The Fearless Groom (Texas Titan Romances) Read online

  Izzy blew on the bite and then finally placed it in her mouth. Cheesy goodness rested there. The meat was tender steak, the rice and beans were perfectly seasoned, and the homemade tortilla and guacamole blended flawlessly. She chewed slowly, savoring it before saying, “Best Mexican food I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Aw, yeah.” Xavier drawled it out, pointing his fork at her before cutting a bite of his tamale. “That means I get to choose dinner too.”

  “You’re really planning on me being around for dinner?” Izzy teased. She’d been concerned at his house with the obvious implications from his teammate, Kade, that Xavier was a womanizer. She’d known that fact going into the date, but she still didn’t know how to resist him. Her mouth turned down. That was probably what every other woman felt.

  “I really hope you will be.” He glanced down as if suddenly shy. She knew that couldn’t be true, but it felt like it. He met her gaze again, his dark eyes beseeching. “So far this has been the best date of my life.”

  She got lost in the dark depths of his eyes, her fork clattering to the plate. “You mean the best first date?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I mean best date.”

  “I still don’t kiss on the first date.” She insisted, wanting to flirt with him.

  “So those first two kisses?” His voice went low and sultry, and she wasn’t hungry for the best Mexican food anymore.

  “You kissed me.” She reminded him, but that wasn’t exactly true. There’d been a third kiss that she’d instigated, right after she’d cupped his face and told him how she loved his dimples. Oh, my, this food was really spicy. She took another gulp of water.

  “Oh, so that’s how you work? As long as I initiate, I can plan on more of that bit of heaven?”

  Dang he was smooth. She laughed. “You’ve got me. But you’re going to have to work hard for the next kiss.”

  “I’ve had to work hard a few times in my life.”

  Izzy smiled at the understatement. He could write a book on rising from the ashes through hard work.

  “This work sounds like a lot of fun.” He winked and went back to his tamales and tostada lunch.

  Izzy had a hard time focusing on cutting another bite of chimichanga as she imagined kissing him again. It wouldn’t be work for her, not at all. This date was not turning out to be anything like she’d thought it would, and she might give into another kiss … or two.

  9

  Xavier wrapped his arm around Izzy to escort her out of the restaurant, dropping a hundred-dollar bill on the table because Mama Fabiana refused to let him pay the bill. There was still a huge line out front, and people kept edging closer and closer to him and Izzy. He kept a smile plastered on his face but hurried Izzy toward the door. Hopefully, they could escape without being mauled. Mama Fabiana had offered the kitchen exit, but his Land Rover was out front, so he’d have to get through the crowd somehow.

  Nobody tried to bar their path, but Izzy was tense against his side. People in Texas knew who she was too, and there were a lot of pictures getting snapped right now. They said goodbye to Antonio and cleared the door, and a buzz went up in the crowd. Xavier had learned to not engage if he needed to get through and he didn’t want Izzy to have to deal with the questions and harassment if the crowd got out of control.

  He bent down closer to her. “Just keep walking. They’re good people, just excited to see someone famous.”

  “I’m okay, X.” She smiled up at him, and he fell a little harder for her. She was made of much tougher stuff than anyone would guess. Most of the girls he dated loved the attention of crowds. Izzy wasn’t into it, but she wasn’t falling apart because people were making a fuss over them.

  “Xavier! Mr. Newton!” The cries came from less than twenty feet away. It didn’t sound like a typical fan, it sounded like paparazzi. He glanced up and sure enough, several high-dollar cameras started snapping. “Are you and Ms. Knight dating? How does her father feel about this?” One of them called out, goading.

  Xavier kept walking, upping his pace. A tug on his right arm made him tense up. He shielded Izzy with his body while preparing to duke it out to protect her. This was not going to go over well with his agent.

  “Mr. Newton?” an innocent voice queried.

  Xavier glanced down. A little boy of about ten or eleven, thick-waisted with red hair and a big smile, looked worshipfully up at him. “Would you mind signing my football, sir?”

