The No Regrets Groom Read online

  The No Regrets Groom

  Last Play Masquerade Football Romances (Brady Brother Romances)

  Taylor Hart

  Copyright

  All rights reserved.

  © 2019 ArchStone Ink

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. The reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form whether electronic, mechanical or other means, known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written consent of the publisher and/or author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This edition is published by ArchStone Ink LLC.

  First eBook Edition: 2018

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the creation of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  “Welcome to the Romeo and Juliet Masquerade Ball Fundraiser for ALS!” Ziggy Brady, center for the Denver Storm, made the announcement as he stood on the stage at the Seawell Ballroom and stared out at the crowd of people that had come from all over to support this cause. This was the night he’d been waiting for. On the day after Christmas, his youngest brother, Ty, had dropped a bomb on the family: he’d been diagnosed with ALS. Since then, Ziggy and his other three brothers had been on a mission to raise money for ALS research. They would do whatever it took to find a cure for this disease and save Ty’s life.

  Emphatic applause thundered through the packed ballroom. The attendees were dressed in assorted fine apparel, some in tuxedos, others in masquerade attire. The women wore long dresses, and everyone had masks that hid their identity. Ziggy’s family had partnered with a fundraising group, Helping Hands, to organize a huge event for the who’s who, not just in Denver, but from around the country. Truthfully, Ziggy had been doubtful that people would show up for a Masquerade Ball, but they’d not only sold out of tickets; they’d also ended up moving the venue to a bigger location. It appeared the Masquerade Ball was a hit. Granted, it helped when you had the backing of the Storm and the whole community.

  They could do this. They could find a way. Heck, they would make a way if they had to. Anything to save Ty.

  Ziggy had his speech ready, but unexpected emotion scraped at the back of his throat. He pushed it down, forcing himself to smile as he put the microphone to his lips. “As many of you know, my family recently got news that my brother Ty was diagnosed with ALS.”

  The clapping petered out.

  He caught sight of his football brothers right next to the stage. These were his peeps, the guys who stood with him day in, day out on the Storm offensive line: Travis Nelson, Nate Decker, and Knox Reid. Of course, they were wearing masks for the party, but you couldn’t miss guys the size of oxen. He grinned down at them, blinking back the tears.

  Dang it. Ziggy needed to get a hold of himself. The speech he had prepared fled from his mind. As he looked up at the crowd of people, he decided to just be honest. “It feels like you hear about problems or natural disasters, but they don’t really hit you until it affects your family.” He sniffed. “Until it affects your brother. That’s when it hits home.” He pounded the center of his chest and looked back to his football brothers for support.

  At this moment, Knox ripped his mask off and put his fist up in quiet solidarity. Several months ago, Knox’s brother had received his fifth concussion, and now struggled with pre-ALS symptoms. It was only a matter of time, and they’d recently had a lot of conversations about how to raise more money.

  Nate ripped his mask off too, putting his fist up. Nate knew pain. He’d lost a son to cancer a couple of years ago.

  Next, Travis ripped his mask off, joining his friends in putting his fist in the air. Travis’s older brother had recently passed of scleroderma.

  Ziggy was overwhelmed by how much support his friends gave him. Tears ran down his face. Dang it, he was already a blubbering mess.

  Just then, he saw various players from the Storm weaving their way through the crowd to the front of the ballroom, joining with his offensive line up front. They were led by Cameron Cruz, the owner of the Storm and a man who also knew pain. “Go, Storm!” Cruz yelled, moving to the center of the line of giants. It was what Cruz did before every game, telling the guys that you could count on the Storm to rise up whenever you needed them.

  “Go, Storm!” Ziggy’s teammates yelled out, all of their masks off, their fists in the air.

  Before he knew it, the whole place had their fists in the air. “Go, Storm!”

  Goose bumps rippled up Ziggy’s arms. He pressed his fist to his mouth to cover the hitch in his breathing.

