Prince of a Guy (11 page)

S
HE WENT TO BED
alone and woke up alone.

Princess Carlyne Fortier had definitely outstayed her welcome. Maybe Carly Fortune never would have, but that was a moot point now, wasn’t it?

Sean had learned the truth, and he’d clearly decided that not only couldn’t she be trusted, but she was far more trouble than she was worth.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, no one in her life had ever wanted her just for her. Why should now be any different?

Getting out of bed and back into the shower reminded her of Sean. In fact, she thought, gliding the soap over her body, she might never have another shower without remembering how he’d taken her the night before, how he’d touched and kissed her as if his life depended on it.

Hers certainly had.

But afterward, he’d still refused to talk.
He’d sent her to bed and hadn’t come back to her.

Carly hadn’t expected to sleep, but she had. And now the house was awfully quiet. Too quiet.

She threw on clothes, raced down the hallway and came to a skidding halt in the kitchen. At the back door, with a big bag on one shoulder and Melissa in his other arm, stood Sean.

“You changed your hair!” Melissa cried, pointing. “It’s yellow and all cut off!”

Sean said nothing, his eyes cool and distant.

Carly fingered her short blond bob. She’d never colored her hair and always went for the low-maintenance type of cut, because fussing with it was a low priority. Not to mention she hated wasting time at the salon.

Most would be shocked at that fact, expecting her to enjoy the pampering.

“Pretty,” Melissa said. “You coming?”

“Where are you going?”

“Work,” Sean said curtly.

One more minute upstairs and she would have missed them.

“I get to go today.” Melissa beamed. “If I don’t touch anything.”

“I thought you’d be going back,” Sean said. “So I’ll take her with me.”

Her heart had dropped to her toes. “Back?”

“To your life,” he said. “After all, the game is over, isn’t it?”

She struggled with her composure and failed. “It was never a game. You’d know that if you would let me talk to you.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got to go.” He opened the door, but at the last minute turned back.

Her heart returned to its proper place because he was going to change his mind. They were going to talk.

“Bye, Carlyne,” he said quietly.

“Carly,”
she whispered, but he was gone.

As always, she was left alone, all because of who she was.

When would she learn?

Lifting her chin, she went to her room for her purse. She didn’t want Carly’s things. They could stay. She’d come to prove she could make it in the real world, but instead she’d learned an important life lesson.

She was on her own.

And she’d survive.

N
IKKI STARED
at Melissa as Sean walked into his office. “Where’s the sexpot nanny?”

“Watch your language,” Sean said, and set down the wriggling Melissa. “And she wasn’t a sexpot.”

“Uh-huh.”

Sean looked at Nikki in exasperation. “She wore huge, baggy, shapeless clothing, long hair that hid her face and too much makeup. How is that a sexpot?”

“Because you couldn’t keep your eyes off her.”

Hard to argue the truth, so he turned away from his too-knowing assistant and looked for Melissa, who for a little thing had disappeared awfully quickly.

“Quick,” Nikki warned, pointing at the blond head bobbing its way across the room. “Never mind, I’ve got her.”

Melissa was zeroing in on the candy jar on Nikki’s desk.

Nikki beat her to it. With a triumphant smile, she set the jar in her desk drawer and turned the lock. “Not anywhere near my desk, you don’t.”

Melissa folded her arms and stuck out her lower lip.

“Try it on someone who falls for the act, kid. So…” Nikki looked at Sean. “Where is she? Parking the car, right? She’ll be here any second to take over—”

When Sean shook his head, Nikki groaned. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Everything,” he added miserably.

“See?” she cried. “
This
is why messing around with co-workers is such a bad idea.”

“Tell me about it.”

Nikki put her hands on her hips. “Just answer me one question. Why? Why did you have to blow it with her before your sister got back? You only had, like, what? A few days left?”

“How do you know
I
blew it?”

