by Taylor Hart
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 two hours, they went back to Kade’s house where both of them changed.
“I was going to make you go rock climbing, but honestly, I need a break before dinner.” Felicity said to him.
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. 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 pressed to hers rushed through her. Making her stop walking for a second. It’d been amazing. Reluctantly, she admitted to herself she had enjoyed it.
Anger stirred through her. 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 clutched 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 through her.
Through all the years, all the surgeries, all the down time, 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 she mused, thinking 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.
Taking her time, she mashed 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.
The piano hadn’t been played for a long time. While he knew his staff kept it dusted and in fine repair, he’d often thought of selling the piano because it felt like such a waste having it here. Anthony was the one who played it, and he never came over anymore. As he turned the corner to the music room, his heart nearly stopped.
Felicity sat in a white dress with her hair down and her eyes closed as her fingers ran over the keys.
He stopped, not wanting to startle her from her trance. Not wanting to ruin the beauty. Not wanting to break whatever mini experience he was having with the woman today. She’d made it very clear he couldn’t contact her after today.
When she’d told him he couldn’t fall in love with her, he had thought she might have too much self-confidence. At this moment, after flying through the air with her, kissing her, getting slapped by her, seeing the easy way she interacted with the kids at McDonalds, and watching her play, a strange feeling was weaving through him, taking him by surprise, getting past all his defenses. Could he be falling for her?
Even though it took getting through her shell to see it, the woman was warm, funny, and totally not what he’d expected. Right now, she looked like an angel.
It nagged him, this wanting to find out more. He felt like he was going into a game blind—no stats, no game tape they’d watched and analyzed the week before. He didn’t know what her strengths were, where her weaknesses lay. Didn’t know if any of his moves would get the ball down the field. The only thing he was sure about at this moment was that there was no way this would be the last day he ever saw her.
The music stopped, and Kade wanted to shout. “Keep playing!” But he didn’t say a word.
Their eyes were locked, and now he was part of another trance, one he wouldn’t have dreamed possible between this feisty redheaded PR girl who threw her dad out of the auction and refused a date with him.
She blinked and looked at her hands, standing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have just …"
“No.” He took large sweeping steps into the music room, wanting to keep her at the piano. “Sit. Please.”
Her eyes met his again, and he was there, in front of the piano.
She sat, but it didn’t look like she had a choice. Her hands went back on the keys. “Are you sure?”
He felt breathless and a bit erratic as he watched her go into another song. It was a modern day Jurassic Park arrangement.
Listening closer, he saw her, again, get lost in the music. Her head swayed and her eyes closed.
It was remarkable to hear her go into song after song, from modern to show tune to classic melodies and mash them up. He wanted to tell her she should do the whole indie music thing. He’d watched a video on YouTube about it the other day. She could probably make way more than she made at DaVinci PR. Though he didn’t really know how much she made there, and he really wasn’t sure what an indie rock music person would make either. Finally, he edged around the piano and found himself slipping down on the bench next to her.
He smelled a light scent on her. Earlier, he’d wondered what that scent was. It smelled incredible. Floral and fruity. He’d smelled it the night of the bachelor auction too.
Finishing her last show tune, she ended the music, pulling her hands back.
Their eyes met, and he saw vulnerability in them. Dang, all he wanted to do was kiss her again.
When people fell all over themselves around him after a game and women said they loved him, he’d kind of understood they’d loved his talent, his ability. Right now, he thought he might be feeling the same way about her music. “You’re good,” he said softly, wondering when he’d turned into a weird fan boy.
All the walls went back up instantly, and she shook her head. “Naw, just lots of time to practice.”
The comment felt a bit cryptic, and he wanted to ask more. Why did she have so much time?
She stood. “I better finish getting dressed for the dinner date." She threw up her hands and started retreating across the music room. “We have to get going. I totally lost track of time.”
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Half an hour later, Kade waited in his front living room, having no idea why he was dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and a cowboy hat and boots. He thought of a million ways he could see her again.
Excuses.
The PR company. He had to work on something with DaVinci and make DaVinci assign her to him. Did she work out? Where? Walk a dog? Did he ask her if she had a dog? He could find the dog park. Why didn’t he have a dog?
