by Taylor Hart
She acted like a hyper, crazy cheerleader and turned for the camera. “Skydiving! Yay!”
He paled and swung to her, then back to the tandem jumpers getting ready in front of the little plane. It had taken a bit of digging to realize that he was terrified of heights.
Climbing out of the car, she ran around to his side and pulled open the door. “C’mon!” She jumped and took his hand, rushing to the tandem guy and turning to the camera. “It was hard to find something that my guy has never done before, but I did it!”
If she had been able to, she would have laughed outright at the discomfort straining the championship quarterback’s face. “Great,” he said, before telling the camera guy to turn it off for a moment and tugging her aside. “I can’t do this. We need to restart the date.”
All business now, she shook her head. “We have a contract. This isn’t a pre-recorded thing. This is happening. Plus, I thought you lived on Olympus. How could this possibly scare you?”
Sucking in air, he bent over for a second, then put his hands on his knees. “I can’t do this.”
Turning back to the camera guy, she flicked a hand at him. “Frank, keep filming.” She switched back to her hyper persona as he followed her to the guys in charge of the jump. “Meet Tim and Todd. They are both expert tandem jumpers and will be helping me and Kade today.”
Frank recorded Kade, who still had his hands on his knees, bent over.
Being silly, she pushed her head in front of the camera. “Are you ready, Zeus?”
Kade turned away from her. “I think I’m really going to be sick.”
She was tempted to give in and not do this, but only for a second. Instead, she walked over to him and lowered her voice, borrowing his analogy. “It’s fourth and long. Can you throw the pass?”
Sucking in another long breath, he stood and met her eyes. “Fine.”
Not expecting him to so rapidly confront his fear, she stood by and observed as he introduced himself to the tandem guys.
A few minutes later, they started their presentation. “You have to arch. The most important thing when jumping out of a plane is the right arch.” Tim demonstrated by sticking his chest out with his arms halfway up, putting them in a T position while pushing his pelvis out. “Your pelvis has to be out to put your whole form into alignment. Do we understand?”
Both she and Kade went through the training. Part of her had always wanted to jump out of a plane. Actually, this was a dream come true for her. Knowing her doctor would never have allowed her to do it, she had opted not to ask.
As she and Kade suited up for the flight, Frank filmed the details of the plane and interviewed the pilot. A couple of minutes later, when she and Kade were alone and putting on the rest of the gear, he nudged her. “You discovered I hated heights and you tailored this to me, didn’t you?” Rather than the anger she’d been expecting, there was a touch of amusement in his face. “You might have gained some yards, but you’re a long way from a touchdown, Song.”
That made her laugh, like they were sharing a private joke.
Looking a bit off-center, he shook his head. “Pretty clever. I pressure you for a date, you give me a date I don’t want.”
Leaning into him, she smelled his cologne. Something spicy and manly. “It’s just the beginning, Kincaid.”
He held her eyes and let out a breath. “I clearly underestimated your offense.”
When they got up into the plane, she looked over at him. He’d gone quiet, looking petrified. He wasn’t even pretending for the camera, simply responding to anything she said with a little laugh and “Sure.”
She hadn’t planned on letting him off the hook, but she swallowed her gloating and whispered in his ear. “Do you want to re-cut this? We can go do something else.”
A mischievous grin flitted over his sickly face. “You bailing on me, Song?”
That’s when she saw it. The grit Kade Kincaid carried with him all the time. On and off the field. He would jump out of an airplane, even though he was terrified.
At that moment, she looked out the airplane window as it rushed down the airstrip. Adrenaline surged within her. “Whoo!” she yelled.
Kade took her hand. Their eyes met, her stomach fluttered, and both of them laughed. Dang, this was getting real.
That was her last thought before the plane left the ground.
Chapter 8
The thrum of the plane shook Kade’s very bones. He put a hand over his heart and muttered a prayer, staring out the window.
“I didn’t know Mr. Kincaid was a praying man,” Felicity teased.
Starting, he let out a weak laugh. “I guess your research only uncovered I don’t like heights. It didn’t uncover I also believe in God?”
Her best poker face stared back at him. The camera guy was ignoring them, recording the scenery.
It was obvious he’d underestimated this woman. Sure, from the battle they’d already had to even get on this date, he could tell she was fierce, but he’d never anticipated she would purposefully take him skydiving because of his fear of heights. His mind sorted through how she could have possibly known about that fear.
She ticked off her fingers one by one. “No rock climbing, no bungee cord jumping. I’ve never seen a picture of you actually jumping out of an airplane,” she said, as if knowing his question and answering it. A couple of red strands of hair fell into her eyes when she turned to look at him. “The Triple Threat does all those things, but you don’t. You took them up in your helicopter, but you don’t have to jump out of that,” she said matter-of-factly.
A surge of surprise saturated him. She had studied him. Normally, he got people who could tell him a million trivial things about himself, down to his favorite ice cream and food. He’d never had someone tell him what he feared. It took a lot of effort to read between the lines like that.
