The Determined Groom: Texas Titan Romances

  The Determined Groom

  Texas Titan Romances

  Cami Checketts

  Birch River Publishing

  Contents

  Free Book

  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

  About the Author

  Excerpt: The Irresistible Groom

  Also by Cami Checketts

  Free Book

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  Chapter One

  Emmett Hawk, former wide receiver for the Texas Titans, stood on the porch of the main cabin, waiting uneasily for the new batch of fitness camp attendees. This was round four of six of his week-long sports and fitness camps, and it was the first one for adults. The first two weeks had been filled with different ages of college-hopeful youth groups, and last week had been college athletes. Each group of twenty had been fun, yet challenging. This group was looking to be a flop. He’d hardly dealt with any cancellations with his other groups, but this week he’d had fifteen dropouts, for various odd reasons, and the camp hadn’t even started yet. Five attendees.

  He supposed it should bug him to spend a week on only five people, but what else did he have to do this summer? He smiled grimly. The fitness camp would still serve its purpose: giving him some kind of purpose. When he’d returned for spring ball after ripping out his ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus at the all-star game in February, the offensive coach and his head coach had sat him down and asked him to take a year off, see if he could heal and return to full strength. It was all a façade, a way to pretend he was coming back. He’d seen the truth in their eyes. They’d already replaced him. Nobody wanted a player who’d never be at full strength again. The media would have a heyday with the billionaire football player washed up after one season. Especially since he was a Hawk—he and his brothers were hounded by the media. Emmett didn’t like it, but he tried his best to represent his family well.

  Emmett was one of four brothers who would inherit the Hawk Dynasty. His grandfather had started with good old Texas oil and his father had expanded to worldwide real estate, everything from storage units to exclusive resorts like the one he was standing on. He looked around, drinking in miles of trees, a man-made lake, and a massive lodge in the middle of the property with wood-chipped trails throughout the forest and twenty individual cabins. He liked this resort and was grateful his brother Callum, who managed all of their commercial real estate, agreed to his idea, blocked out the summer for his fitness camps, and added a state-of-the-art training facility.

  The shuttle van pulled up, and Emmett straightened his shoulders and plastered on his media smile. His assistant, Tracy, jumped out of the driver’s seat of the van and waved. “Hey, boss.”

  He waved back. She was a top fitness trainer and really dressed the part, always in a tank top and spandex shorts with her dark hair pulled up in a ponytail.

  Two teenagers who worked for the resort opened the van door and then hurried to go get the suitcases out. They were paid well to be courteous and instructed not to take tips. Emmett didn’t want his attendees to be worried about carrying dollar bills around; he wanted them focused on improving their health and stamina.

  Emmett strode down the stairs to meet them.

  A leggy blonde slid out of the van first. She grinned Emmett’s direction, and he instinctively backed up a step, swallowing hard. Oh no. Some of the female college athletes had been a little aggressive and too flirtatious with him, but he could sense this woman, a renowned supermodel, knew exactly how to push and was used to getting results with any man she set her sights on.

  Behind her, a thin, fit middle-aged woman climbed out and stretched. “Oh, my aching butt,” she said.

  Emmett couldn’t help but laugh.

  She glanced up at him quickly. “Someday you’ll be old too, so quit mocking me.” She winked, but it was friendly, nothing like the sultry look the blonde was giving him as she slithered his way.

  A young, burly guy with a shaved head climbed out. His face was stony, and he was well built. He must be one of those—tough NFL hopeful who had something to prove. He’d either soften his pride and learn from Emmett and the trainers this week, or he’d be trying so hard to claim he was tougher than Emmett he’d waste the entire experience.

  A lean, tall guy with dark curls springing everywhere bee-bopped out. He turned quickly and offered his hand to whoever was behind him.

  The supermodel was fast approaching, but Emmett shifted to the side so he could see the number five attendee. Dressed in a casual knit knee-length gray dress that clung to her in just the right way, the woman who stepped from the van looked like his version of an angel—her hair was dark and curly and hung down her back, her face was tan and smooth with high cheekbones and dark brows, and her eyes were a surprising bright blue that took his breath away.

  When she smiled at the young man helping her, Emmett took an unconscious step forward and ran into the supermodel. Crap.

  She grasped his forearm. “Emmett Hawk.” She drawled out his name and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”

  Emmett stepped back out of her reach but forced himself to extend his hand. “Nice to meet you, Miss …”

  She wrapped his hand up with both of hers and batted her long, spider-leg-looking eyelashes. “Britney Pearl. You’ve probably seen me. Cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition last year.”

  Emmett pulled his hand free. “Congrats.” Someone had shown him that cover in the locker room, but he hadn’t lingered. His best friend from high school had become addicted to pornography, and it had recently ruined his marriage and his life. Emmett steered clear of women who thought their bodies were only to be used as a weapon to mess with men’s minds.

