Her Frog Prince

What had she been thinking? Brad was the wrong man for her. He was a distraction.

A damned good-looking distraction, but still.

He rose, a tall stone sentry in the darkness. “Sure seemed like you wanted to kiss me a second ago.”

“You imagined that.”

“So if I kissed you right now, you’d hate it?”

“I’d probably slap you.” She could lie with the best of them. If he did kiss her, she didn’t know what she’d do, but slapping him wasn’t anywhere near what her body had in mind.

“Then there’s only one thing to do,” he said, taking a step closer, to her coming within an inch of her mouth. His gaze flicked from her eyes to her lips and then back to her eyes. “Stay the hell away from each other.” His face hardened, then he walked away.

Her Frog Prince

Shirley Jump

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my son, whose fascination with all things slimy and messy has made my life…interesting. You make me laugh more than anyone I’ve ever known and I wish I could bottle these days with my little boy forever. I love you, messes and all.

SHIRLEY JUMP

has been a writer ever since she learned to read. She sold her first article at the age of eleven and from there, became a reporter and finally a freelance writer. However, she always maintained the dream of writing fiction, too. Since then, she has made a full-time career out of writing, dividing her time between articles, nonfiction books and romance. With a husband, two children and a houseful of pets, inspiration abounds in her life, giving her good fodder for writing and a daily workout for her sense of humor.

The Tale of Her Frog Prince

Once upon a time a princess lost her golden ball down a deep, cool well. She cried as she heard it splash down below. She loved her ball and would give anything to have it rescued. That’s when a frog popped up to offer his help.

The frog said, “If you will love me and take me home with you I will bring your ball back.”

Thinking the stupid and ugly frog would have to stay in the water, the princess readily agreed. “I promise.”

But when the frog retrieved her ball, she hugged it to her chest and ran home, forgetting her promise—until the next day, when the frog came to her house. She slammed the door on him and tried to put him out of her mind. But her father insisted she honor her vow to the frog. Though she was horrified and afraid of the wart-covered frog, she knew she must obey her father.

In her heart, however, she was bitter and angry. When they reached the bedroom she threw him against the wall. “Leave me alone, ugly frog!”

But with her action he became a handsome prince, and she gladly agreed to keep her promise.

From the Brothers Grimm

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Prologue

Merry Montrose sat on the deck of Lady’s Delight, the small cruise boat owned by La Torchere Resort and Spa, and tried not to look miserable. Being an old lady was getting to be, well…old. The curse her godmother Lissa had put on her seven years ago was nearly over, thank goodness. All she had to do was serve as matchmaker to three more couples. So far, she’d put eighteen together; surely, three more should be a cinch. Then she could go back to being twenty-nine-year-old Princess Meredith of Silestia and kiss this old-lady life—and the clunky shoes that came with it—goodbye.

Today, with the horrendous heat, Lissa’s spell seemed especially onerous. The air was sticky and thick, the kind of weather that made her wish it would just rain and get it over with.

Merry had gotten on the boat early, to make sure she got the biggest, best and comfiest deck chair. As the resort manager, she should have deferred to a guest, but she did, after all, deserve the good chair, being a member of the elder set. Anyone who looked at her crone-like face and wrinkled skin would think she was at least…well, she didn’t want to think about how old she looked. That kind of thought did nothing but depress her.

She glanced down at her vein-mapped legs and age-spotted hands and bit back a sigh. Soon. Soon she’d be her young self again and the only wrinkles she’d have would be in her favorite linen suit.

If the heat didn’t kill her first. Once the boat got moving, the ocean breeze would cool her down and take her mind off the fact that she had only a few weeks until her thirtieth birthday. If she didn’t finagle three more happily-ever-afters, she’d be stuck in this crone body forever.

Merry had been forced to leave the kingdom of Silestia where her family—the royal family—lived and relocate to this island in southwest Florida. Once upon a time, she’d been a corporate lawyer. Now, without her résumé, her looks or her money, she’d had to talk herself into this job as resort manager at La Torchere Resort and Spa.