  Xavier stopped and glanced at Izzy. She gave him an encouraging smile. Luckily, the paparazzi held back and stopped yelling questions at them. “For sure, bud, what’s your name?”

  “Luke.”

  He took the football and the pen. It was a regular pen, not a permanent marker which made it a little more difficult, but he did his standard. To Luke. Word hard. Pray hard. Xavier Newton. He handed it back and couldn’t resist ruffling the kid’s hair. “Be good for your, Mama, you hear?”

  The crowd sighed.

  Luke nodded, and the boy’s blonde mother beamed next to him. “Sir, is it true you were a X-head in peewees?”

  “And proud of it.” Xavier chuckled and looked the kid over. “You an X?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Keep doing your best, and you’ll find your spot.”

  The kid broke into another wide grin. “Thank you, sir.”

  Xavier grinned at him, but could feel the crowd pressing closer. He bent down and whispered, “You want to distract them while I get my girl out of here?”

  Luke glanced at Izzy and let out a low, appreciative whistle. “I got it, sir.”

  Xavier held out his fist, and Luke bumped it. Xavier started directing Izzy toward the Land Rover and Luke hollered louder than Xavier would’ve thought a boy could yell, “Look, Mom! Look! Ace Sanchez and Kade Kincaid! This is my best day ever!”

  Xavier was tempted to look himself, but instead, he pulled Izzy toward his vehicle, unlocking it, and ripping her door open while the paparazzi and crowd turned to catch a glimpse of Ace and Kade. She leapt inside, and he shut the door and rushed around to his side. He pulled out onto the road before he glanced back. The crowd was still searching for Ace and Kade, but Luke was giving him a big grin and a thumb’s up.

  Xavier drove off, laughing. “I hope I have a kid like that someday.”

  Izzy pushed her seatbelt into place. “He was adorable. Thanks for being so great with him.”

  “I thought we were going to get mauled by that crowd, but I couldn’t leave my little man hanging.”

  “Were Ace and Kade really there?”

  “Naw. I told my buddy to distract the crowd so I could get my girl to safety.”

  “If only I was actually your girl.” There was a teasing lilt to her voice.

  “If only.” He reached across the console and squeezed her hand.

  “So what else do you have planned for our grand adventure?” Izzy asked, holding onto his hand, which he really liked.

  “Well, I’d planned on giving the princess a few redneck experiences—paintball, demolition derby, and the fair. But we can do anything you want. We could go back to my place and swim or take my boat out on Lake Lewisville.” He held his breath. Rejection hadn’t happened to him in a long while, but he was fully prepared for it at this moment.

  “I don’t know that I want to repeat the restaurant experience anytime soon, so sadly, the demolition derby might be out.”

  “You think a bunch of rednecks would recognize a football player?”

  She laughed. “The only thing worse would be if you raced NASCAR.”

  “True.”

  “Boating sounds fun,” she said. “I haven’t been out on a lake in years.”

  “Great.” He looked over at her. “You don’t let yourself have much leisure time, do you?”

  “Too busy.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.

  “That is exactly my point. You’re too busy for fun?”

  “I’m sure you’re busy too.”

  He shrugged. “During
the season it’s insane, but off-season, I have a little more free time. Time to take a beautiful princess out boating.”

  “I used to think you were making fun of me with the princess thing, but I’m not so sure anymore.”

  Xavier squeezed her hand. “You’re a very impressive lady. I wouldn’t dream of making fun of you.”

  10

  Izzy didn’t know what to plan on with Xavier’s boat or with Xavier for that matter, but she loved his Malibu Wakesetter with the deep red exterior and gray faux-leather seats and carpet inside. He must’ve placed a call to have the boat ready while she was at her condo getting her swimsuit and cover-up because the boat was in the lake, all ready to go when they arrived. They walked down the dock, and Xavier palmed the guy holding the boat steady some money. They climbed in quickly and were off.

  Xavier sat in the driver’s seat, and she perched on the cushion next to him. He put the boat into gear, and they skimmed along the water a few hundred yards before Xavier cut the motor. He stood and walked to the rear of the boat.

