He hits clean and hard. Everybody in the league knows it.”

  “So sweet, the little bride defending her man.” William pointed a finger at Brady. It gave him a little pleasure to see the finger was shaking. “It’s going to be fun to see all the fines and suspensions that are going to be coming at you and the Titans. Your new father-in-law is going to regret signing you, and you’re going to regret marrying the spoiled princess.” He glared at both of them and whirled, stomping away.

  Hailey leaned against Brady. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “It’s okay. Don’t listen to anything he said. He’s an idiot.”

  “Did we just make things worse for you and the team?” she asked, looking up at him, her blue eyes so entrancing he almost kissed her before he remembered he’d promised not to.

  Brady didn’t have an answer to her question, but he thought she was even more beautiful when she’d stood up for him and said he hit clean and hard. It was a huge ego boost that she’d paid attention to his playing even when he hadn’t been on her team.

  The next people in line moved in for hugs and congratulations. Brady tried to force the ugly scene with William out of his head. There was nothing he could do about it but worry, and worrying wasn’t his style.

  Chapter Six

  Hailey snuck a glance at Brady as they landed at John Wayne Airport. Her dad had asked what she wanted to do for a honeymoon with a cringe on his face. When she said she wanted to go to Disneyland, his craggy face had beamed as he’d grinned and winked. Hailey wouldn’t mind lounging on some white-sand beach with Brady for a week, but they needed lots of pictures of them flooding social media if they were going to discourage his stalker and hopefully convince William she was off the market. After William’s threats, and her and Brady’s reactions at the reception, she wasn’t sure if the wedding was going to help or hurt her team.

  Brady had been quiet as they’d left the wedding early in the evening, changed into casual clothes, boarded the plane, and flown for four hours. He was probably feeling as confused as she was, and she didn’t mind the time to reflect on the day. The fake wedding had been interesting and parts of it far too exciting, but pretending for hours on end to all of her friends and family that she and Brady had a normal courtship and were head over heels in love had taken its toll on her.

  The plane landed smoothly. Her father’s pilot was amazing. They thanked the stewardess and exited quickly. A silver Escalade was waiting, and the driver efficiently took their luggage from the stewardess and loaded it in the back.

  Brady opened the door for Hailey, and she slid into the middle seat. He scooted in next to her and said in a low tone, “California? I would’ve thought your dad would send us to some remote island for a week.”

  “Do you know my father at all?” She arched an eyebrow.

  “No, not really.”

  “Well, you’re lucky he and Mama didn’t come along to ensure my virtue stays intact.” No need for Brady to know she’d given her virtue away to the wrong man years ago. If he believed she was innocent, hopefully, he’d stay farther away.

  The driver got in and dropped the car into gear. “Welcome to Newport Beach, Mr. and Mrs. Giles.”

  “Thank you.” Brady answered for them. “Sam?”

  He must’ve seen the guy’s nametag. Sam wasn’t a driver she’d had before.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Are you local?” Brady asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “What’s the most romantic restaurant
in town?”

  The driver glanced in the rearview mirror with a knowing grin. “Oh, we have plenty of romantic and delicious restaurants overlooking the water—21 Oceanfront, Bayside, The Dock. Would you like me to make a reservation for you tomorrow night, sir?”

  Hailey’s stomach tumbled at the idea of a romantic dinner.

  Brady smiled. “Yes, please. Are you driving us all week?”

  “That’s up to you, sir. There are several vehicles at the Knight’s home, but I will plan on picking you up in the morning so you don’t have to worry about finding parking. I’ll be happy to come pick you up anytime you’d rather not drive this week.”

  Brady looked at Hailey and arched an eyebrow. She wondered what he was thinking. She had no clue if he’d grown up with money, but his parents had seemed like down-to-earth kind of people.

  “We’re not going anywhere in the morning, and I’m sure we’ll be happy to just lay low together this week,” Brady said with a smug smile.

