by Leslie North
“Come now,” Papazyan said. “We’re both professionals. Let’s come to an agreement so we can both move forward with our lives. Really, such a fuss over just a few little details. I’m not asking you to hack anyone’s computer or release secret files. Just give me a few tidbits I can use about the prince or his associates. I won’t ask for anything about the girls—you have my word. In fact, if you agree to work with me, I’ll see to it that the girls stay out of the paper entirely.”
There was no other agreement to be made. Katie would have to walk the line. Papazyan wasn’t asking her to bring down the monarchy. He wanted inside information about the daily life of the prince, and Katie had that—in spades. And even if she didn’t, she could feed him details that seemed real enough to throw him off the scent. Katie already knew that he would spin anything she told him to fit his purposes, but at least this way she could control part of the narrative.
In controlling the narrative, she would protect the little girls, who had won themselves a place in her heart already.
Katie was down to her last minute. She had to leave the coffee shop, and she knew she couldn’t walk away without striking some kind of deal. It would be a bigger risk not to.
“Fine.”
Papazyan’s face lit up.
“I’ll be a set of eyes and ears inside the castle for you. But now I have to go.”
“Ms. Crestley,” he said as she stood up. “It’s a pleasure to work with you.”
She left without another word, feeling like a grimy film had settled over her skin.
The sun had grown hotter while she was in the café, and Katie’s heart beat fast on the way back to the castle. Her mind was a mess. There was pressure from all sides. Prince Armin didn’t particularly care for her, she was sure of that, and Ms. Mirzoyan was constantly looking for reasons to reprimand her. She was risking so much…but what choice did she have?
All she had to do was to be careful.
Easy enough.
4
Katie hovered in the hallway while Armin tucked in the girls, saying a short prayer in Stolvenian with them. Their voices fit together—their high, lilting ones and his smooth, deep one. But Katie didn’t find it calming.
Usually, she got the girls ready for bed and read a few books with them, then retreated to her rooms while Armin spent his time with them.
Not tonight.
Tonight, she waited in the hall, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Now that she’d made her deal with Papazyan, it was more important than ever that she and the prince reach some kind of accord. If the newspaper editor wanted information from her today, all she would have been able to say was how handsome Armin looked when he was angry. She’d need more information than that.
When he finally came out, closing the door behind him, Katie was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
“Prince Armin.”
He turned, registering her presence there with a frown. “Is there something you need to tell me about Lily and Seraphine?” He was still upset with her—it was clearly written on his face.
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
Katie took a deep breath. “I saw the paper. I saw the photo. And I take full responsibility.”
Armin considered her, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. His green eyes flashed in the golden light of the hallway, but he said nothing.
So that was how it was going to be. “I’m not used to looking after children of…high-profile people like yourself. I thought going to the park would be fine, and I was wrong about that. I just wanted to…” She took a moment to gather herself. “I just wanted to tell you that I’ll be more careful in the future. And if they need an adjustment made to their schedule, I’ll run it by you first. It’s what I should have done all along.”
He watched her for another long moment. “I’d prefer that you simply stick to the schedule.”
Something in Armin’s voice reminded Katie of a door opening—an opportunity. It was a prickling feeling along the back of her hands and arms, a throwback from when she’d been a journalist and interviewed people for a living. And, like every other opportunity, she took it.
“Can I…speak with you for a little while? It is about the girls.”
He hesitated, and she saw a brief flash of a man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. “All right.” She heard it now—the tiredness in his voice. It wasn’t something he let show during the day, but now, when the girls were tucked in bed and the day was winding down… “Come with me to the study.”
Armin led her down a hallway and into another, narrower one, and finally into a study with elegant furniture that looked lean but strong and a small bar along one side. He went to it like a cocktail could be a lifeline and began pulling glasses out from the bottom shelf. God, he was attractive. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking about things like that at a time like this, but she couldn’t help it. It was the suits. The suits gave her a tantalizing glimpse of the shape of him, and she wanted to see more.
Much more.
He did not offer her a drink, and when he turned back to her, concern was written across his forehead in deep lines. “What is it you wanted to discuss?”
Katie decided to lead with the good news first. “The girls seem to be doing well. They’re happy most of the time.”
Armin’s mouth turned down. “But?”
“But…I think they might like to see more of you.”
He scoffed. “I doubt that. They never seem very excited about my presence. Aside from that, it’s the way things are in the royal household. When I was their age, I spent almost all my time with my nanny. I knew what was required of my parents.”
“That’s only natural,” Katie offered. “You were raised to be a prince. But Lily and Seraphine…well, I don’t know how they fit into the line of succession, or anything like that, but they were never expecting this. They’re two little girls. A few months ago, they had parents and a house and a normal life. Now, they’re adrift—and they’re looking to you to provide stability and support. They don’t understand all of your responsibilities.” Katie gestured around the room. “All of this, and you, is new to them, and it’s a big change.” She softened her voice. “They speak highly of you. You should know that. When your name comes up, they always have kind things to say. They look up to you.”
