A Prince of a Guy

If things had been different, she wondered, if she’d been born poor or merely an average citizen, who would she be? A regular woman with a regular family—a child?

So was it any wonder she’d packed a bag, dumped all her credit cards—okay, all but one—given herself a hideous makeover and had answered Sean O’Mara’s ad?

But Lord, she really had done it…she looked very normal.

“Is everything okay?” Sean O’Mara asked her.

His reflection appeared at her side. His nearly black hair fell to his collar and looked as if maybe he’d forgotten to brush it that morning. His polo shirt was untucked, and he had what looked like a fresh stain across his chest. A chest that was very well defined and broad, she couldn’t help but notice. His khaki pants were clean, but wrinkled where the wide-eyed little Melissa gripped his long, long legs for all she was worth. His feet were bare, which would normally be a huge turn-off for her, because Carlyne liked and appreciated men who were well dressed from head to toe.

But Sean’s feet were tanned and…somehow…sexy.

So were his deep blue eyes, which were fixed on her. He looked curious, probably wondering why she’d been staring in the mirror for the past five minutes.

“Uncle Sean!”

But Uncle Sean was still looking at Carlyne. “I have to be honest,” he said quietly. “I’m not sure how to conduct this interview.”

“That makes two of us.” She didn’t know how to get a job. She’d never had to prove herself before.

A day for firsts, she decided.

“Uncle Sean!”

“We could start by sitting down.” He awkwardly patted the little girl on her back in a way that conveyed his bafflement. Obviously, he was not a natural with children. “Did you bring a résumé or references?”

Thank God for her assistant’s special talents. Francesca had not only gotten her a used clunker of a car to drive while here, she’d manufactured Carly a résumé and references that would hold up against the tightest scrutiny. “I did,” she said with a smile meant to charm and disarm. “But you should know, I’ve never been a live-in nanny before.” She’d never been a live-in anything before. Not because she was only twenty-six, but because no man had ever been able to stir her heart enough to encourage her to try.

She’d found it impossible to find a date, much less her soul mate, while constantly surrounded by people, all of whom wanted to be with her simply because of who she was.

“This must be a live-in position,” Sean told her. “Melissa belongs to my sister, who’s out of town for now. And—” He lowered his voice, and she found the growl that came out very sexy. “I’m really losing it here. I haven’t a clue what I’m doing. I need help, fast.”

“You’re not married?” she asked without thinking, then wondered what he would make of that question.

She didn’t know what to make of that question.

“No,” he said very firmly, as if the thought were abhorrent. “Not married. Which is why I might need help at night if I have a meeting.” He glanced at Melissa as if she were a puzzle missing some pieces.

Carlyne knew the song and dance. She remembered her own nanny well. And the cook. And the maid. During her childhood she’d seen only servants, rarely her own parents, and certainly not during the evening hours when they’d been busy with one social function or another.

She didn’t know anything else, but couldn’t contain her strange sense of disappointment that this man seemed to be no different.

“You have plenty of experience,” Sean said, skimming the list of her supposed previous jobs. “And you have a teaching credential, too.”

She had quite a few credentials, and no less than three accredited degrees. She collected them like others collected shoes, mostly because she had yet to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

“Impressive references,” he murmured, and Carlyne sent a silent message of thanks to her assistant for providing the names. “Can you tell me about yourself?” He lifted his head, piercing her with those mesmerizing eyes.

There was a lock of hair over his forehead. He had a five o’clock shadow. By looks, he could have been a rebel, but the careful way he was reading her résumé seemed at odds with that. “What would you like to know?”

“Well…” He looked confused, as if he wasn’t sure exactly. “How about your family? Or how you grew up?”

“Oh, same old thing,” she said lightly. Poor little princess. Absent parents. No siblings. No close friends. Nothing she could tell him, of course.

“Really?” Lord, his eyes were deep. “What’s the same old thing?”

Since she couldn’t explain, she reverted to her lifelong fantasy. “A house with a white picket fence, two parents, various kids and a dog.”

“That sounds nice.” She could tell he really meant it. “So what makes you want to do this?” He was still looking at her, full of genuine interest and curiosity, as if he really cared.

