Free To Catch a Princess by Caridad Piñeiro Page B

herself. He was the prince she was expected to marry. Surely, he had family money he could use to spring for a decent suit. She hoped.
    She examined the assorted jewelry she had laid out on the surface of the dresser. A collection of diamonds, sapphires, and aquamarines in various pieces were personal favorites because they accented the deep sky blue of her eyes. One of her better features, she had been told.
    Understated , she reminded herself, and went with a simple strand of pearls and matching earrings.
    As she finished securing the jewelry, her smartphone beeped with the ringtone for Vanessa. She answered with a friendly, “You’re up late.”
    Vanessa chuckled. “Believe it or not, I was too excited on your behalf to fall asleep. Plus we had an issue with a card counter in one of the poker suites, so I was helping out Jim Reynolds with the paperwork.”
    “I’m always amazed by how they manage to do it and try to get away with it.”
    “Me, too. I’m lucky if I can remember a phone number. How was the flight with the good detective? Interesting?”
    Tatiana shook her head at the silent question in her friend’s voice. “Very. I found out he’s a bottomless pit when it comes to food and that he’s afraid of flying.” She held back on telling her friend about Peter’s revelation. He had kept it secret for a reason and, as she and Vanessa had already discussed, coming under constant public scrutiny would make it difficult for Peter to do his undercover police work. Besides, she was still a little pissed off at him. She’d had one too many people in her life who had been less than honest with her. She had wanted better from him.
    “Did you hold his hand to help him with his fear? Maybe do something else to keep his mind off of it?”
    “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she teased and added, “I have to run. He’s waiting for me for dinner.”
    “You’re a rat,” she heard Vanessa say a moment before she ended the call.
    Whirling from the mirror, she snatched a dark charcoal grey wrap from her bed and tossed it over her shoulders. Monaco was far warmer than the winter weather in New Jersey, but the night air could sometimes hold a chill.
    She rushed into the shared living room, otherwise known as the demilitarized zone. She stopped short at the sight of him standing there, looking anything but scruffy. Or rumpled. Or anything but devastatingly handsome and sexy. In fact, she blinked just to make sure of what she was seeing.
    She had found him attractive before, even with the slight shadow of beard on his face, the longish, sometimes unruly brown hair, and the bargain basement suits that failed to hide the lean sculpted physique beneath them.
    Now he literally took her breath away.
    She had to gulp in some air and press a hand to her midsection to contain the curl of desire as she took in all the changes.
    His face was freshly shaven and the lack of stubble showed off the sharp, crisp lines of his jaw and a mouth that had hers watering for a taste. His thick cocoa-colored hair had been cut short in stylish layers, although the top locks were still a little longer and still a little rumpled, as if he had run his fingers through them.
    The suit…well, the suit was luscious. It hugged a body that could grace any fashion magazine, and made her want to see what was beneath. If she was honest with herself, she had been hoping for another look for quite some time. Summer on the Jersey Shore could not come fast enough.
    At her prolonged, stunned examination, he grinned. That sexy, dimpled grin that sent a wave of heat through her, especially when his gaze settled on hers and she saw his interest reflected right back at her.
    He held out his hands in a check-me-out gesture and said, “So do I pass muster, Your Highness?”
    Boy, did he ever. He was every inch the prince she now knew him to be, and despite the fact that she was angry with him and wasn’t sure she could trust him, it was difficult to battle the