Well, she’d worked a little magic along the way, too. Thank God for that Bessart Family perk. Then Lissa had gone and followed Merry here, getting a job as Lilith Peterson, the concierge. Probably so she could make sure Merry stuck to the conditions of the curse: No telling who she really was. No overt magic. And no return to her old life until she helped along twenty-one happily-ever-afters before she turned thirty. Now Lissa had added a twist—she wanted Merry to work this happy ending without the aid of any magic at all. She’d accused Merry of using it as a crutch. Well, what did Lissa expect? Merry was walking around in the body of a member of the elder set. She needed all the help she could get.

She really needed to get Lissa a hobby so her godmother would stop interfering with Merry’s life and quit this lesson-teaching thing. All it did was make her joints ache.

Finally the resort guests began boarding the boat. The last one on—and in three-inch pink Prada heels no less—was Parris Hammond. They’d attended the same college together years ago, back when Merry had been Princess Meredith. Parris had arrived a few weeks ago to help with the resort’s charity auction coming up soon and had been a thorn in Merry’s existence ever since.

Parris the Princess. Parris the Persnickety. Parris the Annoying.

She’d run out of “P” words, but she had quite a few left from other letters of the alphabet to describe the former debutante.

A lot had changed for Merry in the years since college, but from what she’d seen of Parris lately, not much had changed for—or about—her former classmate.

Parris took a menu from the cook’s assistant as she stepped into the boat and immediately let out a sharp sound of disapproval. “I cannot believe the catered lunch for this cruise is nothing more than tea and a bunch of garden vegetables between two slices of bread.”

The skinny sous-chef looked like he wished he’d stayed belowdecks instead of greeting passengers. “Ma’am, I assure you, the chef’s portabello and artichoke sandwiches are a delight. They’ll be quite filling.”

“Steak is filling. Lobster is filling. A mushroom, however, is a fungus.” Parris shook her head, dug in her purse and tugged out a minirecorder. “Note to self—double-check the menu for the charity auction. If people have empty stomachs, they’ll leave with full wallets.” She clicked the recorder off, then slid it back into the tiny pink purse dangling from her wrist.

Parris. Still the same as she had been back in college. A major pain in the—

“Can I get you anything, Miss Montrose?”

Merry pressed a handkerchief to her forehead. “Ice water. Extra ice.”

“Are you people ever going to get this boat moving?” Parris asked, toe tapping against the wooden deck. “We’re ten minutes late leaving. I have a meeting with the Phipps-Stovers at three.” She parked her hands on her hips and eyed another crew member. “Well? Are we leaving or not?”

The mate, who couldn’t have been more than nineteen, scuttled back several steps. “Right away, ma’am.”

As they got underway, Merry thought if there was anyone she’d known over the years who needed to learn a little humility, it was Parris Hammond. The woman had all the warmth of a porcupine. Somebody ought to teach her a lesson. Maybe put a heel in her pink designer-clad behind when she got too close to the edge. Let some fisherman find her.

Merry smiled and adjusted her sunglasses. The cruise boat was coming upon a small fishing vessel with a very scruffy looking fellow sitting in it. Hmm…

Now that was a match she hadn’t tried before. Uppity Parris Hammond and a male who spent his days in the dregs of the ocean—a fisherman.

Well, she always had liked a challenge. And Parris looked awfully hot. A little cooling off might do them all a world of good.

Chapter One

There it was. Smooth, pink, and gorgeous as hell. Well, gorgeous to him. Everyone else in the world would probably look at the object of Brad Smith’s desire and lose their lunch.

Or worse, consider it lunch. In some parts of the world, she’d be considered a delicacy.

Brad was inches away from scooping up another prize squid out of the ocean. It wasn’t the species he was seeking, but it was one that could provide a few bonus points when he presented his research to The National Aquatic Research Foundation in two weeks. He needed every boost he could get.

