Kade had gone in first, grateful the crowd was consumed by Izzy Knight buying X, so no one had taken notice he wasn’t there.

Felicity had stayed at the back of the room next to the door.

It was only a few moments later when America Starr called him to the stage. “And now, the Texas Titans’ quarterback, the part of the Triple Threat known as Zeus, please come forward!"

The spotlight found him, and he quickly went to the stage, a big, stupid grin on his face. He was going to give the folks a show. For one, it’s what he did. The dog and pony show. Second, he believed in helping the children’s hospital, even though it wasn’t his preference to auction himself off.

He turned and waved to the crowd as he moved next to her. “Thanks for having me, Ms. Starr.”

“Ah, I love Texan accents.” America said, putting her hand to her chest and sighing dramatically. “Especially from a Greek god.” She reached out and dramatically squeezed Kade’s bicep.

The whole room laughed.

America turned to the crowd. “Shall we start the auction off at one hundred grand? C'mon, it’s Zeus! God of the sky and thunder!”

The crowd clapped and he could hear Ace and X hollering out to him.

He saw someone in the back raise their hand to accept the bid.

America acknowledged the bid with a point and a nod. “Great, for fun, let’s go up fifty. One hundred fifty grand, ladies and gentlemen."

The crowd held for a moment, and he thought he should have been more explicit with his PR person. Felicity. He liked the name. Happiness. Heaven knew he needed more of that in his life.

Out of the blue, he heard one hundred fifty grand as a hand raised. The gesture was a big gesture, and he immediately knew it was Sheena.

The spotlight found her easily. She wore a purple dress and looked stunning. Granted, she was easy on the eyes, but he wouldn’t let anything else mess with his and Anthony’s already broken friendship.

“Going once. Going twice—”

“Two hundred thousand.” A voice rang out clearly.

His eyes met Felicity’s. The triple threat boys had been right, she looked amazing. After seeing the faded red of her father’s hair, he knew hers was real.

“Oh, oh!” America shouted excitedly. “Could we have a bidding war?"

“Two hundred thousand going once, twice—"

“Two fifty,” Sheena said, an irritated tone in her voice.

Everyone looked at Sheena.

“Two hundred fifty going once, twice—"

“Three hundred,” Felicity said almost nonchalantly.

If Kade had not known Felicity well enough, he would wonder if she would crack under the pressure. However, after what he’d seen in the front with her father, he was confident she wouldn’t. Confident enough to bet the game on her. The girl had already been blitzed tonight, and she’d handled it. She apparently knew how to deal with pressure.

America let out a laugh. “Okay, this has gotten interesting. We have three hundred—”

Before America could finish, Sheena said, “Three fifty.”

“Four hundred,” Felicity said in a satiny voice and smiled widely.

“Four fifty.” Sheena glared at the Felicity.

“Five hundred.” Felicity raised the bid without hesitation. Several cameras flashed, and Kade could see the headline tomorrow: “A Bidding War for Zeus.”

Once again, his heart rate spiked, but he wasn’t surprised at the attention. After all, his whole life had been going from one microscope to the other, even though he didn’t necessarily enjoy it.

There seemed to be a stalemate, and everyone’s attention was on Sheena.

Her eyes flashed up at him. For a brief moment, she gave him the look that said “well played, Kincaid” before she turned and stalked out of the room. “The redhead wins it!” America announced, smiling at the crowd.

America let out another excited, almost nervous shuffle of a laugh. “Well folks, with the second largest bid of the night, Zeus goes to …” She waved at Felicity. “Sweetheart, why don’t you come to the stage?”

Felicity made her way to the stage, and Kade had to admire her unfailing poised expression. Once she got on stage with America, she played the part, flashing a wide grin and turning to look at Kade.

America held her close. “What’s your name?”

“Felicity Song,” she said confidently.

America smiled. “Would you like to say a few words? Have you ever been on the date with a man who costs five hundred thousand dollars?"

Felicity caught his eyes and then narrowed hers. She turned back to the crowd, taking the mic and smiling. “All I can say is, I hope he’s worth it.” She winked.

The audience erupted into more applause, and Kade actually thought he was blushing.

Felicity kept the microphone. “I’ll let you know if he lives up to the whole Zeus thing.” She pointed jovially at the audience.

The crowd roared again.

America seemed very pleased, hugging Felicity. “Yes, we’ll want a report!”

The audience clapped as he and Felicity descended the stairs arm in arm.

* * *

After shaking a hundred hands and giving several news interviews, Kade had to admit the girl was good, even great. She’d perfectly played the part of a mysterious woman who unexpectedly got the guts to get her dream of going on the date with him.

They exchanged nods and smiles the rest of the evening. She was so convincing he was caught off guard when she told him she had to leave and she hoped he was happy.

“More than happy,” he said, giving her the Zeus smile.

His other two friends, X and Ace, were rather occupied with their own dating prospects, so he wanted to chat with this woman more. There was something about her. She had … he didn’t know what exactly, but he was interested in her. Putting a hand over the wall and leaning into her, he thought this could be fun. Why not? “So when is a good day for that date?”

“What?” she asked, looking rather annoyed.

“For the date you just bought. We’ll need a photographer, and why not record it for YouTube clips.”

Looking confused, she shook her head. “We agreed I wasn’t doing that part.” She leaned in, keeping her voice quiet.

Not feeling so heroic, he pulled his arm back. “The press is going crazy about this. You know that. I think, in order to keep up appearances so it doesn’t tarnish my image, you better plan on going with me. DaVinci will love it, so just put on your pretty smile and let’s give them a show."

Leaning back, she crossed her arms. “You think I have to go on a date with you, as part of my job?”

It took Kade a bit off balance how he all of a sudden felt like the other team was going to make a comeback. He’d thought he had her right where he wanted her, and with just a few words, the beautiful woman had him backpedaling. “Yeah,” he said, not knowing what else to say.

“What are you going to do, Zeus?” She spat the last word out like it was stale gum. “I think I hold all the cards here because I could tell the press your little scheme. About how you actually had to buy yourself.” She let out a laugh. “I don’t think you want that.”

Nothing ticked him off more than a smug winner. Nothing made him play his best game more than when the attack felt so personal. He’d been raised, or rather schooled, by his father in a world of personal attacks. He knew the best thing to do was to make one of your own. “If the press starts digging and picking through all the details, gosh, it’d be a shame if they found out about your father.”

Angry eyes glared back at him.

He shrugged. “Better just go on the date with me.”

For a second, her face was blank. Then she threw her head back and a genuine laugh came out of her. “You’ve miscalculated, Zeus.”

“Have I?”

Reaching out, she lightly patted his cheek. “See, the thing is nobody cares about me and my father.” She cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t live on Olympus.”