He shrugged. “I haven’t seen anything.”
That didn’t mean there wasn’t anything. It simply meant someone else had told him about it rather than seeing it himself.
But she knew when to fight back and when to let her family win.
Guess they were going to New York earlier than expected.
Dave sat comfortably in one of the plush seats on board the San Majorian royal plane. He’d received a text less than twelve hours before letting him know the plans had changed.
Mary and Kiara were seated on a small couch, buckled in close together and watching a movie. Jacqueline Grace sat in one of the other captain’s chairs, a tablet of some sort in her hand.
“Getting some work done?” He understood having responsibilities, even on vacation.
She shook her head. “Reading a book. It’s not something I get to do as often as I’d like.”
“The life of a working royal is often much busier than most people think.”
“Yes. It is.” With her eyes firmly on the screen in front of her, Jacqueline Grace clearly wasn’t paying much attention to him.
He turned back to alternating between staring out the window and surfing around on his phone. The flight lasted a few minutes less than two hours, just long enough for the girls to watch a full movie with a bathroom break in the middle.
The view as they landed was as impressive as Dave remembered. He happened to be on the side facing Manhattan as they approached. The girls’ eyes went wide at the buildings, exclaiming back and forth about how many there must be.
“Is that where we’re stayin’, Jacquie?”
“Yes, love. We’re staying in the big city.”
“Which hotel?” Dave asked her as they neared the runway.
The princess shrugged. “I’m not certain. We’ve stayed at several in the city. I don’t know which one our reservations are at this time. We also have an agreement with several other royal families from around the globe. We own an apartment in London. Someone else owns one here. We all use them as needed as long as there’s no conflict. When there is, we stay at different hotels.”
Given his semi-security team role, it surprised Dave that he hadn’t been told yet, but he wasn’t the only security team member on the trip, of course. Surely they had it well planned out.
“Daddy?” Mary’s voice sounded scared as they thumped down.
He gave her his most reassuring smile. “Yes?”
“The bump...”
The plane decelerated as he reached for her hand. “It’s all fine, sweetheart. It’s just the wheels on the ground. They always make a bump.” He squeezed it lightly. “We’ll be able to get off in just a minute.”
She nodded, the worry in her eyes dissipating some as the plane made a turn, taxiing toward a nearby hanger. A few minutes later, they were walking down the stairs and into a dark SUV with heavily tinted windows. The girls were safely buckled into car seats while the luggage was loaded into the back. Dave found himself in the third seat with Mary while Jacqueline Grace sat in the middle with Kiara.
The girls pointed out everything they saw - bridges, buildings, funny looking cars, planes, ships.
And the dogs.
Especially the dogs.
When they reached Manhattan, people were walking everywhere - and dogs were almost as ubiquitous.
Dave leaned forward until he could whisper in Jacqueline Grace’s ear. “I think they’re more excited about all the dogs than anything.”
She went very still. “I might be, too,” she whispered back without turning.
He chuckled as he sat back.
“Tim,” she called. “Where are we staying?”
“Your father made arrangements with New Sargasso to stay in the apartment.”
Dave blinked but was distracted by Jacqueline Grace.
“I hope that doesn’t mean we have to cook,” she muttered.
That made Dave laugh even more. “First, it’s New York. We can get anything we want, any time we want. Second, I can cook if you want to go that route. Third, I would imagine there are some staff to help as well. Your father wouldn’t just throw you in there.”
“You’d be surprised,” she muttered, as the sound of horns honking increased.
The drive to the apartment building took nearly an hour, thanks to an accident a few cars ahead of them. By the time they arrived, Mary was already whining about needing another bathroom visit.
As expected, the high-rise apartment boasted views that were second to none, or close anyway. Dave couldn’t take the time to enjoy them as he ushered Mary to the closest bathroom and waited for her outside. When she finished, they found Jacqueline Grace and Kiara in one of the bedrooms.
“No!” Kiara stomped her foot. “I wanna stay with Mary.” With her arms crossed and the glare on her face, she looked quite formidable for someone so young.
Jacqueline Grace glared right back. “Kiara, Mary and her father will be on the other side of the apartment.”
Only appropriate.
Kiara shrugged. “Don’ care about Mr. Dave. Want Mary to stay here.”
Jacqueline Grace looked helplessly at him. “Thoughts?”
“That’s up to you. If she wants to stay here, that’s fine with me.”
“Yay!” Before he finished his sentence, the girls were jumping up and down.
He knelt down next to Mary. “That means you’ll be here with Kiara, but I’ll be way on the other side. Is that all right with you?”
Mary hesitated, as he knew she would. Since her mother took off, she hadn’t liked sleeping far from him, though she didn’t sleep in his room. He felt that was going a bit too far since he wasn’t her father.
Instead, Dave had spent many nights sitting on her floor until they both dozed off, so she wouldn’t feel alone.
His little girl put on her brave face and nodded. “I wanna stay with Kiara.”
“Okay, then.”
Jacqueline Grace knelt next to him. “You can come get me if you need to.” She pointed toward a door. “My room is right through there.”
