The Trustworthy Groom (Texas Titan Romance) Read online

  But Brady was incredibly fun. They’d laughed and even screamed through the rides. He’d held her hand quite a few times, and on many of the rides, they’d had no choice but to be pressed close. She’d never enjoyed being close to a man quite like this. She dated all the time, several dates a day sometimes, but she didn’t let herself get close to anyone. She knew she was emotionally injured from what had happened to her at eighteen, but she was a Knight, and stronger than that, so she didn’t let herself go there. If she’d ever told her parents, they would’ve hired her the best therapists, but she was okay. At least that is what she told herself. In reality, she would never give her parents the stress of knowing how broken she was. She’d talked to the Lord about it many a time, and He was helping her. Yet she’d still never made that leap with a man to doing more than holding hands, hugging, and an occasional quick kiss good night, and she still had nightmares far too often.

  Brady had the potential to blow all of her reticence out of the water. Sitting in the log on Splash Mountain where he had his arms wrapped around her abdomen and she was pressed against his chest, she felt stirrings she’d never experienced. It was delicious and tender and terrifying.

  That afternoon, she walked out of her bedroom in her favorite Nani swimsuit—navy blue and white floral bottoms and a dusty blue top that showed off just a hint of abdomen. Brady was standing at the railing by the pool looking out over the ocean in only a pair of teal swim trunks. His broad back was covered with succulent muscle and smooth, tanned skin. He looked like a Ken Barbie doll the way his broad shoulders tapered down to a taut waistline. The thought of his muscular arms surrounding her made her mouth go dry.

  Hailey sucked in a breath. “You’re a professional,” she muttered to herself. Seriously, she worked with perfectly built athletes all day, every day. Why was this one affecting her when she’d promised herself she would never date a football player again?

  Hailey pushed out the glass patio doors, and Brady turned with a grin on his face.

  “You ready to conquer the waves?” she asked.

  “Let’s do this.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the stairs leading down to the beach.

  Hailey laughed and realized she could do this. Have fun with Brady and pretend to be married. It didn’t have to get serious or physical. He’d been a complete gentleman so far, only teasing her a little bit. She could stay safe and keep her promise to herself. Now, if she could just remind herself not to tingle when he held her hand in his or gave her one of his devastating smiles.

  They plunged into the soft, hot sand of the beach. It slowed their run down considerably, stinging her bare feet. It was late in the afternoon, and this stretch of beach was lined with multi-million dollar homes. There wasn’t a public parking area or access close by, so it was basically deserted.

  They made it through the loose sand to where the waves had packed the sand firm, and it was cooler on her feet. Hailey ran full tilt toward the water, but Brady stopped when a wave rolled in and came toward his toes.

  “Isn’t it going to be cold?” he asked.

  The weather was considerably cooler by the water with an ocean breeze, and they were both used to the sweltering heat of Texas.

  Hailey turned back to him. The wave rolled up over her ankles, and she jumped. It was chilly. “Of course, it’s cold. It’s the Pacific Ocean. It’s only warm in Hawaii.” She didn’t really know which places the Pacific was warm, but Hawaii was the only one where she’d experienced it. California water was never warm like the Caribbean, even in the summer. “Stop being such a wimp.”

  “Wimp?” He laughed, and before Hailey could react, he charged at her, swept her off her feet, and carried her toward the next wave.

  Hailey laughed, surprised and loving his spontaneity. She clung to his muscular shoulders, thinking she could definitely get used to touching him. She made the mistake of letting her eyes dip to his defined chest and abdomen. Her breath became ragged, and she had to hold on tighter.

  Brady plunged through the water until they were waist deep. Then a large wave came, and as it crested, he jumped into it with her. Hailey gasped as the chilly water surrounded her. They both got rolled under the crest of the wave, and she was flung away from him. Hailey came up sputtering, pushing her hair out of her face and blinking salt water out of her eyes.

  “You okay?” Brady asked, standing up a foot away from her.

