They flew back into Dallas, went straight to her dad’s office, and got primped and dressed up for the press release. Hailey wore a red wrap-around dress and Brady a dark blue suit with a red floral tie.

Brady’s agent was professional, but pretty chummy with him. Hailey didn’t love the longing looks the stunning dark-haired agent kept giving him.

Overall, Hailey thought the press conference went well. Thankfully, the reporters were hand-picked and asked all the right questions as Hailey’s hands were sweating so badly she could barely hold onto Brady’s lean fingers. Brady did great. He was confident and funny and looked fantastic on camera. She’d married well at least.

One of the reporters teased them about the improbability of both of the Knight sisters marrying football players from their dad’s team. Brady gave Hailey a wink and an intimate look that had a few reporters tittering. He said, “Hey, don’t be jealous that I married the most beautiful woman in the world. Having my boss as my father-in-law just makes it all the more fun.”

Everyone laughed, and the next question was about their future plans.

“Well, first, I’m going to whip his rear into shape for the season,” Hailey said.

The reporters loved that, chortling and flashing pictures.

“Then we’ll focus on winning a championship.” She continued.

Brady pressed a tender kiss to her forehead that had tremors running through her body. “See? I’m the luckiest guy I know,” he said. “My wife loves football, and she’s not only gorgeous, she’s got impressive training skills. I don’t know that any trainer has been able to whip my rear into shape.”

Everyone laughed again.

When they finally exited the Titan’s building after the press conference and meeting with her dad and Garrett on lawsuit issues from the media scandal, Hailey was exhausted. She hadn’t slept last night after having the nightmare, but that was more a result of how amazing it had felt to be held by Brady than the familiar nightmare itself.

“Where to, sir?” their driver asked.

“Home, please.” Brady rattled off his address and then turned to Hailey. “Your dad said Izzy and your mama packed up your clothes and personal items from your condo and put them away in one of my extra bedrooms. I hope that’s okay.”

She nodded. “That’s great. Thank you.”

Brady wrapped his hand around hers like they were newlyweds, and he couldn’t stand to not touch her. “You did amazing at the press conference, and I love this dress on you.” His eyes swept over her like a caress.

Hailey swallowed, unable to respond to the compliment. “You’re the natural. They loved you.”

“What’s not to love?” He lifted one shoulder and she had to admit to herself that she absolutely loved him in a suit.

Hailey smiled. She was inclined to agree with him. If only she could let herself love him. She shook her head and turned to stare out the window. It was good to be back to the sultry, overwhelming heat of Texas. No ocean breezes or fun amusement parks. She loved her home state, but reality wasn’t going to be fun. Maybe they should’ve just hidden out in California for a week or a month.

The driver took them into an exclusive gated community, The Reserves. Hailey had been trying to ignore Brady the entire drive, simply because she didn’t know how to sort out her annoying attraction to him. It wasn’t just his physical beauty. It was also his laidback, fun personality and how great he’d been about this entire predicament that drew her in. He’d never once questioned if any of the ugly allegations were true, and she sort of loved him for it.

Now, seeing that he lived in The Reserves made her irrationally happy. “Did you know my sister and X live in this subdivision?”

Brady grinned and nodded. “When I got transferred to the Titans, I asked one of the guys at practice where a good area to buy a house was. He said all the big-time stars lived in The Reserves—X, Kade, and Anthony Kincaid. I didn’t think much of it, but when my realtor showed me a house for sale here that I loved, I kind of thought it must be fate. Even better now, since you’re going to whip my rear into shape, I’ll finally be a big-time star.”

“Stop.” She pushed at his arm, but quickly removed her hands when the familiar warmth rushed through her. Man, she adored those striated biceps that she could feel even through his suitcoat. “You’re already a big-time star.”

Knowing X and Izzy would be her neighbors, even though the driver was already half a mile past their house, made Hailey feel more at home. Her sister could come visit anytime, and they wouldn’t have to leave the gated community and deal with the press or any stalkers or anything. Hailey could also escape if Brady changed his mode of operation and tried to push her into intimacy. She bit at her cheek. Would she ever be able to trust him? Living in his house was a huge step above staying in her parent’s vacation home. Brady might get more comfortable than she wanted, and it was a small reassurance that Izzy and X were close by if that happened.

They pulled into a half-moon shaped circle drive, and Hailey got her first glimpse of Brady’s home. It was a three-story Colonial-style mansion. She loved the pillars and wide porch and the thick, tan HardiePlank exterior with black shutters on all the windows. “It’s gorgeous,” she said.

“Thanks.”

The driver got their suitcases, and Brady gave her a tour of the formal front rooms and the huge open great room overlooking the wide expanse of grass and the Olympic-size pool. She was most excited about the large exercise room on the second floor next to her bedroom and the other guest rooms. Brady’s suites made up the entire third floor, and it was really cool with windows front and back and great views of all the trees and houses around them. Hailey’s suite was directly below his. She wished it was farther away so he wouldn’t hear her if she screamed out in the night again. She didn’t know if she screamed every time she had the nightmare or not. She’d lived alone for so long, and when she stayed at her parent’s house, she was far enough away from their rooms that they’d never mentioned anything. She’d thought the nightmares had stopped, but when William tried to force her to go farther than she wanted, and then started threatening and trying to coerce her into sleeping with him, the dreams started all over again. If only she would’ve stood up to William at the start, but she couldn’t have done that to her players or her father.

After the tour, they ate a late dinner. Then Hailey excused herself to go to bed. Brady didn’t say much, but he looked as tired as she felt.

