Once Upon a Princess

by Holly Jacobs

  Jace hated the reminder that Parker was a case, a job, even though he knew it was something he should remember 24/7.

  Even though he kept trying to remind himself that Parker was just business, somewhere along the line in the last few days, she’d stopped feeling like it. Maybe it was the moment she’d hit the bottle and won his niece a frog.

  Maybe it was when she’d stalked out to the park and stood up to him.

  It didn’t really matter when the moment had been.

  What mattered was that Parker wasn’t a case. She wasn’t even a princess in his eyes any longer. She was simply herself—Parker Dillon.

  Unique.

  Intriguing.

  Desirable.

  Definitely desirable.

  Too desirable for his own good.

  For her own good.

  Right now Jace wasn’t sure about much. He wasn’t sure why he felt so strongly for a woman he’d barely met. He wasn’t sure how to look at her like the job she had to be and forget about the woman she was. But he was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to hear him say any of that, so he settled for saying, “Your father just wanted me to watch you.”

  “And report on why I won’t go home,” she insisted.

  “I’ve already reported on why I didn’t think you’d be going back to Eliason no matter what he did.”

  “What?” Parker asked. “What did you say?”

  “It’s in that file I just gave you—complete outline of what I’ve said to your father. But basically I told him that I believed you wanted to stay in Erie because you were happy here. Because you’d built a life here and had friends here. Because you’d found yourself—you’d found Parker—here. And that you liked what you’d found. But I didn’t tell him any of your personal business and I won’t.”

  “I—”

  “We’re here,” he said softly as he pulled into a space across from the coffeehouse. “Yeah, we’re here.”

  He reached out and ran a hand lightly down her forearm. “You’re not just a job to me, you’re—”

  “Going to be late,” Parker said, interrupting. She opened the car door and practically sprinted across the street.

  Jace sighed as he watched her hurry into the shop. He knew she didn’t want to hear what he had been about to say any more than he wanted to say it. But the words were there. Even worse than words, feelings were there. Feelings he couldn’t seem to shake, even though he knew that there was no future for a princess and a P.I.

  Knowing and feeling—he was learning that unfortunately those were two very different things.

  Parker spent the morning coffee rush trying to forget the way Jace had touched her in the car. Trying to forget whatever he’d been about to say.

  Forgetting what he’d almost said should be easy, because she couldn’t be sure what the words would have been.

  And that small touch? It had been just the lightest caress on her arm. Nothing major.

  That’s what she told herself. Touching an arm was nothing…nothing at all. After all, it wasn’t as if he’d kissed her. She thought about the Whacky Shack. Even that couldn’t really qualify as a kiss. Just his lips brushing against her cheek. A small touch. An aberration. No more than today’s arm caress. Small. Tiny. Both made her wonder what it would be like if Jace really kissed her. Full-out dragged her into his arms and kissed her.

  A small shiver climbed her spine as she thought about the possibility.

  She looked at the line of people at the counter. It just kept growing, and all the tables were full. She gave thoughts of Jace a big push to the back of her mind, not certain they’d stay there…actually, pretty certain they wouldn’t. But she didn’t have time for absurd fantasies and had to do her best to keep them at bay.

  She knew Cara was busy next door at the bookstore and Shey was out babysitting Tanner. She wondered just how Shey was managing to keep the prince away from the store. She smiled. Knowing Shey, Tanner wasn’t having a very good trip to Erie. She’d received a dozen roses shortly after the shop opened. The card read, Your choice of my guard is an interesting one, but I haven’t forgotten why I came to Erie. Shey can’t keep me away forever.

  Parker sincerely wished Tanner would forget why he’d come. She’d only had brief updates from Shey and wondered just what her friend was up to that Tanner found interesting. As interesting as her thoughts about Jace and kisses?

  Jace walked up to the counter. “Here, I’ll help.” He stepped behind the counter.

  She jumped and felt a guilty heat in her cheeks. He couldn’t possibly know she’d been fantasizing about kissing him, could he?

