Fearless Heart

FEARLESS HEART BRIGHTON WALSH CONTENTS Content Notes 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 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Epilogue Acknowledgments Other Titles By Brighton Walsh About the Author Quinn Cartwright sees me as nothing more than her rival...her enemy. But I’ve been obsessed with her since we were teenagers. She's gorgeous and brilliant with a tongue sharp enough to cut glass…and she has no idea I love it as much as I do. So when she needs someone to put a ring on it because of her asshole boss, I marry her without hesitation. We draw up a contract on a napkin. This marriage might be fake, but no one in our small town has to know. She may never see me as anything more than a playboy, but sleeping in the same bed together night after night makes me want to put my skills to use and prove just how good this fake marriage can be… * * * Sign up for Brighton’s newsletter and receive a free copy of Stranded in Starlight Cove! Being part of the newsletter also unlocks your access to exclusive content and giveaways! Click here or go to www.brightonwalsh.com/vip CONTENT NOTES Please be advised that this book contains content that may be upsetting for some readers. Should you prefer detailed information for the best reading experience, please visit the author’s website to view a full list of content notes. For everyone who doesn’t mind an assist—make sure your friends are charged. Ford’s already on it. CHAPTER ONE FORD Generally speaking, I didn’t mind a well-placed hand on my ass. Loved it, actually. Though, generally speaking, when said hand was on my ass, I wasn’t usually at the grocery store, in broad daylight, in the view of dozens of Starlight Cove’s residents and busybodies. And, generally speaking, the person copping a feel wasn’t old enough to be my grandmother. “Mabel.” I raised a brow at the woman who stood next to me in all her neon-orange glory, her hair a mass of short gray curls around her head, then glanced to where she had an entire handful of my ass. “Much as I love getting felt up, Aiden and I have a little league practice we need to get to, so can you finish up?” “What? Oh!” Mabel, Starlight Cove’s gossip, troublemaker, and self-proclaimed news broadcaster, pulled her hand away—much slower than someone who was caught groping another person should have—and a sly smile swept across her mouth. She could’ve been anywhere between sixty-five and eighty-five—I valued my life far too much to ask—and there was no doubt she’d learned a thing or two in that time. Namely, that she didn’t give a single fuck. “Should I leave you two alone?” my brother asked dryly. Aiden—second eldest of the McKenzies—stood off to the side, arms crossed. He hadn’t bothered to change out of his work clothes after leaving the family resort in the very capable hands of our baby sister. He didn’t concern himself with the fact that he was going to look ridiculous in a white button-up and dress pants on the baseball mound as fifteen eight-year-olds ran circles around him and screamed their heads off. “Hey, I gotta get it where I can,” I said, winking at Mabel as she strolled away with a little shimmy in her step, her gaze still glued to my ass and not what was in front of her. Aiden rolled his eyes and grabbed two baskets before handing one to me. “We both know ‘getting it’ is the least of your problems.” I pressed my lips together, not saying a word in response. Getting it? No, that wasn’t a problem. Had never been. It was almost sad how predictable it had all become; I’d bet my entire life savings I’d have at least one number before I left the store. But being interested in it? That was my problem—recently anyway. Though, “my” was pushing it, considering my dick was the one with the issue. Apparently he was no longer interested in a mindless escape. No longer at all up—pun abso-fucking-lutely intended—for entertaining the various women in our picturesque pocket of Maine. For some unknown reason, the not-so-little bastard had suddenly become discerning. Discerning, but without an ounce of self-preservation. Because the one woman he had become obsessed with? She’d just as soon cut him off before she ever played with him. So, yeah. You could say my dick and I were at a bit of a crossroads, and who knew how long it would be before we were on the same page. “Get your head in the game, man,” Aiden said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. “It’s no fun to win if it’s not a challenge.” I focused back on my brother. He looked bored, but I knew better. When it came to competition, he was ruthless—much like the rest of us McKenzies—and he was going to try his hardest to wipe the floor with me. I’d return the favor, of course, especially when a lost bet in this family meant a fallout ranging anywhere from humiliation—there was still video floating around from senior year when I had to naked limbo outside the girls’ locker room for losing at mini golf—to body modification—I was the proud owner of a pierced dick, thanks to a not-so-friendly competition with my youngest brother, Levi—and everything in between. “Mabel would have to do a lot more than grab my ass for me to be too distracted to kick yours.” “Keep dreaming,” Aiden said. “Let’s lay out the rules and get started.” I scoffed and mumbled, “Of course he’s gotta have rules.” “Rules make it so