For a few moments, both of them stared out the window of the plane. Kade kept a hand on his heart, feeling like his insides were being squeezed. Could he really do this? Go through with it? Nauseated, he bolted out of his seat and grabbed a small basket on the side of the plane, heaving out nothing.
The tandem jumpers noticed. Tim got up to check on him. “Are you okay, Mr. Kincaid? Do we need to cancel this?” Tim asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“No.” Kade wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and turned to face Felicity.
She still sat, unmoved, staring out the window, which ticked him off. Usually women were at his side, trying to make him happy. He became even more determined to go through with this, if only to show her he could.
“We’re doing this,” Kade declared, moving back to her.
They climbed in altitude to ten thousand feet, and the tandem guys each started suiting them up, strapping them in closer. Soon, they encouraged them to move over to the door.
Kade felt like he was playing in his first game of the season. Normally, he ralphed before the first game. The wooziness of throwing up was now turning into adrenaline as they waited for the doors to open. He wanted nothing more than to crawl to the farthest corner and strap himself into about eighty seatbelts, then cry like a baby.
Instead, he took a deep breath, turned to her, and took her hand. “Are you ready?” he yelled.
Looking a bit startled, she met his eyes. The most magnificent thing happened just then—she smiled for real. “Yeah.” She lifted their hands. “God bless Texas!”
He laughed. “God bless Texas!”
Tim opened the door for them. Kade looked around for the barf bucket again, but Todd started signaling down from three. He had no choice. If he passed out, Tim would pull the cord, right?
In no time, they were off. Sailing through the air. Floating and falling at the same time. The force of the wind consumed him, and he felt like he was actually flying. He arched his back and got in position, looking for Felicity. She was at his side, trying to arch too.
They fell for what felt like forever. Abruptly, his instructor sig
naled him to open the chute, and when it opened a sense of timelessness overwhelmed him. He took off his goggles, staring down at the city of Dallas beneath them.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Kincaid?” Tim asked him, holding his wrist up with a GoPro attached to it.
Kade grinned. “Awesome!”
On his left, Felicity removed her goggles. “Whoo!” she yelled into the camera.
A million thoughts plagued him about this woman. He’d thought he’d had her pegged, but truthfully, he knew nothing about her.
“Here, take the controls and you can turn it yourself,” Tim said.
“No,” Kade said, not wanting to do something that would endanger his life more than it already was. When he looked over, though, he saw Felicity taking the controls and doing all kinds of turns. Encouraged, he took the controls and began trying to ease it back and forth slowly, eventually taking a sharper turn. It was a rush—until he noticed the ground was coming at him rather quickly.
“All right, are you ready, Mr. Kincaid? Remember how to land? Press your arms down with the controls and pick your legs up, bending at the knees.”
The ground was coming faster and faster, and he remembered something about ground rush, but he couldn’t remember exactly how to prevent it.
“Now!” Tim yelled.
He pulled the hand controls down and pulled his feet up, just like they’d practiced. And bam! He landed in a solid pile of gravel. It smarted for a second, and then he was fine.
“You did it!” Tim cheered, unstrapping them.
“Yeah!” Kade yelled into the camera that had been waiting for him.
He turned and saw Felicity landing a couple of feet away. “Yeah!” She lifted a fist to him in the air.
“God bless Texas!” He grinned and got up, feeling amazing. When was the last time he’d cheated death? His arms and legs were numb and energized at the same time.
Their instructors quickly unstrapped them and she rushed over, happiness shining on her face as well. “How did it go?”
Maybe it was the thrill of the jump, or all the tension between them before, or how happy she seemed in this moment—how innocent and elated. Regardless, he took her into his arms and kissed her.
Chapter 9
Felicity wasn’t sure if it was the euphoria of the jump or the fact that he’d kissed her first, but she found herself pressing closer to him, slipping her hands behind his neck and reciprocating. Her mind went a hundred miles an hour. She felt drawn to him by a magnetic pull. Finally, she got her wits about her and pushed him back, reflexively slapping him across the face.
Looking momentarily daft, he let out a laugh and pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her off the ground. “That was amazing!”
Felicity spun in the air and wondered if she could really finish this date and keep up appearances. The kiss had startled her. She hadn’t kissed anyone in years.
Kade put her down. “What now, boss?” He pointed to the camera guy.
Her heart raced, and her adrenaline was out of control. She let out a loud laugh and pointed at him. “You are crazy!”
He laughed too and pointed back. “Hey—you just jumped out of an airplane!”
They looked at each other and burst out laughing again.
She walked with him back to the training point, where their instructors, the camera people, and the other instructors had assembled. As they approached, everyone whooped and hollered at them.
She was feeling so good. Amazingly, she realized she wasn’t faking anything.
They took off their gear and ruminated more about the jump. “I have never been afraid of heights,” she admitted, “but when the plane door opened, even I was terrified.”
He laughed and blew out a long breath. “It was a rush. I’ll give ya that.” He leaned close and said, too quietly for the cameras to pick up, “If you hadn’t been there, I would’ve chickened out.”