  “What?” she asked.

  “You go take care of the tables and I’ll run the counter.”

  “But—”

  “Come on, it’s not rocket science. You have a price list on the wall. Anyone can handle it.”

  Parker didn’t mention that it had taken her days to feel even remotely comfortable at the counter by herself and she still wasn’t feeling all that good about it.

  “Shelly and I used to help out at the restaurant my mother worked at,” Jace added. “This isn’t all that different.”

  “Fine,” she said with a shrug. “Great. You can help.”

  “Aw, you don’t have to gush like that,” he teased.

  The teasing worked. Parker couldn’t help smiling as she shook her head and went to serve the three new tables.

  Jace didn’t know what she’d been fantasizing about. He couldn’t. So she was safe.

  But every now and then as she waited on tables, she caught him watching her, studying her, almost as if he did know.

  It was silly.

  She forced herself to concentrate on work. Thankfully it stayed busy enough to distract her from her wild thoughts until Tammy, a Gannon student they’d hired for the summer, came in. Parker felt a wave of gratitude. She’d survived the rush. The troops had arrived.

  “Busy morning?” Tammy asked with a smile. She was a college junior, but she seemed so young.

  Or maybe it was just that Parker was feeling so old. It had only been four years since she graduated from Mercyhurst with her business degree, but it felt longer.

  Much longer.

  When she’d come to Erie, she’d thought it was for a brief respite. Even as she’d graduated, she’d ignored the heavy sense of dread that had swept over her every time she’d thought about returning home. After all, she’d known she had to go back.

  For as long as she could remember, she’d had the word duty pounded into her. It was her duty to return to Eliason. It was her duty to represent her family at mundane functions. A tea here, a ribbon-cutting there. It was her duty to allow herself to become fodder for the paparazzi, to be spied upon, to be followed, to be—

  Tammy pulled her back to the present. “Parker?”

  “Yes,” she said, remembering that she hadn’t gotten on the plane, that she’d broken with tradition and duty and followed her heart. “Yes, it’s been very busy.”

  “It’s slowed down now.”

  “For a few minutes. But with the way the day is going, who knows? Pearly called and said I needed a haircut and should come over to Snips and Snaps at ten, but maybe I’ll call and cancel.”

  “I can handle things,” Tammy assured her.

  “I’ll stay and help,” Jace offered.

  Parker’s heart did a weird little skip. She hadn’t heard him approach.

  “I couldn’t ask—” she started.

  Jace just went right on speaking. “After all, you’re only across the park.”

  “You’re not going to tail me?” she asked.

  “Tail you?” the girl asked.

  “Uh—” Parker realized she shouldn’t have said that.

  “We’re dating,” Jace blurted out, riding to her rescue. But Parker wasn’t sure telling people they were dating was much of a rescue.

  “I’ll confess,” he continued, “I have a hard time letting Parker out of my sight.”

  “Oh, tha
t’s so romantic,” the girl gushed.

  “Yes, it is, isn’t it?” Jace agreed, grinning at Parker, as if he was daring her to deny their datingness.

  “Yeah. Dating. Head over heels,” she agreed, infusing something less than enthusiasm into her voice.

  “Go on and get your hair cut, darling,” he cooed, obviously enjoying teasing her. “I’ll wait here for you to finish.”

  “Fine, sweetheart,” she said, giving him a look she hoped he recognized as a behave look. “I’ll be back in just a bit.”

  She started for the door. She definitely needed some distance, some space. She quickened her step and realized Jace was right behind her.

  She turned. Big mistake. She found herself looking right into his dark eyes and sucked in her breath.

  “What?” she managed to say. She’d hoped it would sound testy but suspected that it hadn’t, since she didn’t feel testy but rather sort of breathless.

  “It’s just that you didn’t kiss me goodbye.” He was frowning for Tammy’s sake, but Parker could see the teasing in his eyes.

  Teasing and something more.

