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She really needed to avoid looks like that if she wanted to survive this weekend.
Chad escorted her through the garage, out the side door, and into his helicopter. Well, she supposed it wasn’t his helicopter, but Augustine’s. He always acted like it was his. It seemed his royal friends were as generous as they were impressive. She could hardly wait to see his country and meet his friends that she’d heard so much about. What would Sophie Pederson be like in person? Hope was intrigued and jealous of the one woman who’d captured Chad’s heart.
Chad settled Faith into the seat behind his and escorted Hope into the co-pilot’s seat.
“I will be no help in an emergency,” she told him.
“No worries, love.” He grinned. “I could fly us to safety, even if you gave me that kiss I’m longing for and stopped my heart.”
She laughed unsteadily. “Focus on flying.”
The flight went quickly as Chad pointed out sights through the headset. Hope took in the beauty of the mountains they flew over, but her gaze kept being drawn back to Chad as he expertly flew the helicopter. His confidence, skills, and appeal knew no bounds.
When they swept into the unreal valley where the castle of Augustine perched on the lush mountainside, Hope’s breath caught and she felt like Chad had her pinned with one of his alluring gazes.
“I thought the Lauterbrunnen valley was the most beautiful spot in the world,” she breathed into the headset.
Chad chuckled. “Just you wait, love. Just you wait.”
Hope couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful than this, but she was caught up by Chad calling her love. How could she get him to stop? Her traitorous heart didn’t want him to stop. She wanted him to melt all the ice around her heart. She wanted to stupidly jump off any cliff if he was by her side.
They flew around the castle and Hope gawked at the massive, gorgeous, but also imposing structure. It was prettier than the princess castle at Disneyland. She’d seen loads of photos of this castle, but she’d never gotten up close and personal. Trying to preserve her heart, she had never traveled to Chad’s home country. Now she was in more danger than ever of him breaking through her barriers.
People prepped for the wedding and the dinner in the gorgeous courtyard below. A well-run staff, from the looks of it. Impressive.
It hit her that she and Faith were descending into a real-life fairytale. She could fully understand why Faith was so enamored by royalty, castles, and this wedding. There had been no time for fantasies in the past fourteen years, besides Hope’s constant Chad fantasies, but as a young girl, Disney princess movies had enthralled her. She found herself getting hyped as well.
Chad landed the helicopter around the back side of the castle, next to a stretch of grass and a steep drop-off of tangled greenery with the village and valley below.
They took off their headsets and waited for Chad to shut the helicopter down. Then he escorted them both out of the helicopter, took their suitcases in one hand again, and took Hope’s hand in his other. She felt the rightness of their connection all the way through her body.
Chad guided them into a rear door of a massive garage. Hope and Faith were very successful with their business and sometimes met other successful businesspeople, but she was completely unprepared for the garage full of supercars, luxury sport utility vehicles, and outdoor adventure vehicles.
“Oh, my!” Faith squealed. “Is that a Lambo?”
Chad chuckled. “A Lamborghini Venono Roadster. The king loves fast cars, and his sons don’t mind them either. Especially Derek. He has a one-of-a-kind Bugatti that I favor driving. But please, whatever you do, do not step into a vehicle with King Nolan. He is one of the best drivers I’ve ever ridden with, but also the most terrifying. I value your lives too much to risk either of you like that.”
Hope could only stare at him, fascinated as always by his romantic accent but even more so by his words. This was surreal. She and Faith were going to stay in this magical castle and meet this well-known royal family. Did he honestly think the King of Augustine would offer them a ride in his Lamborghini?
“All right,” Faith said. “I’ll only take rides from handsome young single guys. Are there any of those around?”
“I have plenty in my military, but I am pulling the big brother card and forbidding you from dating any of them.”
“Overprotective of Faith much?” Hope teased.
His face softened into a smile. “Faith is the little sister I always wanted.”
“Ah, right back at you, big bro,” Faith cooed.
Little sister? Big bro? These two were much too close. Faith was twenty-six, two years younger than Hope and four years younger than Chad, but she seemed a decade younger sometimes. She was free and innocent and happy where Hope carried the weight of now being the oldest, watching out for Faith, and being responsible for their wide-reaching businesses and far-too many employees’ financial wellbeing.
And she’d told herself she would push the worries away and enjoy this break from reality while not losing her heart to Chad. It was a tough balance.
“I guess I’ll have to date all those handsome young military guys then,” Hope tried to tease.
Chad whirled on her. If she’d thought his scowl was fierce when Faith mentioned dating military men, it was fearsome now.
“Don’t even let your mind wander there,” he said. “You are taken.”
