She can’t stay.

That was the thought that hit me before I even made it up to my office. Cara Andrews was not what I was expecting—not even close.

My first impression at the train station was that she was a child herself, and therefore wholly unsuited for caring for my children. When she’d fallen into my arms, she felt like she’d hardly weighed more than one of the twins.

At my desk, I located the paperwork the firm had sent. They were the oldest and most elite au pair agency in all of Europe, and as a misguided matter of pride, they’d refused to join the digital age. Therefore, an assistant had been forced to make arrangements by phone, and the agency had sent the relevant documents by mail.

It was a slow process that had taken months. But it was all for nothing when the original nanny had to cancel at the end of January. Despite their antiquated methods, they’d reacted quickly and found a replacement. Though they claimed they’d vetted Ms. Andrews’ background thoroughly, they hadn’t had time to send as much documentation on her as they had the first woman.

Rifling through the thin folder, I finally found what I was looking for—a grainy photocopy of her passport. The picture was barely legible, but her birthdate was clear—or so I’d thought. Holding the copy up to the light, I groaned. I’d thought her birth year was 1985, but now I could see it was actually 1995. There was a little smudge on the paper that had made me think the nine was an eight. So that made her what… twenty-two? Or twenty-three? Definitely too damn young to take care of my children.

So that explained that mystery. What it didn’t explain was why I’d responded the way I did. Pretending not to speak English. Letting her prattle on. Enjoying the look of shock on her face when I revealed who I was.

I didn’t do things like that. At least not anymore. Sure, in college I’d goofed around as much as the next immature male, but that wasn’t me—not now, at any rate. I had two children to raise and a country to run. Except with my twins, I rarely cracked a smile nowadays, never mind pranking new employees. But she’d seemed so sure I didn’t speak English that it was hard to resist.

Plus, I’d been a little curious about what would come out of her mouth next. Her voice and the nonstop flow of words reminded me of my time in the US. Though I’d gone to school in the US for over a decade, I hadn’t been around many Americans since permanently moving back to Falkenberg two years ago. I’d forgotten how fast some of them could talk.

“Your Majesty?”

My chief steward stood in the doorway, the silver buttons on his navy uniform gleaming. “Good evening, Henrik.”

“I put the market reports on your desk. The NASDAQ is down, sir.”

“Thank you. I’ll look at them later.” Frustrated, I glanced at the neat stack of papers. The world economy was changing day by day, and I was supposed to be helping Falkenberg businesses stay current, not waiting around for the goddamn agency to find a third au pair.

“Also, dinner will be ready in ten minutes. The children and Miss Andrews will be down shortly.”

Crap.

I’d forgotten that I’d told Derrick and Elyse they’d meet the new nanny at dinner tonight. Briefly, I ran through my options. There wasn’t any point in introducing them to someone who wouldn’t be staying.

On the other hand, she was likely tired and hungry. The flight from California to Europe was a long one. I’d made it many times in my youth. Miss Andrews made the journey in good faith, so it wasn’t like I was going to leave her at the train station or throw her out in the cold at night. I’m not a tyrant, though legend has it that Mother’s great-great-great-grandfather was one.

Needless to say, when I shared European and Falkenberg history with the children, I left out all mention of King Friedrich and his notorious exploits.

As I washed up, I tried to look on the bright side. She wasn’t what I needed in a nanny, but that didn’t necessarily make her an unsuitable dinner guest. It would do the children good to speak with a native speaker of English for an evening. In spite of myself, I was a little curious about what they’d think of her. Likely she’d defy their expectations as much as she had mine.

The au pair agency had indicated that Miss Andrews had been a teacher, though due to her age, she couldn’t have been one for very long. She certainly didn’t look like any teachers I’d ever had. The last thing I needed around here was someone that young and attractive.

I strode out of my suite but paused in the hallway. Young and attractive? Where had that last part come from? She was a good-looking woman, that was true, with that white-gold hair and those vivid blue eyes. But that wasn’t the problem—the problem was her youth.

There was no way someone that young could be responsible enough to care for my children. I needed a no-nonsense nanny, not a pretty companion. The latter was another part of my life that was long over. But as I started down the hall again, a recollection from the car ride came to mind unbidden. When she hadn’t known who I was, she’d said I looked like Prince Charming.

She couldn’t stay, so her appearance didn’t matter either way. Still… the idea that she’d been enamored of mine made me fight back a smile. Just like I had for at least half the car ride.

It would be interesting to see if she had that same effect on my children. They certainly hadn’t had much to smile about in the last few years.