  “Ziggy!”

  He turned and was surprised to meet Ty’s eyes at the side of the stage. Ty had told him he wouldn’t be coming tonight because he didn’t want to fall apart. But now, Ty and his other brothers—Dax, Ocean, and Boston—walked out to join him, tears on all of their faces. They all held their fists in the air.

  The audience erupted into clapping as they chanted, “Go, Storm! Go, Storm!”

  Stoically, Ziggy put the microphone back to his lips and put his other fist into the air. “We will beat this!”

  The crowd roared around them. He and his brothers looked at each other, determination sparking in their eyes.

  A dress rustled nearby. Sophia Charles—the woman in charge of Helping Hands, a woman Ziggy had actually known his whole life—moved out to the stage and took the microphone. She was crying as well. “Thank you so much for coming out to support this cause!”

  Ziggy stared at Ty. This solidarity made Ziggy think they just might have a chance.

  Ty took the microphone from Sophia. “Thank you for coming!” He put his hand into the air to calm the crowd, hesitating. “Please dance, mingle, and have fun tonight.” He turned and pointed to the band, grinning. “Let’s do the song ‘Born Free, Live Forever.’ I might as well sing since I’m here, right?”

  The crowd erupted into laughter and applause.

  “One, two, three!” the drummer called out before starting the upbeat Sloane Kent song. Ty had just gotten his big break six months ago as an opener for Sloane Kent’s band.

  Ziggy moved off of the stage, watching Ty belt out the song, laughing while he sang. He loved his brother so much, loved his playfulness, his love for life. They had to cure this!

  An hour later, Ziggy stood at the side of the ballroom, surrounded by his football brothers, all of them watching others out there dancing. They’d all put their masks back on, but they’d stayed together.

  Ziggy nodded to the dance floor. “We should dance.” He didn’t really feel like it, but if he didn’t dance, he wouldn’t be “supporting the cause.”

  Travis snorted. “I’ll pass. I wouldn’t want to put you losers to shame out there.”

  Ziggy understood. The guy had some serious pain from his recent loss.

  Knox belted out a laugh. “Like you got any game, Nelson. Remember last year at that charity ball when you were doing the chicken and fell flat on your butt?”

  Nate covered his face. “That was so sick!”

  “Hey, you’re just jealous!” Travis started flapping his arms and doing the chicken in front of them. “I got tons of moves.”

  Ziggy nudged Knox. “Why don’t you do some of your patented break dancing?”

  Knox busted into some silly break dancing, and they all cracked up.

&n
bsp; Ziggy found himself joining in with the rest of them as they threw it back to the eighties and did some Michael Jackson moonwalking.

  Will Kent walked by with his new wife, Tara, on his arm. Will laughed at all of them doing crazy dances. “What is this?”

  Ziggy waved at him. “Hey, Will.”

  Will paused and then waved his hand for them to huddle up.

  As if on autopilot, they all stopped and moved closer.

  Will winked at them. “Here’s the deal, guys. I’ll donate an extra twenty grand, per person, to the cause if you all get your butts out there and ask a woman to dance.”

  “Twenty grand?” Cameron Cruz asked, striding up. He’d been walking by and must have heard Will’s challenge. All season, Cruz had been making sure they didn’t get so focused on the game that they didn’t have a personal life. He’d been obsessed with it since he’d found his own wife.

  Ziggy felt a twinge of resentment. It’d been a sparse year in the dating department for him, for good reason. Last year he’d broken the heart of his brother Dax by accidentally kissing Dax’s fiancée, and since then he’d called it quits in the women department. The only good thing that had come out of finding out about Ty was that Ziggy had begun the process of working things out with Dax. With everything going on with Ty, he didn’t need another complication in the form of a woman.

  The rest of the guys looked just as hesitant.

  A look of disgust soured over Cameron’s face. “What is the problem, gentlemen?”

  None of them spoke.

