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Commander Stevens stood more than six feet tall, with wavy brown hair and hazel eyes that changed with his thoughts. In his pristine white uniform, he stirred emotions in her that no other man had managed to stir.
May had promised herself she would never let a man control her again. Certainly not a person from another country. She’d spent her life as a member of the Baronovian royal family, with a position to be upheld. Upholding that position often kept her from going where her heart and her interests led her.
Now, to her surprise, her heart had led her straight to a man she could never make her own.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Harlequin American Romance, where you’re guaranteed heartwarming, emotional and deeply romantic stories set in the backyards, big cities and wide-open spaces of America. Kick starting the month is Cathy Gillen Thacker’s Her Bachelor Challenge, which launches her brand-new family-connected miniseries THE DEVERAUX LEGACY. In this wonderful story, a night of passion between old acquaintances has a sought-after playboy businessman questioning his bachelor status.
Next, Mollie Molay premieres her new GROOMS IN UNIFORM miniseries. In The Duchess & Her Bodyguard, protecting a royal beauty was easy for a by-the-book bodyguard, but falling in love wasn’t part of the plan! Don’t miss Husbands, Husbands…Everywhere! by Sharon Swan, in which a lovely B & B owner’s ex-husband shows up on her doorstep with amnesia, giving her the chance to rediscover the man he’d once been. This poignant reunion romance story is the latest installment in the WELCOME TO HARMONY miniseries. Laura Marie Altom makes her Harlequin American Romance debut with Blind Luck Bride, which pairs a jilted groom with a pregnant heroine in a marriage meant to satisfy the terms of a bet.
Best,
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin American Romance
The Duchess & Her Bodyguard
Mollie Molay
www.millsandboon.co.uk
For Hudson Thomas Fox.
Welcome to the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After working for a number of years as a logistics contract administrator in the aircraft industry, Mollie Molay turned to a career she found far more satisfying—writing romance novels. Mollie lives in Northridge, CA, surrounded by her two daughters and eight grandchildren, many of whom find their way into her books. She enjoys hearing from her readers and welcomes comments. You can write to her at Harlequin Books, 300 East 42nd St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Books by Mollie Molay
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
560—FROM DRIFTER TO DADDY
597—HER TWO HUSBANDS
616—MARRIAGE BY MISTAKE
638—LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
682—NANNY & THE BODYGUARD
703—OVERNIGHT WIFE
729—WANTED: DADDY
776—FATHER IN TRAINING
799—DADDY BY CHRISTMAS
815—MARRIED BY MIDNIGHT
839—THE GROOM CAME C.O.D.
879—BACHELOR-AUCTION BRIDEGROOM
897—THE BABY IN THE BACK SEAT
938—THE DUCHESS & HER BODYGUARD*
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
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Prologue
Wade Stevens felt someone’s intent gaze boring into the back of his head. A practicing lawyer, he was used to being the focus of attention, but tonight felt different. Tonight, the vibrations reaching him were making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
After all, he wasn’t in court, he told himself as he glanced around him for the offender. He was attending a diplomatic cocktail party as the representative of the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps, more commonly known as JAG. In his white dress uniform, surely he was no different from the variety of uniformed men in attendance.
Casually, he rubbed the back of his neck. And, just as casually, slowly turned to survey the activity going on around him.
The parlor of Blair House across the street from the White House and currently the temporary residence of Prince Alexis of Baronovia, and his daughter, the duchess Mary Louise, was ablaze with lights. The buzz of conversation almost drowned out the soft music played by a quintet of uniformed U.S. Marine musicians. The air was filled with the appetizing scent of hors d’oeuvres being offered by white-gloved waiters. Foreign notables from countries around Europe were easily identified by the multitude of colorful ribbons and medals on their chests. United States diplomats were equally distinguishable by their conservative tuxedoes. Wade’s experienced gaze didn’t miss the men in suits, CIA and FBI operatives, who attempted to fade into the woodwork.
