A Princess Under The Mistletoe. Leanne Banks

firm, positive nanny voice she could muster. “I’ll be back to pick you up before you know it.”

      She wanted to give him a hug and kiss but knew he wasn’t interested in her affection. Just her sound machine, so far, she thought wryly.

      Sara returned home with Adelaide and attempted to get more settled in to her bedroom. She called her sister to check on her, but the call went straight to voice mail. Who knew what her sister was up to? Tabitha was working as a hostess at an exclusive restaurant until the Devereaux family could help find a more suitable position for her.

      Tabitha had seemed more than a bit restless lately, and that worried Sara. Their brother, Alex, had persuaded them to leave their home country for safety concerns. He’d assured them he would meet them in Chantaine, but he was nowhere to be found. Tabitha hadn’t tolerated any sort of restraints on her activities very well in the past and she’d been known to act impulsively. Sara hoped Tabitha would be able to keep herself under control a little longer.

      Closing her eyes for a moment, Sara took a deep breath and tried to shake off her worries. There was little she could do about Tabitha since they weren’t supposed to be seen together, and there was nothing she could do about her brother. She needed to focus on the present. Who knew what the future would bring?

      She picked up Sam from preschool and he presented her with a note from the teacher. Sara decided to pass it along to Gavin later and tried to converse with Sam to no avail. After asking ten questions and trying several times to start a conversation, she decided to shut up. Maybe Sam was decompressing.

      Just as she pulled into the driveway, she heard Sam’s heavy sigh. “Everyone is talking about Christmas,” he said in a grumbly voice.

      “Well, it’s that time of year. We’ll need to get a tree and decorate soon.”

      “Bet Daddy won’t want one,” he said.

      Sara looked at Sam in surprise. “Why not?”

      “He doesn’t want to do anything fun,” Sam muttered. “Can I go inside?”

      “Of course,” she said, and she unbuckled his seat belt.

      In contrast to the previous day, the afternoon passed quietly. The part-time housekeeper and cook arrived to clean and prepare meals. Janece Dillon, a lovely middle-aged woman, prepared several meals to freeze for later. “So, you’re the new nanny,” Janece said. “You look so young.”

      “Thank you. That’s what Mr. Sinclair said to me. I’m actually twenty-seven,” she said.

      “Well, I hope you’ll be able to stay around for the sake of the mister and his little ones,” she said.

      “What do you mean?” Sara asked, carrying Adelaide on her hip.

      “Well, there have been quite a few,” Janece said as she stirred a pot of pasta sauce. “Nannies, that is. Poor man and his children have been through so much.”

      Sara hadn’t been told there’d been several previous nannies. That must be why Gavin had expressed hope that she would make it through the week.

      That evening after Gavin arrived home, she slipped him the note from Sam’s teacher. “I didn’t read it,” she said.

      He opened the note and sighed, raking his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do. He hates going for therapy. He doesn’t like preschool. I feel like we’re not making any progress with him.”

      “It hasn’t been that long,” she said. “Just six months, right?”

      “But he’s four years old and he hardly ever smiles,” he said.

      “He smiled when you took him for ice cream,” she said, wanting to encourage him.

      He looked at her and chuckled. “That’s not something I can do every night.”

      “True,” she said. “But we can figure out other things. His favorite foods. Maybe a pet would help.”

      “A pet?” he echoed. “I’m barely surviving with these two. Add in an animal and I’ll have to wave a white flag.”

      She shrugged. “I wasn’t allowed pets when I was a child. Except one of my nannies allowed me to sneak in a few visits with her hamster, Willie. That was a lot of fun.”

      “Why so many nannies?” he asked. “I can’t imagine you causing a lot of trouble, although most of us can’t resist getting into trouble every now and then.”

      “I didn’t,” she said. Was that a hint of a sexy glint in his eye? Or was she imagining it? “I stayed out of trouble. My sister and brother, though, made up for me.”

      “Is your family originally from Chantaine?” he asked.

      “No. We’re from the mainland, but my parents did a lot of traveling,” she said. Uncomfortable with the curiosity she glimpsed in his gaze, she waved toward the stove. “Janece left a pot of pasta and sauce for dinner tonight. Sam has wandered in here a few times, but I thought you might like to eat together.”

      “That will work, and it’s one of his favorite meals,” he said. “I’ll wash up, change clothes and help serve it.”

      “I can serve it,” she said. “I just don’t possess advanced cooking skills.”

      “Me neither,” he said. “That’s why a part-time cook and housekeeper was part of my package of compensation for this job. And a nanny,” he said, meeting her gaze. “The children may not show it yet, but we’re glad you’re here to help.”

      “Speaking of helping, we need to think about celebrating the holidays. Sam mentioned that everyone at preschool is talking about Christmas.”

      Gavin raked his hand through his hair. “I haven’t really been in the mood for Christmas.”

      “Well, you can’t just ignore it,” she said. “Children love Christmas.”

      “Maybe we should keep it low-key this year,” he said.

      “Sam mentioned that he didn’t think you would want decorations,” she said.

      “He may be right. Besides, we left our decorations in storage in the States.”

      “He also said you don’t want to do fun things anymore. It’s not my place to tell you how you should act, but perhaps if he saw that you could enjoy some aspects of life, then maybe he would feel free to do so, also.”

      Gavin stared at her for a long moment. “You’re right. It’s not your place to tell me how to act.”

      Sara felt his assertion for her to step back. Yes, sir, she thought. Adelaide let out a squawk from her infant seat. She’d been snoozing and now clearly wanted to be entertained. “Dinner may take a few more minutes. I suspect the queen of the house will need her diaper changed and she doesn’t like to wait. Can’t say I blame her,” said Sara.

      * * *

      After dinner, Sara took Sam and Adelaide for a walk down the street while Gavin worked on the palace construction project for a bit. “A beautiful evening for a walk, isn’t it, Sam?”

      Sam shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to play my video game.”

      “You can do that tomorrow. The sun is still shining, so we should take advantage. Getting outside is good for you. I always loved getting outside when I was a child.”

      Sam glanced up at her and sighed. “Did you have video games?”

      “Not that I remember,” she said. “I had a piano and my house always seemed dark.” Sara glanced at Adelaide and noticed the baby’s eyes were closed. “Oh, no, Adelaide is falling asleep. Help me keep her awake so she’ll sleep through the night.” Sara thought a minute, then began to sing. “Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill. One named Jack. One named Jill.” She wiggled her finger on the