  Will shook his head. “A bunch of ninnies.”

  “I’ll double Will’s twenty,” Cameron declared. “It’ll be forty grand going to charity if you go find a woman and dance with her.”

  Will roared out a laugh. “Now we’re talking. Man up, gentlemen. Get out there.” He jerked a thumb back to the dance floor.

  The song changed to a slow one. Travis grunted and looked directly at Will, then Cameron. “I’ll be making sure that forty grand shows up in the donations.”

  Will laughed, looking satisfied for a moment before turning an expectant gaze on the rest of them. “Gentlemen?”

  Nate pushed away from the group. “This is called blackmail.”

  Ziggy chuckled. Blackmail was the wrong word, but he wasn’t quite sure what the right word was.

  Cameron nudged Ziggy before gently shoving Knox. “Eighty grand between the two of you that could go to the cause?”

  Knox looked like he wanted to take Cameron’s head off, but he only motioned to the dance floor. “Come on, Zig. Let’s do this.”

  Ziggy inwardly winced as he took off into the dance floor abyss, looking for someone, anyone. Since the dance had already started, he found himself getting lost in a sea of couples waltzing or doing some other swaying dance.

  “Hey,” a guy called out as Ziggy stumbled into him.

  “Sorry.” Ziggy turned and got pushed into another couple.

  “Out of the way!” another guy called out.

  “Sorry,” Ziggy muttered. He heard Kent and Cruz laughing and gave them a backward glare.

  “Ouch.”

  He winced in sympathy, realizing he’d stepped on someone’s foot. “Sorry,” he said quickly.

  “Watch yourself, Zig.”

  Ziggy perked up. Even though this woman had a mask on, he would know that voice anywhere. This was Sophia Charles, the woman who’d broken his heart the night of graduation. The girl he’d thought he would marry. His next-door neighbor growing up, and his best friend. He remembered how he’d stood her up all those years ago. “Soph, could we talk?”

  Her hands went to her hips, and she pursed her lips. “I’ve only tolerated you because of Ty and this fundraiser, but no, we can’t talk. There are too many things to forgive.” Turning on her heel, she started to walk away from him.

  Unable to stop himself, he reached for her arm. “Soph, wait. I got a call from the Storm recruiter that day. Then my phone broke.”

  Sophia spun around and smacked his face. Hard.

  Stunned, he stared into those fiery blue eyes he’d known his whole life. Putting his hand to his cheek, he laughed. The only other time she’d smacked him like that had been when they were twelve and he’d smacked her horse’s butt. The horse had almost knocked her off. “Wow.”

  “Not showing up at our spot that day doesn’t even scratch the surface, and I think you know that.”

  “And kissing Travis Miller at the bonfire wasn’t a low blow?”

  “You were leaving for Miami, remember? That was your first priority.”

  Ziggy had made a lot of mistakes in his life, and abandoning Sophia Charles was among the biggest. He sighed and let go of his anger, running a hand across his forehead. “You look good,” he said, gesturing to her dress.

  She glowered. The whole situation would be comical if it wasn’t happening to him.

  “Look,” he said. Now was as good of a time as any to apologize for past mistakes. “You do owe me a dance. Have since Sweetheart’s Ball when you danced with Dax instead of me for the last song.”

  She scoffed. “In eighth grade?”

  “Right,” he said, remembering how he’d punched the bag in his garage for an hour after that dance. When she tried to leave again, he stepped over to block her path. “Please. It’s been a hard night.” Was he using the fact his brother had ALS? Yes, maybe a little.

  Sophia didn’t move.

  “Please.” He held his hand out. “Remember how I punched Davey Marcis out when he insulted you in seventh grade? In front of all of your friends?” It was an anecdote he’d pulled out countless times to get back in her good graces.

  She crossed her arms. “Time’s up on that one, Zig.”

  At least she was talking and not walking away. “Maybe the time’s just right, Soph.”

  “What does that mean?”