The women guests in attendance outshone each other in obligatory little black cocktail dresses or in the currently popular red version. More than one woman wore strands of colorful jewels at her neck, wrists and in her hair.
With the exception of one exquisite woman.
A woman who drew Wade’s gaze as surely as slivers of steel are drawn to a magnet.
She wore a flowing white chiffon dress, which, although gracefully draped over her breasts, managed to reveal more of her shapely figure than it concealed. When his gaze threatened to linger there, he caught himself and moved on to the rest of her. Her short skirt ended in a swirl of sheer material just above her knees. Long and slender legs were covered in shimmering silk hose and she wore white satin sandals with four-inch heels.
Without a doubt, Wade mused, the lady in white was the most attractive woman he’d seen in too long a time.
Fascinated, he gazed at rich chestnut-brown hair drawn back from her forehead into a chignon that rested on the nape of her neck. Soft tendrils had escaped their bounds to hang temptingly over her forehead. An emerald necklace that matched her eyes circled a slender neck his fingers instinctively ached to caress. If only, he told himself, he could find out for himself if her skin was as silky as it appeared to be.
Their eyes met. A warmth covered him when she gazed back at him over the rim of the flute of champagne she held to her lips. To his chagrin, she smiled, and her exotic eyes sparkled with subtle understanding at his obvious interest. With a slight smile and a nod, she saluted him with the flute of champagne.
When he noted a mutual interest reflected in those emerald-green eyes, Wade ran his finger under his suddenly tight uniform collar. He was debating joining her and introducing himself when she turned away to speak to a dignitary who appeared at her side.
Wade gave a resigned shrug. As beautiful as she was, a woman like her was bound to be taken. Too bad. Still, there was no mistaking the gleam of interest he’d seen in her eyes.
An hour later, when he was engaged in a sedate waltz with the wife of the undersecretary of the navy, he saw the woman in white glance at him from across the room. Again he noticed those green eyes and that impossible smile that kicked his heart into high gear. Then she was gone.
A small voice whispering inside his head told him it was going to be a memorable night.
Chapter One
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Wade said.
He stared at the man who, moments before, had tapped him on his shoulder and invited him into the quiet, well-stocked library of the Blair House. As he was an avid lover of books, a setting like this normally would have attracted his interest. Not tonight.
At the frown that came over the undersecretary of the navy’s forehead, Wade straightened and crisply added, “Sir.”
Undersecretary Peter Logan acknowledged the formal address with a curt nod. “No, Commander. I assure you I’m not kidding. In fact, I’ve never been more serious. I’ve just asked you to escort Duchess Mary Louise of Baronovia for the remainder of her visit here in Washington.”
“Why me?” Wade ventured. He’d gone through the academy, basic training and graduate school to become a lawyer. Acting as an escort in performance of his duties wasn’t his idea of serving his country.
“With due respect, sir, I’m a lawyer,” he said cautiously. “You of all people should know our reputation. How interesting would I be as an escort?”
“That depends on you,” Logan said with a fleeting smile. “I seem to recall you had some bodyguard training and that you’ve been assigned to escort duty before this. In fact, the way I understood it, Commander, you were more than an escort. You were actually a bodyguard.”
Wade cleared his throat at the reminder. His brief stint as a bodyguard had almost taken ten years off his life, and he wasn’t anxious to duplicate the drill. “That was to protect a witness in a court case, sir. And if you remember,” he added with a wry smile, “I almost lost the poor woman in the process.”
“I remember.” Logan’s lips curved in a calculating way that made Wade’s mental antennae rise like a rocket and his spirits sink just as fast. “However, Commander,” Logan went on, “I’m sure the experience has made you aware of the importance of never taking your eyes off your charge. Am I correct?”
Wade nodded reluctantly and, from the look on Logan’s face, had a feeling somehow he was in for a surprise. This request that he act as an escort to the duchess wasn’t the whole story. He took a deep breath. “Why don’t you tell me something about the lady?”