“Because you’re the guy, slick. Guys are always the one to blow it.” She sighed loudly and looked at the still-pouting Melissa. “Okay, missy, listen up. No candy. No feeding the CD player. No touching any buttons on anything, especially the telephone. Keep that in mind, and we’ll all get along. Got it?”

Melissa thought about that. “How about all those pretty colored pens in your desk?”

“The Hi-Liters? Consider them yours, if you color only on the paper I give you. Deal?”

Melissa smiled her killer four-year-old bargaining smile. “Ice cream?”

“You haven’t had lunch yet.”

“We could have ice cream for lunch.”

“Nope.”

“For dessert?”

“If the ice cream truck comes by.”

Melissa’s smile spread. “’Kay.”

With some relief, Sean went into his office, determined to keep himself so busy he couldn’t think.

It turned out to be impossible. Oh, he could keep busy, no problem. Melissa was helpful in that area, running both Nikki and himself ragged with terrifying ease.

But the thinking part…he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

And busybody Nikki was no help.

After awhile, she popped her head into his office. “I’ve got Melissa counting paper clips.” Getting comfortable, she leaned against his desk. “So…what did you do to Carly?”

Other than take her three times on the dark beach, then yet again in his steamy shower, all in ways that were going to fill his dreams with heat and longing for years to come? “Nothing.”

“Melissa said you fired her because she changed her hair color.”

“I didn’t fire her.”

“But she changed her hair color?”

“Nikki.”

Ignoring his warning tone, she sank into a chair and looked at him expectantly.

He sighed. “She’s Princess Carlyne Fortier.”

Nikki’s eyes widened. “Wow, this is better than my soap opera. I thought she was at a retreat or something.”

“Or something.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “For whatever reason, she was hiding out here. With me. Playing at being a nanny.”

Nikki frowned. “I don’t think she was playing, Sean. She seemed really into Melissa. And you,” she added. “I don’t think she could have faked that. So why did she do it?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did she say when you asked her?” At his silence, she groaned. “You didn’t ask her.”

“No.”

“Sean!”

“Well, why the hell would she have wanted to be a nanny, anyway?” She was hot. Beautiful. Sexy. Intelligent. It made no sense at all.

And why did he even care? She’d lied. Used him.

Hurt
him.

“Maybe she wanted a break from her life,” Nikki suggested.

“Yeah, all that money must be tiresome.” He thought of what he’d paid her and was embarrassed. It had been a very fair salary, but he hadn’t known she was a damn princess. To her, it would have been pocket change. “Look, she
lied,
Nikki.”

“Ah.”

There was a volume of knowledge in that
ah.
“What does that mean?”

“Sean,” she said gently. “Not all women lie just to screw with you. Carly is different than Tina. Tina hurt you just because she could. That was the kind of woman she was. I think Carly, on the other hand, probably has a good reason.”

Maybe. But regardless, he’d really fallen for her. And when they’d made love, he’d felt the earth move.

Hell, he was so confused. And more hurt than he could have believed possible, especially when he’d promised himself never to get hurt again. “Whatever her reason, she’s gone.”

“She just…left?”

“Well…”

“Sean!”

“Okay, so maybe I told her she’d be wanting to go back now.”

“You kicked her out? You poor, stupid idiot. Did she even hesitate?”

No, he wanted to say, but that would be a lie of his own making. Truth was, she
had
hesitated. The look she’d given him when he told her to go home had twisted his heart before he’d managed to harden himself. “She might have hesitated. A little.”

She shook her head. “And now you’ll never know what could have been.”

Now he’d never know. He’d never know if what they’d shared had been real or fake. He’d never know if she might have wanted to stay. He’d never know how she might have reacted if he’d told
his
truth, that he’d fallen in love with her.

He’d never know any of it.

F
RANCESCA
picked Carlyne up at the airport. She didn’t ask for conversation, which was good, as Carlyne didn’t have anything to say.

“Your family is thrilled you’re going to be able to make it to the party tomorrow night,” Francesca told her.