  “Jace,” she whispered, hoping he’d sense the warning in her voice.

  He didn’ t give her time to think of some way out of the kiss. He just leaned over and did it…put his lips on hers.

  It was more of a quick peck than a true kiss, but that didn’t mean Parker didn’t react to it. There was a tingling that sort of crept from her lips right down to her toes.

  Not really a tingling.

  A sizzling.

  Hot and bothersome. As if she needed to do something to quell it.

  The something that came to mind was to kiss Jace again.

  Fighting fire with fire.

  That was her rationale as she put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him back down in her direction. Closer, closer…close enough for her lips to meet his again. But this time she didn’t allow just a practically platonic peck. Instead she gave him an introduction to what a kiss should be.

  Hungry.

  Hot.

  And maybe there was an added sense of longing.

  It was that sense of longing that stopped her. The knowledge that this was a mistake.

  She pulled away from him, pasted a smile on her face and said, “Well, then, goodbye.”

  Parker took a few steps away, then turned and glanced back at Jace. He looked sort of shell-shocked.

  She forced herself to turn away and hurry down the block and across the street.

  She felt surreal. As if everything was just a bit out of focus.

  The idea of fighting fire with fire definitely didn’t work. Rather than feeling better after the second kiss, she felt more confused and hotter.

  Definitely hotter.

  The buzz from the first kiss had escalated to a roar of heat that left her wanting to go back to the store and kiss Jace again.

  More than kiss him.

  She’d like to—

  She forced herself to cut off the thought as she entered Snips and Snaps.

  “Hey, kiddo,” Josie called cheerily, followed by a chorus of welcomes from Libby Gardner, who owned the store, and Pearly Gates, another stylist and Perry Square busybody.

  And there was—

  “Hoffman,” Parker murmured, smiling at the sight of the retired cop. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  She realized that somewhere along the line she’d forgotten all about her plan to enact revenge on Jace’s snooping as she’d done on Hoffman’s.

  “Wipe that smirk off your face, young lady,” the old detective growled. “This is all your fault.”

  “Oh, hush,” Josie said as she patted her raging red hair. But it wasn’t the color that made her hair stand out, it was the size.

  Josie had big hair.

  Very big hair.

  “Torture,” Hoffman whined. “That’s what it is.”

  “I’m simply giving you a manicure,” Josie said. “Your nails were causing me bodily damage.

  “She wanted to use polish,” he whispered. There was horror in the older man’s voice.

  “But I’m not,” Josie insisted. “I’m just trimming them.”

  “Then Pearly wants to cut my hair.” Hoffman frowned.

  “All three of them,” Pearly Gates said with a smile and a hint of the South in her voice. “We’ve been trying to talk Hoffman into hair transplants but finally decided that moving those three hairs on the back of his head to the front wouldn’t actually do much good.”

  “Do you hear what I have to put up with? It’s all your fault,” Hoffman accused. “You and your bloodthirsty need for revenge. Sending Josie after me, making the woman chase after me the way I was chasing after you.”

  “Don’t you listen to him, Parker, honey,” Josie said. “Using me as a distraction was a good plan. I’m the best thing that ever happened to the old coot.”

  “Come on, Parker,” Libby said. “Have a seat and I’ll get started.”

  “Thanks.”

  She sat in the chair and sighed. She was among friends. She glanced at Hoffman. Okay, she was among mainly friends. She could just sit back and relax for a few minutes.

  Why, by the time she was through getting her hair trimmed she’d have forgotten all about Jace and the kiss. She’d have totally forgotten the way it felt to be held in his arms, the woodsy smell of his cologne—or maybe it was just Jace…just the way he smelled.

  Warm, dark and maybe a bit dangerous.

  Yes, kissing Jace was dangerous.

  She had to forget.

  Libby put the cape over Parker.

  “So, tell us,” Pearly said without preamble. She sat in her empty chair.

  “Tell you what?” Parker asked.

  Libby sprayed some water on her hair and started to comb it out.

  “About the man.”

