Undercover Princess

“She gave Doug his nickname, you know,” Trey continued. “Helena and I called him Dougie, and she thought we’d named the new baby ‘Doggie.’ She was only seven, so I guess it made sense to her. Anyway, the name stuck, and unfortunately, it’s probably at the core of the kid’s current problem.”

“I truly don’t think Doug has a problem,” Katherine told him. “I think—”

“He eats breakfast from a dog dish,” Trey said flatly. “If that’s not a problem, I don’t—” He stopped himself. “Okay. Look. Helena died three years ago. Three years. The kid should be starting to come around, but instead I see him slipping further and further into this world of make-believe he’s created for himself.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid that one of these days, he’s just never going to come out.”

“He’s six,” Katherine pointed out. “There’s not much reality in most six-year-olds’ lives. Although I studied psychology in school, I’m no expert, sir, and yet—”

“Trey,” he said. “Not ‘sir.’”

“Hard habit to break,” she murmured. “Nearly as hard to break as the habit of interrupting people all the time.”

“I’m sorry.” His apology was swift and completely sincere. “I’ll—Please.” He finally sat down in the other chair. “Continue.”

“It seems to me that pretending he’s a dog is simply Doug’s way of dealing with any new—and potentially frightening—situation. He’s painfully shy, yet here he is, forced to go one-on-one with a new nanny for what? The four thousand, five hundred and something time since his mother just vanished from his life.”

“Twelve,” Trey said. “The twelfth time.”

She was appalled. “In three years?”

“Almost four actually, since we hired a nanny when Helena first got sick. Mae loved the kids and Helena, too, but she left when…” This time he interrupted himself. Apparently there were some details he didn’t feel comfortable sharing.

Such as perhaps the fact that this loving nanny had left because she had seen or heard too much, and feared for her own safety?

Katherine chided herself for having such an unruly and uncalled for thought. Trey hadn’t murdered his wife, contrary to all the rumors. And there were rumors. She’d heard them at the hotel, heard them while shopping in town. It was believed that Trey Sutherland had committed the perfect murder.

But that was just talk, and here Trey had just told her Helena had been sick.

He was sitting there grimly, fingers pressed against his forehead as if he had a headache, his broad shoulders slouched back in the chair, and Katherine couldn’t bear to press him with curious questions about Helena’s death. She would go to the library, read what the newspapers had to say about it, and then, if she had any questions, she’d speak to him. But until then, they had Doug and Stacy to discuss.

“The other nannies were…” Trey shook his head as he glanced over at her. His eyes were truly a remarkable shade of blue. “Some quit after only a few days, some just simply didn’t work out from our end, most of them couldn’t handle Stacy and Doug. None of them stayed more than a few months.”

“That’s got to have been dreadfully tough on Doug and Stacy. I’m not blaming you, mind you,” she added hastily. “I’m not going to pretend that I know you in any kind of depth, but what I do know is that you love your children.”

“But…?” Trey asked, correctly hearing that invisible little word dangling there.

“But twelve nannies in even four years would have to be trying on any child, let alone a sensitive one like Doug,” she pointed out. “In my opinion, Trey—” She’d managed to say his name instead of sir, but it had come out sounding too soft, too intimate and she froze.

He was watching her, giving her his full attention, and being the focal point of all that grim intensity was rather overwhelming. But then he smiled slightly, and the harsh lines of his face softened, and he was somehow, some way even morehandsome, his eyes even more blue. “Thanks,” he said. “I know it’s not easy for you to call me that.”

She tried not to be affected, but her voice came out far too whispery and soft. “In my opinion, Doug’s dealt with all the chaos and change in his life extremely well. He has no reason to trust me, and in fact, here we go again, right? I’m only going to be here for the short term. If Doug’s been paying attention and I think he probably knows everything that goes on in this house, including a few things you don’t think he knows—he does know I’m not going to stay. He has no reason at all to risk becoming attached to me. Considering that, and considering everything else—including his shyness—I’m more than willing to become friends on his terms, first. And if that means playing make-believe games with him, I truly think that’s fine. So unless you specifically tell me that you don’t want—”

“No,” he said. “It’s obvious you’ve thought this through. I’m still leery, but you’re right about Doug being shy.”