“Are you ready, Cowboy?”
Looking up at her, once again, he was stunned by her beauty. She wore a jean skirt that went to her knees, red boots, a white top with a huge necklace of silver stones, and a cowboy hat with matching stones. Her hair was down in soft curls around her face. She looked gorgeous. “Wow.” He stood.
Frank and Jim filmed and snapped pictures. His heart quickened, and he reached his hand out to her.
The PR girl was back and in action. She winked at the camera. “Kade is a big fan of dinner dancing cruises, so I found a country one, and we’re on it.”
Dread washed over him, but he covered it with a paparazzi-practiced smile. “Sounds perfect.”
Chapter 11
Priceless would be the word to describe the face Kade had on as they stood in line for entry onto the cruise. That’s right, just like any other ordinary Dallas person.
"I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” he said out of the side of his mouth as he tried to stand as tall as he could and see the front of the line.
“Pose.” She grabbed him and put her face by his as pictures were taken.
“Tell me the truth,” Kade said, as he kept her close to him, putting his arms around her waist and blatantly smelling her.
“You’re smelling me,” she said, her heart thrumming nicely.
Continuing to smell her, he let out a breath. “Smelling wasn’t forbidden in the contract. I think it’s a grey area.” Relaxing his hold, he smiled a dopey smile at her and scrunched up his nose. “I may not be able to fall in love, but I can smell all I want, boss.”
The camera continued filming and the camera got shots from different angles.
She kept on her nice face.
“No slapping.” He taunted her. “Remember, it makes you feel bad."
Irritation wove through her as she tried to shut out this attraction she had for him. It was so annoying. “How would you know that?” she whispered into his ear, making it look like she was being friendly.
He yanked her closer to him, smelling her hair. “Because I saw the look on your face. And I’d recognize regret anywhere.”
Turning in his arms, she took a step forward and glared, then put a nice face back on for the cameras. “Almost on board.” She called out happily.
He kept her hand in his and leaned over and whispered. “I’m getting real tired of the show. I want to talk to the piano girl.”
Butterflies erupted in her stomach, and she tried to pull her hand away from his, but he wouldn’t let her. She leaned back into him. “The piano girl isn’t real.” She yanked her hand free and turned away from him. What was happening to her? She could only think about how good he smelled and how she wanted to be near him. How had this day gotten out of hand?
The sun was setting, and pinks, oranges, and blues enveloped the sky. She tried to calm herself. It was fine. This date was almost over.
The feel of his hand in hers was making her all topsy-turvy. She could feel the calluses on his hand. Presumably from holding the football or throwing it so much. She smelled his cinnamon scent. What was that cologne? Stop thinking of that cologne!
The camera guys positioned them in different ways.
Right before getting on the boat, Kade pulled out his wallet and gave each of the guys a couple of hundred dollar bills. “Thanks for your work. Let’s call that a day, okay.”
“But …” She tried to protest and didn’t have time as the cruise guy took their tickets and Kade moved them forward.
“Can’t be holding up the line, now can we?” He flashed her a smile.
Immediately, the guy recognized Kade. “Oh, a special guest.” He looked like he was flummoxed. “Mr. Kincaid, let me get you a special table up top.”
“Great.” Kade said, pulling her forward and following the guy.
She was stupefied. “What are you doing? The best part was supposed to be you country dancing and eating shrimp from a buffet.” She blurted out, instantly regretting playing all of her cards.
A smug grin washed across his face. “Oh I know what you had planned, little missy. I know it. I think we got plenty of footage from our date earlier today and just now to make the fans happy." He pointed at her. “So I don’t have to eat at a buffet.”
Disappointment fell through her, but it was quickly replaced by laughter at the ridiculousness of this situation. She couldn’t hold back the giggles. It had been highly amusing to her that Kade had gotten extremely sick after a buffet in Vegas and he’d sworn he’d never eat at one again. “Remember, this isn’t for your fans. It’s for the children’s hospital, right?”
