The Quarterback Sneak (8 page)

But it wasn’t his heavenly Father who saved
him from breaking his vow in the front seat of his Hummer.

Hayden’s father pounded his fist on the
hood. Hayden giggled as she untangled herself. Plopping back into
the passenger seat, she zipped down the window. “Hello, Daddy.”

The fury on her father’s face made Liam
thankful that she was protected in his tank.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Middleton
said more to Hayden than to Liam.

“I was just consoling my fiancé about the
game,” she said with a toss of her head.

“You’re going to be the death of me,
Hayden.”

Liam knew exactly how he felt.

H
ayden surveyed her
father’s decorated yacht with dread. She loved a good party, but
the impromptu engagement soiree her father was throwing tonight—a
black and white cocktail party—had her stomach in knots. The fake
engagement was becoming all too real. So were her feelings for
Liam.

Liam squeezed her hand. “Nervous?”

“No,” she lied. She looked up at him, her
heart stopping at the sparkle in his chocolate diamond eyes. They
said diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and Hayden did love her
diamonds. That must explain why his eyes fascinated her so much.
But she didn’t want Liam as a best friend—she wanted the sexy
quarterback as her lover.

And in truth, much more. Somehow, she had
let him sneak into her heart.

She smoothed her white satin dress and
linked her arm through his. Dressed in a black suit and white silk
tie, he looked like a powerful CEO. His slicked-back hair, while
chic, made her fingers itch to mess it up. The breeze off the river
carried his scent of earth and mint. She wet her lips, longing for
the cool freshness of his kisses.

“Hayden, if you don’t stop looking at me
like that, I’m going to throw you in the river to cool off.”

Damn. He’d caught her staring.

“You wouldn’t dare.” She laughed it off and
defaulted to her best defense. “Why don’t we ditch this party and
have one of our own?”

“I’m waiting for my wedding night.” He
swatted her on the butt. “Now, behave.”

“You are obsessed with my ass.”

“Hayden, the whole world is obsessed with
your ass,” he said as if stating a fact.

She laughed with her whole heart, something
only Liam seemed to be able to accomplish. He was right, though.
There were probably more photos out there of her going than
coming.

They stepped onto the gangway. Why did she
feel like she was walking the gangplank instead? It wasn’t even
going to be a large gathering. She’d texted a group of her old
friends, but none had responded. Not surprising. Even before
good-guy Liam entered her life, she hadn’t heard much from them.
Once she traded in her cocktail dresses for pajamas because of her
probation, her friends had disappeared one by one. They’d either
deserted her for the wilder parties around New York, or they just
didn’t care.

At the time she couldn’t blame them. If she
were honest, she would have done the same thing to them. Who wanted
to go to the movies or to dinner, when they could choose a party or
club instead?

Except Hayden had discovered she kind of
liked quieter evenings. That night at Martini Madness had been her
brother Harry’s idea. Then, he hadn’t shown up, and Franko had
pulled a gun. Now, Liam was stuck with her until her probation
ended.

“What’s your judge doing here?” he asked as
they entered the yacht’s interior space. “Did your father invite
him?”

“Well, I certainly didn’t.” Hayden eyed the
imposing figure of Judge Mayer chatting with her father in the
corner. Why were they both smiling at her? She almost snagged a
glass of champagne from a passing tray to calm her nerves.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her
mother. Why wasn’t she in Paris?
Please, please, don’t be
drunk.
Hayden watched her approach, noting the purple cocktail
dress.
Maybe the shade was dark enough to look black?
The
dress hung loose on her mother’s slender figure. A figure that
Hayden had not inherited.

“Darling, how could you? A mother should be
the first to know. First, your engagement and now a surprise
wedding!”

Wedding? Surprise? WTF.
“It’s an
engagement party, Mother. A black and white themed event.”

“Shhh. White’s just for you.” Her mom put a
finger to her mouth then gave a drunken wink. “Introduce me to this
hunk of man.”

“This is Liam McQueen.”

“An honor to meet you.” Liam inclined his
head.

“Please call me Charlize.” Her mother waved
an empty glass of champagne in the air. “Finally someone is making
an honest woman of my daughter. Twenty-eight, and this is her first
engagement. I was beginning to despair.”

Hayden rolled her eyes. “Mother—”

“Your daughter is nothing but honest.” Liam
took Hayden’s hand and kissed it.

Her mother’s drunken laughter sounded louder
in the near-empty space. Hayden wondered what Liam thought about
her mother’s behavior. With all the alcohol around, would he be
tempted to join in?

“Hayden, we need to speak in my office.” Her
father interrupted. “McQueen, you too. Charlize, greet the guests
as they arrive. They should be here soon. In the meantime, try to
stay upright for once.”

Hayden winced at her father’s cruel words,
but followed him to his study. Harry and her father’s attorney
stood off to the side.
What the hell was going on?

“I’ll get right to it.” Her father moved
behind his desk. “Your engagement is becoming a media nightmare.
It’s time to end it.”

“We told you the press wouldn’t leave us
alone,” Hayden chimed in. She should have cheered with relief. This
was what she’d been working toward. But oddly, she didn’t feel much
like celebrating. Suddenly, being right felt very wrong.

