When Felicity showed up to Kade’s house, she tried to calm her shakiness. Her mother had been ecstatic she was going away with Kade, had even helped her pack. Which was odd because her mother had never encouraged her to date guys.

“Why do you like him so much?” Felicity had asked grumpily.

Her mother had gently touched her face. “Because he knows you, all about you, and the way he looks at you …” she’d broken off and sighed. “That boy loves you.”

She wanted to argue, but she didn’t. She climbed the steps to his door, continuing to battle the feeling that she shouldn’t lead him on. She’d told him not to fall for her, but man, that kiss earlier in the day was unlike any kiss she’d ever had before with a man. Not that she had that much experience in her short twenty-four years. After all, she’d made an art of keeping men at a distance.

The door flew open before she had a chance to ring the bell. With no warning, Kade grabbed her and pulled her into another kiss.

She had no chance to do anything but drop her bag and let herself be kissed by him. Not the slow kisses from earlier. No, these kisses were fast and eager, mixed with gentle kisses around her face.

She giggled.

He laughed and finished with a final kiss on the lips.

She held him tightly, letting herself relish being in his arms.

“I missed you. Are you ready for an adventure?”

Feeling her heart clutch, she searched those blue eyes. “I guess we’re past the blackmail friendship.” She winked. “So yeah, let’s go.”

He winked back and kissed her again, smothering her with kisses down her neck. “Hey, I’ll still wear the friendship necklace if you want.” He kissed her neck one last time.

She just laughed in response.

Without preamble, he picked up her bag and grabbed her hand, pulling her through the house. She heard it before she saw it. The chopper was firing up. So a little trip to see grandma wasn’t such a little trip at all.

He wasn’t stopping, just kept pulling her, getting to the back door and dropping her hand before pulling her out. “Are you ready to fly?”

He looked the complete opposite from how he’d looked the other day when they’d gone skydiving: totally ecstatic.

“Kade, I’m nervous!” She admitted as they got to the helo.

He turned to her and grinned, throwing the bags to someone in the back when they got to the chopper, and yanking open the front door for her. “You’re the adrenaline junky! I thought you’d go crazy for this!”

The wind was making his hair swoosh all over and hers too. “You’re crazy!” She yelled back, loving being with him way too much.

He grinned and did a crazy face, pointing to the passenger seat. “Get in!”

She laughingly complied.

He put a headset on her then dashed around the helicopter and shook hands with the guy who had started it.

Kade was talking with the guy about the flight plan.

Was this for real? Was she actually going to fly on a helicopter with Kade piloting it?

She’d seen him doing this on clips, but this was insane.

He got in the pilot seat and began punching buttons. “You ready?” He turned to her.

“This will take us to your grandma’s house?” She smiled and let out giggles of anticipation, but held tightly to the arms of the chair, as if they would save her if it all went wrong.

Letting out a whoop of a holler Kade said, “This is the only way to access Grandma’s house!”

The helicopter tugged off the ground with a jolt and then went forward and up. He flashed a happy smile at her as he zoomed into the sky. She marveled at how, at this moment, he looked exactly as he did on the big screen during games. Completely competent and intent on what he was doing.

She was horrible with direction and didn’t know where exactly they were going, but she saw that they were flying over Houston and then Galveston.

“Where does your grandma live?” She half spoke, half shouted into the speaker.

“You’ll see, Song. Be patient.” He winked at her before turning all of his focus to flying.

Less than an hour from when they had taken off, they were descending down to what looked like an island. Felicity was astounded even more that the island had what looked to be a castle on it. He landed on a strip next to the castle and turned off the chopper.

Two guys came out of the castle and moved toward them.

Kade smiled at her, taking off his headset. “What do you think?”

Dumbfounded, she shook her head. “I think I’m way out of my league."

Reaching over, he gently tugged off her headset and scoffed. “Whatever, it’s time to play on Mt. Olympus.”

A dumb grin washed over her face, and she pushed his shoulder, not sure if she liked how he was using her references to the gods as his own now. “So you really do think you’re Zeus?” She hollered as he hopped out of the helicopter then came to her side and opened the door to help her out.

“Well, if you want me to be.” He gently picked up a strand of her hair.

She let out a laugh. “How come I feel like you’ve managed me when I’m the one who’s supposed to be handling you?”

Gently, he leaned forward, kissing her.

She loved the feel of him, the smell of him. She couldn’t get enough of him and would be lying if she said she didn’t love the way he so clearly adored her.

He grinned and pulled back. “You ready for the tour?”

She nodded.

They got out and started walking toward the grand structure hand in hand.

“Has your family always owned this?” She looked around in wonder.

“Grandma has lived here since I was little." He shrugged. “My mother’s mother. She’s tough, introverted, never thought my father was good enough for mother. I think that’s partly why dad had to become a billionaire—to prove to himself and grandmother he was good enough.”