Logan smiled, and a twinkle came into his eyes. “The duchess is Prince Alexis’s young daughter.”
Wade blinked. Raised with three younger brothers, he knew zip about little girls, and even less on how to entertain them. Outside of the well-known Children’s Museum, the National Zoo and the Doll House and Toy Museum in D.C., he would be hard put to come up with places to take her. The prospect of escorting and entertaining the little duchess around D.C. blew his mind. He’d be the laughingstock of the JAG Corps.
“His young daughter? I’m afraid you’ve picked the wrong person for the job, sir. Sounds to me you need a nursemaid or a nanny…”
Logan guffawed until tears came into his eyes. When he was finally able to control himself, he gasped. “Maybe I should brief you a little before I introduce you to the duchess.” He gestured to a large wine-colored leather chair. “Have a seat.”
Resigned to the inevitable, Wade sank into the chair. At the same time he wished he’d thought to pick up another flute of champagne to see him through the briefing.
Logan sank into a seat and leaned forward. “To be brief and to the point,” he began, “the Prince of Baronovia is here at the request of the State Department. To the public, the reason the prince, his daughter and his entourage are housed in the Blair House is that Baronovia is too small a country to have its own embassy here in Washington. The actual reason they are staying in the Blair House is somewhat more delicate and confidential.”
Wade shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He was beginning to sense there was more to the scenario than Logan was willing to admit. Especially when Logan had already mentioned “bodyguard” in the same breath as “escort.”
“And?”
“For now, that’s all I can tell you,” Logan went on. “Suffice it to say the department is very interested in keeping the prince and the duchess happy and safe during their stay. When the duchess specifically requested you to escort her while her father attends to affairs of state, we all agreed you were the perfect solution to keeping her happy.”
“Why me? I don’t even know her.”
“Because we also know she’ll be safe with you.”
Safe? Wade straightened up and turned all of his attention on Logan. If he was expected to participate in what sounded like more than just simple affairs of state, he intended to learn more of the facts. “If Baronovia is such a small country, why would the State Department be so interested in it? Let alone worried about the safety of its ruler?”
Logan glanced around the room as if to make sure they were alone, then lowered his voice. “Until now we’ve only had a trade mission in Baronovia. With all the unrest in the area, we decided it was time to upgrade the mission to an embassy with U.S. Marines to guard it. The State Department is hoping to persuade the prince to sign a treaty agreement that will allow us to do so.”
Wade frowned as the facts began to sink in. This wasn’t going to be a run-of-the-mill assignment, not if there were significant political overtones. There had to be more to the story than the secretary was admitting. It was time to find out. “Go on.”
Logan paced the library, paused to consider Wade and finally appeared to make up his mind. “Just between you and me, Commander, the personnel we intend to station in Baronovia will also act as the eyes and ears of our State Department—an arrangement a few of the smaller countries surrounding Baronovia strongly oppose. Our presence in the area isn’t very popular at the present time. Unfriendly elements in the region might seek to discourage our plans by attempting to disrupt the prince’s visit. Of course,” he added in a confidential voice, “I don’t expect you to share this information with anyone.”
Wade sank back into the leather chair. The last thing he needed at this stage of his life was a kid who might be in trouble. Or a country that could be incinerated at any given moment. “Just what are my chances of keeping the duchess out of trouble?”
“That’s up to you, Commander. Of course, you’ll have the backup of the Secret Service, but up-front you’ll be her escort. We want to keep the duchess happy. Now don’t get me wrong,” Logan went on, “the responsibility for the duchess’s safety and happiness is largely going to be up to you. Under the circumstances, I expect you to give yourself fully over to this assignment. This time,” he cautioned dryly as he rose to his feet, “you will not, I repeat, will not lose your charge. Understood?”