  He stepped past her and stuck his hand out to the fun middle-aged lady with highlighted brown and gold hair and obvious Spanish ancestry. She also had fake eyelashes, but they were tastefully done. She was pretty and fit.

  “Emmett Hawk,” he said. “Thanks for coming.”

  She grinned. “It’s great to meet you.” She shook his hand and released it, patting his cheek like his mom would do. “I’m Nana Lucy, or you can call me Cookie Nana,” she said with a faint Spanish accent.

  He matched her smile. “You bake a lot of cookies?”

  “Yes, honey child, I sure do. But I guess that’s not happening this week.”

  “No, ma’am, this week we’ll be eating healthy and working hard.”

  She pulled a face. “And to think I liked you when I first saw you.”

  “We’ll make fitness fun,” he promised.

  “I bet you make everything fun,” Britney purred next to his elbow.

  Emmett forced a smile and stepped quickly the other direction, sticking his hand out to the burly, surly guy. “Emmett Hawk.”

  The guy grasped his hand and squeezed. Emmett didn’t roll his eyes, though he wanted to. He squeezed back until the guy winced and let go. “Troy Jones.” The guy glared at him like he should be intimidated.

  “Ni
ce handshake.” Emmett arched an eyebrow and moved on to the curly-haired guy, his excitement mounting that the gorgeous brunette was next.

  The curly-haired guy had his hand out. “Gunner Travers. It’s so cool to meet you, sir.”

  Emmett grinned. “You too. I think I’m only a couple years older than you, though, so none of this ‘sir’ business.”

  Gunner had deep dimples and his dark eyes sparkled. Emmett was sure the women all fell for him. “The ‘sir’ is because of my respect for your game, not your age, sir.”

  Emmett liked him already. “I appreciate that. You’ll be a senior at Florida State?” Emmett already knew a little of his attendees’ backgrounds, and he wished he hadn’t asked the courtesy question so he could move on to the natural beauty to Gunner’s right. Gunner and Troy were both going into their senior year. They should’ve come with the college crowd but had been at NFL recruiting events last week. They were both NFL hopefuls who wanted to push themselves to their peak fitness for their senior year of college.

  “Yes, sir. Troy and I are getting rings this year for sure and both signing fat contracts with the NFL.” He grinned confidently.

  “I hope you do.”

  Emmett sidestepped once again, and all the positive feelings he’d had for Gunner dissipated as the young man placed his hand on the angel’s back and she smiled sweetly up at him. “This is Cambree Kinley,” Gunner said. “Elite Warrior racer, sixth-grade teacher, Colorado native, and the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  Cambree laughed easily. Her tinkling laughter was as pretty as the rest of her. She shook her head slightly at Gunner and muttered, “Flatterer,” before stepping up to Emmett and putting her hand out. “Hi.”

  Emmett caught a breath as her hand fit into his like it was made to be there. She glanced sharply up at him, her smile disappearing as she studied him with those bright blue eyes.

  “Happy to meet the most beautiful woman in the world,” Emmett said, hoping it came across as teasing and not creepy.

  She found her smile again. “Gunner’s being a goofball. I already told him on the ride from the airport that I’m not into one-week flings, but he’s set on proving me wrong.”

  Emmett decided he was going to thrash Gunner before the week was over. “I hope you stay strong, Miss Kinley.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m the strongest chick I know.”

  Emmett couldn’t resist looking over the lean form revealed by her simple dress. She might be right. He liked how brutally honest she was. “This week will make you stronger.”

  “I worked six months to get here; it had better rock my world.” She gave him a challenging look, and he planned on pushing her to her limit and enjoying being right there with her.

  He had four other trainers on staff, so everybody was getting one-on-one training at this camp. Cambree Kinley was going to get his undivided attention this week, and maybe he could beat Gunner out of the contest for a one-week fling.

  No. Cambree wasn’t the type you had a fling with; she was too pure and intriguing. And he couldn’t risk falling for a camp attendee when he needed to prove to himself, his dad, and the world that these fitness camps were a brilliant concept and a career as viable as the NFL. His stomach sank. Nothing was as great as playing football.

  She pulled her hand back and glanced around. “This is incredible.”

  “Not as pretty as Colorado.”

  She smiled. “No. But don’t take it personally. It’s not your fault you have no mountains.”

  “We have something even better than mountains.” He liked bantering with her.

  “Oh yeah?” She elevated an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

  “Texas pride.”

  “I’ve heard about it. Can’t wait to finally watch some Texas pride in action.” She winked, all cute and sassy. Emmett’s mouth went dry.

  “Are we going to flirt or get to work?” Troy said drily.

  “Shut up, I’m enjoying this,” Lucy interjected.

  Emmett glanced around to find that the entire group, plus his assistant Tracy and the other three trainers, watching the two of them. Britney was glaring at Cambree, and Emmett could feel the jealousy radiating off the swimsuit model. Yuck. He hated spiteful women.