Her grandfather’s eightieth birthday. It was going to be a huge event, with celebri
ties and politicians from all over the world. She’d be expected to greet guests, start conversations and keep everything running smoothly. She’d certainly be expected to smile a lot.

How could she do that?

Francesca looked over, saw her eyes fill and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” God, she missed Melissa. She missed Santa Barbara. She missed the ocean. She missed the freedom.

She even missed Mrs. Trykowski.

But most of all, she missed Sean. He had made her smile, had made her laugh. He’d made her
live.
“I’m just tired,” she whispered, her voice wobbly. “Very tired.”

Leaning back, she closed her eyes. But all she saw was Sean, and the way he’d held her, as if she was the most important person in the entire world.

And for her short time with him, she had been.

T
WO DAYS LATER
Stacy came back for Melissa.

Sean had expected to feel great elation.
Freedom.

Instead, his house was too quiet. He no longer had a bossy little girl demanding
kisses. He no longer had a hot woman demanding kisses.

He was lonely, dammit. And he had no idea what to do about it.

“Y
OO-HOO
!”

Sean got out of his car and waited for Mrs. Trykowski to leap over her flower bed and waddle up to him. He waited because it wasn’t worth the effort to outrun her.

Not that he could have, because the woman, old as she was, moved faster than anyone he knew.

“Hello, dear,” she said. “I saw Carlyne on the news. She’s home, back in France with her family. Why is that, exactly?”

Yeah, Sean, why is that?
“Because that’s her home, Mrs. Trykowski. This was temporary, remember? A nanny job, and Melissa is gone.”

“Pah.”

“Excuse me?”

“She was more than a baby-sitter, Sean O’Mara, and you know it. How badly did you screw it all up?”

He stared at her. “Are you by any chance related to my assistant, Nikki?”

“I do not know any Nikki, but I do know that you are an idiot if you let her go home without telling her how much you love her.”

“Look, I have to go to work,” he said, rubbing his aching temples.

“Sure. Bury yourself in work again.”

“I’m not the one who lied.”

“Oh, get over it.” Mrs. Trykowski waved her arms when she spoke, nearly hitting him in the nose. “If you lived the life she did, you’d want your peace and quiet and privacy, too! You ever think of that?”

No. No, actually, despite devouring every bit of news on Princess Carlyne he could since she’d left, he hadn’t.

“If you’d needed to get away that badly, you would have done whatever you had to, which might just include putting on a wig and glasses and going to the other side of the world.” Her eyes narrowed. “Face it, Sean. She acted human.”

When she walked away from him, Sean stared after her, wondering how he’d become the bad guy. And why everything she’d said made far too much sense.

C
ARLYNE SAT
in her Paris office and stared out the window. But instead of the buildings
and streets crammed with people, all she saw was the Pacific Ocean, the beautiful sand and bluffs.

And Sean. She saw Sean.

“Daydreaming again.” Francesca walked in and tsked but sent her a sympathetic smile. “Overwhelmed?”

It felt strange to speak in her native tongue, French, after so many weeks of English. “I can’t find the invitation for the Driskel fund-raiser.”

“It’s on your desk.”

“Oh. Well, I can’t find—”

“It’s on your desk.”

Carlyne glanced around her at all the piles she thought she’d gone through. “And the—”

“On your desk.” Patiently, Francesca sat. “Everything you need is on your desk.”

Baffled, Carlyne lifted her hands. “So why does it all seem out of place?”

“Because
you’re
out of place.”

Carlyne stared at her, then sat back and let out a long sigh. “I know. It just all seems…” She waved a hand at her huge office, at the decadent interior she’d inherited from her mother when she’d taken over the job as Official Fortier Party Maker. “Big.
Too
big. It’s a waste. I don’t need this office.”

“Probably not.”

Carlyne shook her head. God, how she wanted the simple life back, the one she’d had with Melissa and Sean.

Francesca leaned forward and patted her hand. “You know, it’s been nearly two weeks. You could just do as normal women do these days and call him.”

“Who?”

Francesca gave her a dry look. “Gee, I wonder.”