The briefing obviously over, Wade rose to his feet. He wasn’t too clear as to why a JAG lawyer was needed as an escort/bodyguard, but if the undersecretary of the navy was giving him orders he must have had the judge advocate general’s concurrence. “Understood, sir.”
Logan relaxed and shot him a conspiratorial smile that left Wade bewildered. “Then come with me. I’ll introduce you to your charge.”
When the grandfather clock in the corner struck eleven, Wade glanced at his watch. “Kind of past her bedtime, isn’t it?”
Logan choked back a laugh. “Commander,” he said jovially, “brace yourself. I think you’re in for a surprise.”
With Logan’s laugh ringing in his ears, Wade reluctantly gave up the possibility that, given enough time, he might have connected with the lady in white sometime during the party.
Logan led him back to the party and, to Wade’s bewilderment, straight to the side of the lady in white. At that point, the surprise Logan had promised him became the understatement of the year. Instead of acting as the escort of an innocent young girl as he’d been led to believe, his charge was the lady with the invitation in her exotic green eyes.
He took a deep breath and promised himself Undersecretary Logan hadn’t heard the last of this. A joke was a joke, but this was too much. And he wasn’t laughing.
Logan ignored Wade’s pointed look. “Your Grace, I’d like to introduce you to Commander Wade Stevens. As you requested, the commander will be your escort for the duration of your stay here in Washington. Commander, may I present Duchess Mary Louise of Baronovia.”
As requested?
Wade’s head swam as he acknowledged the introduction. Requested by whom? The lady in white herself?
He hadn’t set eyes on the duchess before tonight. And, outside of smiling at him over the rim of her flute of champagne, she hadn’t paid any real attention to him. There had to be a mistake, and one he would remedy the first chance he got.
“Delighted to meet you, Commander Stevens,” the duchess replied with a mischievous smile. She held out her hand. “I am looking forward to having you as my escort during my stay in your beautiful city.”
Wade glanced at the two Secret Service men hovering behind the duchess and eyeing him as if he were a suspect. Like it or not, he had to keep his questions for a later time when he and the duchess had more privacy. “Looks as if we’re going to be quite a cozy group,” he commented dryly.
After a glance over her shoulder, the duchess frowned. “As long as I have you as my escort, Commander, I’m sure I will not be needing anyone else.” She waved her hand in dismissal at the Secret Service men.
To give the men credit, they glanced at Wade and remained where they were.
Wade froze at her gesture. The sensuous duchess might have caught his attention, but her imperious royal manner was rapidly turning him off. It was time to make one thing clear: if he was going to be her escort, he intended to be in charge.
He gazed at her silently. Considering her age and her appearance, the Children’s Zoo was out. And along with it any other diversions intended for children.
“You won’t be needing the Secret Service?” he asked softly. When she shook her head, he turned to Undersecretary Logan. “This isn’t going to work, sir. Secret Service assistance is part of the package or the deal is off.”
Logan cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Your Grace, I’d like to have a moment with Commander Stevens.” At her cool nod, he drew Wade aside. “We have no choice in the matter, Commander. The request for your services came through Prince Alexis himself and has been sanctioned by everyone, with the possible exception of the president. I’ll see what I can do about making the Secret Service less conspicuous and more acceptable to the duchess, but I agree with you. They must remain.”
Logan turned back to the duchess and said apologetically, “The commander is right, Your Grace. There’s too much at stake here for you to go around D.C. without adequate protection. But I promise we will try to keep them in the background.”
The duchess handed her empty champagne flute to a passing waiter with an expression that confirmed Wade’s opinion of the lady. She was every bit as willful as she was beautiful.
“I want to see your beautiful city as an ordinary tourist,” she said with a smile clearly intended to charm the socks off of Logan, but wasn’t doing much for him. “I can hardly do it with an entourage. I’m sure the commander’s presence will be sufficient to protect me.” She patted Wade on his arm. “Right, Commander?”
