Free Crowned: The Palace Nanny by Marion Lennox

island that I know you’ll love, to live in a palace that’s exciting, to see what your father’s life could have been if he’d lived. I’m asking Elsa to come as well, and I’d like you both to consider Khryseis as a place to live.’ He glanced at Elsa and then glanced away. Her emotions were written on her face, she thought.
    â€˜I’ll sign legal documents with international legal authorities,’ he said, and now he was speaking directly to Elsa. ‘We need Zoe for at least three months a year.’
    â€˜For ever?’ Elsa whispered.
    â€˜Until Zoe’s old enough to know whether she wishes to accept the Crown,’ he said and suddenly he sounded stern. ‘It’s her birthright, Elsa, and neither of us have the right to take that away from her.’
    She was close to tears—but she would not cry. Not in front of Zoe. Zoe was taking her cues from her—to disintegrate on her own behalf would be cruel.
    And he knew what she was thinking.
    â€˜Hey, it’s not so bad. You could think of it as a holiday.’ He took her hands again. Strong and warm and sure. ‘You’ve been on your own for so long, Elsa. Will you let me share?’
    She would not cry. But the feel of his hands…
    You’ve been on your own for so long …
    That was what it felt like. Four long years of fighting to get Zoe the medical treatment she needed, fighting to keep her own career viable enough to put food on the table, fighting to forget the ache in her hip and to stop the grey fog of depression and loneliness taking her over.
    A holiday in Khryseis. Three months a year?
    If she said yes, she’d lose Zoe.
    â€˜You won’t lose her,’ Stefanos said, strongly and surely. ‘I promise you that. I’ve spent the last eighteen hours finding out exactly what you’ve done for Zoe. The money you’ve spent. Your own money.’
    Her eyes flew to his. Distress gave way to indignation. ‘How did you find that out? Who are you to…?’
    â€˜To enquire? I have friends in high places, Elsa. So does Zoe now. In future she’ll have the best medical treatment money can buy.’
    Anger, fear, anguish…They were a kaleidoscope of her emotions. But they should be her emotions. Not Zoe’s. This was Zoe’s future and she must not deny her.
    Her own terror had to be put aside.
    â€˜What do you think, Zoe?’ she asked, feeling inordinately pleased when she got her voice right. ‘Stefanos is offering us an initial three-month holiday on his island while we see what it’s like. It’s been…it’s been a shock, but I don’t think it’s something we should be scared of. His island looks really beautiful on the Internet.’
    â€˜It’s your island, Zoe,’ Stefanos said, gently but firmly.
    â€˜So let me get this right,’ Elsa said, opening the laptop to give her something to look at rather than Stefanos’s face. He saw too much, she thought. He knew how scared she was and he was sympathetic. But still he was determined.
    She couldn’t afford to be seduced into doing what was wrong for Zoe.
    Seduced? It was the wrong word but it was the one that popped into her head. Because…because…
    Because he was too big and too male and too sexy and she’dbeen alone for far too long. It felt dangerous to even be in the same room as him.
    Maybe he should be worried, she thought dryly. If he knew what this scary, ridiculous part of her was thinking…
    Nanny jumps prince…
    Whoa.
    Well, at least that pulled her out of the fog, she decided, fighting an almost hysterical desire to laugh. Maybe she ought to focus on slightly more…realistic issues.
    â€˜Let me get this straight,’ she said again, and watched him smile. How much of what she was thinking was obvious? To her fury she felt a blush start, from the toes up.
    â€˜Christos…Zoe’s papa…should