Mary nodded. “I will.”
For a few minutes, the girls explored the room that would be theirs for the next few days. Dave stood and reached a hand out to help Jacqueline Grace up.
It was the second time they’d touched.
The jolt of electricity didn’t exactly surprise him, but its intensity did, though after the beach it shouldn’t have.
He knew he was attracted to her. Knew he was looking forward to getting to know her better. Knew he’d hate it when he had to leave her behind for one reason or another.
But the wide-eyed look on her face told him she hadn’t expected the current between them.
And she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
4
Jacqueline Grace tried to pull her hand away from Dave’s, but he didn’t let go, not right away. For a few seconds, his gaze held hers, and she wondered if the eyes really were the window to the soul.
If so, he could see straight to hers.
The sounds of their girls shrieking over something broke the spell. She finally reclaimed her hand and turned to see the girls had gone into the bathroom.
“It’s a pool!” Mary’s voice carried into the bedroom.
Jacqueline Grace smiled as she turned away from Dave. Likely it just had a big tub. She walked into the bathroom to find her guess correct. “Perhaps you can take a bath in there this evening, or you two can put your swimsuits on and play for a little while later.”
The girls squealed again and jumped up and down.
She felt Dave’s nearness before she heard him. “You think at some point they’ll stop being so excited over everything?” he asked, his voice low in her ear as it had been earlier in the SUV. His warm breath sent chills down her spine again.
“Eventually.”
She felt him move away.
“Do we know what the plan for the day is?”
Jacqueline Grace moved back into the
bedroom and away from his magnetic pull. “No. This was sprung on me last night. The only real plans I have are for...” She glanced over her shoulder to make certain the girls weren’t close then whispered anyway. “...Lion King in a couple days. That’s the only thing we were supposed to do here. It’s over eight hours to Ravenzario, so we’d planned an overnight flight out, hoping Kiara would sleep most of it and be on a decent schedule.”
They found their way back to the sitting room. Dave went straight to the window.
“I bet this view is spectacular at night.”
He was right. Just to their northeast was Central Park. Directly below sat Columbus Circle.
At least out this window. The others likely had views that were just as amazing, if not quite as green.
“Any thoughts on what we could do?”
Jacqueline Grace nodded out the window. “The park looks appealing. Surely there’s a playground or two for the girls to enjoy.”
“I’ve wandered through there before,” he admitted, “but I can’t say I’ve ever noticed the playgrounds. I’m sure they’re there, I just never had a kid with me.”
Something about him seemed a bit off to her. Not in a bad way, but he’d been to New York several times, it seemed. Occasionally, his accent betrayed a bit of culture it didn’t at other times. Perhaps a bit more... refined than she expected someone of middle class upbringing to have.
“The park it is.”
It took twenty minutes to get everything together, but then they were walking carefully across streets as they worked their way around Columbus Circle to the entrance to the park. Two members of the security detail stayed with them, as they stopped at the information kiosk located just inside. Unmanned and with no maps, it made Jacqueline Grace blow out a sigh.
“I bet there’s an app.” Dave pulled out his phone. A few taps later and it downloaded.
“I believe the girls may enjoy Adventure Playground,” Tim told her, his gaze still facing outward. “I took the liberty of doing a bit of research when I found out we’d be staying across the street. It’s the playground near Tavern on the Green. We could walk straight up the sidewalk on Central Park West. That would be the fastest way.”
“Maybe through the park would be more of an adventure.” Dave started down the paved walkway. “We’ll see trees and maybe even an animal or two.”
“Let’s go!” Kiara tugged on Jacqueline Grace’s hand.
Jacqueline Grace laughed and let herself be pulled along. “We don’t have to run.”
The girls exclaimed over the squirrels and large rocks as they skipped a short distance ahead. A woman walking a Yorkshire Terrier came their way. Both girls stopped as the woman let them pet the small dog. The Yorkie, named Princess, jumped up on the girls as they knelt beside her, smothering them in doggie kisses.
After a moment, they moved on though the girls felt compelled to pet nearly every dog they saw. Despite the reputation of New Yorkers as gruff and impersonal, all but two of the dog owners were polite and friendly talking with the girls like old friends.
The walk took at least three times longer than it should have, but Jacqueline Grace loved how happy the girls were. Once they walked through the gate to the playground, Kiara and Mary bolted toward the other side.
Dave and Tim stood off to the side while Jacqueline Grace wandered around the edge of the playground. As she watched the girls play, a man walked up next to her.
His light green eyes and blond hair weren’t her type, but he smiled. “Hello.” A nice simple opening line she didn’t know what to make of.
With a glance at Dave, glowering at her from the other side of the playground, Jacqueline Grace smiled back. “Hello. Which child is yours?”
Dave wasn’t sure if flirting was something he was supposed to protect the princess from.
Physical threats? Sure. No brainer.
But a bloke, who Dave hoped was a single dad and not a creeper hanging around in the playground, stood a little too close to Jacqueline Grace. Laughed a little too loud at something she said. Flexed his arms a little too much as he crossed them over his chest.