“Doug’s shy, but Doggie’s not,” Katherine said, referring to the boy’s alter ego. “I see no reason he shouldn’t use that to empower himself.”

“The dog thing drives me nuts,” Trey admitted. “That’s the hard part about being a single parent. You have to deal with everything—even the things that make you crazy. When Stacy was really little, like two or three, she had this thing with her socks—the seam had to line up across her toes in a certain way, and if they didn’t, it was a tragedy. The shoes couldn’t go on her feet, life virtually had to screech to a halt. I swear, if you wanted her to leave the house at a certain time, you had to start her with her socks and her shoes a good forty minutes beforehand. It drove me mad, but it didn’t bother Helena one bit. She thought it was funny—she was so patient with both the kids and…” He glanced away, and when he looked back he tried to force a smile. “Let’s just say patience isn’t one of my strengths.”

Katherine couldn’t stop the rush of compassion. There was no way on earth this man could have killed his wife. Absolutely no way. Obviously, he loved Helena still. “Well, now that I’m here, I’ll do what I can to help.”

“I suppose it’s too soon to try to talk you into staying on permanently…?”

Katherine laughed and stood up. “I’d better get back to the children.”

She started for the door.

“Kathy.”

She turned back.

Trey had stood up, and silhouetted the way he was against the window and the bright-blue November afternoon, he looked even taller and broader than usual. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

He reached up, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. “I was hoping we could set up a time to talk each day—maybe in the evening, in between Doug’s and Stacy’s bedtimes. You could keep me filled in on what’s going on with the kids.”

Katherine found her voice. “That sounds…very smart.”

He shrugged out of his jacket, draped it on the back of one of his leather chairs, then rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. “Say…nine o’clock here, in my office? Doug’s usually unconscious by eight forty-five, but Stacy usually doesn’t get to bed until ten-thirty or eleven. There are shows she likes to watch on TV.”

“That sounds perfect.” Good grief, she sounded like an idiot. That sounds smart. That sounds perfect. What it really sounded was incredibly, foolishly disappointing.

Her heart was still pounding, though. When he’d first said he was hoping to set up a time for them to talk each day, she’d actually been dumb enough to think it was because he enjoyed her company. But no. She’d forgotten herself for a nanosecond, forgotten she was wearing that dull white underwear, forgotten that Trey was, indeed, completely out of her league. Not to mention that he was still in love with his dead wife. Dear Lord, she was so foolish.

“See you tonight, then,” he said.

“All right.” She turned to leave, extremely glad he couldn’t read her mind, but again he stopped her.

“Kathy, hang on.” He crossed the room toward her. “You’ve got…”

She was completely confused as he reached around behind her. He smelled almost sinfully good at that close range, but she still nearly jumped a mile into the air as his fingers brushed the seat of her pants. What was he doing?

“Hold still,” he ordered almost sternly, then touched her again and—

There was a small tearing sound, and Trey handed her a small cardboard tag that had been attached to the back pocket of her brand-new jeans.

“Oh, dear,” she said.

He smiled. Not one of those forced, rueful half smiles he was so good at. This one was genuine, and at close range, it packed quite a wallop.

Katherine knew she was blushing, and she blushed even harder when she realized that in order for him to have noticed that tag, he had to have been looking directly at the seat of her pants. He’d been checking her out again. Imagine that. Even though she was wearing her boring white underwear.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he said.

She took the piece of cardboard from him and their fingers touched. His were warm and big, with neatly trimmed nails. She glanced up into his eyes—she couldn’t help herself—and saw that his smile had faded.

He took a step back, away from her, as if suddenly aware he was standing much too close.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I have this tendency to point out unzipped flies and spinach between teeth, too. I tuck labels back down into the shirts of strangers. It’s gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion.”

“I think I probably need someone like you following me around,” Katherine admitted. “I once spent an entire day with my shirt on inside out and not one person told me. I finally realized what I’d done at bedtime. I was mortified.”

“Maybe no one noticed,” he suggested. “Most people just don’t bother to look that closely at other people.”

Most people didn’t look at other people the way Trey Sutherland did. He didn’t just look, he examined, studied, memorized. Which was why he’d spotted that tag on her pants. He probably hadn’t been checking out her rear end after all.