Carlyne had to swallow hard because a wave of guilt nearly drowned her. She’d been describing her imagined ideals, but that didn’t make her lies right.

Another first, for Carlyne never felt guilty about anything.

“Uncle Sean!” The impatient little girl tugged hard on Sean’s shirt, letting it go so that it bounced up, exposing a good portion of lean, flat, tanned belly.

And just like that, Carlyne forgot what she’d been about to say.

“Just a minute, Mel,” Sean said distractedly, pushing down his shirt and waiting for Carlyne—Carly—to answer.

But she couldn’t, because she just realized what she was doing. She wanted a job working for this man, this gorgeous man, whom she would have to live with for the next two weeks.

Live with, as in play house.

“Carly?”

It took her another minute to remember he was talking to her, because never in her life had she allowed her name to be shortened. She’d never had a nickname. “I want to do this because…” She looked him in the eyes and gave up pretense, telling him the complete, utter truth. “Because I really need to.”

“You need to,” he repeated.

His gaze filled with compassion, and she winced inwardly, knowing he pictured her destitute and homeless or something equally horrible, which couldn’t be further from the truth. “I want this job with all my heart and soul,” she said, hoping her earnestness would be enough, that someday if he learned the truth, he’d forgive her. “I’ll take good care of Melissa and see that she gets everything she needs.”

“You might want to think about this,” he said. “Because believe me…” He pulled his stained shirt away from his chest. The material stuck to his skin until the last possible second, letting go with a suctioning sound that for some reason tugged at a place low in Carlyne’s belly.

“Grape juice,” he muttered. “It’s not an easy thing, caring for a four-year-old, so please, be sure. I need total concentration for my work, and she’s—” A little guiltily, he looked into Melissa’s eyes.

“A nightmare,” Melissa said proudly, nodding. “That’s what my mommy says.”

Sean laughed, the sound rich and genuine, and again, something pulled within Carlyne.

What was the matter with her? She’d heard a man laugh before, for crying out loud. Men far more sophisticated than Sean O’Mara. Smoother, richer, even more good-looking.

But there was something about this man who was obviously unconcerned about opening the door with bare feet and disheveled hair. Something unpolished and edgy. He didn’t care what others thought.

Another first for her. All the men in her life cared a great deal for what others thought.

“I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of, you know,” Sean told Melissa. “Being a nightmare.”

“Yes, but Uncle Sean—”

“Hold on, I’m still talking to Carly.” He looked at her. “Do you really want the job?”

For some reason, one Carly didn’t want to examine too closely, she wanted to stay more than ever. “Yes.”

Sean let out a ragged, relieved breath. The weight of the world seemed to lift off his shoulders. “Good.”

Awkwardly, they stared at each other.

“Uncle Sean!” Melissa tugged at him again. “I really have to go potty!”

“Again?” Sean turned that steady, heart-skipping gaze on his little niece, who’d let go of his legs to do what was apparently the got-to-go dance, which consisted of holding herself between the legs and skipping around in a little circle.

“Quick!” she demanded.

“You know how to do it.”

Still gripping herself, she shifted from foot to foot. “I want you to come with me.”

“Melissa—”

“I’m going to have an accident!” she cried, bouncing. “You’d better hurry!”

Groaning, Sean scooped her up. “Be right back,” he said to Carlyne, striding away. “Make yourself comfortable.”

They headed down the hall, Melissa in her uncle’s arms, her beaming face close to his. “I drank too much juice,” she confided.

“How could that be? I’m wearing more than half of it.”

“I didn’t mean to spill.”

“Yes, you did.” Their voices faded. “You were mad because I wouldn’t give you salami for breakfast, remember?”

Carlyne couldn’t help herself, she laughed, which was odd as she wasn’t one for spontaneous laughter.

Sean stopped, turning to look at her.

He had the longest eyelashes. That was her inane thought. Long and thick and black. Totally wasted on a man. Except that they emphasized the leanness of his cheekbones, the straight line of his nose, his generous mouth, and when he smiled, when those eyes of his closed slightly, his long lashes gave him a sleepy and undeniably sexy look.

She wondered if women fell all over themselves when he smiled like that. If he even knew it.

Of course he knew it. In her experience, men were very aware of themselves. Too aware.