He’d been out here the entire day, and all he had to show for his efforts was one sunburned nose—he’d forgotten the zinc smear on the bridge again—and three dead mackerel, probably thrown back by fishermen who’d accidentally caught them in their nets in their quest for the big-bucks tunas and marlins of Florida’s southwest coastline.

The flash of pink went by again, close enough to the surface that Brad could have almost caught it by hand. He dropped his net into the water slowly, hoping he wouldn’t startle the creature before he could catch it and study it.

With his other hand, he dipped an oar into the water and pushed the boat to the left. Gentle. Quiet. Easy now, here she comes again.

He reached forward and—

Before he could net anything at all, a full orchestra of screams arose from behind him, punctuated by a splash, scaring off the fish, the seagulls and the specimen.

Brad cursed and yanked the empty net into his boat. He wheeled around and saw a pleasure boat tooling away, its wake coming for his little craft like a wave of ants determined to knock over a picnic basket. Caught in the undulating waves behind the retreating Lady’s Delight was a screeching woman.

Definitely not a mermaid. Too obnoxious sounding to be a whale.

Had to be a tourist.

“Just when I’m about to catch a good one,” Brad muttered to Gigi, his shelter-rescued chow, who’d taken her favorite spot on the bow of the inflatable Zodiac boat. “Why do people tour anyway? Why can’t they swim in their own pools and stay the hell out of southwest Florida?”

Gigi gave him a soulful look, then lowered her head to her paws.

Brad shouted at the pleasure boat but it didn’t turn around. The woman hadn’t stopped shrieking, either. He braced his hands on the sides of his eighteen-foot-long boat, holding on as the waves rocked the little craft to the side and back again, each wave lessening in strength.

And still the banshee went on screaming.

Gigi perked up her ears and gave him a bark.

“Oh, you think I should rescue her, huh? Like some knight in shining armor?” Brad looked over the side of his boat, hoping in vain for another flash of pink, but there was nothing. As long as the she-devil was in the water, all marine life was heading for the northern panhandle. If he were smart, so would he. “All right, I’ll help her out. But only for the sake of the sea creatures.”

Gigi yipped approval and got to her feet. A forty-pound chow in an inflatable research boat wasn’t a good combination, but his dog had long ago gotten her sea legs.

Brad tugged up the anchor, yanked the cord on the electric motor, then, with a scowl and several muttered curses, guided the boat to the thrashing woman. He turned off the motor to coast the last few feet toward her so the propeller wouldn’t turn her into bait.

Gigi held her ground, balancing on the little wooden seat with all four paws, letting out barks like a canine version of hot-cold as they got closer.

The woman’s blond head bobbed in the water, went under, then back up again. A wave dipped beneath her chin.

“You all right?” he called to her.

“Do I—” she spit out a swallow of seawater “—look all right to you?”

He tossed the anchor over the opposite side, then turned back to her, draping his arms over his knees. “What you look is wet.”

Beneath the water, he could see long legs and arms making broad strokes as she treaded water with fast, anxious moves, her pink skirt billowing out like the mantle of a jellyfish. If she kept up like that, she’d wear out in five minutes and sink.

Getting a squid into his boat wasn’t a problem. Helping a full-grown woman into it was another story. She could easily swamp them and then they’d both be shark snacks. He cast another glance toward the pleasure boat, but it was quickly becoming a dot against the horizon.

She bobbed down, then up again. “Hey, fisher boy! Could you pay attention? There’s a drowning—” she spit out more seawater “—woman here!”

Calling him “fisher boy” did not induce him to give her a helping hand. “You’re not drowning. And you look like you can take care of yourself,” he said. “Land’s only about three, four miles away.”

“Get me out of this water,” she said, pronouncing each word with the precision of the Catholic nuns who’d taught him multiplication. “Now.”

He didn’t move. “Why are you in it?”

She gave him a look that said she thought he was an idiot. “I fell in. Obviously.”

“Or did your friends push you in?”

Behind him, Gigi barked. Clearly his chow thought he should stop torturing and start rescuing.

“And what on earth—” more water out “—is that supposed to mean?”

“Well frankly, you don’t seem very pleasant.”