She was overwhelmed by the massiveness of the walls and this whole situation. “How does the press not know about this?"

Kade shrugged. “Oh, they do. Some. My father, as you know, works hard to control our images and to keep certain things private. We’ve never done stories from here or anything."

When they got to the very old doors, two men pulled them open. He expected it to be antiquated and was surprised to see it was new and kept up. Yes, it felt English old style, but this courtyard had a fountain and flowers and wasn’t too big.

They walked on cobblestone.

"This was owned by royalty, of course. It was taken back in possession by the Spaniards when they were colonizing the new world.” Kade explained the history comfortably. “About a hundred years ago, my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side won it in a round of cards with some pirates. My grandfather came here and revived it. He was a pirate too."

“Are you making this up?”

He laughed and put his arm around her. “Nope.”

She marveled at the story, and the scenery, unable to believe how the flowers smelled, how she felt like she was in a fairy tale.

Kade pointed to one half of the castle. “That wing is in total disrepair, and we don’t use it.” He kept walking through another door with ivy around it and roses into the castle.

Coats of armor decorated the walls. She had never been to Europe, but she’d watched plenty of documentaries on castles. This place was textbook.

Kade grinned and took her to a wall with many old-looking things on it. “This is my family's crest.” It was a cross with a circle around it and a rose at the top. “My grandfather had to sell a lot of the Spanish treasure to keep this place going, but he never sold the island or any of the really important stuff.” Kade grinned at her.

She was completely shocked. “Earlier today I started to feel like maybe Kade Kincaid is a normal guy. Then he helicopters me off to an island and explains his family owns it and a castle. To top it off, it was built with pirate money, and by the way, here’s the family crest."

Lifting a shoulder, it looked like he was trying to be humble. “I don’t like to oversell."

Smarting, she wondered what Kade’s childhood must have been like. Insane. Tutors, trips all over the world. A castle.

He took her hand. “I’m just me.”

Without thinking, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

Only, she couldn’t pull back because his arms were around her, and his lips were on hers, again.

Butterflies invaded her stomach, and she held onto Kade, giving him her lips. Getting lost in his touch, his scent, the way his facial hair was softer than she had imagined.

He pulled back and grinned. “Dang, Song, you just can’t stay away from me.”

Pushing him, she laughed. He quickly pulled her back in, surprising her by dipping her back. It was like a scene at the end of a dance, and they were both laughing as he pulled her up.

When they parted, she searched his face, feeling so much for this man. “You really are, Prince Charming, with a castle and everything.” Her voice was wistful.

He shook his head. “I’m whatever you want me to be, Song.” He kissed her gently.

She wasn’t sure how long they had been making out before he ripped away from her and guided her hand down the hall. “We have to get you through the castle.”

They began walking down a hall with amazing art on the walls featuring different people. He started pointing. "My great-great-grandfather."

She stopped and searched the walls. The man was blond.

"I thought he was a Spaniard."

Kade grinned. “Yep.” He pointed to the woman next to him. A redhead.

Her heart nearly stopped.

Kade squeezed her hand. “Don’t read into it, Song. Keep walking." He went down the family tree and got to his dad and his mother, who was a brunette. She was surprised. She wanted to reach out and touch the portrait. Her eyes were just like Kade’s, deep blue pools. Felicity smiled.

“What?” he asked, as she studied his mother.

She glanced at him and then smiled. “You have the same eyes. She’s beautiful."

Kade turned to her. “She is beautiful.”

There was a portrait of his father in the same majestic style as the rest of the castle pictures. It didn’t boast the usual Texas gallon hat that the press constantly showed him wearing or the mustache.

Kade let out a light laugh. “No Texas belt buckle. He always said he wants to add it someday." He tugged her along until they were finally at a large ornate door. “Are you ready?"

“No.”

He laughed and pushed the door open to a bedroom, which was more modern than the hallways. It was still in the same style, but the carpet was plush. There was more art on the walls, and there were very expensive looking tables and mirrors and a humongous canopy bed.

“Kade.” The woman lying on the bed smiled up at them. She wasn’t as old as Felicity would have imagined. Her face was soft. Kind. She reached her hand out, and he took it gently. He leaned in and kissed the side of her cheek.

“Grandma."

She held her his hand, and Felicity saw tears fall down her cheeks.

Kade pulled back and grinned and turned to her. “This is Felicity Song, a girl I’m dating."

If his grandmother hadn’t been there, she would have smacked him in the shoulder. Part of her was in denial. Considering all the kissing though, she couldn’t really deny it. Yeah, they were dating.