Carlyne didn’t plan on falling at his feet, no matter how her heart fluttered. She wasn’t here to make friends—or lovers for that matter. She was here to prove something to herself.

But Sean wasn’t what she planned on, and he sure wasn’t going to be easy to ignore. Unaccustomed nerves leaped at her. “Is the job really mine?”

Melissa bounced in Sean’s arms, and with an ease that assured her of his strength, he shifted her to his other side so he could look directly into Carlyne’s eyes. “It’s yours,” he said. “For better or worse.”

“Hurry, Uncle Sean, hurry!”

Carlyne had to smile at the pure terror that crossed Sean’s face—her father had never, ever given a thought to helping his children in the bathroom—before Sean whirled and rushed down the hall.

No, Sean may not like this responsibility he’d taken on, but he appeared to be a man who wouldn’t shirk his duties. Carlyne watched him with new eyes and an awareness she hadn’t expected to feel.

When they were out of sight, her be-mused smile slowly faded. She blinked at her reflection, wondering about what she’d done.

Urgent potty calls?

Salami for breakfast?

She shivered at the thought, but then she pictured Sean, all that disturbing dark sensuality, his intensity, and shivered all over again.

AT HIS FIRST opportunity to work without the interruption of a high-strung four-year-old, Sean sat at his desk. He meant to dig in but found himself staring out the window instead.

Melissa was running as fast as her short, chunky legs would take her. Hair flying out behind her, wide, mischievous grin on her face.

Sean rose, swearing, thinking she was on the run from whatever terrible thing she’d done to the new nanny, when said new nanny appeared in the window, as well.

Hair flying behind her, running, and though he doubted her legs were short and chunky like Melissa’s, he couldn’t say for certain as they were hidden beneath her skirt. Just like his niece, she wore a wide and mischievous grin, and there was something in her infectious laughter that made him smile, too. She wasn’t beautiful, but she was incredibly…real. He liked real.

He liked her.

“Can’t catch me, can’t catch me,” squealed Melissa, slowing with a hopeful, expectant glance over her shoulder.

She wanted to be chased.

She wanted to be caught.

And Sean stood there with a sudden pit in his stomach, because he couldn’t remember a single time over the past days that he’d spared the time to play with the little girl like that. Couldn’t remember not being annoyed or tired or frustrated.

Couldn’t remember laughing, or just…being.

“Can’t catch me,” Melissa sang.

Catch her, Sean willed Carly, leaning close as if he could do it from the other side of the glass. Do for her what I never did.

At the same moment he wished it, Carly surged forward and scooped the little girl up in her arms, swinging her around and around, looking young and happy and free.

Their joined laughter rang out, and finally, they both collapsed in a fit of giggles to the grass. Melissa crawled into Carly’s lap.

Carly’s arms lifted, and for a second hovered in the air as if she wasn’t used to such easy affection, but then she wrapped them around the child, her face filled with such contentment it almost hurt to look at her.

Sean sat down, still watching. Still…yearning?

No, that made no sense. No sense whatsoever.

“SO WHO’S IN CHARGE of dinner?”

Sean lifted his gaze off the plans he’d been studying, the plans he’d been trying to finish since Melissa had stepped into his life, turning it upside down. Slowly he blinked Carly into focus.

She was standing in the doorway of his office, looking quite a bit more rumpled then when she’d arrived for her interview that morning. He knew without asking that the dirty smudges on her wide skirt were from grubby four-year-old hands, that the wrinkles in her shirt came from lifting that same four-year-old, and likely her hair was rioting around her face because of something Melissa had done.

But somehow, she looked…cute. He knew from having a sister, and also a fair amount of relationships, that the word cute wasn’t exactly considered flattering, but he thought it should be.

What made her so attractive that he couldn’t tear his eyes off her? He hadn’t a clue.

“Dinner?” she repeated, pushing those huge glasses closer to her eyes. “Melissa’s hungry.”

“Sure. What are you making?”

She gave him a long, baleful look. “I wasn’t offering to make it.”

“Oh.” The radio at his elbow switched from good old-fashioned rock music to the news.