Katherine wasn’t sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved. She motioned toward the door. “I should…”

He nodded, taking another step backward. “See you at nine, then.”

“Not for dinner? I mean, I’m sure the children will expect to see you.”

“Oh,” he said. “No, I, um, I have a conference call scheduled and…”

“Oh,” Katherine said. “That’s too bad.”

“Yeah, I, uh…I’ll see you…later.”

That was completely strange.

Katherine found herself standing in the hallway outside the closed door to Trey’s office. What had just happened? Had she just imagined that Trey had suddenly gotten very, very tense? And if it wasn’t imagined, what had she done? Had it been something she’d said, or perhaps her body language? Her eagerness for him to join her for dinner?

It was absurd even to think he’d want to have dinner with her, but surely he’d want to see his children. Wouldn’t he?

Katherine walked down the stairs and back toward the playroom.

Yes, it was absurd to think Trey Sutherland would want to have dinner with her.

Regardless of what kind of underwear she had on, the man was completely out of her league.

Chapter 4

“Stacy, what do you want on your sandwich?” Kathy backed out of the refrigerator, holding a pile of cold cuts. As she turned around, she slammed directly into Trey.

He saw it coming, but couldn’t get out of the way fast enough.

“Oh, dear, sorry!”

“No, I’m sorry,” he said.

She’d lost her hold on some of the slippery plastic bags, and now they were pinned between them. Trey grabbed for the bags with his left hand, juggling his morning mug of coffee in his right.

He should have just let them fall. Instead, he grabbed the swiss cheese and a packet of ham—along with Kathy’s right breast.

“God, I’m sorry,” he said again.

She made it to the counter and dumped the cold cuts there. She was laughing, thank God, although her cheeks were tinged pink with a blush.

She looked about eighteen years old this morning, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, face scrubbed freshly clean of makeup, dressed in an oversize sweatshirt and jeans.

“Well,” she said. “That certainly woke me up.”

“Sorry.” Damn, he was blushing, too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually blushed. Was it back in sixth grade or maybe third…?

He refused to think about how soft her body felt, or the fact that the accidental full body block had been the closest he’d been to a woman in far too long. He refused to acknowledge the sharp flare of sensation and emotion. He didn’t want to analyze whether that sudden turmoil in his chest was the result of longing or need or even attraction—he’d already decided that his feelings toward Kathy were brotherly.

He quickly changed the subject. “And as long as I’m apologizing, I’m sorry I had to cancel our meeting last night.”

“No problem,” she said briskly. “Thank you for leaving a note.”

“I had to go into the office—I didn’t get back until late. I think it was around two-thirty,” Trey explained. He didn’t want her thinking he’d blown her off for anything other than work. “We’ve got a deadline for a big software project for an important client. We’re down to the wire—I’ve got teams working around the clock. There was a problem and the project manager was home celebrating her tenth wedding anniversary, so I went in instead.”

She looked up from making Doug’s sandwich to smile at him. “That was so sweet of you.”

Sweet. God. He didn’t think he’d ever been called sweet in his entire life. He shrugged. “Anyone who can stay married for ten years these days deserves a night off.”

“I’m never getting married. It’s definitely overrated.” Stacy was wearing her standard black, and this morning she’d accessorized it with an equally dark scowl. She got on her skateboard and rolled with her bowl and a box of her current favorite nuts-and-twigs-type cereal to the kitchen table.

“Is it possible,” Trey said to his daughter, “for you to leave that thing at the door?”

She didn’t answer him. He hadn’t really expected her to.

She rolled back to the counter and glared at the orange juice as she poured herself a glass.

Mornings were by far one of the roughest times of the day. Like Trey, neither Stacy nor Doug were morning people, and the rush to get ready for school could be fraught with real peril.

“So, Stacy,” Kathy said exuberantly, “what do you want on your sandwich? Roast beef or ham?” It was possible that her British accent made her sound extra cheerful. Or maybe she simply was bright and upbeat in the morning.

Stacy didn’t look up from the table where she was slumped over her bowl. “I don’t want lunch.”

