by Taylor Hart
The Prince Charming Groom
Texas Titan Romances: The Lost Loves
Taylor Hart
Copyright
All rights reserved.
© 2018 ArchStone Ink
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. The reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form whether electronic, mechanical or other means, known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written consent of the publisher and/or author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This edition is published by ArchStone Ink LLC.
First eBook Edition: 2018
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the creation of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Also by Taylor Hart
Texas Titan Romances
The Tough Love Groom
The Second Chance Groom
The Dream Groom
The Fake Fiance Groom
Bachelor Billionaire Romances
The Football Groom
The Country Groom
The Unfinished Groom
The Barefoot Groom
The Masquerading Groom
The Christmas Groom
Rescue Me: Park City Firefighter Romance (A Bachelor Billionaire Companion)
The Lost Groom
The Undercover Groom
The LoneStar Groom
The Redeemed Groom
The Last Play Series
Last Play
The Rookie
Just Play
A Player for Christmas
Second String
End Zone
Hail Mary
Snow Valley Series
A Christmas in Snow Valley: The Christmas Eve Kiss
Summer in Snow Valley: First Love
Spring in Snow Valley: The Bet
A Return to Snow Valley: The Christmas Boyfriend
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
The Fake Fiance Groom: Texas Titan Romances
The Broken Warrior: Zane Kent
The Redeemed Groom: Bachelor Billionaire Romances: The Legendary Kent Brothers
Also by Taylor Hart
About the Author
Chapter 1
Kyle Bones threw down his surfboard, sat on Miami Beach, and sucked in a few breaths. He’d been surfing all morning in the crystal-blue waters. Since it was the end of May, the weather was perfect. Propping his surfboard up in the sand, he dusted it off, then grabbed his jug of water and gulped it back.
He thought about what he’d been trying not to think about since coming to the ocean this morning—the all-stars event in Jackson this weekend and the fact that he had to go. Recently, he’d taken the role as coordinator for the Sparring for Vets program in Florida under Scar Walker’s direction. More recently, he’d discovered a desire to punch Scar Walker in the face.
Scar had set up some radio promotion to help raise awareness for the gym that was currently being built in Miami for vets, and he’d promised the radio station they could raffle off a trip to Jackson with Kyle Bones, famous ex-Navy SEAL and MMA fighter. The winner would accompany Kyle to the all-stars event. Just thinking about it sent a tsunami of curse words rushing through Kyle’s mind. Why would he ever want to attend an all-stars event in Jackson?
When he’d told Scar he would not be attending, Scar had guilted him and asked if he would do it for his military brothers and sisters. He’d said, “Are you willing to step up and lead or not, man?”
The words still bugged Kyle. He’d led missions in Afghanistan for five years. He didn’t need this crap. He didn’t need a talk on leadership. Forget Scar.
Kyle was busy enough. For the past two years, he’d been opening MMA gyms all over Florida, and he loved it. Making a lot of money at it had been a nice bonus. Plus, he had an expansion project in the works that included developing more gyms out west.
Unbidden, a woman’s face popped into his mind. That was the real reason he didn’t want to go to Jackson and the all-stars event: Cassidy Stone.
She would be attending the all-stars event. Two years had passed since she’d chosen the other guy—Anthony Kincaid. Humph. Kyle had come back from the dead for her, but she’d already moved on. Running a hand over his face, he tried to push away those dark thoughts that his best friend Russell would say didn’t suit him. Thoughts about how he’d lost the only woman he’d ever loved, the only woman he’d ever felt close to. Ugh. He clenched his hand into a fist. It usually didn’t get to him, but he hadn’t seen her in two years, and now they’d be attending the same event. It took all of his mixed martial arts training to keep his cool.
He let out a shaky breath and tried to focus on cleaning off his board, but his attention was drawn to the ocean, where a woman was paddling out on a surfboard. Though it wasn’t an odd thing to see women surf, it wasn’t as common as one might think. He’d only really noticed because he thought the pink wetsuit she was wearing was kind of cute. He watched her wait for the wave, watched as she popped up and was shaky at first, but then fell into a groove, riding it perfectly.
Then he noticed that he couldn’t see her other hand. Taking off his sunglasses, he saw that her wetsuit on her left side was pinned up halfway. She was missing a hand, yet she was so good, it didn’t matter. The girl rode the wave all the way in and then hopped off the board and snatched it up with her right hand, rushing toward him on the beach.
The first thing that hit him was how gorgeous she was. Curvy in all the right places, she was strong, athletic, blonde, and tall—maybe five-ten, five-eleven. When her blue eyes connected with his, bam! It was knock-you-down powerful.
