The Protective Groom: Billionaire Marriage Brokers

by Lucy McConnell

  “No. You’re never going to guess.” She giggled.

  “Hmm, I think I need a couple clues. Is it in a box?”

  “Nope.”

  “Is it in a bag?”

  “Nope.”

  “Is it in a tree?”

  “No! Uncle Noah, you are the worst guesser. Harley got it way faster than you.”

  Noah’s hands stilled over the toolbox. He’d gone to great lengths to keep Paige and Addison away from Texas during the wedding and therefore out of danger. He’d warned Paige away, but had the sinking feeling that she had wormed her way into this situation despite his efforts. “When did you talk to Harley?” he asked, hoping to gather information before jumping to conclusions.

  “A couple days ago.”

  He ground his teeth together. His sister had a way of finding trouble, and the last thing he needed was to have to worry about her when he was several states away. “Can I talk to Paige, please?”

  “Sure.”

  There was silence for a moment, but it was long enough for Noah to become truly frustrated with the helplessness of his situation. His family meant the world to him, and he’d do anything to keep them safe.

  “Here, he wants to talk to you,” said Addison.

  The phone switched hands, and then Paige was on the line. “Hello?”

  “What’s Addison doing calling Harley?”

  “I’m fine. How are you?” Paige’s voice had a lightness Noah just wasn’t feeling.

  He slammed the toolbox closed. “Not so great. Things here are … difficult.”

  “Harley told me about the shooting.”

  Noah paced the garage. “Okay, there are three questions that statement brings up. Where do you want me to start?”

  “Fire away.”

  “One: Why would Harley tell you about the shooting? Two: How often do you and Harley talk? Three: Why are you talking? Four: You need to stay out of my marriage. There is a madman after Harley and I don’t want him getting wind of my beautiful sister and her adorable daughter. Five—”

  “I thought you said there were only three?” Paige jumped in.

  “Well, once I started they just kept coming.” Noah set his toolbox in the back of the truck bed and shut the tailgate. “Seriously, Paige, I feel like I’m missing something important here.”

  Paige giggled. “One: After exchanging a few texts about the boots a few weeks ago, we texted about other things and the friendship just snowballed from there.”

  “You’re friends with my wife?”

  “Um, yeah? Is that a bad thing?”

  Noah thought back to his conversation with Stewart. Harley was a tough nut to crack in the friendship department. If anyone could get through her shell, it would be Paige. Besides, Harley could use a good friend. Noah wasn’t sold on Molly; she’d checked him out pretty hardcore right in front of her best friend. That wasn’t cool. “No. I think it’s a good thing. Harley could use a friend like you.”

  “Good. Two: We text almost daily. Usually Addison wants to tell her good night. She asks how things are going with—well, girl stuff. We talk.”

  Noah wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Did they talk about him? There was no way to ask without sounding like a complete fool, so he ignored the idea. “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “You went behind my back and infiltrated my assignment. You should be the one here stalking a stalker.”

  “How’s that going?”

  “I have a few leads.”

  “Which is another way of saying you’ve got nothin’.”

  “Pretty much.” Noah shut the driver’s side door, and Harley’s perfume puffed out at him. Great, now the truck smells like her. It was bad enough sharing a room that was all Harley and keeping his lips to himself. Now he had to have her in his truck.

  “Third: I know you’re only there for the year, and maybe less if you find this creeper.”

  “Creeper?”

  “Addison is in a Scooby-Doo phase. Anyway! The thing is, I like Harley. She’s sweet.”

  “Ha. Harley is many things. She’s bold, brassy, stubborn, beautiful, confident, and smart. But sweet? Not so much.”

  “Did you just say she was beautiful?”

  “I give you a list a mile long and that’s the one you focus on? You saw the pictures. Addison thinks she’s beautiful. You think she’s beautiful. Pamela thinks she’s beautiful. Trish thinks she’s beautiful. Everyone knows Harley is beautiful. Let’s not dwell on it.”

  Paige was laughing so hard, he was sure she was wiping tears. “You don’t have to be so defensive.”

