Cowboy's Fake Bride (Cowboy Billionaire Secrets #1) - Monica Bolt Page 0,30

nothing between us.

With a hint of disappointment, I buried my head back into his chest as he settled on an old black and white movie. Even though I fought it, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and before long, the soft strokes of his fingers turned into a blissful dream as I laid down on the couch next to him. Had it not been for my own foolish pride, I’d haven’t taken my husband back to the bedroom and shown him how I really felt.

13

Chapter Twelve (Jackson)

“Are you sure about this?” Hailey asked.

I smiled. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. You have to meet them eventually, right? Why not get it over with?”

“Well, when you put it like that, how can I resist?”

Taking her hand had become second nature to me in the week that we’d been together. After our wedding night, we’d barely had time to spend a moment alone with everything happening. Getting her mother settled had proven to be more of an adventure than either of us realized. The woman was convinced that we were in love and wanted to celebrate every day we were together.

I had to admit that it felt wonderful having Hailey around. Her smile greeted me almost every morning when I joined her in the kitchen for coffee. It wasn’t the harsh, cowboy coffee normally made by our cook but something light and wonderful. I’d found myself waking early just to catch her before she started her online classes. With each day that passed, I hated that my year with her was running out.

The family had been expecting us. When we entered my parents’ house, they were all in the sitting room instead of the dining room, which instantly felt off to me. I said nothing, watching my brothers straighten their bolos and sit a little taller as they took in Hailey. Instantly I felt protective over her, but the need was fleeting as my mother sprang to her feet and pulled Hailey into a hug.

“It is so nice to finally meet you!” she said.

Hailey smiled. “You, too, I’ve heard a lot of great things about you.”

“Well, I wish I could say I’ve heard anything about you, but this one is as tight-lipped as they come! He didn’t mention you were so pretty, though!”

“Thank you, I admit our courtship was short, but when the love is there,” Hailey said.

To the outside looking in, her response may have been touching, but it was a rehearsed line. We’d hit the basics of our relationship and what to tell them, but it was almost impossible to prepare for every scenario.

“So tell us about yourself.” My mother sat back down.

I swallowed, wondering if Haley was up to the interrogation. “Ma, give her some time to get settled in.”

“It’s fine,” Hailey quickly said. “I’m from Texas, up in Crystal. My mother is from here too. I don’t think that I’ve got family anywhere else.”

“What about your father?”

“I never met him,” Hailey said. “But from what I hear, he was a real looker too. He managed to get my mom, at least.”

The brothers all snickered. My tension eased some. I had a feeling Hailey was going to do just fine on her own with the Wheeler boys. As my mother prodded Hailey for information, I went to the small bar in the corner and poured us both a drink. Walker made his way over to me almost instantly.

“Holy cow!” he whispered. “I didn’t know that was the same woman! Isn’t she the one you saved?”

“Yep,” I muttered.

“Well, I guess I know why you missed the auction now. I can't say that I blame you. She sure is something. How long have you two been together again?”

“About a month now.”

“I thought you said you just started dating?”

“Listen, I don’t remember all the details, okay? Let’s just all be happy that I get to keep Fort Davis and leave it at that.”

“Is she pregnant?”

I almost spat out my drink as I glared at my brother. In his defense, I did have a history with women. I couldn’t be too surprised by his question, but it still caught me off guard. The rest of the room paused and looked over to us as I started coughing. I held up a hand to let them know I was okay as they went back to their conversations.

“No!” I snapped in a hushed tone. “Thanks for trying to kill me, though.”

“Hey, can you blame me for asking? I mean no offense, but this is

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