  Hailey gasped. “Um, wrong my friend, I mean, husband. We’ve got a six-day pass to Disneyland and California Adventure. We’ll be going early every morning to hit the best rides before the lines are long.”

  Brady blinked at her. “Disneyland?”

  “Yes, sir.” She put lots of Southern sass into those two words.

  “Huh.” Brady leaned back against the seat.

  Hailey waited for more, staring at his handsome profile. He didn’t look upset, more contemplative. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you disappointed?” He’d probably been expecting an exotic, private island. Instead, he was going to get the family home and passes to Disneyland. Granted, the family home was gorgeous and on a bluff overlooking the beach and ocean.

  Brady’s gaze whipped to meet hers. “Disappointed?”

  “Disneyland, is kind of … juvenile I guess. I just thought it would be a fun way to get to know each other and get lots of social media posts from fans.” She glanced at the driver. She shouldn’t have said so much in front of him.

  Brady shook his head and gave her a big smile, like a little boy who’d just gotten his first BB gun. “I’ve wanted to go to Disneyland my whole life.”

  “Really?” Hailey couldn’t resist that smile on her new husband’s face. It was infectious. Knowing that he was excited about going to Disneyland eased her worries, but wait, holdup. “You’ve never been to Disneyland?”

  He shook his head quickly. “No. Youngest of seven. We didn’t have any money for a trip across the country or for Disneyland tickets.”

  “B-but.” She sputtered. “You make lots of millions every year. Why haven’t you gone as an adult?”

  He shifted and glanced at his hands but played it cool. “What? Alone? Or as a team trip? Disneyland isn’t exactly the kind of place a group of grown men go to hang out.”

  There was a touch of sadness in his tone that made Hailey’s mouth turn down. Loneliness. How sad. Her new husband was a puzzle. That was for sure. She determined right then and there they would have the best time at Disneyland. She wanted to do that for him. He’d done so much for her already.

  She wanted to ask him more questions, specifically why he didn’t ever take a girlfriend to Disneyland if he really wanted to go. Had he had a lot of girlfriends? When she’d googled him, there had been some shots of him with beautiful women on his arm but not a plethora.

  They arrived at the house, and the driver pulled forward so Hailey could type in the code. The gate swung open, and she watched Brady instead of the modern-style mansion as they pulled through the circle drive. The front of the house was stucco and crisp lines. She couldn’t wait until he walked in and saw the rear of the home.

  Brady opened the door and jumped out, offering her a hand. Hailey took it, pulling in a breath at the pleasant zing that shot through her.

  The driver got their luggage and followed them to the door. Hailey punched in the code, and Brady swung the door wide. As Sam rolled their luggage in, Brady quickly extracted a couple of twenties from his wallet.

  The driver smiled and waved him off. “Oh, no thank you, sir. I’ve been more than compensated for my time.”

  Hailey hid a smile at the confused look on Brady’s face.

  “Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Giles. I will see you at six thirty tomorrow morning.”

  He strode out into the night, and Hailey swung the door closed, turning to her new husband. Husband. She needed to just think of him as Brady. She sure hoped they could become friends this week. It would make this gig so much easier.

  “Six thirty?” Brady stared at her with a slightly open mouth. It was really cute.

  “Park opens at seven for those with special privileges.”

  Brady’s jaw clamped tight at that. “You’re pretty used to special privileges, aren’t you?”

  She shrugged. “Daddy made sure we learned to work, but he also loved to spoil us.”

  Brady pushed a hand through his short hair. “I’ve never met a driver who didn’t want a tip.”

  “Oh, believe me, he’d rather get the money transferred to his account for driving us and not taking the tip.”

  Brady shook his head and turned. Hailey followed his gaze, taking in the open living room and huge kitchen and dining areas with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the deck and infinity pool and the ocean beyond. The pool and deck had soft lighting, and she could see some large boats out in the ocean, maybe cargo ships.