He watched as she went to a mom and a little boy, not more than five or six; the boy was missing a hand too. It looked like she was showing him how to surf. Kyle noted that her injury was right above the wrist, and she used her arm just as she would a hand, plunking the surfboard back in. For the next ten minutes he stared, captivated, while she took the boy out to catch a couple of waves. It was seriously impressive. Here she was, without a hand, teaching others with disabilities how to surf too.
Pulling his wetsuit to his waist, Kyle let the water from the jug cascade over him, trying to keep his mind off of being in Jackson this weekend as a monkey in some act for charity. Granted, it was a charity he had agreed to help with and one he believed in, but still. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He did not want to attend the event. Period.
Kyle was startled to notice Surf Girl walking toward him, storming up the beach fast and furious. Wait, not toward him, but past him.
He wanted to talk to her, say something. “Hey,” he said lamely as she stalked past. “Could we go out sometime?”
Not even turning to look at him, she huffed, “Never gonna happen.”
Humiliation slammed into him like a kick to the gut. He’d never spontaneously asked a woman out like that before. Turning, he watched her walk up the beach and wondered if he would ever see her again.
Chapter 2
Kennedy slunk into the cowboy dance spot later that night, and the blaring music almost convinced her to leave right then and there.
Her friend Carrie, who wore a skirt and boots and had her brunette hair done country style, turned to her and glared. “Do not give me that look. The guys I’m setting us up with are cool. Really cool. You’re going to love them. They are all military vets and are part of a really great cause.” She flashed a grin. “Plus, I have good news for you!”
The only reason Kennedy had even agreed to this setup was because Carrie had begged and all the mint ice cream in the freezer was gone, blowing her plans for the night. “Just what I want to do—go dancing.” Kennedy sighed and held up her missing hand up. “Who wants to dance with a girl with no hand?”
Jenna, her other roommate, sighed back. “Nobody cares that you only have one hand. Don’t you see how guys look at you?” She tsked. “I would love a body like yours.”
Kennedy bristled. Jenna was always saying crap like this to her. “If you just would have gotten in a car crash and killed your parents, you could have this body.”
The carefree look on Jenna’s face wilted.
Carrie threw up her hands. “What the heck, Kenns?”
Wincing, Kennedy stopped in her tracks. “Look, I’m sorry.” Her eyes fluttered closed as she took a calming breath. She hated being in a dance club. She hated that this was the last time they would be together before summer. And she really hated feeling vulnerable. “I don’t want you guys to leave,” Kennedy said quietly.
Tears shimmered in their eyes. Then they all burst out laughing.
Carrie stomped her foot and wiped beneath her eyes. “We’re such babies. Ack!” She flashed another grin at Kennedy. “But didn’t you hear me? I have a surprise for you. I think you’re going to love it, and it’s going to get your mind off of us leaving. It’s going to actually keep you busy this summer, hopefully.”
Kennedy didn’t really trust Carrie and her brilliant ideas. She narrowed her eyes. “Hmm.”
Jenna jumped up and down and did mini claps. “You are so gonna love this!”
Oh no, Jenna had signed on for the scheme too. Now Kennedy was terrified. “O-kay.”
Carrie kept her huge smile in place. “You know how you told us about wanting that radio intern job for the summer?”
Kennedy’s mind flashed to the crazy Ray Ray show that was offering a contest for an intern. “Ye-ah.”
Carrie did a happy dance. “I entered you into the contest and you won an audition on the radio!”
“What?” Kennedy’s stomach flip-flopped. She’d heard the contest being advertised on the radio, but hadn’t had the guts to enter it.
Carrie and Jenna took her by the arms and yanked her into their up-and-down jumping. “Did you hear me?” Carrie continued. “You won!”
This was crazy. Kennedy felt jittery, not knowing if this was good or bad, because usually you had to have a story to win. “What did you tell him about me?” she asked, in a slightly less hostile way than she’d used with Jenna.
Carrie’s smile faltered. “Ahh …”
“What?” she demanded, deep down knowing exactly what Carrie would have told them.
Annoyance visibly rippled over Carrie as she gestured to Kennedy’s missing hand. “I used your accident, okay? I used the fact you’ve been through something really hard but you haven’t let it hold you back.” She pursed her lips. “And I don’t feel bad about it. I told them about this amazing roommate of mine who lost both of her parents and her hand.”
Kennedy seethed. “I can’t. Believe. You did that.”
Jenna was fluttering next to them. “Kennedy,” she said sternly, “everyone has a story. You think half of them are true? No. But yours is true. And you are amazing. And so what? So what? So you got picked to audition for the job because she gave them your real story. Take the audition and be done with it.”
The truth was that Kennedy really wanted a shot at the DJ job. It’d been all she could talk about the past few weeks. Both of her roommates had told her to apply, but she hadn’t. But they had known she wouldn’t like this. She shook her head, confused at how to feel.