  “Why are we still talking about this?”

  Paige laughed harder. “Noah Baker, you are falling for this girl.”

  Noah leaned his head against the cool metal door. “I can’t afford to fall for her. Not while I have a job to do.”

  “So find this Miner Forty-Niner so you still have time to catch Harley.”

  Noah chuckled. “I’m sending Addison Scooby-Doo Legos for her birthday.”

  “You do and you’ll be over here with a shop vac cleaning them out of the carpet.”

  “I wish I was there. This marriage thing is complicated.”

  “I remember.”

  “Yeah.” If anyone understood, Paige did. “But you didn’t call to talk about me. Addison said something about a surprise.”

  “Uh, it’s nothing.”

  “What? I love surprises.”

  “Yeah, we, um, we have a new addition to the place coming soon. A little one.”

  A new horse. Paige owned a horse-training business and was always on the lookout for stock. “I thought you bought two-year-olds. Why the foal?”

  There was a pregnant silence, and then Paige said, “It was time.”

  “Ok—ay.” Not having energy to dig further into Paige’s training techniques—she could talk for hours about this stuff—he said, “Have Addison send me a picture when it gets there.”

  “Will do.”

  Feeling like he got off easy, Noah hung up quickly and went in search of his wife. She had some questions to answer.

  Chapter 23

  Harley set down the turkey sub as Noah entered the room. She’d been stuffing her face, hoping to get through the sandwich before he came in the house, and had to duck her head to hide her chipmunk cheeks.

  “Who else have you been talking to that I don’t know about?” Noah set Harley’s phone on the table beside her plate. He must have retrieved it from the office. Had he gone through it? The little sneak. How dare he invade her privacy!

  Harley shielded her mouth with her napkin and did something that would have shocked her well-mannered mother: she spoke with her mouth full. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “I had a very enlightening conversation with Addison and Paige—apparently y’all are friends.” Noah folded his arms.

  Just then, Harley’s phone beeped and a text from Paige landed on the home screen. They read it at the same time.

  Grumpy Gus is on to us.

  Noah moved his hands to his hips. “I don’t even want to know about the nickname. Look, I’m glad you have a friend.”

  He said it like Harley was a social outcast. Maybe she didn’t have a lot of close friends, but it wasn’t like his Facebook page was lit up with notifications. Not that she’d cyber–stalked him. Okay, maybe one slow day at work she’d wandered in that direction, but she didn’t linger. She swallowed the lump of food.

  Noah was still talking. “… need to know who else you’re secretly communicating with.”

  “Like who?”

  “Jeremiah, for one.”

  Was he saying …? “You think I’m seeing him? I’m married.” She waved her left hand with that oversized diamond at him.

  Noah wiped his hand down his face. “I know you’re not seeing him. Unless you’re sneaking out in the middle of the night. Wait, are you sneaking out?”

  Harley picked up her plate and smacked it down again. “Noah Baker, I
am not a cheat. And the fact that you had to ask means you don’t know me all that well.”

  “You’re right, I don’t know you. I came into this as blind as a bat, and the one thing I thought I could count on was my wife cooperating as I tried to catch the Creeper making her life a living—”

  Harley put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. “Creeper?”

  Noah blinked twice before melting into the chair next to Harley. “Addison.”

  “Scooby-Doo,” Harley said. “She’s totally in love.” Harley put her hand on Noah’s forearm. He was so muscly it felt like ropes under his skin. Deep breath, girl. “The other day she asked if there were lighthouses in Texas, because that’s where bad guys hide out.”

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” Noah smiled ruefully. He placed his hand on top of Harley’s, and her mind was suddenly full of whizzes and bangs. “Harley, are you interacting with anyone I don’t know about?”