Katie sensed it. The moment held the same opportunity as before, only it was…different. Darker.
It had to do with Papazyan.
She had talked her way into the prince’s study. She had him talking about the children he had adopted and taken into his household. And as long as she had him talking, she could get him to talk more.
But the thought of giving up any of this to a man like Papazyan made her stomach turn.
“What is it?”
The silence had gone on too long, and Armin’s voice snapped her out of it. “I’ve been wondering how you came to the conclusion to adopt them in the first place.” It was true. “I think it’s wonderful, but you’re the crown prince. You have a very tight schedule, and…I guess, what I’m asking is, wasn’t there a relative who could take them?” Katie wanted to bury her face in her hands. Some interview skills.
“The only relatives were distant, and none of them were in a position to provide for them the way I can. It was my top priority that they have the best possible future, given the circumstances.” He must have seen the question in her face, because he continued. “Their father, Baxter, he was—” Armin cut himself off abruptly and stared down into his glass. The tumbler held a double shot of whiskey. “He was a good friend of mine. My best friend, in fact. We met back in school and were instantly inseparable. When he got married, he named me the girls’ godfather.”
Armin took a drink from the tumbler and seemed to invite another question. Why not go for it?
“Did you meet them before they came to live with you?”
“Oh, quite a few t
imes. The whole family spent several holidays here at Whitestone, and alternated that with our places in Valbourg and Kamsbourg.” He gave a weary sigh. “I’d hoped that having them here would remind them of better days, but…when they first arrived, the girls seemed too sad to notice. And even now, they don’t seem pleased to be here.” He looked up from his glass and met her eyes again. “At least, they didn’t before you got here. And I understand.” He took another drink. “I haven’t been the parental figure they deserve.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“Oh no. I blame my own parents.”
Katie laughed out loud, realizing too late that he might not be joking. But Armin cracked a small smile. “It’s true,” he said. “They gave me everything I could have wanted, except for…a personal touch.
“I’m sure they loved you just like you love the girls.”
The words were magic. Armin’s hard exterior softened, and a genuine smile came to his face. Katie gathered her courage and stepped forward. “You obviously take your responsibilities seriously,” she said. “You went to tuck them in practically in full regalia.” She reached up and loosened the tie that seemed slightly tight on his neck. “Maybe when you’re around them, you could relax a little bit. That might help all of you.”
Just like that, a switch had been flipped. Armin stepped back, his eyes going dark again. “I’d appreciate it if you would keep in mind that, while the girls might not be royals, I am—and any scrutiny I receive is liable to spill over onto them. And onto you.” He turned away from her. “Have a restful evening.”
The dismissal stung.
“You too, Prince Armin.” He didn’t respond, only sat down in a chair in front of the window, not bothering to throw even a glance her way. She left without another word.
For a moment, she had forgotten she was not just talking to a man who was ill-equipped to be a father.
She was talking to a prince.
The moment Katie was gone, Armin sagged against the armchair and drained the rest of his whiskey.
What had he been thinking?
He never got so personal with the staff. Ever. It was a rule he’d set for himself long before he lost his parents, and long before he became the crown prince. It simply wasn’t done.
And yet here he was, feeling like a complete jackass for the way he’d spoken to her.
“Relax,” she’d said, as if that were the solution to everything. It was not. It was how a person let things get dangerously out of control.
It had to be her association with the girls that made him so vulnerable to her. They were a soft spot in his heart, and so Katie, by extension, must feel closer to him because she was close to them. She was just so familiar with him. When was the last time someone had reached forward and loosened his tie? He couldn’t remember. Yet Katie had done it as if it was something she’d done a million times.
He had been too harsh with her, and he knew it.
But she had been so close. And the heat from her had practically burned his skin.
Armin got up and poured himself another drink, then stood by the bar, thinking of Baxter and Jessica. He wanted to do right by his friends. He wanted to live up to the solemn promise he had made to them. It was true that neither of them had expected this outcome, but that didn’t matter. Armin had to be even better.
But while he could provide safety and security and wealth for the girls, he wasn’t sure he could provide a true family.
A mother. And a father.
Something like what they’d had.
He thought of his own family. They’d been close, but there had always been the pressure of royal life upon them. Even now, as adults, those tensions still played between Armin and his brothers. He wanted better, somehow, for the girls. Armin reached up to his tie, not thinking, and even the motion reminded him of Katie.
She had been so forward.
It was probably because she was American. She probably didn’t have a clue how inappropriate it had been to do that.
Not that he…personally disliked it.