Carrie straightened and put her hands on her hips, all motherly. “Kenns, listen. Take the shot. Take it. My dad always tells me the world waits for no one. You work with what you’ve got, okay?”
Kennedy thought about Carrie’s hardworking farmer father. She’d met him last year when Carrie’s family had come for homecoming. The guy looked tough, but he had been very kind to her. The thought of disregarding his advice made her stomach churn, and she attempted to bolt out the door.
Jenna grabbed her hand. “No, you’re not leaving. We’re having fun tonight,” she said in a maniacal way. “Do you understand? Fun!”
Letting out a breath, Kennedy felt herself give in. “I can’t believe this.” Her glare softened. “You really won me a spot?”
Carrie flipped back to being Pom-pom Girl. “Yes!”
Jenna followed suit and clapped too.
Finally, Kennedy allowed herself to feel happy. “Fine.” The center of her chest loosened a bit, and she thought about being on the radio show. “I’ll do it.”
Carrie took in a quick breath. “The crazy thing,” she said, her eyes darting around the dance club, “is that I actually met the guy that’s going to be on the Ray Ray show with you Friday.”
“Oh.” Kennedy didn’t care at all about this. The only thing that mattered was that he would be on the show, and she could use information about him for the interview.
Carrie grinned, waving a hand into the air. “Anyway, that same guy, Kyle Bones, is my date. I need you two to be my wing girls tonight.”
Jenna sighed and jerked a thumb at Carrie. “Of course she gets the hot millionaire guy and probably sets us up with some schmucks.”
Anxiety dashed the previous happiness Kennedy had just felt for her roommates. “I can’t promise I’ll stay long,” she hedged. She hated blind dates.
Carrie frowned. “Just a couple of dances. I think you’re going to like the guy I have for you. You can’t hold Evan’s idiocy against everyone.”
“Hmm.” Distaste rolled through Kennedy at the mention of her ex-boyfriend’s name.
“That’s true,” Jenna said, chiming in. “The guy was a jerk. I can’t believe he would even say that to you.”
It felt like a scab had been ripped open, and Kennedy averted her eyes. “Let’s not talk about Evan.” She looked around the club. It was busy, and she couldn’t pick out three guys that were plainly waiting.
Jenna did little jumps. “It’s our last night before Carrie and I leave for the summer, so let’s have fun!”
Carrie, always ready for a good time, struck a pose in her cowboy gear. “Yeah, Kennedy—F. U. N. Have you ever heard of it?”
Kennedy rolled her eyes and looked around. With a sigh, she said, “Fine. But I only came because you said there was amazing mint chocolate chip ice cream here. You better deliver.”
Carrie grinned. “There is! And hey, maybe you’ll meet your Prince Charming tonight. You never know.”
Kennedy sputtered out a laugh. “You know I don’t believe in Prince Charming.”
Just then, a guy strolled toward them. Kennedy glanced at him, then did a double take. It was the guy from the beach. What were the chances? He was huge, probably six-three, six-four. Yeah, she’d noticed him. Bleach-blond hair, green eyes. Tattoos all over his chest that she’d seen because his wetsuit had been half pulled down. Huge. Ripped. He’d tried to engage with her, and she’d been
rude.
The guy was smiling at Carrie, but as he approached, his eyes met Kennedy’s and his smile vanished. “You,” he said, focusing on her with laser-like intensity.
It was stupid, the way her mouth went dry and her stomach fluttered. “You,” she said lamely in reply.
Carrie looked between them and demanded, “Do you know each other?” She slipped her hand into his, as if she wanted to claim him before it was too late.
“No,” Kennedy said quickly.
He eyed her, and his lip turned up. “You were rude to me.”
The gall of this guy. She glared at him, but caught a warning look from Carrie and shrugged. “I don’t talk to strangers.” What else could she say with Carrie throwing out death glares?
“What’s your name?” he asked.
Before she could answer, Carrie pulled the guy away from her. “Let’s go meet the group and do introductions together!”
The guy held Kennedy’s gaze, then relented and steered them toward a crammed table in the corner. Carrie threw her a raised eyebrow, and Kennedy could tell she wasn’t happy they seemed to know each other.
Jenna turned to Kennedy as they trailed behind. “What was that?” A quiet laugh burst out, and she held a hand over her mouth. Both of them knew Carrie was crazy possessive of the guys she was interested in.
Kennedy shrugged. “Honestly, it was nothing.”
When they arrived at the table, Carrie was already reaching out and shaking the other two guys’ hands. Kennedy evaluated them: the brunet was almost as tall as Beach Guy, and the one with dirty-blond hair was probably around her height. Carrie hadn’t done too badly, she thought, remembering all of the mediocre dates Carrie had dragged her on.