  Harley searched Noah’s deep, dark brown pools for any sign of jealousy, any indication that he was concerned about their marriage and not just her safety. Coming up empty-handed, Harley held back her disappointment. She wished she could tell him she had several sorority sisters and a few platonic guys constantly texting, but it was a lie. And the truth made her seem so pathetic. “Sydney, my sister, emailed the other day. Nothing out of the ordinary. And then there’s Paige.” She contemplated her half-empty plate. “She’s funny, and she has this whole life with the horses and Cody and Addison. Ya know?”

  “She thinks you’re sweet,” said Noah.

  “She does?” Harley all-out beamed.

  “But I set her straight.” Noah leaned back in his chair.

  Harley’s jaw dropped, and then she realized he was teasing her. Pulling her hand out, she playfully slapped him on the shoulder. The very thick, very strong shoulder.

  He claimed her hand and held fast his face as serious as a preacher on Sunday. “I didn’t bring my family to the wedding because I didn’t want them involved in all of this.”

  Harley gasped. “I didn’t think about putting them in danger. Do you think the Creeper knows about them?”

  Noah shook his head. “There’s been no contact with friends or family that we know of, so I think they’re fine—for now. I’ll call Cody tonight and fill him in on what’s happening here.”

  Harley felt ill. Her stomach roiled at the idea of Addison—sweet little Addison—being in danger because of her. Befriending Harley was like asking for the plague. Even in college, people shied away from hanging out with her. No one wanted to get past Harley’s money to get to know the woman underneath the wealth and fame, unless they wanted something from her. Paige was the first person in years to just accept her for who she was and not be fazed by her platinum-credit status. Feeling the first pinprick of tears, Harley jumped to her feet and swept her plate off the table. “I’ll block her number on my phone. I don’t want them in danger.”

  “Hey.” Noah followed her into the kitchen.

  Harley scraped her plate and set it in the dishwasher. She sniffed several times, working furiously to gain control of the loneliness, the isolation, and the dirty feeling the stalker left in her life.

  “Harley?”

  She couldn’t turn around. She couldn’t let him see how lonesome she truly felt, because she knew it was written all over her face in tears.

  “Hey.” Noah wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her hair. “They’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.”

  Harley allowed herself to settle into his embrace. “I think the isolation is getting to me.”

  “You’re not alone. I’m here.” Noah’s breath was warm on her ear and tickled her neck.

  “Because you’re paid,” she whispered. There. She’d laid her barest self out for Noah to stomp on like an angry bull if he wanted, and the raw vulnerability ate away at her confidence. What good was her money, her home, her investments, if they couldn’t bring her friends, family, love?

  Noah dropped his hands to her hips and flipped her around, their bodies touching, his hand cradling the back of her neck. “I’m not paid to do this.”

  His lips brushed hers, warm, reassuring, delightful. Harley found her body responding to his kiss in ways she’d never imagined. She ran her fingers up his heavenly shaped arms and across the expansive shoulders until she could caress them against the short hairs on the back of his head. Noah moaned and his arms tightened, bringing her deeper into his embrace and the security he promised.

  Harley clung to him as his lips burned a trail down her neck and back up again.

  Not having anything to say, but unable to help herself, Harley gasped, “Noah.”

  His “hmmm” against her skin tickled.

  She answered by pressing her lips to his and allowing her passion to flow. If she thought she’d laid it on the line before, she was so wrong. Never had she experienced kissing a man out of more than desire or obligation. She loved him and couldn’t hold it back. Noah’s kiss delivered not only his passion, she swore she could taste his love as well, the kind of love that stayed true and surpassed every obstacle. Overcome, her knees turned to jelly, and Noah scooped her into his arms and set her on the counter.

  “This is where I pull out my man card and walk away.” Noah kissed her cheek.

  Harley stiffened. “What? Why?”

  He took her hand and kissed each knuckle. “Because if I don’t leave now, I won’t be able to leave at all.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re a terrible distraction, do you know that?”

  “Just a distraction?” Harley held her breath, waiting to know if everything she’d just felt was a farce.

  Noah placed his hands on either side of her on the counter and leaned over so they were eye to eye. His intensity burned, and Harley stared at the awesome sight. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  Harley smiled and cupped his cheek with her hand. “Good.”

