by Taylor Hart
Mr. Kincaid glared at her, looking all bad-boy dashing with his rumpled hair. “I was confused the other night when you threatened to expose me as a sham.” He pointed at her and chuckled. “Then I actually thought you were brilliant, because why would you do it as part of a job?”
Part of her wanted to laugh because of the obvious cockiness of this man. The other part wanted to flip him off. “I told you I don’t date. I take as much pride in my work as anyone else. The other night was work. But a date would be blurring those lines.”
He put his hands on her desk and leaned in. “No. No, it’s something else.”
Felicity forced herself not to drink in his good looks. This man was what every other woman in America would want to date. “You don’t understand.”
“Why would you do it as part of your job? What are you making?” he whispered, and put a hand over the side of his mouth conspiratorially. “Eighty? A hundred?” He said the numbers flippantly. “Name your price.”
Anger surged within her at this cocky, snotty, larger-than-life football player. Strike that—at the dynasty. The oil money dynasty that Kade Kincaid represented. She was pretty sure he’d never wanted for much. He said “eighty, a hundred” like it was nothing. Like she hadn’t just spent four years investing in her education in order to earn that money. “No,” she said resolutely, crossing her arms. “I’m not going out with you.”
“Why?” He pushed forward, coming to lay his hands on the desk in front of her.
“I told you—”
“You don’t date.” He said the words like they were bitter pieces of salt. “C’mon, Ms. Song. I was at that auction. You worked it. You had the audience. You made them laugh. You …” He sputtered and flashed an admiring glance her way. “They liked you.”
She shrugged. “So what?” She knew how to be liked, knew what to say to the press. Yes, she was a good Vanna White if she wanted to be, but she didn’t want to be Vanna for him. Dating anyone wouldn’t do. When you had a heart condition no one could fix, you kept personal relationships at a distance.
Pulling back, he looked at the newspaper and pieces of glass on the desk. “Is it really because I broke your vase? Because I’ll replace it.”
As if all his wealth could replace her mother’s offering. “There are just some things that can’t be fixed.”
Looking confused, Kade turned to her bookshelves. He picked up different books on the shelf and thumbed through them, then put them back down noisily.
It was getting aggravating, having him here. “Mr. Kincaid, I will help you find a replacement date who is quite suitable. She will be every bit a Titans cheerleader and non-stalker Sheena that you’ve dated in the past.”
His dark, brooding eyes were back on her. Heaving out a sigh, he took his leather jacket off and tossed it across the arm of a chair. “No.”
She threw her hands up. “Mr. Kincaid—”
“Kade.” He waved away pretense. “Just Kade.” He didn’t get closer to the desk, but he put his feet shoulder-width apart and crossed his arms, appearing very stalwart, almost militant. As if he were a cop standing in front of a crime scene before he scoured the place for clues. “I need you to go on that date.”
“No,” she said defiantly.
“What if we worked out a contract between us? Just something your boss doesn’t even have to know about. We decide on a quick and tidy sum for the date. I mean, the date is a date, right? I’ll take you up in my helicopter and take you to dinner. We’ll let them record us, and Texas—heck, America will be happy. And no one has to know about the money.”
“I don’t want your money.” Her voice was ardent. No one understood, and she wouldn’t give them a chance to understand. She didn’t date.
Still keeping his arms crossed, he shook his head. “I didn’t want to do this.” He pulled out a sheet of paper from within his jacket and read, “Notice of foreclosure.”
She bolted to her feet. This was over the line. “How dare you!”
“I had my guys look into you.” He didn’t look a bit remorseful.
Of course he would. He was Kade Kincaid. He wasn’t an ordinary run-of-the-mill guy. Every part of her started to shake. “Get out.” She picked up the vase she’d been fixing and threw it across the room at him.
He dodged it, picking up his jacket, and left an envelope on the chair. “I’m giving you this, as a gesture.”
“I don’t ever want to see you again.”
He pointed to the envelope. “No strings attached.”
She waited for him to pull the door closed before letting out the breath she was holding. Her heart raced, and she sat back in her chair, trying to calm herself. She needed this job. She had to keep it together.
A thought struck her. Would Kade go talk to Mr. DaVinci? Would he complain? She knew Mr. DaVinci would never allow her to stay, not after this. Not with a guy with the name Kincaid getting upset.
Standing, she decided to go talk to Mr. DaVinci. She didn’t want to, fearing the worst, but she had to know what Kade had told him.
As she peeked into his office, she saw him wave her in, the phone still at his ear. He put up a finger for her to wait, then turned it off and gave her his attention. “Well, Mr. Kincaid says it’s all good. He’ll figure out something for the date, so you’re off the hook.”
“Okay.”
He waved her away. “Apparently, he has another someone in mind, so just help him transition with the press and you’re golden.”
She felt sucker punched. “I don’t understand.”
“I told you about the Senator’s daughter who needs some PR help.” He slipped her a file. “Please meet with the family tomorrow and let me know your plan to help clean up her image.”
Taking the file, she turned back to the lobby and went back to her office. She was mystified. It wasn’t like Kade Kincaid to give up so easily.
