Page 11 of Her Athlete's Wedding Secret

“So if I tell you I’ll clean up my act and I won’t date anyone else, you’ll like me better?”

“Theoretically.”

“You have my word. Consider both done.” He leaned forward, dropping his voice. He didn’t want someone to overhear their conversation. He knew the town was full of gossips. “If and when we get together, I’ll be completely faithful to you and only you. I will do my best to respect you and your good name. I won’t be pulling any more crazy stunts.” He had his reasons for flirting with so many girls. But he didn’t plan on sharing his private business with Tessa.

Tessa eyed him like she didn’t believe what he was promising her. “How do I know you’re not just telling me that to get me to agree to the wedding?”

“You don’t know that. You’ll just have to trust me.”

“You know, this could be a terrible idea for me.”

“Why is that?” Benson asked.

“As your new wife, I’m going to have the spotlight on me, and you might date a bunch of other women behind my back. You could get caught, and the media would have a heyday with it. And I could end up being humiliated.”

“I take my promises very seriously.”

“So do I. That’s another reason I’m hesitant to say yes to this crazy idea. I don’t want to make these vows with a person I barely know. Yes, we went to high school together, but we weren’t even friends. Our friends weren’t even friends.”

“Sure they were. Alexis was friends with Owen. Weren’t you friends with her?”

“I guess so.”

“See? There’s a connection.”

“Fine. I’ll give you that.”

“What if we took the time to get to know each other? At least until the end of the week. I’d give you longer, but my coach is coming down on me.”

“You know this entire idea is insanity, right?”

“My life has been one long stream of insanity,” Benson said.

“And my life has been boring. I’ve spent the entire thing in Maple Creek where nothing happens.”

“This is the perfect opportunity for you to change it up,” Benson promised.

“You’re not wrong about that.” She sipped her coffee.

“So what do you say?” he asked.

“I’m not going to commit my life to you unless I at least know you a bit better.”

“Okay,” Benson said. Tessa wasn’t such a bad choice. She was just as hot as any of the girls he’d been casually dating, but she had a depth to her as well. If he had to marry someone, she would make any guy a wonderful wife. But that was the problem for him. It was why he didn’t do commitments. Megan left him destroyed. If it weren’t for his coach insisting on this marriage, he’d happily stay single for the rest of his life.

But if he wanted to keep his career, he had to accept that a wedding was in his future. He just needed to figure out a way to do it without getting his heart involved. As long as he could keep his protective barriers up, this fake marriage could work. It was his only option. But he felt bad dragging Tessa into this mess. She deserved better, a real husband.

But he knew he couldn’t give her that. He’d locked up his heart tight, and he had zero plans to unlock it. He never again wanted to endure the pain he’d experienced when Megan left him. It had been the worst agony he’d ever felt. No man should ever hurt that deeply. He couldn’t let his heart feel anything toward Tessa. He’d made peace with the fact that he wouldn’t have true happiness. That possibility ended when Megan ditched him at the altar. So he’d fought to dull the pain. But dulling the pain by dating around was no longer an option. Not if he wanted to protect Tessa and honor the marriage vows he’d need to make. He’d have to find a new way to endure the pain. In the meantime, if he wanted Tessa to agree to marry him, he’d have to build a friendship with her.

And if he wanted the town to believe his marriage proposal was real, they’d need to see him together with Tessa before their engagement was announced. “I think it’s a great idea for us to spend time together this week. It’s not like I have anything else to do, anyway.”

“Oh, so I’m just here to fill up your empty time?” she snapped.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Benson said. “I would love to spend time with you.”

“Fine, then what are we going to do?”

“I think this counts, doesn’t it?”

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