  “Of course.” She struggled to her feet. “But I can see I have lots to teach you about body surfing the waves.”

  Brady chuckled and swiped his hand through his hair. Hailey’s heart beat quicker as she watched his arm flex with the motion. She’d forced herself for years not to let fit bodies affect her, but she was just now realizing it was like being denied chocolate and Diet Coke for life. She wanted nothing more than to look at, touch, and feel Brady’s body. A wave slammed into her, pushing her off her feet and slapping water in her face.

  Brady reached out to steady her. Another wave made her lose her footing again, and she stumbled, knocking into his chest. He was so solid, even the ocean didn’t push him around. His arms clamped around her waist, and she lost the ability to breathe. She looked up, and their breath mingled. He was focused completely on her, and she’d never been so tempted to ask someone to kiss her.

  The waves kept hitting them then receding, but they couldn’t move Hailey while she was in Brady’s strong embrace. His lips were so kissable, and if the look in his eyes was any indication, he would welcome her kiss wholeheartedly.

  Hailey swallowed hard and forced herself to pull away. She needed to keep this light or she would ask him to kiss her and mess up everything. Grabbing Brady’s hand, she tugged him deeper into the ocean. “Okay, follow me. I’ll show you the best waves to body surf. Then we’ll go grab some boogie boards and hit even bigger waves.”

  He winked and grinned. “I would follow you anywhere, my beautiful wife.”

  Hailey drew in a quick breath and focused on diving under the next wave. She was getting afraid that all this honeymoon was going to accomplish was her forgetting every promise she’d made to herself and flinging herself into the succulent arms of the most handsome football player she’d ever met.

  Chapter Nine

  Brady was having trouble sleeping. He lay on his back with his eyes closed. The bed was comfortable, he couldn’t blame it on that. He’d played hard at Disneyland and in the ocean, eaten great, and watched the sun set in the hot tub with Hailey. He should be exhausted and ready for another fun day tomorrow, but his restlessness was all his new wife’s fault. With his eyes closed, all he could do was picture her laughing as they rumbled along on Thunder Mountain, teasing him when a wave rolled him viciously in the ocean and he came up sputtering water, blushing when he told her how beautiful she was. Hailey was unreal and perfect, and he was married to her. It felt like he’d won the jackpot, yet he really hadn’t. None of this was real, and someday, much sooner than he wanted to think, the charade would end.

  He rolled over and punched the pillow. Did he even dare to hope that Hailey might fall for him and their fake marriage might grow into something different, something amazing? Xavier’s question at the wedding played over and over in his mind. “Why are you so special?”

  He wasn’t special. He was a hard-working kid with talent who had risen from very little and was living his dream playing football. But he wasn’t anything special to Hailey. He couldn’t imagine how many football players she’d been around throughout her life. Her insistence that she didn’t date football players rang in his mind. Why not? Simply a way to keep them all from begging her to go out every day, or maybe there was a deeper reason?

  “Gage! Gage. Stop!” A wail came from Hailey’s room.

  Brady was out of bed and sprinting across the short hall before he stopped to think if it was a good idea or not. He shoved open the door, grateful she hadn’t locked it. Moonlight spilled in through Hailey’s open window, and her long blonde hair was splayed across
the white pillowcase. Only her lips were moving, but the sound of the waves rolling in was overshadowed by her screams to Gage. Who was Gage?

  Brady sat on the edge of the bed and grasped her shoulders in his hands. She was sweating even though she was only in a thin t-shirt and shorts.

  “Gage!”

  “Hailey!” Brady didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but he shook her and then said more forcefully, “Hailey! Wake up!”

  Her eyes flew open, and she stared at him. Her gaze was full of fear and confusion.

  “It’s okay.” Brady wrapped her up in his arms and kind of rocked her like he was comforting a small child. She smelled delicious, like coconut. “You’re okay. You were having a nightmare.”