But then her father patted Liam on the back.
“Once you’re married, I’m confident the speculation will quiet
down. Judge Mayer will be performing the ceremony tonight.”

Relief turned to panic, but before Hayden
could utter a protest, Liam said. “He threatened her with jail
again, didn’t he?”

“I told you he loved his football. Last
week’s loss, the lawsuit the photographer filed against you for
pushing him down outside Hayden’s apartment, and now,” Her father
held up a tabloid, “Ender’s article claiming your engagement is
fake.”

“I don’t care what the judge says. I’m not
getting married,” yelled Hayden.

“Keep your voice down. Do you want the judge
to hear you?” Her father nodded to the open door. He left Liam’s
side to face her. “You either say your vows tonight or you’ll be
saying them behind a jail cell.”

She glanced down at her white dress and at
Liam’s dark suit. Her father had manipulated them both.

She couldn’t even look at Liam. “So I go to
jail for a few weeks. Big deal.”

“Five years,” her father said flatly. “The
judge thinks you tried to deceive the court. I assured him he was
incorrect. Being a judge, he wanted proof. You’ll marry Liam
tonight or receive the maximum sentence.”

Five years.
Tears threatened, but she
would not cry for real in front of anyone. She plopped in the
nearest chair, defeated.

Liam stood toe to toe with her father, as if
he were taking on the defensive line of an opposing team by
himself. “I won’t get married without my mother here.”

“She’ll be arriving shortly,” her father
told him. “I sent my plane for her earlier today.”

“You were pretty sure of yourself, weren’t
you?” Liam asked calmly.

“I was sure of you, son.”

Hayden couldn’t believe the two of them.
They were talking as if she wasn’t there. As if she had no say in
any of this. “You don’t have to do this, Liam.”

Shrugging, he smiled at her. “I’m not going
to let you go to jail.”

Her father cleared his throat. “First, there
is the little matter of the pre-nup.”

Liam didn’t flinch continuing to hold her
gaze.

She mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s a basic pre-nup,” her father
continued. “You keep what you have, she keeps what she has. Your
finances are to remain separate. No marital assets. When you
divorce, McQueen, you’ll walk away with five million.”

She wished she had drunk the glass of
champagne to take away the sting of it all. She didn’t know why she
was surprised. This wasn’t a love match—it was a business deal.
“Only five? I’d hold out for ten, Liam.”

“This isn’t a football contract.” Her father
pounded a fist on the desk.

“You just made it one,” Liam said back with
just as much force. She bit her lip as he reviewed the pages. “I’ll
sign it, but first I want the judge to agree to lift Hayden’s
probation. I won’t have the threat of jail hanging over her head.”
He threw the contract onto the desk. “Or mine.”

Hayden’s eyes widened. She’d never seen
anything so sexy in her life. Was it because of the way he stood up
to her father?

“The judge won’t agree to it.”

“Yes, I will,” said Judge Mayer from the
door. “I was already planning on it.” He walked in pulling a
document from his suit jacket and handed it to a shocked Hayden. “A
wedding present.”

“Thank you, Judge Mayer,” her father
said.

“My pleasure.” He pulled out another piece
of paper. “Of course, let’s not forget the marriage license.”

Another favor her father would owe to the
judge. Hayden’s hand shook as she signed it, but she noticed Liam’s
hand didn’t. What was he thinking? Why wasn’t he jumping ship?

“That leaves the pre-nup,” said the lawyer,
handing it to Liam.

Hayden held her breath.

Liam scratched out the five million dollar
figure and wrote $0.00, initialed the change, and then signed on
the dotted line. “I don’t want your daughter’s money.”

She couldn’t believe Liam did that for her.
Tears sprung to her eyes.

“Idiot,” said her brother.

“Harry!” Hayden shot him a look, but she
wouldn’t let him ruin this moment.

That Liam stood up to her father made her
believe that maybe one day she could too. Her heart swelled with
pride for the man she was about to marry. And perhaps it swelled
with love too. Oh God, she was in love with her
shotgun-husband-to-be.

“Now I’d like to have a moment alone with my
bride.”

To see her father rendered speechless
would’ve been worth the five million dollars, but to see him
dismissed was so much more than that. It was priceless.

L
iam craved a Scotch on the
rocks like a dying man craved one more day of life. With an
arrogant smirk, he could face down a 350-pound defensive linebacker
intent on crushing him to the turf. Standing up to his billionaire
boss/father-in-law took a different kind of courage.

But it was convincing Hayden to go through
with the wedding that struck fear in his heart. What if he failed?
What if she insisted on going to jail for five years rather than
marry him? But as soon as everyone had left the room, Hayden kissed
him like she couldn’t wait until they consummated their union later
tonight. At least he hoped she did. Did she realize what he
expected? Desired? Needed? Before he could ask, the butler informed
them that Mrs. McQueen had arrived.

An hour later, a bead of sweat broke over
his brow as he watched his mother and Hayden together. What were
they talking about? He’d told his mother about the engagement, but
not the reason behind it.

He’d worried his mother enough over the
years, and he’d sworn he’d never be the cause of concern again or a
disappointment. Her learning the truth about the pending nuptials
would be worse than taking the drink he so desperately craved. His
mother was his rock and never gave up on him. Never blamed him when
she had every right to.