by Holly Jacobs
He didn’t miss her. And he was honest enough with himself to know that not missing Stephana meant he’d never really loved her. Whatever he’d had with her, it had been a fraud on both their parts.
He and Parker would at least have honesty between them.
But no spark.
He snuggled farther into the pillow and Shey’s scent surrounded him and he felt a surge of something.
More than an ember.
More than a small blaze.
It was definitely in the lightning category. A lightning strike of interest.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t the least bit interested in him. And she was the best friend of the woman he should be thinking about.
Tanner dozed, and as he slept, he dreamed. Not of Parker, but of Shey. He dreamt of riding the Harley with her, holding her tight as feelings so intense that they threatened to burn him alive assailed him.
* * *
Shey was up before her alarm rang. It wasn’t difficult, since she’d hardly slept. Knowing there was a prince in her living room had played havoc on her dreams, and those dreams had left her reluctant to go back to sleep. So she’d tossed and turned, dozing and dreaming, then fighting to stay awake and not dream, all night.
She hurried to get ready for work. If she was lucky, she would be long gone before Tanner woke up. She just needed a little distance from the decidedly handsome man to regain her equilibrium.
Tanner was off-limits. Not because he thought he was Parker’s fiancé. Parker declared that relationship null and void, so there were no worries there.
No, he was off-limits because even though there was some sort of chemical reaction when he’d wrapped his arms around her, that wasn’t enough. He was a prince. A man used to the finer things. A man of social position and power. The finest thing in Shey’s life was her business and her Harley…and of course, her friends. Though she liked her life just fine, she wasn’t in the prince’s league, no matter what sort of spark she felt.
She was grinning as she tiptoed across the kitchen. She was going to bypass the living room and sneak out the back.
She quietly turned the deadbolt.
She was home free.
She shut the door softly behind her.
“Good morning, Shey.” The prince was leaning against her bike.
Darn.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked, glaring at him.
He looked way too good for a man who was wearing yesterday’s suit and hadn’t even shaved.
As a matter of fact, the stubble on his face took the sheen off his clean-guy image and made him even more attractive in Shey’s estimation.
Not that she was attracted.
Not at all.
“I’m out here waiting for you,” he said with a smile. “So, what’s on the schedule today? Any chance we’re going to see Parker?”
She noticed he’d given up trying to call her friend Marie Anna. Maybe she was making a bit of progress in convincing Tanner that Parker wasn’t who he thought she was, that she wasn’t the woman for him.
“No, we’re not going to see Parker. I’m going to work and you’re going to call your goons and do whatever it is a prince does to fill his days.”
“Wrong. If you’re going back to Monarch’s, I guess I’m going to Monarch’s, as well.”
“Why don’t you just admit defeat and go home?”
“I swore I’d bring a fiancée back with me, and I plan on doing just that.”
“A wise man knows when the battle’s lost.”
“And a great commander would tell you that this particular battle hasn’t even begun.”
“Oh, shut up and climb on the ‘vehicle.’” She sneered the last word in an attempt to mock him.
The prince was far too dense to recognize a good mocking. He just laughed and said, “Having ridden it yesterday I agree, a Harley isn’t just a vehicle. It’s a way of life.”
Now he was mocking her.
Shey glared at him and stalked to the bike. She put her helmet on with a bit more force than necessary.
“If you’re coming, get on.”
“Any chance we can swing by the hotel first so I can grab a shower and change? You were sneaking out early, so I assume we have time.”
“Well, if I’m stuck with you today I might as well make sure you smell good. Fine.”
“You’re a truly gracious host.”
“I’m not a host. I’m your keeper.”
“I have always been a man who resented being kept, being trailed by guards, having my every movement shadowed. But this once, I’m finding I don’t mind it at all.”
“You’re perverse.”
“Maybe, or maybe it’s just…”
Whatever he was going to say was lost in the roar of the Harley. Shey kick-started it and threw it into gear.
* * *
Tanner surveyed the small dining area in Monarch’s. Everything was neat and clean.
He felt a warm rush of pride.
Or maybe that warm feeling was merely the wet area of his shirt where he’d sloshed water on it when he’d rinsed the last load of dishes.
Either way, the day hadn’t gone the way he’d thought it would.
He’d thought he was in control when he’d outwitted Shey and was waiting for her by her motorbike. He’d even felt rather triumphant when she’d taken him to his hotel so he could shower and change while she waited in the lobby.
But she’d thrown the first kink in his plans when she’d tossed a towel at him and taunted, “I don’t suppose a prince such as yourself has ever had to clear his own table, but I’m thinking you’re bright enough to figure it out.”
She shot him a grin that said she doubted he was, in fact, bright enough.
That taunting smile should have made him angry.
Instead, it made him wonder what it would be like to kiss her.
A highly inappropriate thought.
