When Kennedy woke, it was to a light knock at her door. Jolting to a sitting position, she remembered the previous day and night and spraining her ankle.

“Are you awake? It’s ten-thirty, sleepyhead, and I made breakfast for you this morning.”

A nervous flutter filled her gut. That tended to happen when Kyle was near. “Come in.” She pushed her hands down her hair, knowing it was probably a wreck since she’d slept on it wet.

The door opened, and Kyle came in. The tray he carried held two plates of waffles and eggs and bacon.

Kennedy’s stomach growled, and she smiled at him. “I’m starving.”

Good-naturedly, Kyle moved to the table and put the food down. “Would you be good with a move to the table?”

“Yes,” she said as she started to stand.

Kyle rushed next to her, looking all showered and fresh in a red Under Armour T-shirt and shorts. “I’ll carry you again.”

“No,” she said forcefully. “But I will lean on you.” She stood on her good foot, and he helped her limp to the table. Any pressure on her injured foot caused immediate pain.

“I brought ice up too,” Kyle said as he helped situate her and grabbed another chair to prop her foot. Without asking, he did the bath towel, ice, and sock thing. “There,” he said, turning to her and looking pleased with himself.

It irritated her how much she liked having him help her. “Thank you.”

He cocked an eyebrow as sat at the table. “I know it’s hard for you to let me help you, so I’ll just say you’re welcome, and I won’t be at all smug about it.”

Unable to not smile at him, she didn’t hesitate to bow her head and listen to him pray this morning over the food.

When he was finished, she dove into the food. “This looks so good,” she said, meaning it. Then she blinked, feeling foolish because she thought about how he did treat her like a princess.

Kyle ate for a bit, but stopped when he noticed she wasn’t eating. “What’s wrong?”

“I just can’t believe I’m sitting here, at your house in Jackson, having brunch with you.”

His lip tugged up. “Why?”

She shrugged. “Because I’m just a college kid who wanted to be on the radio.” Just saying the words felt silly.

“That’s not what I see.” He put his fork down and leaned over the table, propping his elbows and tucking his hands beneath his chin.

It made her nervous, how intense he could be. “What do you see?”

Hesitating, he studied her from top to bottom, a smile playing at his lips when he looked at her hair.

Self-consciously, she put her hands to her head. “I cannot believe I’m sitting here with bedhead to boot.”

He laughed. “I like it.”

She cringed. “I’m going to go shower.”

“No.” He reached out his hand to her. “Stay, eat. I’m not done telling you what I see.”

She relented. “Fine. But I want to hear about you too this time.”

His brow furrowed, but he nodded. “Okay.” His eyes held hers. “I see a woman who has gone through hard things, but keeps figuring it out. I see a woman who doesn’t realize how beautiful she is. I see a woman who loves to teach kids to surf because it makes her feel closer to her parents.”

She hadn’t realized it, but he was right.

He winked at her.

She frowned. “Again, cocky and smug, not a good combination.”

He laughed, and the sound flooded her with warmth. “I see goodness. I see light. I see everything working out for you, Ms. Dawson, maybe even a handsome man in your future.”

She laughed and tugged her hand back. “Really?” The chemistry between them heightened.

His lip tugged up. “Maybe.”

“Maybe I want to be with this handsome man if he tells me about himself.”

Looking disconcerted, Kyle pulled back and sucked in a breath. “You’re really going to make me tell you about that crap?”

Even more intrigued by his defensiveness, she nodded. “I want to know you.”

He looked out the window, closed his eyes, and raked a hand down his face. “Fine. Here’s the CliffsNotes version. My mom and dad were sixteen when they had me. They didn’t get married. Until I was five, I lived in Florida with my mother. But she got married, and the guy didn’t want me. So she took me to my dad’s place in Oregon.” He took in another breath. “I remember not really knowing why my mom left me, but it was fine at first. Then there were always people over, and they would snort things off the table. It was always so loud. I remember there wasn’t any food. Lots of times, I would come home, and I would just eat ketchup.”

Kennedy watched as he spoke, her heart aching for him.

Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose. “One day, I came home from school, and my dad wasn’t there. There was no food, but he left five dollars so I could go to the gas station and get something. So I did. I rode my bike. On the way back, I fell off my bike and broke my hand.” He held up his hand. “I walked back to the apartment. When I arrived, I was crying. I told my dad, and he took me to the hospital. But—” He blinked. “—he never came back.”

“What?” Kennedy was aghast. “What do you mean, he never came back?”

“He left me at the hospital. To this day, I don’t know why. Maybe because he couldn’t pay the bills. Maybe … he just didn’t want me.” His shoulders twitched in a shrug. “Finally, my mom showed up and took me back to Florida. I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t good there either. Got hit a lot by my new stepdad. So when I was probably about ten, I was placed in foster care.” He looked at her. “It wasn’t pleasant there either. By the time I was fifteen, I pretty much knew how to game the system. Be there, but not be there. I was with a family who just wanted a paycheck, so I kinda lived there, kinda didn’t.”

Kennedy was shocked. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to talk about it. He looked resigned.

Kyle looked out the window, avoiding her gaze.

Gently, she took his hand. “Kyle.”

“I don’t need sympathy.” He met her eyes.

She blinked, trying to hide her emotion.

“It’s fine. I mean, looking back, I knew I had to make my own way. There was nothing and nobody who was going to figure things out for me.” He grunted. “And when I joined the SEALs, I knew there was no looking back. The SEALs became my family. So when you ask why I took Scar’s offer to be the head of the Sparring for Vets program, well, the easy answer was there was no question. He was a SEAL brother, and he was asking for help, and it is for all vets. I like that. So it’s all worth the trouble.” Kyle frowned, and his voice softened. “Please don’t cry, Kennedy.”

The thing was, she hadn’t even noticed the tears were on her face. Once he mentioned it, she put her arms out to him. “I want to hug you.”

He shook his head.

“Please.” She couldn’t stop more tears.

Finally, Kyle moved to hug her, awkwardly kneeling on the floor in front of her.

She pulled him to her, holding the man.

He rested his head on her chest, and they held each other.

Kennedy felt truly humbled by this strong, gentle man who had overcome so much. And she was proud of him. Proud of the fact he had overcome and he’d become a SEAL and he’d built a company.

He pulled back, and she saw the tears on his face. “I told you we should have left the Prince Charming castle story in place.”

“No,” she said, sputtering. “You’re amazing, Kyle Bones. You really are a prince and you deserve everything you’ve worked for.”

He let out a long breath. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do.” Slowly, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. “I like the real story. I like real. A bit broken.”

The side of his lip turned up. “You do?”

Warmth filled her, along with something else. Something much more than simple physical attraction for this man. “I do.”

He swallowed. “So, this might be more than just like between us?”

It stunned her to realize that this man was nervous. Feeling all gooey inside, she smiled and pushed her hand through his soft blond hair. “I think it might be.”

He leaned in and she met him halfway. Their lips touched and the kiss was slow and gentle, a healing kiss. She trailed kisses on his cheeks and then back to his lips.

He held her tighter. “I guess if I get rewarded like this, I shouldn’t fight telling my secrets so much.”

She smiled and kissed him again. This time, the kiss would have swept her off her feet if she hadn’t already been sitting.

Finally, she pulled back and sucked in a breath. “Must. Have. Air.”

He laughed. Then his hand trailed down to her ankle. “How is it?”

“It’s fine. I mean, I can’t really walk on it, but it’s fine.”

“Is it okay enough to go for a motorcycle ride?”

Giddiness surged through her. “Oh, yeah!”