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After their ski trip to Switzerland, Sarah would fly home to Vermont to be with her family, the Andersons were a loving family who’d been cleared by General Ray and had become surrogate parents and siblings to Kiera in America. Her eighteen-year old brother Drake was hilarious and the little brother Kiera had always wanted. After the ski weekend Kiera would return to Augustine to spend over two weeks with her huge and wonderful family.
No matter how hard it was to miss out on three days with her parents, siblings and in-laws, and especially her fabulous nieces and nephews, this plan had to be implemented. She and Sarah were dying to ski the Jungfrau. Nothing in the northeastern United States compared.
More importantly, Kiera had been scheming for half of her life for a way to get Captain Mason Henson to finally notice her as a woman, not some cute little girl.
She’d thankfully hit a growth spurt the past year in all areas—height, curves, and a maturity to her face that hadn’t been there before. Magazines, media sources, and young men throughout the world had confirmed that she was indeed a grown-up and undeniably attractive to the opposite sex. The most beautiful woman in the world title on some website still made her laugh but she supposed as a princess people noticed her more.
The important thing was … It was finally time to pursue Mason. She did a standing backflip and then rubbed her hands together.
“You silly. You can’t backflip in a skirt,” Sarah teased her.
“Drat. Sorry.” Kiera straightened her knee-length sweater dress, noticing the guards had averted their eyes. She preferred Lady Fit athletic wear, designed by Faith Radisson Favor and brought into the world by Hope Radisson Prescott. Two of her favorite unrelated women.
“Wait until you see him,” she promised Sarah. “You’d backflip too.”
“Sadly I can only flip off diving boards, no matter how hard you work with me. I have seen pictures of the famed Captain Mason Henson,” Sarah reminded her, her dark eyes full of laughter. Kiera compared every man she dated to Mason and of course they came up drastically lacking. Good guys but she’d learned that nobody was the right fit for her, but him.
“Not the same. It’s impossible to capture his charm, his build, his sense of humor, that twinkle in his summer blue eyes … ahhh.” Kiera checked down the hall to make certain the door leading to the garages hadn’t opened. She couldn’t be caught drooling over Mason by Mason. It was essential he see her as a mature and impressive woman, as his woman.Please all the angels in heaven, especially Mum, make this happen for me. I’ll deal with stalker notes and kidnapping attempts and losing my mum at twelve and almost having my family killed by the evil Rindlesbachers and anything you want to throw at me … if I can be loved by Mason.
Her family all assumed the crush she’d had as a teenager had dissipated as she’d gone off to Syracuse University in upstate New York and dated all manner of men. General Ray and her darling sister-in-law Macey had to perform a deep-dive background check before she could so much as eat an ice cream with a member of the opposite sex. Her guards trailed her on each and every date, experts at being intrusive and not even attempting to keep their distance. She loved her guards like brothers and appreciated safety.
It would’ve bothered her more that she could never be alone with a date, if any man could steal her heart from loving Mason. She’d thought he was the greatest unrelated man on earth, since she was thirteen. The crush had not dissipated as the two people she’d admitted it to—her mum and Macey—promised her it would as she dated and had ‘real’ relationships.
‘Crush’ was not even the correct term. She had long known Mason was the man for her. Now it was time to convince him. She’d finally ‘grown into her astounding beauty’ as per many magazine writers and media influencers words. More importantly, Kiera was famous for her schemes, and this one was brilliant. She knew there were very few members of Ray’s military who could keep up with her on a pair of snow skis and three of them had been in New York with her recently and were planning to go back after the new year since the downhill ski season would be in full swing.
Those guards needed a break, needed to relax with their families for Christmas. Her closest friend Sarah needed to ski the Jungfrau. And Kiera … she needed Mason.
The plan was beyond ideal.
Of course no one but Sarah knew the extent of her scheming. Derek and Ellery had offered to come ski, but with each of her siblings and their spouses chasing young children all over the place and bouncing babies, she knew they’d be easily dissuaded and she’d get the chance to have Mason all to herself. Well, him and three other guards and Sarah. She could work with it. Especially as Ray had said she and Mason and Sarah and a guard would ‘pretend to be couples’ to dissuade her latest stalker and any other men who wanted to hit on her. Ray hated men hitting on her.
A couple with Mason. Who cared if it was pretend? It would lead to feelings developing on his end for certain. She wanted to do another standing back flip, but Sarah was right, in a red knee-length fitted sweater dress and heeled ankle boots she’d better keep her feet on the ground. For now. Dressing like an adult woman, and worrying about showing the world her rear end, sadly there had been a few photographs taken when she’d flipped or done tricks in a dress, was so constrictive sometimes.
The door to the garage opened and in he strode, leading the way for his men. Of course he led the way. He was a brave leader, a military hero clear through. He’d rescued her sisters-in-law Aliya and Sophie and her adorable now-twelve-year old niece Sunny, and that was only a few of his courageous and impressive accolades.
Was he ready to rescue Kiera’s heart? Said heart skipped a beat at the mere sight of him, and then her heart took off at a gallop and felt like it slammed against her chest. It had been too long since she’d seen him in person. A year ago to be exact.
Captain Mason Henson. Six-four, two-hundred and twenty pounds of pure, perfect, muscular man dressed in a black military uniform, a pistol on his hip and a black duffel bag in one hand.
Yes, she knew his stats. She knew everything about him. Including that he’d never dated any woman longer than three dates. Her dear friend Faith had shared that beautiful piece of information with her. Faith had been explaining that she and her husband Levi, Mason’s closest friend, were worried Mason would never settle down. Kiera hoped it was a sign. Was he waiting for Kiera just as she’d been waiting for him? A princess could hope.
His blondish-brown hair was brushed back and his short beard was the perfect length to highlight his strong jawline. The slight smirk on his lips showcased his good humor. He was as athletic, outgoing, talented, brave, mischievous, and hilarious as any person she’d ever met. Her ideal match in every way.
Those blue eyes, prettier than a clear mountain lake and warmer than the summer sun zeroed in on her.
She waited for it. He always got this huge grin when he saw her and then the teasing would begin. ‘Fearless Little Princess’ was his longtime title for her. She prayed he wouldn’t call her ‘little’ any longer. A dart of fear pricked at her confidence—what if he didn’t even notice the changes like everyone else seemed to? What if he still thought of her as a child?
“P-princess?” He stopped dead in his tracks, the soldier behind him almost running into him. The duffel bag slid from his grip and thumped to the marble floor.
Kiera and Mason’s gazes locked and held. Mason’s eyes were wide and filled with something like shock. Kiera smiled. She wondered for the first time in her life if her smile was … shy. So much was riding on this moment. Him finally seeing her. Their cute-re-meet.
“He isunbelievablyhot,” Sarah whispered to her.
She wanted to scream, ‘I know’. Her throat was so dry she couldn’t squeak out a response and she didn’t want to interrupt this eye-lock with Mason. The next step would be lip-lock. That made her smile bigger, even as heat filled her face. What would kissing this superhero feel like?
Mason blinked a few times, shook his head, and crossed the distance between them. The other guards approached as well, flanking him.
Kiera’s breath shortened as he reached her. It was one thing to see him from down the hallway. Up close and personal … perfection in a manly form.