“Too bad,” Trey said. “You’re going to have lunch whether you want it or not.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. But he couldn’t seem to be in a room with his daughter these days without triggering some kind of disagreement. He couldn’t so much as look at the kid without feeling this flare of frustration and despair. “Give her ham and cheese,” he told Kathy grimly.

But Kathy was still being cheerful, ignoring the tension that filled the room. “How ‘bout it, Stacy? Ham and cheese today?”

“I’m a vegetarian.”

“But last night you ate Anita’s stew—”

“Today,” Stacy said rudely. “I’m a vegetarian today.”

Lord, help me. Trey realized from Stacy’s belligerent expression and from Kathy’s sudden wide eyes that he’d spoken aloud. “Sorry,” he said. Damn it, all he was doing this morning was apologizing. “Fine, Stace. Take a cheese sandwich.”

“I’m vegan.” At his blank look, she added, “No cheese.” You idiot. She didn’t say the words aloud, but they certainly were implied.

“Great. Take a salad.” He tried to mimic Kathy’s upbeat style as he turned to her. “Do we have lettuce?”

“Absolutely.” Kathy’s smile was warm and welcoming after Stacy’s icy look. “One salad, coming up.”

Doug skittered into the kitchen on all fours and Trey felt his neck and shoulders get even tighter. He was about to bark out an order for his son to get to his feet and walk, when Kathy stepped very firmly on his toe. “Ow,” he said instead.

Then he watched as Doug stopped short at the sight of his favorite bowl—a plastic dog dish bearing the word Rover—out on the floor, filled with unappetizingly hard pellets of kibble.

Well, now, that was interesting. Trey had never tried pushing Doug’s game to the extreme, actually trying to feed the kid dog food.

The look on Dougie’s face was comical. Or, at least, it would have been had Trey found anything at all funny about the fact that his son was more comfortable as a canine than a human.

“Good morning, Douglas,” Kathy said to him cheerfully, Mary Poppins in a sweatshirt. “Are you going to be a dog this morning or a boy? I bought the boy a special treat, but in order to have it, you’ve got to sit at the table and eat with a spoon.”

Sure enough, she’d set a place at the table for Doug, in front of which was a pitcher of milk and a box of sugary cereal.

Doug’s eyes widened, and then—for the first time in weeks, at least as far as Trey had heard—he actually spoke. “Lucky Charms!” He pushed himself onto his feet and ran for the table, sliding into his seat.

And then, maybe even more miraculously, Stacy actually lifted her head from her own breakfast and smiled. Of course, her smile was for Kathy, who was smiling back at the girl and giving her a thumbs-up.

Clearly, they’d been coconspirators in this Lucky Charms plot.

Kathy was wearing black nail polish—a definite sign that she’d spent at least part of the evening in his daughter’s company. Trey was pleased. Or at least he hoped he was pleased.

He leaned closer to Kathy, lowering his voice. “You didn’t leave the kids home by themselves to go buy that, did you?”

She gave him her oh-dear look. “Of course not. I had it delivered.” She leaned closer. “Sorry about your toe.”

She smelled amazingly good, a mixture of clean soap and some softly, delicately fragrant lotion. From this proximity, he could count the freckles that were scattered across her nose and cheeks. They took her adorableness to a completely new level. Why on earth would she ever want to cover them with makeup?

“How do you get the grocery store to deliver that late at night?” he asked. Her eyes were a very light shade of gray-blue, with a very thin ring around the outside of the iris so dark it was nearly black. Her lashes were thick and lush and—Trey took a step back, suddenly aware they were still standing much too close.

“You don’t,” she answered, putting the lid on the plastic container that held Stacy’s salad. “But if you’re creative, you order a pizza and then when it arrives, you tell the pizza delivery boy that he’ll get a twenty-dollar tip if he drops a box of Lucky Charms at the house before ten o’clock.”

“I’ll pay you back,” Trey told her, leaning back against the counter and taking another sip of his coffee. “In fact, I meant to tell you to keep a list of your expenses.”

“Of course.” She gave him another smile. “You look very nice this morning. I assume the suit means you’re going into your office?”

“Thanks, and yeah.” He ran his hand through his hair, feeling absurdly pleased at her compliment. “I’ve got meetings all day.”

