tried to concentrate on the instrument panel before him, not the image of a woman he had last heard telling him to go to hell. Working on automatic, he flicked switches and checked displays, but it was impossible to shut her out of his mind. He closed his hands slowly into fists around the controls. He had been away for too long, fighting through public battles and private negotiations. Now there was only one thing left to sort out. A provocative, priceless woman had trespassed into his private life, and tonight would see the showdown.
He ran a hand through his raven hair once more, and tried to pull his battle-weary uniform into some kind of order. Then he turned his ruthless stare back to the instrument panel. His mouth moved, and he almost smiled again. At last. With one twitch of his hand he set his plane on the path down to find the woman who could change his life for ever.
CHAPTER ONE
A month earlier.
THIS is supposed to be fun, Alyssa reminded herself. It should have been ideal. Everything she loved was all here in one place—solitude, a beautiful setting and time to think. The only downside was the weather. Raindrops were still rustling through the tree canopy after that last shower, but the sky was clearing. This was England in summer, after all. Changeable weather was all part of the fun.
She grimaced. That was the second time she had used the ‘f’ word inside thirty seconds, but it didn’t make her feel any better. If only she could stop remembering … She shuddered.
Rebuilding some sort of existence for herself wasn’t easy. This holiday was supposed to give her space and time to plan her future. Out here in the forest she had the room and the opportunity to think, but all she could do was brood on what had happened, instead of how she might move on.
She hugged her knees, trying to enjoy the feeling of being snug inside the entrance to her tent. It was hopeless. This sabbatical wasn’t working. Listening to the gentle play of water welling up from the spring beside her, she shut her eyes and tried to clear her mind. This spot was a real find. It was miles off the beaten track, in a hidden valley that hadn’t seen the hand of humans for years. There was wildlife, and flowers, and perfect peace—until her phone rang.
‘Hi, it’s only me.’
Alyssa tried her best to raise a smile. Karen, the agency manager, was a good friend, and that wasn’t always a good thing. Today, it was part of the trouble.
‘Look, please don’t take this the wrong way, Karen, but I’d be glad if you could give me a bit of a break. I really don’t need you to keep pushing work in my direction. I’m supposed to be getting away from the whole childcare scene for a bit.’
Looking back, there might have been the briefest of pauses, but Alyssa wasn’t aware of it at the time.
‘Who said this was a job offer?’ her boss began breezily. ‘I’m just ringing up to check that you’re OK. Good grief, you thought I was calling to offer you the job that came in this morning? Believe me, you’ll be glad you’re not available when I tell you about it. They wanted the best, and they’ll need it, but it’s a poisoned chalice.’
Alyssa stiffened. ‘It sounds like trouble.’ Her mouth dried and she couldn’t say any more.
‘No, no. It’s not as though the child is in actual danger …’
But the hint was there. Alyssa felt her blood run cold.
‘So anyway, how do you feel, Alyssa? Any better? What are you up to at the moment?’ Karen said without pausing for breath.
‘That doesn’t matter. I’m more interested in that new job you mentioned. There’s something wrong. I can hear it in your voice.’
‘Rubbish! The new Regent of Rosara wants the best for his nephew. That’s all.’
Alyssa gasped.
‘That’s all?’
Awful headlines had been splashed across every newspaper for days. To read about a child orphaned in a car crash while visiting his family’s holiday home in England was bad enough. When A-list celebrity Lysander Kahani was named as his guardian, the story had stuck in Alyssa’s mind. Glamorous Prince Lysander’s link with the case had instantly snatched all the limelight from the little boy.
‘The prince’s people asked for you by name, Alyssa. You were recommended to them because they want the best, of course.’
‘They’ll need it, with that Casanova turning the poor child’s home into an open house for idiots,’ Alyssa muttered, her head full of all the lurid ‘Playboy Gets Top Job’ stories she had seen.
‘But I’m going to tell them you aren’t available,’ Karen went on airily. ‘Which is probably just as well for all concerned.’
Alyssa definitely didn’t like the way the agency boss said that. ‘Meaning?’
‘Come off it, Lis, would you really want to work in a set-up like that? Everyone knows you’re the best person in the world when it comes to taking care of children, but, let’s face it, would you have been able to fit in with Prince Lysander’s way of life? He’s got such a terrible reputation, I knew you wouldn’t want the job in a million years.’
Alyssa could feel herself being played, and she didn’t like it, but she also couldn’t deny it was working. Maybe this break was doing her some good after all. The only thing she had decided over the past few days was that her life had to change. Could this be where it started?
That child needed a calming influence in his life. Even in the midst of her own misery, Alyssa had never been able to ignore a child in need. Also, she had to admit to a faint flicker of curiosity—the first sign of life she’d felt for ages. What would the palace be like? How could she go about helping the little boy? And after all, she thought, if I say I’m not available, they might go ahead and hire the first hopeless, brainless, wannabe celebrity they come across. Someone only interested in trailing the poor little boy around in Lysander’s wake … That settled it for Alyssa.
‘Have you actually put the royal family off yet, Karen?’
It was difficult to sound offhand when her heart was racing. Keeping quiet had wrecked her life before. And now, telling herself the only thing that mattered was what the child might be going through, she knew she had to have that job. She’d make sure little Ra’id Kahani was safe and properly looked after first, then worry about her own feelings afterwards.
‘Not yet, no. I’m trying to find someone else for them first. Telling them there is no one as good as you is the next thing on my “to do” list.’
‘Then don’t do it.’ Alyssa plunged in before she had time to think about all the drawbacks. ‘You don’t need to ring them. I’ll take the job, Karen,’ she said with the blood pounding in her ears.
There was a considered silence at the other end of the line. Then her boss laughed. ‘But what about the irresistible Prince Lysander? No woman is safe from his charm, apparently!’
‘After what’s happened to me over the past few months, I’m totally immune to men. Don’t say you’ve forgotten one of the things that drove me to take this break from work in the first place.’
Karen hesitated. ‘Of course …’
‘Yes. Him.’
Jerry. Alyssa still couldn’t bring herself to say the name out loud. Thinking about what that rat had done still made her feel ill. This Rosara job would be the perfect way to bury all her horrible memories. It would give her the new start she was craving so badly.
‘So you think you can cope with a dark-eyed, dashing playboy?’ The smile was obvious in Karen’s voice.
‘The only thing I’m interested in is his poor little nephew,’ Alyssa said, and meant it. ‘When can I start?’
‘I’ll