So, he’d ignored the fact that when she smiled she stirred up embers of feelings best forgotten and taken her challenge to heart. That’s why it was dinnertime and he’d not only mastered the fine art of bussing tables, but had also learned to run the monstrous dishwasher, and work the cash register.
He still had a tendency to splash himself when he used the nozzle to rinse the dishes, which is why his shirt was damp, but otherwise, he’d had a productive day.
Productive at least from the busboy end of things.
In terms of the prince finding his fiancée, he hadn’t been nearly as successful.
“Hey, if the ruling-a-country thing doesn’t work out, you might just have a career in the food industry,” Shey said as she joined him. “You surprise me, princy. I thought you’d sit around and mope all day, but you really pitched in and helped. Thanks.”
“A prince doesn’t mope. And believe it or not, I’ve put in a hard day’s labor in the past.”
“Right. Signing royal decrees and proclamations can give a guy writer’s cramp.”
“Do you work at being abrasive, or does it just come naturally?”
“What can I say?” she said with a shrug and a smile. “It’s a gift.”
He couldn’t help but smile in return. He could trade barbs with Shey all day. He rather enjoyed her prickly nature. Most of the women he’d dated in the past had bent over backwards to be agreeable, hoping to snag a rich prince.
He was pretty sure that Shey didn’t have an agreeable bone in her body. If he said black, she’d say white just to have a good argument.
He glanced at his watch. He’d been here all day. “When does Parker arrive?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention,” Shey said slowly, “that today was her day off? Tammy’s here to close up shop.”
She grinned, obviously she’d had this planned all along.
A moment before, sparring with Shey had delighted Tanner, now it had him gritting his teeth as he said, “No, you didn’t.”
“So sorry. But today is Parker’s day off. Guess you wasted time helping o
ut here, didn’t you?”
She looked completely pleased with herself.
“You let me slave away all day on purpose, knowing she wasn’t coming in?”
“What part of ‘I’m Parker’s friend and would do anything for her’ did you miss? That doing anything includes putting up with you all day.”
He glared at the redhead. Somewhere along the line he’d lost sight of his ultimate goal and lost a whole day.
Now what?
Shooting an evil glance at Shey, he pulled out his mobile and called Emil to ask him to bring a car to the coffeehouse.
“You’re giving in?” Shey said. “Wish I could say I’d miss you, but I don’t tell lies.”
“Never?” he asked.
“Never.”
“I don’t either. So if I said that despite the fact you’re a highly annoying woman, I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day and that I find you to be a very attractive woman, what would you say?”
Tanner heard the words spill out of his mouth. He couldn’t seem to stop them. He waited, expecting some sort of outburst from Shey, sure she’d take offense.
Instead, she laughed and said, “I’d say you wouldn’t be the first to think I’m annoying, and you’re also not the first to think about kissing me, or to think I was attractive. I’m sure you won’t be the last to think any of them. But I’d add, I’m not interested in kissing you, although you’re more than welcome to continue thinking I’m annoying and attractive.”
“And what if I said that I don’t believe the not-wanting-to-kiss-me part of your little speech? That I felt your eyes on me all day.”
“I’d say, quite truthfully, that you were right. My eyes were on you. You know the old adage about not trusting a fox in the henhouse? Well…” She let the sentence hang.
“I’m familiar enough with American slang to know that you thinking I’m a fox could easily lead you to fantasize about kissing me.”
She didn’t even bother to respond. She just snorted and laughed again.
Tanner was thankful he’d never had problems with low self-esteem or else that snort might have put a dent in his psyche.
“I don’t know why I bother,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re easily the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met. And if you knew the last woman I dated you’d realize that’s saying something. So, as much as this has been interesting,” he said with just the proper sneer added to the word interesting, “I’ll have to say goodbye.”
She wasn’t laughing or snorting now. She suddenly looked all serious. “You’re still going after Parker, aren’t you?”
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug.
“Then I’m going with you,” she said, throwing down her dish towel like some cotton gauntlet. “Tammy, I’m leaving now.”
“No, you’re not,” Tanner said.
“No problem,” the young student said. “It was nice meeting you, sir.”
Shey gave a quick wave to the girl and smiled at Tanner. “Yes, I am going with you. You owe me.”
“How did you reach that misguided conclusion?”
“I not only met you at the airport, but I let you stay at my house. I even gave you the pillow and blanket off my own bed.”
Ah. That explained why her scent was so strong.
“So now I’m cashing in. I’m coming along.”
“Fine.”
He tried to sound disappointed, but for some reason, he wasn’t.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
CHAPTER THREE
“This isn’t much of a surprise,” Shey muttered as she sat in Tanner’s living room. “It is decadent, though. I mean, most people stay in a hotel and are lucky to get cable TV. You’ve got an entire floor. I mean, this suite is bigger than my whole house.”
“I’ve been to your house. It doesn’t take much to be bigger.” He’d hoped to get some reaction and wasn’t disappointed.