“Exactly.” He pointed at her. “Don’t twist my words. I give a lot to this community. I think they can live without footage of me eating at a dinner cruise.” He frowned as they followed the worker up the steps to a much nicer area with private tables.
She resigned herself to the fact that they would have a nice dinner. She followed him to a table. “I know. You gave one point seven million last year.”
“What?” He looked surprised as he sat.
“That’s what your estate donated to this community. It is impressive.” She slid into the table next to him.
A look of surprise, followed swiftly by satisfaction, moved across his face. “How do you know that?”
“It’s my job to know you.” She shook her head, still mourning the fact she wouldn’t be forcing him to dance. “Why didn’t you have the camera people come?” Now they were alone, and it felt like a real date.
The waiter appeared to ask them what drinks they wanted.
Kade scanned the ship. “Hey, do you care if we go stand by the side of the deck for a bit?”
Confused, she acquiesced.
He told the waiter they would be back.
They moved to the side. People were passing them by, some were looking over at him, but most didn’t even seem to notice him or her.
Making his way to the side of one of the lookouts, he took the binoculars and admired the view, ignoring her question.
Turning to the sky again, she saw the sun making its final descent. It was getting darker, and there were lights strung above them. It was a very romantic atmosphere.
Pulling back from the binoculars, he pointed to them. “You should look. You can still see it.”
Even though she was feeling annoyed, what could she do about it now? She thought they probably shouldn’t even be on the ship if there weren’t cameras.
“C’mon, take a look.”
Playing his game, she took the binoculars and looked. She knew what he was talking about. “I don’t see anything.”
He let out a laugh. “Whatever, there’s Titan Stadium right there, all lit up. The guys work on the fields some weekends, so they light it up at night. I love looking at it.”
It did look cool. Her heart raced as she realized she was really on a date with Kade Kincaid and none of it was for show. She met his eyes.
The blueness of them caught her off guard, and she thought of the city pool she’d grown up by and how she’d always want to go to the pool right when it opened to stand at the deep end and jump in before anyone else.
“What are you thinking?” He squinted at her and looked perplexed.
“What?” She blinked and moved back toward the side.
Taking her hand, he moved next to her. “What are you thinking?”
Looking down at their hands, she felt her breath catch. “You don’t need to pretend to hold my hand. There are no cameras.”
For a second, he didn’t say anything. Then
he laced their fingers together. “Maybe I want to.”
She tried to yank her hand back. “I told you—”
His hand squeezed a bit tighter. “Dang, woman. I know what you told me. I know what the contract says, but hand holding is not falling in love.” A slow smile filled his face. “Unless you can’t control yourself when I touch you?” His voice was sultry.
Butterflies fluttered in her gut, and she felt like he was challenging her. Like if she took her hand back, she would be admitting that he had an affect on her. She shrugged, keeping her hand in his. “You don’t have any affect on me.”
A sarcastic laugh came out of him. “Okay.”
They stood like that, and all she could think about was how wonderful it felt to hold his hand. He was the epitome of alpha male, and so what. Fine, he affected her.
“If you tell me what you were thinking about, I might give your hand back.”
This man was infuriating. “About the pool.” The words practically burst out of her. It sounded ridiculous. Like her brother used to tell her, she should keep most of her thoughts to herself.
“O-kay.”
Figuring she was already in it, she continued. “I always liked to be the first one to the city pool on a summer day so I could stare at the blue in the water without it being all messed up.” She let out a light laugh. “My brother used to tease me about it. He thought I was eccentric.” She let out another puff of laughter. Yes, Jimmy had thought she was more than eccentric. “Your eyes reminded me of the color of the pool.”
Kade didn’t respond.
Maybe it didn’t sound so strange. She didn’t look back at him, didn’t want to. Didn’t want to see the polite rejection in his eyes as he realized she had convoluted streams of thought most of the time.
“You don’t get along with your brother?” he asked lightly.
Thinking of his and Anthony’s, clearly tense, relationship she shook her head. “Oh no. It’s nothing like that.” Unable to stop herself, she smiled, thinking about Jimmy and the easy way he always teased her. “I adored my brother.” For some, stupid reason, all the emotion of losing him got bunched up in her throat, and she blinked.