But he’d asked her to leave. How could she call?

“You never explained,” Francesca said gently. “Calling to try to do so would be normal, Carlyne. Really.”

“I’ve never been normal.”

“Well, that’s true. But in this case, you should make an exception. It’s clear you’re not going to be able to go on until you do.”

“I should have told him the truth in the beginning.”

“Yes,” Francesca agreed. “But you didn’t. So you’ll have to make him understand now.”

How? How could she make someone like Sean, a man who followed his own rules and never let others live his life for him, understand?

“Look, it’s lunchtime,” Francesca said. “I’m going to eat. Can I get you something?”

At the thought of food, her stomach rolled, which shocked her, because she loved to eat, always.

“Carlyne? You’re looking green. You okay?”

No. No, she wasn’t okay. She was nauseous and overly emotional.

Understandable, she assured herself. Sure, her period was late, but that was stress.

Sean hadn’t used a condom in the shower.

Carlyne took a long look at her stomach. Flat.

Good.

Suddenly she could see herself big and round with pregnancy. Could see herself giving birth. Holding her baby. Loving that baby with all her heart and soul. Always being there for him or her. Always.

“Carlyne?”

“Nothing for me, thanks.” She managed a smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Very.” She wasn’t pregnant, couldn’t be. Still, she couldn’t contain that very small burst of hope. After all, she loved Sean. She’d love his baby.

Actually, at the moment she loved everyone and everything. She virtually danced over to Francesca to hug her tight.

“What was that for?” Francesca asked, squeezing her.

“Just because.”

Carlyne waited until her assistant left before grabbing her purse and keys. She needed a drugstore.

And a pregnancy kit.

A
FTER WATCHING
the news and seeing Princess Carlyne Fortier’s face everywhere, Sean had to admit Mrs. Trykowski had been right.

Carly—and he liked to think of her as Carly—was rarely smiling, and when she did, the smile didn’t come close to her eyes.

She looked tired, haggard. Miserable.

It drove him crazy that no one, not her family, not the news anchors, not the reporters…
no one
commented on it.

How could he be the only one in the whole damn world worried about her?

She hadn’t set out to hurt him. He really believed that. He believed her lies had had nothing to do with him.

And if he believed that, then he had to be
lieve she hadn’t been merely slumming, playing around with his feelings.

But what
had
she been doing? Escaping the hoopla of her life?

He should have let her explain. She still deserved that, and so did he, but getting hold of a princess wasn’t easy.

In fact, it was downright impossible.

He called her family compound and got the runaround. Same thing from all the businesses connected to her name. No luck with the Web sites.

If she’d had a regular address, he’d have flown there in a heartbeat, but he didn’t even know where she lived.

So he called Melissa. A lot.

In the third week, Stacy got on the phone and said, “Okay, Seany, what’s up?”

“Can’t a guy just call his niece?”

“You really miss her?”

She sounded so surprised, he laughed. “Yeah, I really miss her. Actually, I was thinking I could come get her tomorrow and take her out for pizza.”

“She’s available.” Stacy went quiet for a moment. “Is there something else you want to tell me? Something you want to talk about?”

“Like?”

“Like this sudden need to have people around you.”

“I always like having you around.”

“This is me, Sean. You love us, I know you do, but I also know you value your alone time. So what’s changed?”

Sean looked out his kitchen window to the pool. He thought of Carly sitting on the edge, watching him swim.

It had all started there.

Actually, it had started the moment he’d opened his front door to her, when she’d answered his ad.

His ad.

That was it! Another ad. “Stacy, I’ve got to go.”

“But—”

“Bye.”

“Sean O’Mara, don’t you dare hang up! I want to know details. I want to know—”

Gently he replaced the receiver. He’d make it up to her. Later.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Putting another want ad in his local paper was a long shot, but she’d seen it the first time, so she had to at least view various papers from around the world, right?

God, he hoped so. He drafted a new ad. And then, to be sure, he placed it in every single major newspaper in the free world.