  He hurried to introduce the other trainers to everyone and then let Tracy direct them to their cabins to get settled in before they got to work. He watched Cambree go, admiring the striations in her calves. With only five attendees this week, he’d been able to do a little research on each of them. She was one of the elite Warrior women racers in the nation, and he thought it was equally as impressive that she could handle a class full of sixth graders.

  Warrior races were gaining in popularity, and he’d been able to watch her compete in a few that had been posted on the internet. He’d thought she was attractive then, but she was blowing his mind in person.

  It would be fun to push her physically, but he was even more excited about getting to know her better. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and his face burned as he realized he’d been caught staring. He turned away to respond to something his trainer, Beau, was saying, but not before he caught the knowing smile on her lips.

  * * *

  Cambree unpacked her bag quickly, staring in awe at the gorgeous little cabin she’d be staying in for a week. She was here. She had truly made it, and if memory served her correctly, she’d also met Emmett Hawk a few minutes before and hadn’t allowed her too-honest tongue to make a complete fool out of herself. She pinched herself and squealed at the same time. Emmett Hawk. The boys in her sixth-grade class were going to be so jealous. Was it too quick to ask for a selfie with him? Many of her students followed her on Instagram and had helped raise the money to get her to this camp in preparation for her summer of Warrior races.

  She stashed her suitcase in the closet and looked around one more time at the pristine cabin and its luxurious features: the decorative woodwork, the distressed wood floors, the plush rugs, the massive king-sized bed—it was softer than a baby’s butt; she’d jumped on it to test it—the leather couches in a nook by the picture window that faced the forest, and the glass shower and huge jetted tub in the bathroom, all done in granite, of course. Growing up in Breckenridge, Colorado, she’d helped her mama clean some beautiful homes, but of course she’d never stayed in a five-star resort like this. At twenty thousand for the week, she supposed the accommodations had to be plush.

  But she wouldn’t have cared if they were sleeping under the stars. Emmett Hawk was going to train her, and she was going to absolutely rock the rest of her races this summer. She wanted number one badly, mostly to prove to herself she could do it and that Nolan wasn’t right that she was trailer trash and would never amount to anything. Luckily her sport wasn’t popular enough that she had to do interviews or anything terrifying like that.

  She hurried to freshen up, putting on an extra layer of clinical-strength antiperspirant. The advertisers claimed it was stink-proof, so she wouldn’t reek if by some miracle she got to train with Emmett Hawk. She didn’t want to miss out on one minute of this experience. It’d taken a lot of saving, months of being tighter financially than an eighty-year-old hoarder, to get here. Her students had organized fundraisers for her all on their own, and that had been so appreciated and adorable. She just knew this elite fitness camp was going to make the difference in her success this summer, and as the most gargantuan bonus known to woman, she got to be around Emmett Hawk.

  The promotional info claimed Emmett would be involved in the actual training of the participants. Besides being one of the top wide receivers in the nation, he also had a master’s degree in exercise physiology. Yes, she’d Googled him. Weekly. He and his brothers were all plastered everywhere online. The mighty Hawk brothers. They were all undeniably handsome, buff, poised, and accomplished. She couldn’t blame the media for hanging on every word they said, but she did hate how it picked apart every woman they dated. At least she wouldn’t be exposed to that while she enjoyed bei
ng starstruck by Emmett this week.

  This camp hadn’t been easy to get into; there had been essays and recommendations required, and attendance was capped at only twenty people. She wondered when the rest of the participants would show up. She liked everyone she’d met on the shuttle ride from the airport, except Troy; he was a little stalkerish creepy with his penetrating looks. She connected most with Gunner, who was so cute with his dimples and curly hair. Nana Lucy was a crackup, though Cambree wasn’t sure why she was so hard on Britney. The older lady looked fit, but Cambree wondered how she’d gotten into the camp that was supposed to be for athletes.

  Walking out the cabin door, she stopped and stared, blinking against the brightness of Emmett Hawk’s glory. He stood a mere twenty feet away, talking to one of the other male trainers. Dressed in a fitted neoprene shirt and cotton shorts, Emmett was as handsome and fit as any man had a right to be, maybe more. His dark hair was short and his tanned skin was smooth. He had one of those Hollywood gorgeous faces, complete with the shortly trimmed facial hair. Yummy.

  Emmett glanced her direction and their eyes caught and held. His dark gaze was welcoming, and she was drawn in like a tractor beam. She was pretty sure she walked toward him and he walked toward her, but she couldn’t remember her limbs actually being put in motion. Then he stood before her, or rather above her. She was a respectable five-seven, but he dwarfed her. His stats said six-five and two-forty, and the muscles displayed by that tight shirt backed those stats up and then some.

  “Cambree.” The way he said her name, drawling out the soft A and making bree its own beautiful sigh from his lips, made her think her parents had been brilliant to choose it. His voice was all deep and husky, and his lips couldn’t be hidden by that perfect facial hair—they were too full and delicious-looking. He cleared his throat and said, “Did you get settled in?”