Prince Of The City. Nikki Benjamin

      He had arrived at his office in City Hall just after six o’clock that morning—long before he’d expected any of his staff members to show up since they, too, had attended the ball last night. Though he didn’t make a habit of it, he could get by on five or six hours of sleep when necessary—a good thing today because he’d barely managed that amount last night.

      His mind had been too full of thoughts of Eloise Vale for him to do much more than toss and turn in bed until he’d finally given up on sleep altogether shortly before dawn.

      The time he had spent with her—from the moment she had opened her apartment door to him until the moment he had ended, reluctantly, the kiss they’d shared, much to her sons’ amusement—had been truly wonderful.

      He had prepared himself for a cool and distant, oh-so-proper and polite reception from her. That she had been warm and welcoming, open and obviously at ease with him had surprised him only momentarily.