Read Online A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 by Barbara Meyers - Free Book Online

around. Except for the one he’d married.
    Hayley squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could squeeze out the memories as well. Finding Trey in bed with one of the cute new rookie cheerleaders. Watching him spiral downhill on booze and prescription painkillers. Listening as he lashed out at her, blamed her, mocked her. He’d pushed her out of their home and out of his life.
    And she’d walked away with virtually nothing. After seven years of marriage, she’d managed to retain only a few pieces of furniture and her car. She’d foolishly signed a pre-nuptial agreement at the insistence of Trey’s agent right before he’d been drafted. Hayley hadn’t cared. She’d been in love. She wasn’t marrying Trey for his money, which he didn’t have at the time anyway. She’d been anxious to prove she was marrying for love.
    She’d made every classic mistake it was possible for a woman to make. She didn’t have even one credit card in her own name. She wasn’t on the deed to the elegant home she’d shared with Trey in a posh golf course community outside Jacksonville. All of the investments were in Trey’s name because he was the one with the multi-million-dollar income as a star quarterback for a professional football team with numerous endorsement deals. She’d trusted Trey instead of looking out for herself, a mistake she couldn’t forgive herself for.
    Idiot , she muttered under her breath as she turned over.
    By the time the divorce was final, her reputation had been shredded in the local press. Trey’s PR firm had leaked enough information to the Jacksonville media to raise speculation about whether she had been unfaithful to him with a fellow teammate. Trey had come off looking like the injured party, while she’d been portrayed as a gold-digging hussy.
    Hayley gritted her teeth, which added to the throb in her head. She forced herself to relax. It was over and done with. She couldn’t go back and change it. She could only learn from it and not repeat the same mistakes in the future.
    Which meant she had to keep her distance from Ray whether she wanted to or not. Disaster lurked on the other side of getting involved with him. She was sure of it. She was also sure of one other thing. She wouldn’t survive a second time.
    Besides, she reminded herself, her plans did not include staying in Florida. She wanted to get as far away as possible and leave her past behind. And that included any threat Carlos might present in the future. She doubted he’d travel to California to make her pay for what he perceived as her meddling in his affairs. She hoped he wouldn’t bother looking for her, even in this tiny north Florida town. Protecting herself also meant she could protect Fletcher. And that would be the best possible outcome for both of them.
    The medication began to work, and she could feel herself floating, her limbs becoming almost numb, the tightness in her head easing. She fell asleep.
     
     
    Hayley came awake to the muffled sound of a questioning male voice. She glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand, gasping when she saw it was almost five o’clock.
    The migraine medication worked when she kept it down. It worked by knocking her out for several hours, giving the headache time to dissipate. Even though she was groggy and loose-limbed, the pain was gone.
    She sat up slowly and reached for her robe. Wrapping it around her, she crept down the short hallway on bare feet and peeked around the corner into the living area.
    Ray had his back to her and was staring into an open cupboard. He’d set Fletcher on the counter behind him and was peppering him with questions. “Tuna fish? How do you feel about tuna fish?” He glanced over his shoulder at the boy. “Do you even know what tuna fish is?” As usual, Fletcher didn’t respond. Ray turned back to the cupboard. “SpaghettiOs? I bet you like those. They were invented for kids your age.” He moved a few cans aside. “Whole kernel corn. Green beans.