“Excuse me?”

He had never seen anyone look so haughty while they were treading water. “I’m choosy about who rides in my boat.”

She gave him a glare that could have melted a diamond. Her arms started moving even faster at her sides, her legs kicking like hyperactive jackrabbits beneath her. “I’m wet. And late for a meeting. And getting very angry. Before I yank you in the water by your flannel shirt and use your head as a life preserver, would you please get me out of here?”

If he’d been raised a jerk, he’d have left her there. Her “please” had sounded about as pleasant as turnips for lunch. Maybe he should leave anyway. Start a new trend of jerkiness. Being a nice guy certainly hadn’t gotten him much in life thus far.

But…she did have pretty green eyes. And green happened to be his favorite color. Despite her words, he felt himself relenting. A little. “Gee, when you ask so nicely, how can a guy refuse?”

She gave him another glare. She was really good at those. Must have practiced glaring a lot in finishing school or wherever it was that gave her that attitude.

Brad put out a hand. She caught it and started to haul herself up. “Whoa, not so fast or you’ll pull us both in. Do it slow and easy, a little at a time. Here, use the edge of the boat and slide in.” He grinned. “Just like landing a marlin.”

Her answering scowl told him she didn’t like being compared to a hundred-pound prize fish.

It took some effort, and some delicate balancing on his part, but he managed to get her into the boat. When he did, he noticed she was slim yet strong, and only a few inches shorter than his six-foot-two-inch height. Even wet, she was a gorgeous woman, all legs and long blond hair.

She plopped onto the single seat in the center of his boat, minus a shoe. A high-heeled strappy kind of shoe at that. What kind of person wore high heels on a boat ride?

“It took you long enough,” she said. With a hand over her eyes to block out the sun, she scanned the horizon for the still departing Lady’s Delight.

“How’d you fall in anyway?”

She shook her head. “I swear that old woman tripped me when I walked by her. Was she just looking for a lawsuit?”

Brad decided that was a rhetorical question and let it stand unanswered, even though he had a few ready replies.

She pressed a hand to her chest and winced. “You know, you could have broken a rib dragging me in like that.”

“You could be more grateful I got you out at all. The sharks are always looking for something to eat.”

“Sharks?”

He took in her wide emerald eyes and flushed damp skin. The side of his brain ruled by testosterone contemplated some nibbling of his own, but of a very different kind. If he ignored everything that had come out of her mouth thus far, she was a very attractive woman. Maybe she was just having a bad day. A very bad day.

And maybe he was too damned nice. Hadn’t his mother told him that? More than once in his twenty-nine years of life? Being nice didn’t get you ahead. Didn’t get you a plum research position. Didn’t get you the notice of the top brass at the Smithsonian.

Being nice got you on a dinghy in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico with a dripping wet, ungrateful woman with more attitude than common sense.

“I’m sorry,” she said, letting out a sigh. “Thank you for helping me.”

Okay, not so much attitude.

“Apology accepted.” He reached behind him for a towel and tossed it her way. Gigi had wisely stayed in her corner of the boat, avoiding the whole thing. Dogs had damned good instincts. “Here. Dry off.”

“While I do,” she said, waving a manicured hand his way, “you gun the engine and get me over to Torchere Key. If I hurry, I have enough time to change, redo my hair and makeup and look like a human again before I meet with the Phipps-Stovers.” She started to rub at her hair with the towel, then paused. “Well, go ahead.”

“I don’t take orders.” Brad picked up the charts beside him and made a few notations about the squid he’d seen, ignoring her. Gigi let out a little bark of support. She didn’t much like being bossed around, either.

“Pull that cord thingy, will you?”

Brad dipped a container into the ocean for a water sample, capped it and labeled it with the date and time, using a waterproof marker.

The woman let out a sigh. “What are you doing?”

“Right now? Taking a water sample.”

She let out a gust. “Why?”

“I’m looking for something,” he replied, answering the water-sample question. Much easier to talk about his work than debate her communication skills. Or lack of them.

“What? Your lunch?”