  “You’re up first,” he said, grinning at her then opening a padded compartment on the back of the boat and pulling out a pink life jacket. “Hopefully, this’ll fit. I only have one female jacket.”

  Izzy lifted off her cover-up and took the jacket from him. His eyes brushed over her one-piece suit appreciatively, but he quickly refocused on her face. She felt pretty and daring in the high-necked floral suit that showed off a strip of her abdomen and made her legs look long and lean. Hailey had given it to her, and she was grateful for her sister’s ability to shop.

  She zipped and snapped the life jacket on. “First for what?”

  She glanced around at the busy lake. Everybody was looking to escape the muggy June heat. There were sailboats, ski boats, and surfing boats. It all looked fun, but she didn’t have much experience at any of it and was a little bit nervous.

  “Whatever you want to do—ski, wakeboard, surf, kneeboard, go barefoot.” He winked.

  “Oh, I’m definitely going for the barefoot.” She kept a straight face for half a second.

  He chuckled. “As tough as you are, you probably could.”

  Izzy flushed from the compliment. She’d fought hard to prove how tough she was, not needing help from anybody, and appreciated that he noticed that about her. “Honestly, I have never tried any of it. What’s the easiest thing to learn?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “That surprises me. Didn’t you grow up here in Dallas?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’ve never been out on the lake?”

  “Some friends brought me out a few times, but the boat was always crowded, and nobody noticed that I didn’t do anything.” Her father owned multiple boats and wave runners, but she’d always refused to go out with him. Apparently, Xavier had caught enough clues about that situation and wasn’t going to ask.

  “Well, today’s the day for you to try it all out. Hmm.” He pursed his lips. “Surfing is definitely the easiest thing to learn, and I think you’ll like it.”

  “I have gone surfing before. My father got me and Hailey lessons in Hawaii a couple of times.”

  “See, this will be easy.” He brushed past her and stepped up onto the side of the boat, lifting a board off the shiny silver rack that stuck out on either side of the shade cover thing. The board was only about half as long as a normal surfboard.

  Walking past her again, Xavier set the board on the padded rear of the boat then lifted one of the seats opposite to where she was sitting and pulled out a short rope.

  Izzy really enjoyed watching him in his gray plaid swimsuit and white neoprene shirt. He moved well. She smiled to herself. Big surprise that a professional athlete had fluid and attractive movements.

  He attached the rope to a silver knob up high, behind the shade covering then motioned to her. “Okay. You’ll be great at this.”

  Izzy stood and walked to him. He took her hand and helped her up over the padded rear of the boat onto a lower wooden platform that the water lapped over. He released her hand, sat down on the padded part and patted the spot next to him. “Right here.”

  “Bossy, bossy.”

  He flashed her his grin, and she wondered if those dimples would ever stop affecting her. It was probably ninety degrees with seventy percent humidity, but she was sweating from something completely different than the heat. Jumping in the water would be fabulous.

  He lifted the board down onto the wooden platform and set his feet on it. “You just lay back in the water with your feet resting on the board and the rope held between your feet.” He pantomimed holding a rope. “Let the boat pull you up and simply put pressure on your heels and then keep putting pressure on the board. You’ll pop right up. Honestly, just hold onto the rope, and I’ll do the rest. Easy.”

  “Easy.” She repeated skeptically. It didn’t sound easy at all. On a real surfboard, you jumped up and there was none of this business about something pulling you up and pressure on your heels.

  “That’s right.” He handed her the rope and the board.

  Izzy slid into the warm water and maneuvered around to face the boat while still holding onto the rope. It was so short she was only a couple of feet behind the rear platform of the boat. She rested her heels on the board like he’d told her and held onto the rope. Xavier went back to the driver’s seat but stayed standing. He put the motor into gear, and it slowly puttered forward until the rope was taut. Then he pulled it back into neutral. She couldn’t believe how quiet his boat’s motor was. She supposed when you paid enough money, they figured out how to have the motor purr.

  “You ready?” He called back.