His grandmother’s face lit up, and she put her hand out to Felicity. Felicity noted its fragility, but when she touched it, it felt so soft. It was like one of those old, rare books that should be kept in libraries and only handled in a controlled temperature environment with the right bulbs. Her hand felt like it could go to ashes in seconds.

“Hello. Dear.” She looked like every bit of speaking took all the strength she had. She smiled again and swallowed painfully. “You’re the first girl he’s brought here, dearie. You must be special."

Felicity liked the sound of that.

Suddenly, his grandmother’s hand began to shake, and she carefully pulled it back, keeping her smile pasted on her face. “So nice to meet you.”

Kade began talking to her, telling her things going on with football. “Would you believe X and Ace are actually dating? They both found girls at that bachelor auction I told you about last time."

“Looks like you did too,” she said.

Without being asked to, Felicity backed up. “Uh, Kade, would you mind if I use the restroom?"

He came to her. “I’ll show you.”

“No.” She waved him over. “Go visit with her. Just tell me where.”

He pointed down the hall. "Go where we came from and turn right. Afterwards, you can go toward the ocean and you’ll find the kitchen. I’ll meet you back there."

The bathroom surprised her by being very modern. When she left, she went toward the ocean and turned south, smelling the kitchen before she actually saw it. The scent was heavenly. When she entered, it shocked her to see a somewhat elderly man working.

He introduced himself as Henry, the caretaker of the mistress, the cook, and whatever other role was necessary.

She felt immediately at ease with him, and only a couple of minutes passed before Kade walked in.

It took her by surprise when he hugged Henry.

Henry laughed lightly, and as they pulled back, he gently touched Kade’s cheek. “How are ya, young chap?”

With a sly grin, Kade motioned to Felicity. “I’m great.”

Henry let out a laugh. “You two go get dressed for dinner.”

* * *

When Kade knocked on her door later, she was nervous. She’d only brought one nice, formal dress, a swimsuit, and some play clothes as she’d been directed.

Kade wore a white shirt that made him look even more tan. He wore brown, casual pants and clean white shoes.

It amused her that he always seemed to look like a model from a magazine. His facial hair was perfect. Those eyes, sharp and clear, focused on her now.

“Hi.”

His eyes swept up and down her, taking in the green dress.

“It sets off your eyes beautifully.” He took her hand, and together, they walked down the ornate hallway.

“I can’t tell if I’m in an episode of Downton Abbey or if it's a Beauty and the Beast kind of thing."

His eyes twinkled, and they moved out into the courtyard of the castle then down a deck path out to a pier on the ocean. It was all lit up by tiki torches.

“Do you like the beast?”

Nervous flutters filled her. “I like what the beast turns into,” she said immediately, without thinking.

A grin swept over his features, and he looked vulnerable. “Maybe you could like what I could turn into.”

They got to the beautifully set table with a yellow tablecloth and fine place settings. She met his gaze, and her heart beat wildly. It was so fast she wondered if she would faint, just being near him.

The moment went sticky and slow, and she didn’t know how she’d ended up here, on a private island. With the man himself who she’d been pretty sure she would definitely hate forever after their first meeting.

Carefully, slowly, he bent and brushed his lips to hers. “That’s for coming tonight. I would have been, well, I wouldn’t have come if you hadn’t come tonight.”

Her heart beat wildly again.

Poignantly, he reached down and very gentlemanly pulled her chair out for her.

Taking a seat, she let him tuck her in.

As he sat, one of the guys who had been on the helicopter with them appeared and held a tray of food. Kade waved a hand, signaling for him to put the food on the plates. “Thank you, Hale.”

She watched while fish, rice, veggies, and a side dish of a chocolate mousse was put on the table, and then ‘Hale’ was gone in a flash.

She shook her head.

“What?” He grabbed her hand.

She let out a light laugh. “Is this the way life has always been for you, Kade?"

A slight smile came to his lips. “You know it hasn’t. We lived in the suburbs of Dallas until my junior year of high school.”

It was true. She knew most of his history, but she had missed this.

“But you summered here?” she asked.

He looked embarrassed. He nodded. “When we weren’t at football camps, my brother and I were here.” He pointed to an outbuilding. “Tomorrow, if you’re game, we’ll do some snorkeling, paddle boarding, and sand castle building. Anything you want.”

Letting out another giggle, she shook her head. “Life as the rich and famous, huh?”

His gaze held hers. “No, life with a beautiful woman who I want to be part of my life, even though she’s not sure she wants that yet.”

Part of her wanted to argue that wasn’t possible, and part of her only wanted it to be possible.

He put his hand over hers. “It’s okay, Felicity.”

Feeling more lost than she’d ever felt, she stared at their hands and shook her head. “This has to be a fairy tale because this isn’t my life.”

He grinned back at her. “For me too, this is the first time I’ve ever felt like I might want the role of Prince Charming.”