  Hailey’s hands came around his back, and she clung to him. She didn’t say anything and that was almost as disturbing as her screams had been.

  “You’re okay.” Brady tried to think of soothing things to say. Maybe she wasn’t quite awake yet. Should he take her outside? Pour water on her head? One of his older brothers had night terrors, and it was honestly terrifying the crazy stuff he would do. None of his siblings had wanted to share a room with him, and his wife had more bizarre stories than anyone wanted to hear. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

  Hailey pressed her face into his chest and simply held on to him. Brady’s empty platitudes fell away. The only sound was the waves rolling in, crashing on the beach below. He didn’t know if he should say something else, keep holding her, or lay her down so she could go back to sleep.

  When the silence was so awkward he didn’t know how to break it, she pulled back. Not looking at him, she said, “Thank you. Sorry I woke you.”

  Brady’s eyebrows arched up. He wanted to ask her so many questions. The most important one being who Gage was.

  “I couldn’t sleep anyway,” he said.

  Hailey scooted even farther away and leaned back against the headboard. Brady missed feeling and smelling her. She finally focused on his face and said, “Why couldn’t you sleep?”

  Brady got brave and took the plunge. “I was thinking about you.”

  Hailey’s eyes shuttered. “Oh.” She plucked at the down comforter.

  Brady scooted closer. Could he ever break through her wall? Was she scared of him or something else? “When I was little, I used to have nightmares, and my older sister would come sing to me.”

  “Really?” Hailey caught his gaze again.

  His hopes grew. “Yeah. Do you want me to sing to you?”

  “Um … sure.” Her voice caught, and Brady hated that she was scared. He wanted to be there for her.

  “Lie down,” he said.

  “Why?” Her eyes went round.

  “In case you fall asleep while I’m singing.”

  She swallowed and shook her head. “I doubt that.” But she slid down in the bed until her head was resting on the pillow.

  Brady scooted closer. She sat up. “You can’t lie down too.”

  His eyebrows arched, but he nodded. “Okay, I won’t.”

  “Okay then.” She lay back down, staring up at him.

  She was so beautiful with the light from the moon catching her blue eyes and blonde hair. He’d give anything to kiss her again, but this obviously was not that moment. He wondered if he’d ever find that moment again.

  He started singing, “I see the moon, and the moon sees me …”

  Hailey seemed to be fighting to keep her eyes open, but after he went through “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Jesus Loves Me,” her eyes finally closed. Brady thought she was asleep when he trailed off singing and reached over, gently pressing a kiss to her cheek.

  Hailey’s eyes flew open, and her breath came in quick pants. Brady could feel the sweetness of her breath against his lips. He didn’t move any closer, but he didn’t move away either.

  “Do you think,” he whispered after a few uncertain seconds, not knowing if he should move forward or retreat, “you’ll ever ask me to kiss you?”

  The moment stretched. Her eyes dipped to his lips then up to meet his. She shook her head and turned her head away from him. “Thank you for singing to me.” Her voice was stiff, and it hurt him to know her walls were as strong as ever.

  Brady stood. She didn’t need to dismiss him again, and she obviously wasn’t feeling any of the stirrings that were driving him nuts and keeping him from sleeping at night.

  He might not have the woman, but he did have some pride. “Goodnight.” He strode from the room, shutting the door a little too forcefully on his way out. It was probably for the best that she was so uninterested in him. He was an idiot to think he could fall for his wife and she might someday return the favor.

  Chapter Ten

  Hailey didn’t get much rest after Brady left, and she was groggy and irritable the next morning when her alarm went off at five thirty. She showered quickly since she’d already showered and washed her hair the night before after being in the ocean, pool, and hot tub. Brady was already waiting for her in the kitchen when she arrived. The caterers showed up with breakfast, and he ate without saying much while she picked at a few bites of eggs and toast, not daring to eat much.