Was he supposed to protect her from that? What if she looked to be enjoying herself?
“Daddy?” Mary tugged on his hand. “I need to go.”
Dave took Mary’s hand and started for the gate, Tim at his side. As soon as he could, the security guard pointed to the bathrooms not far away. A few minutes later, they returned.
Jacqueline Grace and the bloke were kneeling next to a crying Kiara.
“I wanna go home.” Kiara’s whine could be heard from the other side of the playground.
Jacqueline Grace stood and held out her hand. Kiara took it as the wailing increased. The other man trotted alongside as Kiara pulled on Jacqueline Grace.
Dave knew the instant Kiara saw him and Mary. She broke from her guardian and bolted for him. He didn’t like letting go of Mary’s hand but, given the way Kiara launched herself at him, he had no choice.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as he pulled her close. “I wanna go home.”
Dave reassured her they would go back to the apartment as he reached a hand toward Mary. His little girl held on tight as they started back toward the entrance.
As he managed to maneuver the latch to the gate, he looked back to see Jacqueline Grace arguing with the other man as she tried to follow Dave.
A few feet after Jacqueline Grace exited the playground, the man put a hand on her arm and spun her around to face him.
If Dave didn’t have his hands full of little girls, he would have been over there in a hot second.
Instead, Tim moved to put himself between Jacqueline Grace and the now-furious man. The man continued to yell, adding invectives to his speech. Three college-aged young men walking by stopped in their tracks and moved to his side. They seemed to tell the drongo to move along - in the opposite direction.
Jacqueline Grace fumed silently as they walked back to the apartment building. By the time they made it through the front door, Kiara was sound asleep on his shoulder, and Mary wasn’t far behind. Once Kiara was covered up on the bed the girls would share, he encouraged Mary to sleep in his room, but she’d already climbed up on the other side. With a half-smile, he covered his little girl with a sheet then went to find something to drink.
Instead, he found a furious woman.
“What were you thinking?” she exploded on him.
Dave raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”
“Leaving me with a random man. I thought you were supposed to be some sort of undercover bodyguard, but you did nothing to keep that guy from hitting on me then following me. He tried to pick Kiara up!”
He held up both hands. “Whoa. Don’t be cross as a frog in a sock, princess. You were laughing and talking with him. There was no sign of distress or that you weren’t enjoying yourself. Tim showed me where the bathrooms were so Mary could use them. When I got back, Kiara was melting down. I had my hands full of kid by the time he started following you. Tim did his job.”
“But you didn’t!”
“Didn’t what?” He really wasn’t quite following what she thought he was supposed to do.
“Do your job. Your job is, among other things, to keep creepers like that away from me. He wasn’t even there with a kid!”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Then we need some sort of sign. Because you’re a beautiful single mother. I would imagine this won’t be the last time you get hit on in public. If it’s someone you want to talk to, great. If not, I need something more than laughter and smiles to go on.”
“Those were fake laughs. Don’t you know a fake laugh when you hear one?”
Dave shook his head. “I’d imagine you have more practice fake laughing and making it sound real than most. You did quite well. I’m usually pretty good at spotting fake smiles.” Almost a necessity in a former life.
She deflated as the fight went out of her. “Really?”
/> “Honest.” Dave took a couple steps toward her until he could rest a hand on her shoulder. “I thought about giving him a knuckle sandwich, but Tim didn’t appear concerned and neither did you.”
“A knuckle sandwich? Why?”
He took another step closer as his hand slid down the back of her arm until he could clasp her hand and tug her toward him. “Because I don’t want anyone looking at you like that.”
“No one?” Jacqueline Grace whispered, confusion warring with something in her eyes. Could it be hope?
“Just me.”
Dave leaned down and took a risk, brushing his lips against hers before kissing her a bit more firmly. She leaned into him, her lips clinging to his as he moved away.
“Because I’ve wanted to do that since before we met,” he told her, his voice as quiet as hers had been.
“Before we met?” Her gaze stayed on him, soft and sweet.
The grin on his face widened. “I meant what I said, princess. You’re beautiful. I’d bet at least half the guys in San Majoria have wondered what it’s like to kiss you.”
Something crossed her face as she took a step back. “Was it a set up?” Something akin to anger flashed into her eyes.
Dave shook his head. “Was what a set up?”
“Mary. Finding Kiara. ‘Losing’ you. Was it a set up to meet me?”
Her accusation hit a little too close to home in ways she couldn’t begin to imagine. “I might have wondered what it was like to kiss you, princess, but don’t think for one minute I’d stoop so low as to use my daughter to gain an introduction.”
“She’s not your daughter,” Jacqueline Grace flung back at him.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you really want to go there? Or would you rather believe that Mary really did get lost, and I really was a panicked dad looking for the little girl who’s scared to be alone?”
Before he realized what was happening, Jacqueline Grace flung herself at him. Her hands framed his face as she pulled him down for another kiss.
5
Even as Dave’s arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer to him, Jacqueline Grace knew kissing him was a mistake.
Her Undercover Prince Page 3