  Maybe they were talking about Tanner. As much as she didn’t want to marry him, Parker would much prefer talking about Tanner than talking about Jace.

  She didn’t even want to think about Jace.

  “What man?” she asked.

  Say Tanner. Say Tanner, she mentally chanted.

  “We’re hearing reports about a dark man who’s been practically stapled to your side. We want to know what’s up,” Pearly said.

  Redheaded, bubble-popping Josie chimed in, “We sure do.”

  “We want details,” Pearly continued. “How long have you been dating? How serious is it?”

  “Does your father know?” Hoffman added.

  The Snips and Snaps ladies had found out about Parker’s princessness last year, when Hoffman had been following her.

  “My father hired him,” Parker said. “So yes, he knows.”

  “Does your father know you’re dating?” Hoffman pressed.

  “Jace and I aren’t dating. He’s trailing me, making sure I don’t get into trouble.” There, that wasn’t a lie. She wasn’t dating Jace.

  Kissing maybe, but not dating.

  “He’s got a file on me,” she added.

  Mentioning the file Jace had on her reminded her of the one he’d given her. She’d been so flustered with all the kissing and sizzling, she’d almost forgotten.

  She wondered what was in it.

  “A file?” Pearly exclaimed.

  “I have a file on Parker,” Hoffman said and immediately followed with, “Ow, that hurt.”

  “Sorry, I guess my file slipped,” Josie said. “Files are dangerous things.”

  “I’ll get rid of it,” Hoffman promised the redhead. “I’ll burn it and bury the ashes so no one will ever find it.”

  Josie popped a self-satisfied bubble.

  “Well,” Pearly said, “I’m disappointed that you finally got yourself a good-looking man and all you are is a job to him. We’ve been telling you that you need to get out more.”

  “Oh, no,” moaned Libby. “Whatever you do, don’t let Pearly and Josie fix you up. Mabel’s not here, but don’t let her either.”

  “Hey, w
e told you that Josh Gardner was a keeper and now you’re married to him,” Pearly said. “We’ve got a track record. We helped you and Josh, then Sarah and Donovan.”

  “And don’t forget Louisa and her doctor,” Josie said.

  “And of course Mac and Mia,” Pearly finished, looking almost smug. “We’re good at finding matches.”

  “They’re all supremely happy couples,” Josie quipped, studying Parker. “We could find you a man who doesn’t have a file on you.”

  Hoffman pulled his hand away, obviously nervous about Josie and hers.

  “I’m cutting as fast as I can,” Libby whispered. “I’ll hurry so you can make your escape.”

  “There’s no escaping love,” Pearly said. “We can find Parker the right guy.”

  “I’m not looking for a guy,” Parker assured them. “As a matter of fact, I’d like to get rid of two.”

  “Two?” Pearly asked.

  “My father sent my supposed fiancé to bring me home.”

  “A fiancé?” Josie repeated. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Well, I don’t. I don’t want to marry someone just because we would be compatible.” She spat the word out as if it had a bad taste. Actually it did have a bad taste.

  Compatibility? That wasn’t enough. Parker wanted more. Much more.

  “I want to marry someone I love,” she murmured more to herself than anyone else.

  Thoughts of Jace, of kissing Jace, made her add, “I want a man who clicks with me.”

  “Chem-is-try,” Pearly said, dragging the word out in a long, breathy sigh.

  “Yes, chemistry.”

  “And love,” Josie chimed in.

  “Yes, chemistry and love,” Parker agreed.

  She’d found chemistry with Jace. Enough chemistry in fact that if there were any more, she’d spontaneously combust with it.

  But love?

  “And how are you going to learn who you love if you won’t even date?” Josie asked.

  “I had a third cousin twice removed—” Pearly started.

  “Pearly,” Josie, Libby and Hoffman all groaned in unison.

  “Hush,” she said, then turned back to Parker and launched into a story. “Her name was Linda. We called her Lin. She was on old maid in the making, just like you.”