She eyed the envelope on her chair. Unable to stop herself, she ripped it open, then tugged out the piece of paper within and read what it was.
A deed to her mother’s house.
He’d bought it? She stumbled back, but kept reading.
The deed stated the home was now owned by her and her mother. She gripped the chair to steady herself.
There was a little yellow piece of paper taped to the deed. It had a phone number on it and the words “A gesture of my affection. Call or text anytime.”
Chapter 6
Kade stood in his weight room at seven the next morning, sipping his protein shake and thinking about Felicity. The woman was infuriating. He could still see the flash of anger in those brilliant green eyes as she’d chucked a piece of the vase across the room.
Putting down his shake, he went to his treadmill and hopped on. Normally, he liked to run outside, but today he had an appointment with his father down at his office. He had to be down there before nine, so this meant his run had to be cut short.
His father liked to randomly summon him to his office. Worry wove through him as he wondered if Anthony would be there. He wondered if this whole meeting was about Anthony and Sheena and how he needed to stay away from her. Pushing the treadmill up a couple notches, he went into a full-out sprint. Man, he needed the release of the run today.
Seconds later, the doorbell sounded.
Crap. Who could it be? It was too early for normal people. If it were Ace or X, they would just come through the backyard and straight to his gym. He pressed the off button and hopped off the treadmill.
If it was his brother again, it was time for a pounding. He raced up the stairs to the door. Annoyance turned to anger. If his brother wanted to fight, he needed to come inside. They could destroy the front room, but he wouldn’t listen to his brother defend that snake of a woman.
He got to the front entry and flung back the door. To his amazement, it wasn’t his brother. All the anger whooshed out of him. It was her.
Felicity Song.
She didn’t look how she’d looked at the auction, all satin
and pearls. Or at the PR office, all professional. No, today she wore a T-shirt with a grey hoodie, unzipped, but the hood pulled over her hair. The T-shirt was a Titans T-shirt, he noticed, which pleased him. She pulled off her sunglasses and held the envelope up. “What is wrong with you?”
Of course he recognized the envelope with the deed in it. He yanked his ear buds out. What the heck was she doing here? He thought she would call or text. Not come to his home. Taking a calming breath, he strove to speak casually. “Hey.”
She pulled her hoodie off, her red hair sparkling like an autumn mist. It reminded him of pumpkins and Thanksgiving and everything fall. He loved fall. It had been his mother’s favorite holiday. Wait, was he really thinking about the color of her hair and pumpkins?
She snapped her fingers in his face. “Hello!”
“Oh.” Had she said something?
She shook her head. “I don’t know how you found out about my momma’s house, but you can’t just buy people off.”
“I’m sorry. Look …” He trailed off, going quiet before starting again. “The morning of the auction, my brother came over.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
“You obviously realize my brother and I don’t get along, but Sheena has somehow deceived him into thinking I’m pursuing her. He threatened me and said I’d better stay away from her.” He clenched a fist, feeling raw and vulnerable himself. “At the auction, I knew I couldn’t let her buy me. Things with my brother … let’s just say they’re more than tense, and Sheena buying me would have made it worse.”
Concern flashed across her face. “I haven’t read anywhere that Anthony and Sheena are dating.”
He shrugged. “The woman is toxic.”
“Yeah, she is. Did a pretty number on Roman and Sam.”
“Exactly.”
She kneaded the side of her right eye. “I guess everyone has family problems, don’t we?”
Finding it a bit comforting to share this with her, he wondered even more about her father and the fact her mother was about to lose her home. What other family problems did this woman have?
Their eyes locked, and in hers he saw a fire flare up, then cool. “I don’t want to take your offer, but the fact is my momma needs that house, and it will be my fault if she loses it.”
She thought it was her fault? What had she done, gambled away the family fortune? “Well, the house isn’t tied to a date,” he said, sincere but stilted. “It was—”
“A gesture, Kincaid?” she spat out, disbelief in her eyes. “Nothing is free.”
They both stared at each other, stuck in a stalemate. “Then I guess you’ll do the date,” he challenged after a bit, feeling like he wanted to win the play today.
“That’s what I’m here to discuss. I have a couple of conditions.”
The win didn’t feel as good as he thought it would, but he would still count it. “O-kay.”
“First, I’m planning the date. We do it my way. You don’t get to look over the date beforehand. You don’t get to give suggestions. You don’t get a say, Mr. Kincaid. We go out, start at breakfast, and we’re done at midnight.”
“Fine,” he said. It didn’t seem like a problem to him.
She gave him a skeptical look. “You don’t have anything you want to nix?”
“Sweetheart, haven’t you heard? I live in Olympus. There’s nothing you can throw at me that I won’t be able to handle.”
“Fine. And second …” she said, breaking eye contact with him and pulling out an envelope and a pen from her pocket. She pursed her lips. “We don’t see each other socially after the date. We don’t text, call, or have any involvement with each other’s lives in any social way.”
“Fine,” he agreed, thinking how the press would eat up this date with the beautiful redhead.
“Last,” she said, her voice severe, but she hesitated.
“Yes …?”
“You don’t fall in love with me.”