  The walls in the house were a bluish gray, and the furniture was all white cushions and dark mahogany wood frames. The flooring was distressed cherry wood. The kitchen boasted stainless steel appliances and modern, white cabinets with pale blue and gray swirled granite tops. The little wall space in the living area was decorated with beach landscapes.

  She expected Brady to react with at least a little gasp or intake of air. Okay, maybe tough football players didn’t gasp, but something. It was a gorgeous home, and they had it all to themselves. A shiver traced down her spine. Brady wasn’t going to try to act like they were married, was he? She was pretty sure her dad and X had given him a talking to. He’d also agreed he wouldn’t kiss her unless she asked, but now that they were all alone in a beautiful home at night, fear clogged her throat. Daddy and X were far away, and even though her brain said she should calm down, instinct had taken over. She backed up a step.

  Brady glanced over at her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. Do you like the house?”

  “It’s beautiful.” He nodded. “One of your dad’s?”

  “Yeah.”

  But he wasn’t looking at the house. He was studying her intently. “Is everything okay?”

  “Um, I just …” She glanced at the infinity pool, sparkling blue in the night and wondered how to phrase this. “We’re not really married, so I wanted to make sure you knew that.”

  Brady’s eyes kind of glinted at her. He took a step closer. His huge form overshadowed her. Hailey was suddenly very uncertain about the entire situation. How had her daddy allowed this? How had he dared let her be alone with some buff football player who could overpower her at anytime? Where had she set her purse and phone? Would help get here in time if he tried to force himself on her and she called 911? Her breath was coming in short pants.

  “But we are married,” Brady said quietly.

  Hailey steeled her spine and glared up at him. She’d faced down larger men than him and probably more calculating men than him, she hoped. She didn’t know him well enough to say for sure. The tender way he’d kissed her at their wedding had reassured her in so many ways. He’d seemed like a gentleman and a caring person, but what did she really know about him?

  “That doesn’t give you liberty to touch me or kiss me, remember?”

  He leaned close and whispered, “I thought we already talked about this. We’re going to wait until you kiss me or ask me to kiss you.”

  Hailey caught a breath and stared up at him, so relieved that he’d not only remembered but reiterated t
heir agreement. “You promise you’ll stick to that?”

  Brady nodded solemnly. “You don’t need to be afraid of me, Hailey.”

  She blinked and had to look away from the intensity in his dark gaze. “Thank you,” she said. Her voice suddenly sounded small.

  “Of course.” His grin returned. “And I’m not worried. You’ll be begging me to kiss you before the honeymoon is over.”

  Hailey sputtered out a laugh. “Hey, I know they give you confidence injections when you enter the NFL, but it doesn’t mean every woman is going to fall at your feet and beg you to kiss them.”

  Brady’s grin grew. Then he became solemn as his eyes traced over her face. He tenderly tucked a long curl behind her ear. “I don’t want every woman. I just committed myself … to you.”

  Hailely didn’t want a man committed to her. No matter how kind he seemed, how good-looking he was, how his kiss at their wedding had turned her world upside down.

  Hailey stepped back. “Sadly for you, I don’t date football players.”

  “Sadly for you, you married one.” His gaze became deep and sultry, and the familiar terror raced through her.

  Brady took a step closer, misinterpreting her silence. “You’re an impressive lady, Hailey.”

  She slipped past him, ignoring all the warmth his words and the look in his eyes were giving her. He was just another football player, looking for a good time, and she was not that girl. Pretty words meant very little to her. She’d heard them all. “All righty then, your room is on the left. My door will be locked tight.” She waved to him and grabbed her suitcase handle. “Goodnight.”

  “Going to bed already? We could go swim in the pool or take a walk on the beach.”

  Hailey was tempted, but knew she needed to keep her distance. Brady was probably caught up in the fact that they’d exchanged vows this afternoon. He’d calm down and act normal and stop talking about committing to her tomorrow. She hoped. “I’m exhausted, and we’ve got to be up early. Six thirty is going to come fast.”

  Brady grinned and rubbed his hands together. “What are we going to ride first?”