She actually slept well that night and woke ready to work out hard. She couldn’t think of the last time she’d taken several days in a row off from exercise, and she was excited to get back to her routine. Dressing in a tank top and black shorts, she hurried into the hall and to the exercise room. Brady was already there, using the cable machine for rows. Thank heavens he was wearing a t-shirt so she could focus on the workout and not his incredible build, though she couldn’t miss the defined tricep and bicep muscles peeking out of the sleeve of his t-shirt.

“Hey, you can’t start without your trainer.” She protested.

His head whipped up, and he grinned. “Put me to work, my beautiful wife.”

Hailey ignored the familiarity of his words and the grin, but she did feel a rush of excitement. She attributed it to being in her element, not how much she liked being around Brady.

“Make sure you fit your own workout in too,” he said.

“Oh, am I in need of some exercise?” She arched an eyebrow.

A grin creased his handsome face. “You already look perfect, but you don’t need to only worry about my workout. I know you didn’t get your perfect shape by sitting on the couch.”

Hailey had heard every compliment in the book, but Brady’s sweet words affected her like no one else’s ever had. She needed to stay strong, or she’d be forgetting every vow she’d ever made to stay away from football players.

The workout passed quickly as Brady teased her, and they pushed each other to do an extra rep or a heavier weight. It was fun until they were doing box jumps and Hailey tripped on the platform. Brady caught her arm and then pulled her in close as he steadied her. They were both sweaty, so it should’ve been disgusting. Instead, it was a huge draw for her. She’d spent years staying away from huge, muscular men, but she absolutely loved every inch of Brady.

He grinned down at her. “You okay?”

Hailey nodded, unable to say anything with him this close. His eyes dipped down to her lips then back up to her eyes.

“Do you think you might ask me to kiss you someday?” he whispered huskily.

Hailey’s eyes widened and her stomach fluttered. He had no clue how badly she wanted his kiss, but no. If she started with a kiss, who knew where that would lead.

Yanking herself from his arms, she grabbed a forty-five pound bar. “Let’s do some weighted lunges,” she said, hating how her voice quivered.

His shoulders seemed to droop, but he obeyed without complaint.

An hour later, they were both drenched with sweat, and all Hailey wanted was a shower and breakfast. She didn’t want to kiss Brady when he was all sweaty and perfect-looking, his muscles straining against his t-shirt and his hair curling slightly at his neck from sweat. Nope. She would stay strong if it killed her.

She hurried to the door, but Brady was quicker and swung it open for her.

“Thanks,” she murmured, slipping out the door and almost running into a young lady in the hallway. “Oh, excuse me,” she said.

The twenty-something blonde nodded to her, but her eyes quickly swung to Brady. “Good morning, Mr. Giles. We’re all done with the rest of the house but waited until you were done with your workout to do the exercise room.”

“Hi, Nissa.” He was so close to Hailey that his breath brushed her cheek. She looked up sharply, but then they were even closer, and his dark gaze zeroed in on her face. Why did he have to look so good to her? “You need to call me Brady though.” He grinned at the young girl and placed a hand on Hailey’s lower back. “This is my wife, Hailey.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” the girl murmured, giving her a sweet smile.

“Nissa and I go way back,” Brady explained, scooting even closer to Hailey as if he was sharing a secret. “Our parents were friends and neighbors in Massachusetts, and Nissa was the cutest little girl. When she came to school at Texas A&M, her mom asked me if she could work for me. She does a great job with the housekeeping crew.” He smiled kindly at the girl.

Nissa stared at him worshipfully. “Thank you, Brady.”

“See you later,” Brady said to Nissa as he escorted Hailey toward her bedroom.

“It was nice to meet you,” Hailey said over her shoulder to the girl.

“You too.” She gave them a friendly wave.

The workout room door whooshed closed behind Nissa, and they were alone. Brady stopped outside Hailey’s room door. “Does your cleaning crew come every day?” she asked.

“Three days a week,” he said, staring down at her.

“Do you think any of them will spread rumors about us sleeping in separate rooms?”

Brady’s eyebrows arched up. Then he smiled. “We could remedy that easily.”

“Brady Giles.” Hailey pushed at his chest and huffed, a quiver rushing through her that wasn’t fear but a delicious sort of anticipation. She was as surprised at that as she was at his bold words. She dropped her voice to a whisper, lest one of the cleaning ladies overhear. “We are not sleeping together.”

He grinned, but dangit if his eyes didn’t dip to her lips. “I could sleep on the couch. I’d just like having you closer.”

“Not happening!” Though she honestly liked being close to him too. What was happening to her, and how had this strong yet gentle man woven past her defenses?

He wrapped his hands around hers as they rested on his chest. “You’re really cute when you’re mad, do you know that?”

She flushed and pulled her hands free. “I guess we’ll just deal with the rumors of us sleeping in separate rooms.” She shot back at him as she disappeared into her room.

Brady’s chuckle followed her in. Hailey shut the door and leaned against it. She was so far from immune to his charms. She had no clue how she was going to survive in this house for much longer and not ask him to kiss her or more. She suddenly felt completely vulnerable and alone. Any moment Brady could decide to have his way with her, and she’d be done for.

Okay, she had to swallow that fear and either trust Brady or at least remind herself that Izzy was right down the road and she had a cell phone. She banged her head against the door. Why couldn’t she be a normal girl and just throw herself into Brady’s arms? A single tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and she brushed it angrily away. She’d given up normalcy in a relationship when she’d given into Gage’s ploys at eighteen. Prayer might be the only hope she had of learning to trust a man again, especially a football player.