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  He laughed and pushed the throttle forward. The board slid out from under her feet as she clung onto the rope. She flipped over onto her stomach and gulped in mouthfuls of lake water. The boat stopped, and she bobbed to a stop, still clinging to the rope. Blinking water out of her eyes, she looked up into Xavier’s very concerned face. He must’ve rushed quickly from the driver’s seat.

  “Are you okay?”

  She spit and wiped at her face. “Yeah, just a little waterlogged.”

  “What happened?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  “Um, okay. First thing, don’t hold onto the rope if you lose the board.”

  “Lesson learned.” She couldn’t help but spit again.

  He laughed. “Second thing, as soon as you hear the boat engage you need to press down hard with your heels. I think what happened was the board stayed flat and just slid away from you. If you press with your heels, you get it on an angle, and then the boat will easily pull you up.”

  “Okay, first thing, you’re making me try this again?”

  “It’s the rule of the lake that you have to try three times. You got this. It’s easy.”

  “Okay, second thing, stop saying it’s easy, or I’m going to slap you again.”

  Xavier chuckled and rubbed at his jaw. “I forgot you slapped me. That was kind of fun.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Okay, not the slap, but what happened before and what happened after.”

  Her face was burning despite the water surrounding her. “Must be too long of a date if you already forgot what happened this morning.”

  Xavier’s deep brown eyes penetrated through her. “I didn’t forget the kissing, not by any means.”

  He was either the smoothest ladies’ man she’d ever met or he was really into her. Izzy wasn’t sure which, and she forced herself to not comment and to look away from his gaze. She saw the board floating close by. She let go of the rope and swam over, bringing the board back and getting into position again. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Xavier chuckled. “We’ll focus on the kissing again after you surf.”

  Izzy shook her head and clung to the rope. Why he’d want to kiss her when she looked like a drowned rat was beyond her, but she couldn’t put the kisses they shared out of her mind either.<
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  “Okay, go now,” she said.

  “We usually say hit it.” He smirked at her and put the boat into gear, taking the slack out of the line.

  Izzy felt the tension on the rope and the board and yelled. “Hit it!”

  Xavier shoved the boat into gear, and she pushed down hard with her heels. She easily stood up on the board and was so surprised she almost let go of the rope.

  “Yes!” Xavier pumped his fist in the air. “Now keep a little more pressure on your back foot.” He called to her.

  As he said that, she felt the tip of her board plunging dangerously into the water. She pressed back, and it leveled out. The wake on his boat was massive, and after a few minutes of gliding along behind it, she got brave and started turning the board into the wake and out of it.

  “You’re doing great!” Xavier hollered, alternating between glancing back at her and paying attention to where the boat was going. Thankfully, Lake Lewisville was huge, so there weren’t many boats in their path, and they were going really slowly as she surfed. She liked the feel of cruising behind the boat and messing around with the wake.

  “If you want to, you can try to find the sweet spot where there’s no tension in the rope and then throw the rope in,” Xavier called back.

  “What? You’re crazy!” The short rope’s connection to the boat was the only thing keeping her afloat.

  “I promise it works. It’s easy.” He grinned. “You’re a natural!”

  Izzy played around with moving closer to the boat and then backing off into the wake. Eventually, she found the spot he described. When she was close enough to the boat she felt like she could step onto the wood platform if she wanted, there was a spot where she didn’t need tension in the rope to stay there. She messed around with it a little more and slowly coiled the rope then got brave and tossed it at the back of the boat. The rope landed on the padded part. Izzy could feel herself falling back toward the huge wake.

  “Pump the board,” Xavier called.

  She pushed up and down with her front foot and moved back into the spot. This didn’t feel like surfing on the ocean as she was pressing against the wave instead of riding with it, but it was a lot of fun. She kept pumping the board when she needed to, and stayed in the spot for maybe half a minute before, inch by inch, she fell back away from the boat. She couldn’t catch the wave again, causing her to gently sink into the water. The board popped up, and within seconds, Xavier had circled back to her, grinning so proudly.