“Giant squid.”

She looked a hell of a lot better speechless. Almost beautiful. Even wet and dripping and half shoeless.

“A…a…giant what?” she finally managed.

“Squid.”

She blinked. Several times. “There is such a thing?”

“Well, no one’s ever seen a live one, but yes, there is.”

She snorted. “Like Bigfoot, I’m sure.”

He gave her a glare and dipped his thermometer into the ocean, busying himself with the reading. “They exist.”

“Yeah, and so do happy marriages, I hear. I think it’s all a bunch of fairy tales people tell their kids to keep them from wandering the streets at night.”

He pivoted toward her, the thermometer dangling from his fingers. “What flew up your butt this morning?”

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t fish you out of the water so you could call my research a fairy tale.”

“Oh, your research.” But the tone in her voice said she still didn’t believe him.

Gigi got to her feet and in three steps was across the boat and in the woman’s face. Standing up for her master, daring the intruder to make fun of the giant squid. Gigi knew. She’d spent enough time on the water to know almost nothing was impossible in the dark blue depths.

“Get that—that—that creature away from me.”

“No can do. Gigi has a mind of her own. If she doesn’t like you, she’s going to let you know.”

The woman arched a perfectly rounded brow at him. “Your dog’s name is Gigi?”

Brad crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there anything else about me you want to criticize?”

“Well, actually…” She pointed at his face, then bit her lip and shut up.

“What? Say it.”

Gigi continued to hold her ground. Now she was standing up for the giant squid and her master.

“Listen,” the woman said, pausing, as if apologizing wasn’t something she did every day. “We got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over.” She extended a shaky, tentative hand past Gigi’s side. “I’m Parris Hammond.”

He hesitated, then figured the bad mood of the morning was half his fault. No squid, no whale sightings and a wasted day on the boat hadn’t put him in a very pleasant frame of mind. “Brad Smith.” When he took her hand in his, the cool touch of her skin sent a shock wave through his veins. Like she’d been a power line and he’d been the fool who’d picked it up without wearing rubber shoes.

Except he did have on rubber boots and he didn’t feel foolish holding her hand. Not at all.

She withdrew her grasp from his but not before he saw an echo of his own consternation in her eyes. Clearly he wasn’t the only one playing with electricity. “Is that short for Bradford?”

“Yeah, but don’t ever call me that, not if you want me to answer.”

“Why not? I think Bradford sounds…rich.”

“Exactly.”

“Right.” She nodded. “That’s good.”

“Not in my book.” He picked up the chart again and filled in the temperature block.

“Well. Aren’t you the enigma?” She went back to drying herself off, toweling down the front of her silky shirt. Brad’s attention went from the chart to her, his gaze locked on the movements of the cream-colored terry cloth. It slid along her skin with ease, which made funny things happen in his gut. Her breasts peeked through the damp material of her shirt, giving him a clear image of what she’d look like naked.

The chart slid out of his hands and clattered to the floor of the boat, the pen rolling to the other end. “I, ah, should get you back. You have a meeting with the…”

His eyes met hers and her hand stilled. The air between them grew hot, charged. Her tinted lips parted, but nothing came out for a long second.

“The…the Phipps-Stovers.” But she didn’t move. In fact, she didn’t even seem to breathe.

“You don’t want to be late.”

Her focus stayed on him. “I’m never late.”

“Even for dinner?” Where the hell had that come from?

A tease of a smile lit up her eyes. “Are you asking?”

“Are you accepting?”

She put a hand on her hip. “I’m not accepting until there’s a firm offer on the table.”

God, the woman was frustrating. He didn’t need these word games. He had enough exasperation looking for a nearly invisible squid. He turned away and yanked the cord on the engine. The motor gave a little gurgle, then went silent. “Well, I’m not offering anything.”

Apparently, Parris Hammond wasn’t used to having dinner invitations rescinded. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her jerk back, then get busy rubbing at her hair with the towel, hard enough that he was afraid she might end up bald. “Good, because I have a very full schedule.”