Prince Daddy & the Nanny

“You’re not my friend, you’re the new nanny, and I hate

you.”

“I promise that you and I will have lots of fun together this summer. We can go—”

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you. I just want you to go away!” Riley demanded with such fierce insistence that Hannah felt her own eyes fill with tears.

She knew that she shouldn’t take the little girl’s rejection personally. Despite her extensive vocabulary and adolescent attitude, Riley was only a child, reacting to her feelings of loss and abandonment. But Hannah understood those feelings well—maybe too well, with the news of her father’s recent marriage still fresh in her mind—and she hated that she couldn’t take away her pain.

“What’s going on in here?” a familiar, masculine voice asked from the doorway.

Riley flew across the room and into her father’s arms, sobbing as if the whole world had fallen down around her.

The prince lifted her easily. “What’s with the tears?”

“I want Brigitte to come back.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his throat, crying softly.

He frowned at Hannah over her daughter’s head, as if the new nanny was somehow responsible for the child’s tears.

“She’s feeling abandoned,” she told him.

His brows lifted. “Is she?”

She couldn’t help but bristle at the obvious amusement in his tone. Maybe she didn’t know his daughter very well yet, but she understood at least some of what the little girl was feeling, and she wasn’t going to let him disregard the depth of those feelings.

“Yes, she is,” she insisted. “She was upset when she woke up and the only person who was anywhere around was me—a virtual stranger.”

The prince rubbed his daughter’s back in an easy way that suggested he’d done so countless times before. “She’ll get used to being here and to being with you,” he insisted.

Hannah wished she could believe it was true, but she sensed that the princess would resist at every turn. “Maybe, eventually,” she allowed. “But in the meantime, you’re the only constant in her life and you weren’t around.”

“I was only downstairs,” he pointed out.

“Behind closed doors.”

“If I didn’t have other things to deal with, Miss Castillo, I wouldn’t have hired you to help take care of Riley for the summer.” Now that the little girl had quieted, he set her back on her feet.

Hannah wanted to ask if his business was more important than his daughter, but she knew that it wasn’t a fair question. She had to remember that the prince wasn’t her own father, and she couldn’t assume that his preoccupation with other matters meant he didn’t care about the princess.

“You’re right,” she agreed, watching as Riley went over to her desk to retrieve a portfolio case. “I’m sorry. I just wish this wasn’t so difficult for her.”

“I get the impression she’s making it difficult for you, too.”

She hadn’t expected he would see that, much less acknowledge it, and she conceded that she may have been a little too quick to judgment.

“I teach Beowulf to football players—I don’t mind a challenge,” she said lightly. “Although right now, the challenge seems to be finding a spare set of sheets for Riley’s bed.”

“I’ll send Caridad up to take care of it,” he told her.

“I don’t mind,” she said, thinking that it would at least be something useful for her to do. “I just need you to point me in the direction of the linen closet.”

Before he could respond, Riley interjected, “I need flowers for my art project.”

“Why don’t you go outside with Hannah to get some from the gardens?” the prince suggested. “I’m sure she would love to see the flowers.”

“Can’t you come with me, Daddy?” she asked imploringly.

“I’m sorry, honey, but I have a big project to finish up before dinner.”

With a sigh, Riley finally glanced over at Hannah, acknowledging her for the first time since the prince had come into the room.

“I need freesias,” she said. “Do you know what they are?”

Hannah smiled. “As a matter of fact, freesias happen to be some of my favorite flowers.”

Michael was going to his office to pick up a file when the phone on the desk rang. He’d just tucked Riley into bed and didn’t want her to wake up, so he answered quickly, without first bothering to check the display. The moment he heard his mother’s voice, he realized his mistake.

“I have wonderful news for you, Michael.”

“What news is that?” he asked warily, having learned long ago that her idea of wonderful didn’t always jibe with his own.

“Your daughter has been accepted for admission at Charlemagne Académie.”

“I didn’t even know she’d applied,” he said dryly.

Elena huffed out an impatient breath. “I pulled a lot of strings to make this happen, Michael. A little appreciation would not be unwarranted.”

“I didn’t ask you to pull any strings,” he pointed out. “In fact, I’m certain I never mentioned Charlemagne at all.”

“Your sister went there—it’s a wonderful educational institution.”

“Even so, I’m not sending Riley to boarding school.”

“Of course you are,” Elena insisted. “And while they don’t usually accept children as young as five—”

“Riley’s not yet four,” he interrupted.

His mother paused, as if taken aback by this revelation, but she recovered quickly. “Well, if they could take a five-year-old, they can take a four-year-old.”

“They’re not taking her at all,” he said firmly.

“Be reasonable, Michael. This is the perfect solution to your child-care dilemma.”

“There’s no dilemma, no reason for you to worry.”

“I thought your nanny was leaving.”

“Brigitte did leave, and I hired someone new for the summer.”

“And what will you do at the end of the summer?” she challenged.

“I’m not worrying about that right now.”

“The fall term starts in September.”

“I’m not sending my four-year-old daughter away to boarding school in Switzerland.”

“The child will benefit from the structure and discipline.”

“The child has a name,” he pointed out.

“A wholly inappropriate one for a princess,” his mother sniffed.

“You’ve made your opinion on that perfectly clear,” he assured her. “But it doesn’t change the fact that Riley is her name.”

“Getting back to my point—Riley will benefit from the structure and discipline at Charlemagne, and you will no longer be burdened—”

“Don’t.” Though softly spoken, the single word silenced her as effectively as a shout. “Don’t you dare even suggest that my daughter is a burden.”

“I didn’t mean that the chi—that Riley was a burden,” she hastened to explain. “But that the responsibilities of caring for a young daughter must seem overwhelming at times.”

He couldn’t deny that was true any more than he could expect his mother to understand that Riley was also the greatest joy in his life, so he only said, “I’ll let you know if I change my mind about Charlemagne.”

“I really do believe it would be best for Riley and for you,” she said.

“I appreciate your concern,” he lied.

Elena sighed. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

Michael began to respond, but she’d already disconnected the call.

He dropped the receiver back in the cradle and went around his desk. Only then did he notice the figure curled up in the oversized wing chair facing the fireplace.

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness.” Hannah immediately rose to her feet. “I should have made my presence known, but I didn’t have a chance to say anything before the phone rang. Then I wanted to leave and to give you some privacy for your call, but you were blocking the door.”

He waved off her apology. “It’s okay.”

“I really didn’t intend to eavesdrop,” she assured him. “But for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re not planning to send Riley to boarding school.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe she would expect me to even consider such a thing.”

“She?” Hannah prompted curiously.

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