The Irresistible Prince. Lisa Laurel Kaye
nodded.
“And if I have to go undercover to find her...”
She looked up at him. “You’ll go along with my plan, then?”
“First tell me precisely what you have in mind.”
“Okay,” she said briskly. “First of all we’d have to get you out of this castle, the sooner the better. An ordinary guy would have no reason to live here.”
“True. Are there any hotels in town?”
“A couple of bed-and-breakfasts, but they’re closed this time of year. Besides, if you want a hometown girl, you have to be a hometown guy. You can stay at my house,” she offered.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I think you should move in with me.”
She sounded so casual about it! He knew what an invitation like that meant in his homeland—if he slept one night under the same roof as a single woman, they’d be married by morning! He knew what an invitation like that meant from a jaded veteran of the ultrachic international circles, too. But he had no idea in the world it meant from a woman like her, in a place like Anders Point. “Move in with you?” he repeated.
“It’s perfectly logical. It will make it easier for us to work together, and I’ve got a spare bedroom you can have all to yourself.”
Sleeping arrangements aside, he couldn’t imagine two people living in that little dollhouse of hers—in the space that wasn’t taken up by her two businesses. Even this castle seemed small compared to his palace in the Constellation Isles. “I couldn’t possibly impose like that,” he said.
“Nonsense,” she said. “I want you to.”
Strange as it sounded, he believed her, and realized that he had just found out for himself what people meant when they talked about American hospitality.
“Your staying with me would also give us a reason for you to be in town,” she went on. “We’ll pass you off as Luke Hansson, an old friend of mine, while I get you together with women around here.”
He still wasn’t convinced it would be that easy. “Even with a different name, won’t I be recognizable?”
She had an answer for that, too. “You would be, if we didn’t change your appearance.”
“Change my appearance? How?”
“There’s only one way that a face that appears with such regularity on newsstands the world over is going to gain any kind of anonymity, even in a place like Anders Point,” she said seriously. “And I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Neither did he, whatever it was. “What is it?” he asked cautiously.
“Well, the way I see it, the one thing that would work is if you get rid of your most recognizable feature. Your trademark.”
He leaned his forearms on the table. “Miss Lane—”
“Annah.”
“Are you suggesting that I shave my beard?”
“Oh no, I’m more than suggesting. I’m insisting.”
He pushed his chair back from the table. “Unthinkable,” he said with finality.
She crossed her arms. “If you don’t, you’ll never get away with this. Especially around women.”
“No.”
The word hung in the air between them for several minutes, while they faced off. “Then you’ll just have to come up with another plan on your own,” she said finally. “This is the only plan I have, and the only way it will work.”
Getting up from the table, he put another log on the fire and watched as the flames engulfed it. He lingered there long after he needed to for the sake of fire building, thinking about what she had said.
Annah watched the flickering light play across his brooding features while she cleared the table and stacked the dishes in the dishwasher. She was tempted to break the silence, but there was really nothing more to say. It was up to him now.
When she was finished, she could see that he was still weighing her plan in his mind. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “I’m going home now, so you can finish thinking this over. But you need to make a decision tonight.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the castle is supposed to be empty.” Whit and Drew were honeymooning, and the caretaker was on vacation. “I can explain away the lights here this evening, because I’ve got a set of keys and a strong need to borrow an industrial-size coffeepot,” she said. “But if you’re here in the morning, the jig is up. You’ll be Prince Lucas, princess hunting in Anders Point.”
He registered that without a word, then disappeared while she was packing up her bags. A few minutes later, he came back with her jacket. He helped her put it on, then carried the big coffee urn for her.
Outside, her car was running. She looked at him.
“I thought I’d get it warmed up for you,” he said.
She found herself speechless at his thoughtfulness. He must have noticed her putting the keys in her jacket pocket when she arrived.
He opened the door for her. “Get in,” he said gruffly. “You must be freezing out here.”
No one was ever that concerned with her comfort. Obediently she slid behind the wheel, and he closed the door behind her. When he was halfway up the steps again, she rolled down the window. “Luke,” she called out softly. He stopped for a moment before turning around and coming back to the car.
“What is it?”
He was leaning over, his face right next to hers. Another wave of warmth washed over her, in defiance of the weather. “I really think this will work,” she said. “I’ll keep the back door unlocked for you. Your bedroom is the one at the top of the stairs.”
Chapter Three
His Highness, Prince Lucas of the Constellation Isles wiped off a corner of the steamed-up mirror in Annah’s tiny bathroom and glared at his reflection. All of a sudden this hot idea was looking mighty lukewarm. He turned away from the mirror, stripped down and got into the shower.
The steamy water sluicing over him washed away his temporary misgivings. Late last night he had gone to bed feeling optimistic for the first time since he had been handed a wedding deadline. He was a man of action, and it had gone against the grain to waste ten months spinning his wheels on the slick, dating fast track. Now, thanks to Annah, he finally had a game plan, a strategy that was going to help him find the right woman to be his bride. With her plan she had given him a changed identity, a place to stay and something more. Something less tangible but far more important—hope.
He was overwhelmed by her willingness to help him, which even extended to welcoming him into her home. However else he felt about it, there was no doubt that his being Annah’s houseguest was the perfect cover. Even if someone thought they recognized him, they would discount entirely the possibility it could really be he. Why would a prince do such a thing? Somehow it gave him a real lift, knowing that he was anonymous for a change. He had sent his bodyguard away, reasoning that if he wasn’t going to be a prince, he didn’t need one. This was an adventure. What man wouldn’t thrill to the chance of going undercover? And there would be absolutely no danger of a woman falling for him—or pretending to fall for him—because he was a prince.
Only Annah knew. But she was his partner, not a potential bride, and he was glad to have her on his side. He owed Whit and Erik for sending him to her. Not only was she helping him, the fact was he liked Annah; though at times he didn’t understand her at all, and at others it seemed as if there was enough friction between them to start a fire. She loved to tease him, too, and funny thing was he didn’t really mind