A Prince Of A Guy

Carly fingered her short blond bob. She’d never colored her hair and always went for the low-maintenance type of cut, because fussing with it was a low priority. Not to mention she hated wasting time at the salon.

Most would be shocked at that fact, expecting her to enjoy the pampering.

“Pretty,” Melissa said. “You coming?”

“Where are you going?”

“Work,” Sean said curtly.

One more minute upstairs and she would have missed them.

“I get to go today.” Melissa beamed. “If I don’t touch anything.”

“I thought you’d be going back,” Sean said. “So I’ll take her with me.”

Her heart had dropped to her toes. “Back?”

“To your life,” he said. “After all, the game is over, isn’t it?”

She struggled with her composure and failed. “It was never a game. You’d know that if you would let me talk to you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got to go.” He opened the door, but at the last minute turned back.

Her heart returned to its proper place because he was going to change his mind. They were going to talk.

“Bye, Carlyne,” he said quietly.

“Carly,” she whispered, but he was gone.

As always, she was left alone, all because of who she was.

When would she learn?

Lifting her chin, she went to her room for her purse. She didn’t want Carly’s things. They could stay. She’d come to prove she could make it in the real world, but instead she’d learned an important life lesson.

She was on her own.

And she’d survive.

NIKKI STARED at Melissa as Sean walked into his office. “Where’s the sexpot nanny?”

“Watch your language,” Sean said, and set down the wriggling Melissa. “And she wasn’t a sexpot.”

“Uh-huh.”

Sean looked at Nikki in exasperation. “She wore huge, baggy, shapeless clothing, long hair that hid her face and too much makeup. How is that a sexpot?”

“Because you couldn’t keep your eyes off her.”

Hard to argue the truth, so he turned away from his too-knowing assistant and looked for Melissa, who for a little thing had disappeared awfully quickly.

“Quick,” Nikki warned, pointing at the blond head bobbing its way across the room. “Never mind, I’ve got her.”

Melissa was zeroing in on the candy jar on Nikki’s desk.

Nikki beat her to it. With a triumphant smile, she set the jar in her desk drawer and turned the lock. “Not anywhere near my desk, you don’t.”

Melissa folded her arms and stuck out her lower lip.

“Try it on someone who falls for the act, kid. So…” Nikki looked at Sean. “Where is she? Parking the car, right? She’ll be here any second to take over-”

When Sean shook his head, Nikki groaned. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Everything,” he added miserably.

“See?” she cried. “This is why messing around with co-workers is such a bad idea.”

“Tell me about it.”

Nikki put her hands on her hips. “Just answer me one question. Why? Why did you have to blow it with her before your sister got back? You only had, like, what? A few days left?”

“How do you know I blew it?”

“Because you’re the guy, slick. Guys are always the one to blow it.” She sighed loudly and looked at the still- pouting Melissa. “Okay, missy, listen up. No candy. No feeding the CD player. No touching any buttons on anything, especially the telephone. Keep that in mind, and we’ll all get along. Got it?”

Melissa thought about that. “How about all those pretty colored pens in your desk?”

“The Hi-Liters? Consider them yours, if you color only on the paper I give you. Deal?”

Melissa smiled her killer four-year-old bargaining smile. “Ice cream?”

“You haven’t had lunch yet.”

“We could have ice cream for lunch.”

“Nope.”

“For dessert?”

“If the ice cream truck comes by.”

Melissa’s smile spread. “’Kay.”

With some relief, Sean went into his office, determined to keep himself so busy he couldn’t think.

It turned out to be impossible. Oh, he could keep busy, no problem. Melissa was helpful in that area, running both Nikki and himself ragged with terrifying ease.

But the thinking part…he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

And busybody Nikki was no help.

After awhile, she popped her head into his office. “I’ve got Melissa counting paper clips.” Getting comfortable, she leaned against his desk. “So…what did you do to Carly?”

Other than take her three times on the dark beach, then yet again in his steamy shower, all in ways that were going to fill his dreams with heat and longing for years to come? “Nothing.”

“Melissa said you fired her because she changed her hair color.”

“I didn’t fire her.”

“But she changed her hair color?”

“Nikki.”

Ignoring his warning tone, she sank into a chair and looked at him expectantly.

He sighed. “She’s Princess Carlyne Fortier.”

Nikki’s eyes widened. “Wow, this is better than my soap opera. I thought she was at a retreat or something.”

“Or something.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “For whatever reason, she was hiding out here. With me. Playing at being a nanny.”

Nikki frowned. “I don’t think she was playing, Sean. She seemed really into Melissa. And you,” she added. “I don’t think she could have faked that. So why did she do it?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did she say when you asked her?” At his silence, she groaned. “You didn’t ask her.”

“No.”

“Sean!”

“Well, why the hell would she have wanted to be a nanny, anyway?” She was hot. Beautiful. Sexy. Intelligent. It made no sense at all.

And why did he even care? She’d lied. Used him.

Hurt him.

“Maybe she wanted a break from her life,” Nikki suggested.

“Yeah, all that money must be tiresome.” He thought of what he’d paid her and was embarrassed. It had been a very fair salary, but he hadn’t known she was a damn princess. To her, it would have been pocket change. “Look, she lied, Nikki.”

“Ah.”

There was a volume of knowledge in that ah. “What does that mean?”

“Sean,” she said gently. “Not all women lie just to screw with you. Carly is different than Tina. Tina hurt you just because she could. That was the kind of woman she was. I think Carly, on the other hand, probably has a good reason.”

Maybe. But regardless, he’d really fallen for her. And when they’d made love, he’d felt the earth move.