“It’s mine, actually,” he said.

I jerked my head back around, my mouth dropping open in astonishment. “Are you serious?” I asked.

“Got it for a song from a guy desperate to sell,” Kade smirked.

Alarm bells went off in my head. “And why was he desperate to sell?” I asked.

“He pissed me off, so I may have intimated that it would be . . . healthier for him to stick to land for a while.”

I shook my head, not in the least bit surprised, though I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips. Incorrigible. Spontaneous. Unstoppable. Together, they equaled Kade.

“So where are we going?” I asked.

“Just out for a day cruise,” Kade replied. “Thought we’d find a good place to see the sunset tonight.”

“That sounds lovely,” I said. It seemed dreams really did come true. Kade and I were going to be together.

Kade reached for me, pulling me onto his lap. I hooked an arm around his neck.

“What do you say to marrying me today?” he asked. “When the sun sets?”

My heart leapt. “Really?”

“Really.”

“How?”

“The captain used to be a Navy chaplain,” Kade said, combing back my unruly hair with his fingers. “I’ll introduce you later. He said he’d marry us. I had some connections get us a license, and there’s no waiting period in Hawaii.”

We could get married today. By the time the sun set tonight, it would be official. Suddenly, I wanted that. I wanted it more than anything. Maybe I was gun-shy because Blane had broken our engagement, or maybe it was because even though Kade had promised to not leave me again, a little part of me was still unsure. Whatever it was, I felt a measure of relief to think it would be a done deal by the time the day was through.

Reaching up, I carefully removed Kade’s sunglasses. I wanted to see his eyes, their clear blue rivaling that of the sky above us. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, I want that.”

Kade had my hair clasped in a loose ponytail, his hand holding the wayward strands over my shoulder. He gently tugged, pulling me toward him for a kiss. I melted into him.

“Ahem.”

I pulled back, turning to see Andrew standing a few feet away.

“Breakfast is ready,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you, Andrew,” Kade said, taking his sunglasses from my fingers and sliding them back on.

Andrew had made French toast, the warm maple syrup soaking into the thick slices of bread. I ate until I was nearly groaning, I was so full.

“So where’d you find these people to work here?” I asked.

Kade helped himself to a slice of pineapple. “They came with the boat,” he said with a shrug.

After we ate, Kade had us change into swimsuits, then he introduced me to Captain Hugh, a nice man who looked to be in his mid to late fifties. His skin was tanned a deep brown, his face creased with crow’s-feet from many hours in the sun. He was friendly and easygoing, and I liked him right away.

A woman was aboard, too, the only female member of the crew, and her name was Jennifer. Kade introduced me to her and said she was the first mate. The last member of the crew was Taylor, the butler. He arranged two deck chairs for Kade and me, and he gave me a friendly smile before disappearing below deck.

I was wearing the white bikini Kade had bought for me in Las Vegas. I caught Kade blatantly staring as I settled myself on one of the chairs.

“See something you like?” I teased, preening just a bit under his appreciative gaze.

“See something I adore,” Kade frankly replied.

Ah, the things Kade said sometimes. My face almost hurt from smiling so much, even as tears pricked my eyes. I was so happy and yet, deep down I was terrified. I’d been happy before and look how that had ended. Surely this couldn’t be real. I should enjoy it while it lasted because who knew when it would end?

“What happened to your job in Boston?” I asked, reminded of what felt like ages ago when Kade had said we’d be traveling there. I wondered if the security job had been sidelined when he’d gone back to his old occupation while we’d been apart.

Kade shrugged, lying back in the other chair with his arms bent behind his head. “I decided to take a vacation,” he said noncommittally.

I let it go at that. I didn’t want to argue and there would be plenty of time to discuss the future. I really wanted to enjoy the here and now. My stomach was full and I wasn’t feeling sick, despite the rocking of the boat. I was on an amazing yacht in the middle of the ocean, enjoying a gorgeous, sunny day with the man I loved. Nothing got better than this.

Of course, Kade wasn’t one to lie around doing nothing for a long period of time, so pretty soon he was wandering, digging up a radio and fiddling with it until music drifted from the speakers. Then he got thirsty and had Andrew make five different types of smoothies, both of us trying each one and choosing a favorite. After that, he dug up fingernail polish from somewhere—I didn’t ask where—and proceeded to drag me back to the couch so he could paint my toes a candy apple red.

“You just can’t stand sitting still, can you?” I asked with amusement as Kade carefully painted the last two toes.

“I get antsy on a boat,” he said.

I looked quizzically at him.

“No escape route,” he clarified.

I snorted. “Then why did you buy a yacht?”

He shrugged, blowing a little on my nails to dry the polish. “Thought you’d like it.”

My eyebrows climbed. “Kade,” I said carefully, a suspicion forming in my mind, “how long have you owned this yacht?”

He didn’t answer right away. Testing the dryness of my nails, he seemed satisfied, resting my feet in his lap as he leaned back on the couch.

“Since Christmas.”

I was speechless for a moment, the implications of that statement sinking in. When I spoke, my voice was quiet. “You’ve known for that long?”

“I knew the moment I first laid eyes on you,” Kade said, matter-of-fact.

I remembered that day in the courthouse. Me, still reeling from being attacked and held as a hostage. Kade, stopping to make sure I was all right. Now looking back on it, I realized it had been out of character for him to do so. Kade wasn’t known for his compassion toward strangers.

“You were like a princess out of a fairy tale,” Kade said, his hands caressing my legs as he spoke. “I still remember my first glimpse of you, standing in line at security. Your hair was the color of the sunset.”

I couldn’t help my smile. “I didn’t know you’d noticed me,” I said, “at least, not before that guy held me hostage.”

“You saved his life that day,” Kade said, surprising me again. “If you hadn’t done what you did, I was about two seconds from blowing his brains out.”

“How did you have a gun inside the courthouse?” I asked, bewildered. Kade just smirked and I rolled my eyes. Of course he would have found a way around that.

“Though it did give me a chance to talk to you,” Kade continued. “But you weren’t real talkative.”

“I was in shock,” I defended myself, though my cheeks heated. The real reason I hadn’t said much was because I’d been blown away that a man who looked like Kade did had stopped to talk to me.

“And here I thought it was my stunning good looks that had your tongue all tied up,” he teased.

Even though Kade’s ego needed no stroking, I ’fessed up. “Yeah, that too.”

Kade’s laugh was a soft rasp that made my face even warmer, but I was still smiling. It was good to see him so happy and relaxed.

“So why didn’t you ask me out?”

Kade’s smile faded and he cocked an eyebrow at me. “What would I have said to you? Hey, I kill people for a living, but I’m really great in bed.” He shook his head. “There was nothing about me that was worthy of you. You were innocent, sweet. It would’ve been a fucking crime for me to ask you out.”

There were so many things wrong with that statement, it was hard to know where to start. “I was not innocent, or sweet,” I argued. “And you know I hate it when you say stuff like that about yourself.”