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They all laughed at that. Ray raised his hands, his thick arm muscles bulging. “Hey. My beautiful fiancée can knock me around any time she wants as long as she’ll kiss me better.”
Macey grinned and kissed him. It was great to see Ray all flirtatious and cute. Derek had never seen that before, and he exchanged a look with T. His oldest brother appreciated seeing his twin enamored with a perfect-for-him woman as well. When would T and Malik meet their matches? Derek knew he’d met his. Malik had loved the now-acclaimed chef Sophie Pederson as an idealistic eighteen-year old, but she’d turned up pregnant with another man’s child and Malik had never been the same. Derek had told him several times to steer clear of Sophie. Thankfully it seemed like he had.
Kiera tugged on Macey’s hand, pulling her away from Ray. “But you have to understand, Macey. This is Ellery Monson. She’s perfect and my idol. Imagine if you met a female version of Q from James Bond, and then learned she was your brother’s girlfriend?”
Macey and all of them laughed. “You’re right. No one could compete with that.” She smiled kindly at Ellery, obviously having no hard feelings. “We’re so happy Derek found you.”
“Thank you.” Ellery smiled sweetly, but Derek was afraid this might overwhelm her. His family was acting as if they were engaged. He wished that were true, but sadly he’d never even convinced this beauty to go to dinner with him. How he’d convinced her to fly here was still a mystery, but he had to take advantage of every minute.
“And now …” Kiera said dramatically. “May I present the most beautiful castle in all of the world and your future home, Princess Elle.” She flung the doors wide, one of them knocking into Malik. He jolted in surprise but didn’t curse because it was Kiera.
Ellery was still smiling, but her green eyes were uneasy. Kiera was pushing too hard and fast. How could he slow his sister down? Or speed Ellery’s feelings for him up?
CHAPTERNINE
Ellery was inundated with emotions and incredible sights. She didn’t know where to look or what to think. As Kiera flung the castle doors wide, then proceeded to run her through a tour, her mind spun from how impressed she was to how stressed she was.
The castle was exquisitely gorgeous. She hadn’t known such beauty existed in real life and not just on a YouTube channel.
The castle paled in comparison to how kind and welcoming all of Derek’s family were. Thankfully, his dad and Prince Tristan, General Raymond and Macey all peeled off when they hit the third level and their offices. They all graciously told her how welcome she was again and that they looked forward to seeing her again at dinner. She understood being busy and working hard, and she certainly didn’t mind having the pressure of everybody staring at her relieved.
Derek, Kiera, and Malik guided her through the rest of the castle. It was overwhelming how intricate, beautiful, and massive it all was.
The castle and Derek’s family paled in comparison to how she had felt when darling Kiera had welcomed her into ‘her future home.’
No matter how appealing the idea was, she couldn’t possibly stay here. Derek had said a few things that flipped her out as well. She’d been far too flirtatious and revealed how gone she was over him, basically committing to kissing him, but that didn’t translate into being Kiera’s future sister. Oh, boy. She already adored this little girl, and she did not want to let her down.
When they made it to the gym on the seventh, or really the ninth as there were two below-floors, she was in heaven. She only missed workouts on the Sabbath, and today she was itching to work out.
“Do you want to work out before dinner?” Derek whispered for only her to hear.
“Oh, yes, please.” She turned to him and was tempted to kiss him in gratitude. There were a lot of reasons she wanted to kiss him. “This gym is fabulous.” Besides all the top-of-the-line equipment and free weights, the views out the massive windows were spectacular of the gorgeous valley, lakes, the village, and the mountains.
“Come on, you two,” Kiera instructed. “We aren’t finished with the best parts of the tour.”
“There’s something better than this?” she asked Derek.
“We’ll have to let you judge that,” he said with a grin.
They viewed the ballet and yoga studio and the art studio, which Kiera informed them nobody really used. That was sad; the works of art an accomplished painter or sketcher could complete from here would be mind-blowing.
Then they climbed the stairs to check out the spa. A spa. In their home. Alternate reality didn’t begin to describe this. They had a steam room, cold plunge, various hot tubs, a hot pool with jets to massage the entire body, massage chairs, and tile beds. Ellery had been to a spa with Ninja Warrior, once, and it hadn’t been nearly as nice as this one. Separately, there was an Olympic size swimming pool with patios and chairs and retractable walls and balconies.
“Are you planning our day tomorrow?” Derek asked.
“Oh, can I?”
“For sure.”
“Would it be incredibly selfish to work out for a couple hours, use every part of this spa, swim, and then lay in one of those reclining beds?”
Derek spun her to face him. Malik and Kiera were over by the door, waiting. Malik distracted the little girl, showing her something funny on his phone by the way she was grinning. He was a flirtatious charmer but Derek’s twin seemed like a really great guy.
“I don’t think you understand the meaning of the word selfish,” Derek said, his hands on her shoulders and his blue eyes warming her clear through. “It would be selfish to not spend the day with me tomorrow.”
“Oh, would it?” She smiled. “And after my morning plans of working out and spa therapy, what did you have planned?”
“I’m thinking a hike through the mountains, swimming in a waterfall, and then a drive through Augustine in whichever luxury car you choose. Then dinner, just the two of us,” his voice got deep and husky, “in the most romantic restaurant that overlooks a mountain lake.”