“And on the celebrity front,” the announcer said. “It’s rumored that Princess Carlyne Fortier has gone AWOL. Her grandfather denies this, claiming his granddaughter has merely left for a private vacation, but for the first time in ten years the princess didn’t attend the International Muscular Dystrophy fund-raiser, held last night in D.C.”

Carlyne let out a sound of annoyance, so Sean turned the volume down. “Is it dinnertime already?” he asked.

“Yes.” She glared at the radio, which continued to spit out the top-breaking story, very softly now.

“Rumor has it she is close to a nervous breakdown from her heavy social schedule,” claimed the announcer, sarcasm in his voice. “Must be a tough life, folks, huh?”

“He hasn’t a clue,” Carly muttered.

Because she was obviously agitated, Sean flicked the radio off. “Uh, where were we?”

She sighed. “Dinner.”

“Yeah. To tell you the truth, I was kinda hoping you could cook.” Sean tried his most charming smile.

She merely arched an eyebrow, looking suddenly very aristocratic. “Was cooking in my job description?”

“Well, no.” His charming smile was clearly rusty—he hadn’t tried to charm a woman in a good long while. He was about to give wheedling a shot when the doorbell rang.

His new nanny sent him a smile every bit as charming as his own—and just as manipulative. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said, already backing away. “I’ll get the door, you get dinner going.”

“Not a fair trade,” he called, rising from his chair, listening as her laughter floated toward him.

“First one to the door,” she called tauntingly.

A challenge. He loved challenges. He raced down the hallway after her, enjoying the way her far-too-big skirt flew up, flashing him his second view of her legs. Why she wanted to hide them was a complete mystery.

But then again, most women were mysteries.

With his long strides, he could have easily overtaken her, but he got distracted by those legs, so she hit the front door a fraction of a second before he did. Whirling, she pressed her back to the wood, twisting to laugh at him.

To stop his motion, his arms came out automatically, his hands landing on either side of her head to avoid crushing her against the wood.

Both of them were laughing like little kids.

Until his body brushed hers. Time stopped as he stared wide-eyed at her, stricken by the strange electrical current that ran through them.

She seemed similarly conflicted.

Being pressed against a woman wasn’t a new experience. Yes, it had been awhile, but not that long. Not long enough for him to be holding himself utterly still in order to get a better feel of all those warm curves he could feel beneath her clothes. And not just warm curves, but really great warm curves.

Breasts smashed into his chest. Soft feminine hips pressed to his own. Not an inch of space between them. That combined with the real fact of already being attracted to her as a person caused a very base reaction, and she couldn’t have missed it.

Her eyes went wide.

Nope, she didn’t miss it. No more than he missed the way her nipples hardened to two tight tips, drilling through all her layers into his shirt.

She felt amazing. Her mouth opened, but the only sound to escape was a little sigh he would have sworn was the sound of helpless awareness. Arousal.

And he couldn’t help it. He lowered his head just a fraction, so his mouth nearly touched hers. She was a near stranger, but he needed to kiss her more than he needed his next breath. Given the way she angled her head and parted her lips, she felt the same way.

The doorbell rang again.

Slowly Sean pulled back, his chest, his belly, his thighs leaving hers reluctantly.

She made that little sound again, the one that tugged at him so primally. Hardly able to think, he pulled open the door.

Mrs. Trykowski, Slovak immigrant, next-door neighbor and local pest, brushed past him and marched right on in without being asked.

The eighty-something woman was barely five feet tall, walked with a little skip in her step and had a voice like a truck driver’s. “Brought you some fruitcake,” she barked in the gravelly, heavily accented voice that assured everyone she’d been smoking like a fiend for over half a century.

She brought Sean fruitcake on a regular basis. Not because he couldn’t feed himself, but because the woman had a curiosity streak a mile long.

True to form, she craned her neck down the hallway, looking for new and exciting clues to his life.

Then she spotted Carly.

“Ah,” she said, a secret smile on her lips. She winked at Sean.

“Stop it,” he said. “Stop it right now.”

“I do not know what you are talking about,” she said innocently, her narrow, sharp gaze on Carly.

Sean groaned, knowing what was coming—

“Ten,” she said triumphantly.

