Page 3 of Incognito

It couldn’t be.

He leaned across the desk, barely inches from her face, enveloping her in a heady scent that reminded her of hot cross buns: warm, sweet, and cinnamon. Yum.

“I think you’ve been expecting me? I’m Dante Andretti.”

Natasha gripped the desk to steady her wobbly legs.

This couldn’t be happening.

No way could this guy be the prince.

“The Prince of Calida,” he added as an afterthought, the corners of his mouth lifting in a small, sexy smile that did strange things to her insides, things she’d never felt before, things she had no right experiencing now.

This…rebel,the man she’d pinned all her hopes on to save her father’s business, was the prince?

Heaven help her.

“Is there a problem, Miss Telford?”

Swallowing her first response of ‘you bet your sweet ass there is’, she said, “Not at all, your highness.”

“Ssh.” He pressed an index finger to his lips like some second rate spy. “Someone might hear you.”

“And that might be a problem because?” Her voice held a slight tinge of hysteria and she took a few steadying breaths.

This was crazy. It had to be one of those stupid candid camera stunts when her dad and Ella would leap out at any moment and say, ‘gotcha!’

She’d expected the prince to arrive in a stretch limo, this guy had revved in on a motorbike.

She’d expected the prince to have an entourage of bodyguards, this guy was solo.

She’d expected a stiff upper lip, hair slicked back pompous ass style, and this guy was laid back, ruffled, and very, very sexy.

Way too sexy.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not advertising my identity and I’d like to keep it that way.”

Natasha sighed, wishing for one ounce of Ella’s saint-like patience when her best friend sat for hours in front of an inanimate plant to sketch it.

“I’m not following. You’re booked in under your real name but you don’t want anyone to know you’re here?”

He snapped his fingers under her nose, his smile broadening. “Exactly.”

Natasha wanted to stamp her feet like one of her rock-star guests having a tantrum. This couldn’t be happening. She needed to broadcast the prince’s presence in her hotel to the world and he wanted to keep it a secret? He had to be out of his mind.

“Is there a security problem? Something I should know about?”

Like why he’d arrived looking like a jeans model and spouting a lot of nonsense about going incognito.

“There’s no problem. But I would like a chance to talk further.” His gaze bore into her, demanding she listen. “Like I said, I need your help while I’m here. Let me check in and perhaps we can meet when you’ve finished your shift, yes?”

“No.”

Natasha derived some satisfaction from the surprised glint in those too-blue eyes. Good. Let him see how it felt to be on the receiving end of a few surprises for once. She’d had her quota for the day.

“No?” One of his eyebrows arched, mocking her.

Channelling her best professionalism, she said, “What I meant was, I’m busy here for the next few hours. It will be a while before I finish my shift.”

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