by Taylor Hart
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 McDonald’s, 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 with 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.”
She sat, but it didn’t look like she had a choice. Her fingers settled 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 watched as she got 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 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 fanboy.
All the walls sprang back up, 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?
“I better finish getting dressed for the dinner date.” She stood and retreated across the music room. “We have to get going. I totally lost track of time.”
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 excuses for seeing her again. 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, 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 said.
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 loomed 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 sniffing her.
“You’re smelling me,” she said, her heart thrumming nicely.
“Smelling wasn’t forbidden in the contract. I think it’s a grey area.” Relaxing his hold, he cracked 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 took shots from different angles. Felicity kept her expression casual.
“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. “How would you know that?” she whispered into his ear, making it look like she was being friendly.
He drew 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, 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. “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 had made 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 camera guys a couple of hundred-dollar bills. “Thanks for your work. Let’s call that a day, okay?”
“But …” She tried to protest 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.
The cruise guy recognized Kade. “Oh, a special guest.” He looked flummoxed. “Mr. Kincaid, let me get you a special table up top.”
“Great,” Kade said, pulling her forward and following the guy.
“What are you doing? The bes
t part was supposed to be you country dancing and eating shrimp from a buffet,” she blurted out, regretting playing all of her cards even as she said it.
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, thinking of how Kade had gotten extremely sick after a buffet in Vegas and swore 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. “I know. You gave one point seven million last year.”
“What?” He looked surprised as he sat at their table.
“That’s what your estate donated to this community. It is impressive.” She slid in next to him.
“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?” He told the waiter they would be back. Felicity moved past her confusion and followed him.
They moved to the side. Some of the passersby were looking over at him, but most didn’t even seem to notice them.
Making his way to the side of one of the lookouts, Kade took the binoculars and admired the view, ignoring her unspoken question.
Felicity watched as the sun made its final descent. It was getting darker, and there were lights strung above them. It was a very romantic atmosphere.
Kade offered her the binoculars. “You should look. You can still see it.”
Even though she was feeling annoyed, what could she do about it now? 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, knowing full well what was there. “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.
Their deep blue color caught her off guard, and she thought of the city pool she’d grown up by and how she’d 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?”
Felicity looked down at their hands, feeling her breath catch. “You don’t need to pretend to hold my hand. There are no cameras.”
He laced their fingers together. “Maybe I want to.”
She tried to yank her hand back. “I told you—”
“Dang, woman. I know what you told me. I know what the contract says, but hand-holding is not falling in love. 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 effect on her. She shrugged, keeping her hand in his. “You don’t have any effect 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.”
“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. My brother used to tease me about it. He thought I was eccentric.” She let out a light laught. “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 clearly tense relationship with Anthony, 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.” All the emotion of losing him got bunched up in her throat, and she blinked.
“Are you okay?”
Commanding herself to be a normal person, she nodded and thought about jumping out of the airplane to distract herself.
He squeezed her hand. “Something you’re not telling me, Smalls.”
For a beat, she didn’t say anything. He was patient, though, and she relented. “My brother was killed in Iraq two years ago.” The relief of admitting it staggered her. She never spoke of Jimmy.
Kade seemed frozen.
“He called me eccentric because I read all the time and talked to him about all these ideas floating in my mind.” She wiped away a tear. “I called him jughead because he walked around without his shirt on and flexed for people every chance he got. And he would braid my hair as I sat at the piano playing. Isn’t that weird?” Pain and joy filled her as she spoke of her brother. “He used to say, ‘A real man braids.’” It felt natural to talk to Kade about this. Almost like this could be a real date. She frowned, because it wasn’t real.
Kade cleared his throat. “Your brother sounds like he’d be a fun guy to hang with,” he said quietly.
She nodded. “He was.”
For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Kade pulled his hand back from hers, still holding it loosely while tracing the back of it with his other hand. The gesture felt too intimate, but she couldn’t bring herself to demand it back. “When I saw you playing the piano today,” he said, “I could swear you were ethereal, a pixie from a fairyland. Or an angel.”
She wondered again who this man was. He was showing all sorts of facets today. “You’re not like the Kade Kincaid in the press.”
He reared back with a laugh, putting his hand over his stomach as he doubled over.
“What?” Annoyance rippled through her. What was he laughing at?
He didn’t get to explain because a couple had moved over to them. “Mr. Kincaid, could I have a picture with you?”
Kade stopped laughing and nodded at the couple. Before she knew what had happened, a whole crowd of guests were lining up to get selfies with Kade.
It struck her again giving he was with his time. She hadn’t been in PR long, but she knew a lot of people didn’t want to stand around doing selfies with the general public. Yet Kade seemed like he had all the time in the world, just as he had at McDonald’s earlier that day.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, the ship captain announced drinks and appetizers in the main hall. The crowd finally dispersed, and she was grateful. Which was funny. Why should she care if they spent the whole cruise in a photo session posing with people?
&n
bsp; The rest of the people began trickling into the hall, but Kade’s hand took hers again, holding her back. “Do you mind if we just enjoy it out here for a bit?”
The ship was already going around the lake, and it felt heavenly. She felt released from having to put on a show all the time for the cameras. “Sure.” She followed him to the front of the ship, where there was more space to sit.
They sat and stared out at the city lights. He squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry I laughed so hard about how I’m not what you thought I’d be, but …” He exhaled a breath and closed his eyes for a second. “The press. I feel like I’ve spent my whole life trying to make the press happy. To not rock the boat. It’s just so …”
“Empty,” she said.
He turned to her. “Explain.”
She shook her head. Why was she even wasting her time doing this? “No, sorry.”
“Just spit out what you were going to say.”
“Fine.” She saw he had that determined look again. “I spent four years studying communications. Studying a field that by its nature lends itself to working at PR firms, where we can ‘manage’ people’s appearances.”
“Like mine.”
“I’ve just been wondering why I did it. Why do I want to protect this image, something that’s not even real?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
She sighed.
“So why do you?”
“What?”
“Why are you doing it?”
This left her with a stickiness in her throat, and she let out a laugh. “Obviously to pay the bills.” She tried to pull back her hand.
He released it. “Not good enough.”
This floored her. “What? Hey, just because you are a billionaire who has the luxury of deciding to buy a house outright as a ‘gesture’ for a date, doesn’t mean the rest of us live that kind of charmed life.”
He didn’t respond right away. “Lots of people aren’t billionaires, and they don’t do PR. You can change, right? You can rework your strategy. You can change your plays, pick a new job.”