  Yesterday had been so much fun. Today was looking like a big fat bummer, and she had no one to blame but herself for pushing Brady away last night. She’d never had someone comfort her after a nightmare, and she didn’t think she’d reacted well at all. It was so sweet of him to want to comfort her, to sing to her like he had. She loved the way his deep voice tenderly sang lullabies, but when his lips had touched her cheek, longings she’d only felt for him had surged through her. She had to be much more careful around him, or she’d end up falling for her husband, and that couldn’t happen. Not with a strong football player.

  They got to Disneyland half an hour later and hurried to the major rides that would have big lines later in the day. Neither of them said anything, but they turned together toward Tomorrowland and then walked to Space Mountain.

  “Is this one of your favorite rides?” Brady asked.

  Hailey looked at him as they walked along the ramps to the loading area. “I just wanted to hear you scream like a little girl again.”

  “Hey!” He lifted his hands up. “This ride is terrifying. How do you know you aren’t going to crash into something?”

  “Even if we were, I wouldn’t be screeching aah, at the top of my lungs.” She winked at him.

  He chuckled, and the tension between them eased a little bit. “You can’t prove anything.”

  She pulled out her phone. “I’m recording today, so you’d better clamp that mouth shut.”

  “I’ll try, but if a scream eeks out you could post it on Instagram and make millions. My teammates will never respect me again.” He winked.

  Hailey loved that they were teasing each other again.

  They came upon a short line. There was a family with two older children and a group of teenage boys waiting in line behind the family. The teenagers glanced at them then did a double-take. They started poking each other and talking in undertones.

  Brady smiled at the young men, clearly used to the attention.

  The family loaded into the spaceship, and Hailey wished the teenagers would be gone too. Yesterday, she and Brady had gotten plenty of attention, but these boys were looking at them like they’d done something wrong. Their stares were starting to make her uncomfortable.

  “Is it true, man?” One of them directed the question to Brady.

  “What’s that?” Brady asked, confident and smiling.

  The young men’s cart came, and they loaded up, but the kid yelled back at Brady and Hailey. “Can’t believe you got paid to marry her. She’s hot!”

  Their cart whooshed away, and Hailey blinked up at Brady. “What did he say?”

  Brady chuckled, but it was uneasy. “He said you’re hot. Smart kid.”

  Their spaceship came, and they climbed in. Hailey tried to concentrate on the ride as the cart started climbing the firs
t hill, but her brain puzzled over what the kid had said. Brady paid to marry her? Where would he have heard that? Maybe some sleazy media had claimed that because it was such a quick marriage and her dad was Brady’s new boss. She tried to shake it off. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she couldn’t get to it.

  They made it to the top of the slope and screamed down the other side. Hailey whooped and pushed the odd comments and stares aside.

  As they exited the ride a couple minutes later, she stuttered a step. Brady was quick to wrap his broad arm around her waist. “Dizzy?” he asked.

  “Yeah, but also kind of confused by what that kid said.”

  His lips tightened. “Don’t let it bug you. People say all kinds of weird things.”

  She nodded. She knew this, but something felt off. They walked out of the ride and toward Star Tours, and a young couple approached them. “Can I get an autograph?” the twenty-something man asked.

  “Sure.” Brady released his hold on Hailey and signed the guy’s admission slip to the park.

  The girl looked at Hailey with something like derision in her eyes. “When’s your baby due?” she asked.

  “Excuse me?” Hailey fell back a step. She looked down at her abdomen and then back up at the girl. What was she talking about? What rumor had been started now?

  Brady was quick to pull Hailey against his side. “We’re not expecting,” he said shortly.

  “Hmm.” The girl eyed him like he was Godiva chocolate. “The articles I read this morning said she is.”

  The couple walked away, but Hailey couldn’t move. Brady’s phone buzzed, and she felt it against her hip. He took it out with his left hand while still holding onto her with his right. “Do you care if I answer this? It’s my agent.”

  “Sure.”

  They walked toward the wall and pressed into the alcove for the Buzz Lightyear ride.