The Playboy Prince and the Nanny (Royal Duology 1)

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For two weeks, Rose and Diego caught stolen moments alone. Once, when he brought her coffee while the children were napping after a vigorous swim in the pool, he fed her little almond cookies and kissed the crumbs off her face. Another time he took her on a proper tour of the palace, pointing out the works of art lining the hallways and the impressive ballroom that was used for parties. His sister had been presented at a state ball there, he told her, and accepted as a princess even though she was the illegitimate daughter of King Alexander. He squeezed her hand when he told her that story, as if to say she wouldn’t be the first to challenge the royal status quo.

There were long talks over glasses of red wine in the evenings, but after a while Rose knew that eventually the sneaking around would have to stop. She had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, she felt guilty about hiding their relationship, and it was difficult to steal time together. On the other hand, she knew that once they went public, everything would change.

Diego came to her one evening and sat across from her in her suite. “So, next week is Raoul’s birthday, and we’ve decided to throw a party. Nothing too fancy.”

“What’s your definition of too fancy?” she asked, crossing her leg over her knee and taking a sip of a particularly nice tempranillo.

He grinned. “Well, there will be . . . people. Probably a hundred or so. But not official like a state dinner or anything. We’ll have food. A giant cake. Some dancing. The children are requested to attend through the dinner, but then they can go to bed after that.”

“And Raoul isn’t telling me this why?” She wondered why Diego was the one letting her know the plans for the children instead of their father. Most communication regarding specific requests came from him or through Stephani.

“Oh, he will. Tomorrow. We’ve been discussing it for a few weeks now. Invitations have gone out. The menu’s been decided.”

“I see. I’ll be sure to have the children ready. Will they be needing new outfits?” She smiled softly. “Emilia would probably love a new dress. Maybe we could go shopping.”

“You should get one for you, too,” he suggested. “You’ll be accompanying the children.”

“I will?” Her brows pulled together. “But surely I’ll just deliver them to the party, as I always do, and retrieve them after dinner?”

“Not this time.” He sat back against the sofa cushions. “Before, they always had Cecilia to keep them in line at a big function. Not three bachelors. They need a steadying hand.”

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nbsp; She imagined going to such a party and instantly felt overwhelmed. “You want me to sit with the children?”

“Yes. At the head table, to keep an eye on them.”

To keep an eye on the children. Not as his date. Strictly as the nanny. Which was as it should be, so why was she disappointed?

This together / not together thing was more difficult than she’d expected. What were they even doing? Playing at a relationship? The kind where he put on his tuxedo, sash, and medals and sat to the left of the king, and she sat at the end of the table, making sure children used their napkins and otherwise being invisible? And then getting together behind closed doors and talking about how much they cared about each other? It was no way to run anything.

“You don’t look happy,” he observed, leaning forward. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up and met his gaze. “Diego, what are we doing?” she whispered, unable to keep the note of longing out of her voice. “We can’t be together in public, we can’t keep going on like this. It sounded all right in the beginning, but weren’t we just fooling ourselves?”

He reached out for her hand. “Don’t say that. You know I care about you. You’re not just the nanny, you know that.” He turned her hand over and kissed the base of her palm. “There’s something special between us. And going to the party makes you visible, yes? Why not ease you into the spotlight? We already have the pictures from the market that day. A few more family appearances will make it seem like you’re one of the family more and more . . . to everyone.”

“You mean, to Raoul and your father. To ease them into the idea.”

He smiled. “Yes, now you’re getting it.”

Her heart trembled. She should have listened to her gut all along. It wasn’t even that Diego was a bad guy—he wasn’t. But she’d been in lukewarm relationships before. Easing into anything sounded lackluster at best, and certainly not the action of a man who was ready to stand up and make her his.

At first she’d thought propriety was her biggest concern. But she realized, quite suddenly, that there was something bigger at play. Maybe there was something to what Hayley had said after all, about how Rose looked after other people’s children because she didn’t think she’d have any of her own. Unintentional or not, she wondered if perhaps she considered herself such a wallflower that no one would ever take notice. Would ever give her the fairy tale.

Fairy tales, she realized, were horribly overrated. Reality was very different from being whisked away into a perfect fantasy. Reality, in fact, felt like navigating a professional and personal minefield.

She kept her gaze level as she looked at Diego. “You know, you could just tell them that we’ve been seeing each other. See what they say.” Her heart clenched a bit. There was always the chance that she’d be sacked, but it would be worse if they found out on their own.

He frowned. “I just think the party isn’t the time, you know?” He got up from the sofa and paced a bit. “The timing’s a bit tricky. Remember how I talked about damage control a few weeks ago? There are so many things to consider about the party. And guests coming from around Marazur and other countries. When we talk to Raoul and my father, it should be something we can discuss and make a plan forward.”

He put his hands on his hips and looked down at her.

“You have always struck me as spontaneous. Impulsive,” she replied, folding her hands in her lap. He didn’t need to see them shaking.

He came and sat by her side. “Darling, I am. But my family has to be handled with care. I don’t want to start a paparazzi firestorm. I want to show them I care for you but also that I want to work with them to make this the easiest it can be for the monarchy.”