She scowled at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be hunting down Parker? I figured that’s where we were headed. Are you calling it quits?” she asked, a hopeful note in her voice.
“I thought about starting a serious search, but after the grueling day I spent working for a tyrannical boss today, I need a break and a decent meal,” he explained.
Shey was right, he should be hunting Parker. The sooner he found her, the sooner he could convince her a union between them was a good idea.
But he couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for going after his reluctant fiancée. He wasn’t sure why, but was sure he’d be fine after a night off.
“Great, if you’re not going to be chasing after her tonight, I can go,” Shey said, sounding entirely too happy at the prospect.
Tanner should probably have just let her go, but he couldn’t resist taunting her a bit.
“Ah, but you don’t know. Maybe after dinner I’ll feel like starting the search again.”
Shey sighed and then lapsed into silence, sitting on the sofa, staring out the window.
The hotel suite had a great view of the bay, but he wasn’t sure she was actually enjoying watching the lights bob on its dark waters.
He wondered what she was thinking.
Emil, Peter and Tonio were in the next room playing poker. They’d asked Tanner to join in, but he wasn’t in the mood.
He was stewing over Parker. Tomorrow he’d just find her and convince her to come home with him.
Leave it to a woman to make a simple task so difficult.
This union made perfect sense. If he could really talk to Parker he was sure he could make her see that.
She’d grown up in the public eye. He remembered her teenage mishaps, and the way that the paparazzi had exploited her. As far as he was concerned, that was just another advantage to forging a relationship with Parker. She had experienced the worst aspects of living in the public eye, and therefore would understand what her life as his wife would be like. Always watched and measured.
And, despite being tabloid fodder, he knew she also understood what family meant. And a family was what Tanner wanted. One small sliver of normalcy in the midst of an abnormal existence.
He’d visited Eliason when he was younger. Parker’s parents had been so different from his own. Her father might run a country, but anyone who saw King Paul with his children, knew where his heart was. Parker’s parents had done their best to see that she and her brother, Michael, grew up as normal as possible.
That’s why he had finally decided to agree with his father’s plans.
He wanted a family…like Parker’s. Something as far removed from his own cold, stark upbringing as possible. He’d given up on finding love, but maybe, just maybe, finding someone whose social background matched his, who believed in the strength of family, and understood the balancing act between a public and a private life—maybe he could find a family.
Parker was the most logical choice. And an added bonus was their childhood friendship. It gave them a starting point for something more.
It might not be a love-match, but he believed their similarities, shared background and friendship could be built upon. With enough building, maybe they would find love.
That’s why he had finally decided to agree with his father’s plans.
“My house is plenty big enough,” Shey said, interrupting his musings.
“Your house?” he asked, then remembered his crack.
“Parker assures me that castles aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,” Shey muttered.
He realized what he’d meant as one of the sparring digs had actually hit her. “I’m sorry. And Parker’s right. Castles aren’t always preferable.”
“She doesn’t want to go back with you…or without you, for that matter. She likes it here.”
“Parker can run from it, but it doesn’t alter the fact, she’s a princess. She belongs with her own kind—with me.”
“But in the end, going back would make her miserable. Marrying a man she doesn’t love woul
d break her heart. I can’t let that happen. So, you’re stuck with me until you decide to leave.”
“Maybe, just maybe, being stuck with you isn’t so bad,” Tanner murmured, surprised to find he meant it.
Being stuck with Shey Carlson was surprisingly easy to get used to.
She shook off whatever mood she’d been in and started to laugh. “No, it isn’t so bad…it’s worse. I’m here to be your worst nightmare.”
“I guess we’ll just see about that,” he challenged.
“Right now, if you don’t mind, or even if you do, I think I’ll go see if your goons will let me sit in on a hand or two of cards.”
She didn’t wait for him to answer.
Tanner watched her breeze into the other room, and, within minutes, she was ensconced.
Part of him wanted to go join the group, not because he had some overwhelming desire to play poker, but because that’s where Shey was.
As the game went on, she became more and more relaxed with his guards.
“Straight,” she said, pulling the pot of chips in front of her. “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel,” she quipped, laughing.
“Fish in a barrel?” Emil asked.
Shey launched into an explanation of the term as they dealt the next hand.
“Are you married?” Peter asked. He had his back to Tanner, but Tanner didn’t need to see him to know he had that I’m-hoping-you-say-no expression on his face.
“No, and I don’t plan to be.”
“What a shame. A beautiful woman like you should be married,” Tonio said.
Tonio? Now that was new. Peter was generally the flirt. Tonio was a quiet, serious man. Despite his size and abilities, he was normally shy around women. But obviously not around Shey. He continued, “…and have plenty of babies.”
Shey laughed. “I don’t think there’s a husband, babies or a white picket fence in my future. I like my life exactly as it is. Serious relationships tend to complicate things.”
“How about unserious ones?” Peter asked.