She had a terrible habit of rating his dates. “Mrs. Trykowski, Carly isn’t—”

“What does she mean, ten?” Carly asked him.

“Nothing,” he assured her, giving his nosy, bossy neighbor the evil eye. “Carly Fortune is Melissa’s new nanny for the next two weeks, just until my sister comes back.”

“Whatever you say.” Mrs. Trykowski had been playing matchmaker for the better part of a year now, though Sean was having no part of it. “A ten,” she repeated triumphantly. “She is the one, Sean. Remember this.”

“I’m the one what?” Carly asked, looking a little unnerved.

Sean knew the feeling. Yes, Carly was smart and funny. Yes, there was something about her, but he’d known her all of a few hours. And anyway, no woman was ever going to be the one, not ever again. “Carly, this is Mrs. Trykowski. She lives next door and has clearly forgotten to take her medicine.”

Mrs. Trykowski grinned.

Sean ushered her to the door. “They’ll be hauling you away in a white jacket if you’re not more careful.”

Carly looked horrified.

Mrs. Trykowski laughed.

Melissa came down the hall doing the pee-pee dance. “Gotta go again, Uncle Sean!”

Sean could only groan, wondering what had happened to his nice quiet life.

3

IT WAS NOTHING short of a miracle, but finally, after needing water, a multitude of stories, three bathroom stops, monster checks in the closet and countless hugs good-night, Melissa was ready for bed.

As they had before, the hugs had stopped Carlyne cold. Her family never hugged good-night. In fact, they never hugged at all, but Melissa hadn’t cared about Carlyne’s reserve, she’d just crawled in her lap, wrapped her thin, bony arms tightly around Carlyne’s neck and squeezed so tight Carlyne could hardly breathe.

“One more hug,” the little girl pleaded. “Please?”

Carlyne had something sticky in her hair, grimy handprints all over her, and she couldn’t wait to take a shower, but Melissa wouldn’t let go.

“I miss my mommy,” she whispered.

Carlyne’s heart melted, and she found herself stroking Melissa’s hair. “I know, baby.”

“You smell pretty.” She burrowed her face into Carlyne’s neck. “Like a mommy.”

Startled by the unexpected lump in her throat, Carlyne held on.

“Night,” Melissa finally said, kissing her cheek, leaving yet another sticky imprint.

Carlyne no longer cared. “Night,” she whispered.

Exhausted, she practically had to crawl to her room, thinking if high-school students were forced to baby-sit, even for one afternoon, teenage pregnancy would vanish.

Unless good-night hugs were part of the package.

She was surprised that taking care of one little child could be more tiring than her social benefits and parties, but it definitely was. The thought of multiple children was terrifying.

And thrilling.

Sean’s extra bedroom was much smaller than what she was used to. When she shut the door behind her, she was expecting to feel claustrophobic, but that didn’t happen. The room was clean and simple, had a lovely glass sliding door, overlooking the back yard, and it felt…cozy.

Normally she reserved evenings for herself—when she wasn’t attending one social event or another, that is. She craved quiet time, and she was ruthlessly selfish when she managed to steal it. She’d take long baths, walk or read.

Tonight was no different, though she had to admit, the need to get away from all the people around her didn’t feel as strong as usual.

Still, she couldn’t wait to strip down to the buff, to get out of the weight of the disguise of Carly. But instead, her feet took her to the sliding glass door, to the beautiful moonlit night beyond.

She’d been to many, many places, all across the world, but Santa Barbara was one of the most beautiful she’d ever seen. It was lush and green and fragrant, and in the distance, she could just hear the ocean, pounding the shore in relentless waves.

But far closer, in the pool just beyond the patio, swimming for all he was worth, was Sean.

She stepped out of the room and off the patio into thick wet grass that made her want to take off the hideous boots she still wore so her toes could sink in. Before she could stop herself, she made her way to the very edge of the pool.

The night was clear, cool and fairly quiet, except for the sound of Sean’s long, powerful arms and legs slicing effortlessly through the water.

One lap. Two. Ten.

And still she watched, fascinated.

She could see a flash of smooth, sleek back. A tough, muscled shoulder. A long, lean flank. She had no idea why she felt something deep within her react when there were plenty of gorgeous men in her life. Plenty.