  Noah held her wrist. “No. That’s so very bad.”

  Harley felt her heart scuttle into its shell.

  “I should be thinking like a criminal to catch a criminal, not like some lovesick idiot.”

  Lovesick? As in L-O-V-E love? Harley’s heart jumped free and did a happy dance.

  Noah stepped away, cool air filling in the spaces he had touched and sending shivers down Harley’s back. He gave her one more hungry look, shuffling backwards, before turning at the doorway and disappearing down the hall.

  Harley slumped, feeling at once happily drained and powerful with the knowledge that Noah wanted her. She drummed her nails against the countertop. Wanted her, but focused on the Creeper. She supposed she could work on changing his focus. Her wicked smile returned. Oh, how much fun that could be. Visions of moonlit walks on a beach or tangling under buffet tables came to mind.

  But none of that was possible with the Creeper lurking about. As much as she hated it, Noah was right. For them to have a chance to explore what could be between them, the Creeper needed to be behind bars. She hated how much control the jerk exercised over her life. From now until the stalker was caught, Harley would be the perfect lady. But after that … Noah won’t know what hit him. She prayed she could hold out until then.

  Chapter 24

  Because Harley had mentioned that being cooped up in the house was getting to her, Noah arranged for them to accompany the family to the annual Texas Legion of Hope and Hospital Charity archery tournament the next afternoon. The dress code was polo shirts and slacks, so he put his holster aside and settled for a small one-bullet pistol that fit easily in his palm and his pants pocket.

  At one point in his therapy, the psychologist had wanted him to increase his exposure to guns, his badge, the uniform—any part of his life as a cop, so that he could become comfortable with it once again. Because he’d sworn off police work, Noah hadn’t seen the point, and the shrink dropped the therapy. After wearing a gun, even at home, for over a month, Noah could honestly say that he’d become accustomed to th
e feel of it against his body and even in his hand. He’d yet to take the next step, which was actually firing a weapon. Which was one more reason coming to the tournament seemed like a good idea. He figured shooting an arrow would be easier than shooting a gun.

  The event included a luncheon, and even Jackson and Xavier came along. Noah noted the way Jackson circled through the crowd, effectively avoiding his siblings but joking with John and his business associates.

  Molly approached, a huge smile on her face, and Noah held back his unkind comment. “I’m going to go over here for a minute,” Noah whispered.

  Harley shoved him playfully. “You wuss. Can’t handle a little girl talk?”

  “A little? Yes. Molly-talk? No.”

  “Fine. Run away.”

  On impulse, Noah kissed her cheek before ducking away in the nick of time. He scanned the crowd and saw Jackson circle around Harley. Which he understood, because she and Molly were deep in conversation, but Jackson didn’t just avoid her when Molly was around.

  Noah decided now was as good a time as any to get to the bottom of the strange behavior. “Hi,” Noah clamped his hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “Got a minute?”

  “Sure.” Jackson gave him a wary look.

  “I’ve got this puzzle I’m working on. It’s kind of a toughie. You see, I’m trying to figure out why you keep one foot in the family and pretend like it’s not there.”

  Jackson scowled and pushed Noah’s hand off his shoulder. “That’s none of your business.”

  “Oh, but it is. You see, Harley has a limited circle, and there’s one person in that circle who seems intent on doing her harm.”

  “You think I want to hurt Harley?” Jackson’s eyes about popped out of his head. “She’s my sister.”

  “Yeah, I’m not buying that line of bull crap. I have sisters, and I actually talk to them.”

  “I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now, and—”

  “Like what?” Noah folded his arms.

  “You mean besides running several billion-dollar companies?”

  “Yeah—besides that.”

  Jackson’s jaw tightened. “All right, fine. I have a fifteen-year-old son who pretty much hates me, he’s been in three fights in the last three months, and nothing I do works.” Jackson rubbed his forehead. “I haven’t been on a date in two years, and I have a major acquisitions deal in the works that’s sucking the life out of me, but two of the players in the deal are here, so I am too.”