She efficiently zipped Doug’s purple lunch box shut. “What time should we expect you home tonight?”

“I’ll be back by nine,” he said. “In time for our meeting.”

“Oh.” Kathy’s smile faded. “Not for dinner?”

“I have a meeting that’s going to run late.”

He’d disappointed her. She was trying hard not to show it, but he had. Clearly she’d had expectations—probably based on the fact that most families shared at least one meal together during the day.

But the Sutherlands weren’t most families. Not by a long shot.

“We need to go,” Stacy implored. “Doug, go brush your teeth. Quickly. You’ve got dog breath.” She gave Kathy another of her rare smiles as Doug vanished down the hallway. “He thinks that’s a compliment.” She rolled toward the door. “I’ll be out in the car.”

“Take your lunch,” Kathy said. “And don’t forget to say goodbye to your father.”

“Goodbye, Trey,” Stacy intoned. “Be sure to make lots and lots of money today because God knows the four billion we already have isn’t enough.”

“In my country,” Kathy said, “we generally save our insults for the middle of the conversation. Greetings and farewells tend to be insult-free. A simple ‘enjoy your day’ will do quite nicely, please. And—call me old-fashioned—but everyone needs a hug in the morning.”

Stacy’s smiles were long gone. She turned the hostility she usually reserved for Trey onto Kathy, full power. “I don’t.” The conviction in her words was countered by the way she hesitantly glanced at Trey.

“That’s ridiculous.” Kathy softened her words with a smile that included Stacy in the joke. “I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t benefit from a hug.”

Stacy narrowed her eyes, and Trey felt himself tense. That was never a good sign. Stacy had a temper that was too much like his own. She had moods like his, too. In fact, she was just too damn much like him across the board, poor kid.

But to his surprise, she looked from Kathy to Trey and back again, and then smiled. But it wasn’t a nice smile. It was a calculating smile. Trey braced himself.

“So, okay,” his daughter said. “If everyone really does need a hug in the morning, then you guys go first.”

Trey looked at Kathy, who met his gaze with what he was sure was an equal look of shock.

Um…

Kathy blushed—what a surprise. And she laughed. “But I’m not family.”

“Oh,” Stacy said. “I see. So you didn’t really mean that everyone needs a hug. You meant, only some people need hugs. And I’m telling you that I’m not one of—”

“No,” Kathy said in her, I may sound friendly but I’m not taking any lip voice. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m actually in dire need of one, this being my first full day at a new job, not to mention the fact that I’m thousands of miles from my home and my family. I was simply expecting to get my share of hugs from you and Douglas, that’s all.”

“We’re hug-challenged,” Stacy told her. “Sutherlands are pros at the air kiss—we embrace with as little body contact as possible. And when we want to get turned on, we shake hands, mostly because it reminds us of making a business deal.”

Stacy crossed the kitchen and gave Trey an exaggerated air kiss about three feet from his cheek. “Enjoy your day,” she said tightly. “Try to limit yourself to only three hostile takeovers today, okay, Dad?” She grabbed her skateboard and went out the door. The screen door banged shut behind her.

“Oh, dear,” Kathy said. “I’m sorry, I—”

“She’s right.” It wasn’t even seven-thirty, and Trey already had a pounding headache. “As a family, we’re…not very affectionate.”

“Well,” Kathy said, “if that’s something—as a family—that you’re not particularly happy with, then it might serve you well to figure out a way to change. Air kisses certainly serve their purpose, but they shouldn’t be for family.” She pushed open the kitchen door and leaned out into the hallway. “Doug! Even if you’ve cleaned them one at a time, you’ve got to be done with your teeth by now. Hurry, or we’ll be late.”

Trey finished his coffee as he watched Kathy hustle his son out the door.

“See you tonight,” she called to him, polite to the bitter end.

Maybe Kathy could teach them all how to hug. The thought was remarkably appealing but completely absurd. It was more than likely they were all beyond hope.

But then Trey remembered. This very morning, after Kathy had been here less than one day, Stacy had smiled and Doug had spoken.

His new nanny was a miracle worker. If anyone could achieve the impossible, it would be Kathy Wind.

The light was on in Trey’s tower office.