  A warm feeling spread through his chest. Maybe he and Sophia were back in each other’s lives for a reason. Carefully, he took her hand, put his other one on her hip, and began swaying. “Well,” he said, gesturing to his twin brother, Dax. Up until a few days ago, Ziggy hadn’t been sure he would show. “Dax and I haven’t spoken in over a year, but he’s here. That’s a miracle in itself, so I think things are going extremely well.”

  Sophia narrowed her eyes. “Okay.”

  Ziggy grinned. Having Dax here was the cherry on top, making him feel like the Brady Five would get through this thing with Ty after all. “Maybe right now is just the right time for you and me too.”

  “No. No. Definitely not. I’m … well, I have a serious boyfriend, and …” She trailed off.

  Ziggy briefly closed his eyes, getting a whiff of her scent. Was that a trace of strawberry? He wasn’t sure. “Why don’t we agree to just forgive each other, Soph?”

  “Are you smelling me, Ziggy Brady?” Her eyebrow cocked up, but he could swear she had a smile playing at her lips.

  “No.” He pushed her out into a spin, pulled her back, and took her into more complicated moves. “You’ve always smelled like fresh fruit.”

  The side of her lip tugged up, and she had yet to pull away. That was a good sign, he figured. “Fresh fruit?” she echoed.

  He sniffed again. “Strawberries, pears, apples, maybe a pie. I was never quite sure, but I always liked smelling you.”

  Moves they’d done together their whole lives on the dance floor of her barn came back, and with them a flood of memories rushed back to Ziggy’s mind. “Remember when you used to marry me every day? Just for practice. How old were we? Was that fourth grade? Mrs. Jamison’s class?”

  Her face turned red, and she tried to pull away. “Stop.”

  He tightened his grip on her. “I think we’ve had at least one hundred weddings, haven’t we?” He grinned wider, allowing himself to remember. “And the way you used to make us ride off into the sunset on Ginger and Pickles, those poor horses had way too many practice ‘just marrieds.’”

  “Stop, Ziggy.” She shook
her head. “There’s way too much between us to even think about all of those old memories.”

  Ziggy hummed at that, relishing in the electricity that passed between their fingers. “Good memories. Crap happened, but we have good memories.”

  The song changed, and the two of them just stood there awkwardly.

  Eventually, Ziggy said, “Can I have another dance? I mean, if this boyfriend of yours won’t get too jealous.” He looked around. “Where is he?”

  Extracting her hand from his, Sophia took a step back. “He’s not here. Look, Zig, I have to go, but I’m sorry about Ty. He doesn’t deserve any of this. My guy is waiting for me, and—” A grin swept over her face. “—my boyfriend doesn’t know I know, but he’s going to propose tonight. So, see, I’ve got to get going. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Zig!” Dax strolled over, accompanied by his girlfriend, Sky.

  Ziggy fist-bumped him. “This is Sky Brooks,” he told Sophia. “Me and the bros were just in Puerto Rico with them for two days helping them get some houses built after the hurricane damage.”

  Dax grinned at her and put his hand out to fist-bump. “What is up with Sophia Maria Caplia?” They all liked to tease her by rhyming her name. Dax pointed at Ziggy, and they both laughed as they continued the rhyming: “Paplia, Lalia, Rarita—”

  “Stop!” Sophia giggled at the funny expression the woman Dax was with was giving her. She put her hand out. “They’re such teasers.”

  Sky smiled. “Don’t I know it?”

  Dax laughed and pulled Sky into him, then turned to his bros. “I have an announcement, and I hope this is an okay time.”

  A hush settled over the space around them. Ziggy took Sophia’s hand.

  Dax got down on one knee, much to Sky’s shock. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I know it’s fast,” Dax said, “but I think I’ve loved you since you pretty much told me I wasn’t that special and I should get over myself.”

  All of his brothers chuckled.

  Sky shook her head. “Are you really doing this?”