The demand sank in, and he had to stop himself from bursting into laughter. Did she think he would fall in love with her? He was pretty sure he could control himself, thank you very much. It all felt so unreal to him that she would be here demanding he not fall in love with her after one date. He put on a humble expression and winked at her. “I’ll do my best.”
Her features smoothed out. “I had my attorney write up an agreement. Please sign on the line that you get no say in the date, you will have no contact with me after the date, and you will not fall in love with me.”
This girl was crazy. He and X and Ace always joked some women had crazy behind the eyes. This was clearly that woman. “Fine.” He took the pen she held out and grabbed the paper. Putting it on his leg, he signed it. “Sounds good.”
Appearing satisfied, she took the paper back and then held his gaze. “I’ll be at your home this Saturday at eight a.m. sharp. I’ll have a camera guy and a photographer. You’ll be driving.”
Kade couldn’t stop a wide grin from washing over his face. He covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
“What?” she demanded, looking like a middle school aide busting the kids for running in the halls.
“There’s only one problem,” he said as seriously as he could.
The center of her brow creased, and her lips turned down. “What?”
A chuckle slipped through his fingers. “What if I’m already head over heels in love with you?”
Felicity glared at him. “He’s a funny man.” She turned and quickly descended the steps.
“Wait, don’t leave me, Juliet!” he said, laughing.
She flipped the bird at him, not even turning around.
“See you Saturday!” he called out, and he realized this was the first time he’d looked forward to a date in a long, long time.
Chapter 7
Felicity sat in her car in front of Kade’s semi-mansion a week later, her heart racing. The man had laughed at her when she’d suggested he could fall in love with her. She burned with humiliation. All week, as she’d researched him, she’d grown more and more embarrassed she’d actually put that in a contract for Kade Kincaid. What had she been thinking? She was an idiot.
Anticipation coursed through her. Maybe it was part shame and part pride, but she’d used all of her research on the man to strategically make this a horrible date for him. At least she had that for today; he would be on camera, putting on a show for the media and having to fake it. Today, Zeus would get a dose of mortality.
She couldn’t wait. There was a camera guy and a photographer in the car behind her.
Getting out of her car, she strode toward the mansion. She didn’t even get to the door before he opened it. She had texted him yesterday and told him to wear workout gear in the morning. Living up to his Greek name, he looked godlike in a red Under Armour T-shirt, white gym shorts, and black tennis shoes. Silver sunglasses were perched on his nose, and a wide grin spread across his face. “Hey.”
Frank, the photographer, was following her. She’d told him to capture the day for the public and to make it good. Jim, the camera guy, was behind her, recording everything.
So she played the part. It wasn’t hard. She’d loved theater in high school and had even been the lead in Our Town. By the time she got to college, she was determined to focus on her studies, so she’d let it go. She was ready for this part, though, had practiced all week in her mind.
“Hey.” Putting on her warmest smile, she embraced him and kissed the side of his cheek.
He held her, seeming stunned.
“Are you ready?” She grinned up at him.
He tipped his sunglasses down and stared into her eyes deeply for a moment, then shook his head and cracked a smile. “Baby, I was born ready.”
Taking his hand, she laughed as she pulled him to his Jeep in the driveway. “You’re gonna love it!”
It’d taken a lot to discover what he might actually hate in a date, but not too much for her to figure out. Even though the guy was an adrenaline j
unkie, he’d never done one thing.
He held the passenger door for her, and she let the guys in first so they could sit in the back. She hopped into the Jeep and giggled for the camera. “Head to the airport.”
Kade only hesitated briefly before getting into the Jeep and taking off. “I thought you might choose a helicopter ride. Honestly, I’m glad you did. I love flying.”
The wind blew her hair, and she put her hand on his. She hid a smile at his confusion, confident she was putting on a great act. “I just wanted to make this the most memorable day.” Turning over her shoulder, she winked into the camera.
Kade noticed what she was doing, put on his own fake smile, and waved back to the camera too.
“Going to be the best day ever!” She threw up her hands and acted all excited.
Part of researching a guy was knowing his likes and dislikes. According to the last five years of dating history, he liked blondes or redheads. He didn’t deviate too much from that. He especially liked the cheerleaders, which made her want to gag. The interesting part was he had never been engaged or popped the question to anyone.
When she turned on the radio and blasted country western music, he grinned. “Hey, my favorite music.”
“Really? That’s crazy, mine too.” She was just doing what he wanted. Being whatever he needed her to be. She jammed out and acted all fun, the exact kind of person he would like. She offered him a piece of bubble gum, and he laughed and took some. She blew bubbles and popped them. They listened to Texas Waters and Montana Crew songs.
By the time they got to the airport, he seemed relaxed and happy. “Should I just go to the helicopter port?”
She nodded. He drove through security, and they let him right in since she’d notified them ahead of time.
When they got close to the helicopters, she redirected him. “No, go that way.”
Hesitating only briefly, he followed her instruction.
She turned for the camera. “America—this is something you are going to get to see for the first time.”
He slowed the car as they approached a single small plane, and she could see him tense in realization. “No.”