His words were sincere. She could tell. For a few moments, she almost forgot she should be on guard against him. The camera flashed a couple of more pictures.
After they said goodbye to Tim and Todd, he turned to her, lifting an eyebrow. “So what other torture do you have planned for today?”
It partially annoyed her that he’d figured it out, but it also made her respect him that he’d gone through with the jumping out of a plane bit. She’d seen how terrified he’d been. “You really are a larger-than-life man,” she said quietly, unsure of how she was feeling about him at the moment.
The side of his lip quirked up. “Didn’t feel that way a few moments ago.” He rubbed his jaw. “Well, except maybe when you slapped me for that kiss. That made me feel larger than life.”
Once again, she laughed despite herself. “You better have the camera guy cut that part.”
He grinned wider. “Ya know, I’ve never been slapped before.”
“You deserved it.”
Kade cocked an eyebrow and pulled her closer, making sure no one could hear. “You kissed me back, Ms. Song.”
She let out little laughs that sounded disjointed and pulled back. She would never admit that. “No, no way I kissed you back.”
His hand rested on her waist, and he pulled her close to him again. The quickness of his movement astounded her, and she felt a little rush at being face to face with those lips again.
His breath washed over her. “Next time we kiss, I’ll make sure I ask first.”
She glared at him. “And I’ll say no.”
He laughed and abruptly, he let her go.
Stumbling back, she wrestled with her emotions, raging between desire and hatred. “I’ll slap you again if you kiss me.”
Kade slipped his sunglasses back in place and took her hand. “I guess I must be a glutton for punishment.”
Next, Felicity made Kade go to a McDonald’s and eat breakfast. He’d been quoted in a college article as saying he hated fast food, especially McDonald’s, which he’d taken a lot of heat for in the press. Unexpectedly, he did it with a smile on his face. Even offered to sign and hand out a couple of balls to the kids in the play land.
The kids loved it. Felicity thought every mother in the play area kinda loved him too, because he chatted with them and seemed to be interested in their lives. After three full hours, they went back to Kade’s house, where both of them changed.
“I was going to make you go rock climbing, but honestly, can we rest for a couple of hours and then go out?” Felicity asked.
Kade only laughed and told her to make herself comfortable in the guest room.
It was a respite for Felicity as she took extra time to shower and do her hair and makeup. It was only three when she got up from a little nap, and they weren’t leaving until five-thirty, so she decided to explore. Kade had told her to feel free to walk around, so she may as well. As she rounded a hallway into a huge ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the backyard, she had to admire his style. It gave her the feeling of an English estate. There was even a fountain and an English garden maze. Again, she found herself wondering how she’d ended up at the home of Kade Kincaid. The past couple of days had been a whirlwind, especially as she tried ferociously to find things that would bug him. It took effort to design a date he would hate.
Inhaling a deep breath, she walked closer to the back windows, walking in a slow sway, enjoying the sunshine on her face. A moment without the master of the house. When he was around, she didn’t feel relaxed. The tension in the air between them always left her a bit on edge.
The memory of how his lips had felt against hers rushed through her, making her pause. It’d been amazing. Reluctantly, she admitted to herself she had enjoyed it.
But how dare he? She hadn’t wanted to kiss him. Hadn’t ever thought that would even be a thing.
The memory of his strong hands as he took her face and pressed his lips to hers consumed her. The confusion and how she’d been unable to keep her “date face” on stayed with her as she recalled pushing him back and slapping him.
Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. Curse that man. It’d been almost as exhilarating to kiss him as it had been to jump from that plane. She thought of what he’d said about how he’d kiss her again. She exhaled and clenched a fist. No way!
The baby grand piano in the center of the room called out to her, distracting her from the events of the morning. Slowly, she sat at the majestic piano and felt calm descend upon her.
Through all the years, all the surgeries, all the downtime, playing the piano had been the one thing she could rely on. The thing she never had to worry about being too ill for. Lightly, she pressed her fingers across the keys, combing them softly, saying hello to the piano, getting lost in the perfect sound. Her own piano hadn’t been tuned for years. Not that she was complaining. She was just grateful she could play it after a long, hard day. She lightly went into a classic: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Taking her time, she fell into the music just like one might fall into a book or a football game. As she played, she thought of the determination on Kade’s face as he went into a game. When the cameras panned to him, she could tell he was in a world of his own. It was majestic, watching him play. Not that she was a huge football fan, but it was Texas after all.
She segued into more songs, some from old movie classics like Gone with the Wind, Maria, Hairspray. She loved classic movies. While she played, she forgot about all time and space. Forgot about being on this date. The only thing that existed was the music.
Chapter 10
Kade heard the music before he saw the woman playing it. He’d been on his way down the hall to knock on her door, but now he moved through the hallway, taking his time, enchanted by the music almost as much as he was by this woman. “Song,” he said to himself. Listening to her play, he thought how perfectly her name suited her.
Strike that. The crazy, plane-jumping woman with vindictiveness in her eyes was not, could not be, the same woman who played this magical music.