Wade smothered a groan. It was bad enough that the duchess wasn’t the young girl he’d been led to believe. Children could be put in their place, but this was no child. The very adult duchess was a spoiled woman whose tempting lips and flashing eyes were set on charming him into going along with whatever she wanted.
Fortunately, he was experienced enough as a man and as a lawyer to know that when a woman uses her charms to get her way there’s bound to be trouble ahead. The trick was to stay one step ahead of the lady before she caused an international incident.
Bottom line, he sensed as he gazed down at her, was that her care and protection, with or without the Secret Service to back him up, promised to be a handful.
He glanced at the sculptured feminine hand that now clung to his arm. All his instincts to take advantage of the closeness she seemed to offer stirred, then died a quick death. He wasn’t a lawyer for nothing. Her smile was an act.
In his ten years with the Judge Advocate General Corps, he’d persuaded many a jury to see his side of a case before the court. This case was no different. Sooner or later he and the duchess were going to have to come to an agreement about the Secret Service, or his name wasn’t Wade Stevens. But not here in front of roomful of people. There was no point in creating a public spectacle of himself.
“Perhaps the duchess and I ought to have this discussion in private. Come to some sort of mutual understanding,” he quietly said to Logan. When Logan nodded, Wade motioned to the Secret Service men to hold off while he straightened out his charge. “Your Grace, please come with me.”
He offered his arm to the duchess and walked her to the library door. Before she could speak, he had led her into the library he’d left just moments before.
“Now see here, Your Grace,” he began as soon as the door closed behind him. “I don’t want to appear arbitrary, but there are some rules attached to the game we seem to be playing. Whether you like it or not.”
“Game?” The duchess wandered over to a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, drew out a leather-bound book and casually turned the pages. “I do not know what you’re talking about.”
“With due respect, Your Grace, I think you do,” Wade answered. “For starters, if you don’t mind the plain language, you’re going to have to knock off the royal act and come down off your high horse. If you’re serious about seeing D.C. as a tourist, fine. But you’re going to have to play strictly by the rules. My rules. The first of which is cooperating with the Secret Service. And,” he added grimly, “you might as well cut out the siren act to get your way. It isn’t going to work on me.”
The duchess thrust the book back on the shelf and turned to face Wade. Gold sparks of anger shot through her eyes. “Anything else, Commander?”
“Yes,” he said. “You’re going to have to stop acting like a duchess and more like a tourist from New Jersey.”
“But I am a duchess!”
“Maybe so, but with your regal bearing and custom-made clothing, no way in heaven are you going to pass for a typical tourist.” Nor like an ordinary woman, he added silently. Not with those green eyes and chestnut hair and a body sure to draw second glances.
He expected the duchess to protest. To use her royal status as an excuse to overrule this bodyguard-as-an-escort business. To his surprise she stared at him for a few moments before she bit her lip and spoke up.
“And how do you propose to change me into a typical tourist, Commander?”
He was a dead man.
Contrary to his hopeful expectations, instead of firing him, Duchess Mary Louise of Baronovia was actually going to go along with him! Grudgingly he had to give her credit. She’d not only gotten him for a bodyguard, she was smart. Smart enough to know when to fold.
All the more reason he had to be on his guard.
“First, Your Grace,” he said eyeing her cocktail dress frankly, “we’re going to go to Wal-Mart in the morning and outfit you in ordinary clothing.”
Ordinary clothing to turn her into an ordinary woman? he asked himself as he continued to lay down the rules. No way! Clearly he was out of his mind for even thinking so. No matter what she wore or how she looked, the duchess Mary Louise could never be ordinary. Still, if it was the only way he could get her attention it was worth a try.
After a moment’s pause, she shrugged. “You may be right. If you think clothing will make a difference, I’m willing. What else?”
“The Secret Service stays, both of them.”
A blush rose over her face, and for a moment she almost looked human. “They are two old married men with old-fashioned minds. Everything I told them I wanted to see was off-limits.”