Not that he personally disliked anything about her.
In fact, Armin wanted much more from her than he was willing to admit, even in the privacy of this room. He couldn’t stop the images from flashing briefly into his mind of how Katie might look in his bed.
He cleared his throat, trying to clear the heat from his mind.
If the nanny taking the girls to a park was enough to make the papers, the scandal of a prince having an affair with the nanny would be the nuclear option. His reputation might never recover.
In some circles, at least.
In others, he’d probably be praised. It was one or the other, and there was no middle ground. PRINCE ARMIN JUST LIKE US, SLEEPS WITH NANNY vs. PRINCE ARMIN FORCES NANNY INTO TORRID AFFAIR.
There was no winning for him.
No. It was simply a coincidence that he had hired an absolutely gorgeous nanny for the girls. He let his mind linger on Katie’s dark hair, her dancing dark eyes, and the curves that every outfit seemed to highlight, no matter how conservative they were.
He wanted her.
Alone in the study, he could admit it. He had been angry with her. He had been irritated with her. And still he had wanted her every single moment since the first moment he saw her with the girls.
But that was no matter. He was used to repressing his urges. After all, he regularly held himself back from throttling all the seemingly incompetent people on his staff.
It would be easy to keep the distance he’d created between himself and Katie.
Though…she did smell very nice.
And come to think of it, her scent still lingered in the air.
5
The three of them reached the top of the stairs along with the last remnants of the spring breeze that had caught in their hair on the way from school.
“And then I remembered that the French word for apple is ‘pomme,’” said Lily.
“I remembered it, too,” added Seraphine, not to be left out. “I just didn’t say it out loud. Lily always raises her hand faster.”
“But you still knew the answer,” Katie said diplomatically. “That’s wonderful, too.” She put a hand on the girls’ heads, their hair windblown and soft, and raised her head to find that Armin was waiting in the hallway.
That was different.
He usually spent the afternoons in his offices, joining the girls for dinner a few times a week at most.
“Prince Armin,” Katie said. “We were just returning from school.”
“Yes, I see that.” A smile lit up his face at the sight of the girls, but they only murmured their greetings and scooted around him into the large suite they shared. The lack of interest seemed to wipe the smile from his face.
Katie’s heart twisted. “Heavy backpacks.” She laughed lightly, trying to make it seem…at least a little true. “They can never wait to take them off for the day.”
“Of course.” He sounded…hurt. A little distracted. And Katie saw the opening.
“Was there something we could do for you?”
Armin looked back at her, frowning. “No, I…”
Before the silence could stretch too long, she jumped into the breach. “Because, since you’re here, I wondered if you had some free time.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
He seemed to consider this, looking into Katie’s eyes. “I do. The afternoon. But the girls have their piano lessons in an hour.”
Katie took a deep breath and stood up straight, trying her best to look warm and welcoming. “There’s still time to call it off and choose a little spontaneity instead. I’m sure the girls would love it.”
Armin’s eyes were full of doubt.
“Come spend the afternoon with us,” she pressed, before the girls tumbled back out into the hallway.
The prince shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to upset their schedule. They need the consistency.”
“Wha
t they need is family.” It came out more urgently than she’d intended. “Consistency of family, Prince Armin. A schedule is well and good, but it’s the people in our lives we count on.”
A skeptical grin turned up the corner of his mouth. “Are you sure about that?”
“A hundred percent. Think about it. It’s one afternoon. They won’t become uneducated miscreants if they have fun with their dad every once in a while.”
Something flashed in Armin’s eyes at those words. “Won’t they?”
“They won’t,” she assured them. “Unless you’re too worried.”
“Worried about what?”
“Ruining your only pair of pants by playing in the grass.”
Armin stared her down, eyes alight, and Katie’s heart ran wild in her chest. This kind of familiar banter was far enough outside the lines of their relationship that it was a risk. She knew if she stepped too far over the line, he’d fire her, and that would be that.
But Armin wasn’t the kind of man to back down from a challenge. And as mild as it was, she had challenged him.
“My only pair of pants,” he said, screwing up his mouth into something resembling a grin.
At that moment, the girls came back out into the hallway, running straight for her side. They tilted up their faces to look at Armin, who towered over all of them.
“Now,” he said, authority ringing in his voice. “You’ve got piano lessons in less than an hour.”
“Yes,” answered Lily solemnly.
“I thought we could make an alternate plan.”
“An alternate plan?” Seraphine echoed.
“Yes.” Armin glanced up into Katie’s eyes. “I thought…well, Ms. Crestley had the idea—”
“Oh, no. It was your idea, Prince Armin.”
“What idea?” asked Lily, her voice bright with excitement.
“To spend the afternoon together instead of going to lessons,” said Armin. “If there was something else you’d rather do instead…”
