The Doctor Takes a Princess / Pregnant with the Prince's Child. Leanne Banks

placed the tot in his stroller seat. She picked up her phone and punched some numbers, then frowned.

      “Let me guess,” Ryder said. “No service.”

      She nodded.

      “Figures. The steel doors can sustain most catastrophes known to man, so they’re bound to make it difficult to get a cell connection.”

      She bit her lip and winced. “Oh, I wonder if someone will call my security.”

      “They’re on their way,” he said, wondering if she hadn’t understood the conversation he’d had with the woman earlier. Maybe she hadn’t heard correctly, he thought, between the alarm bleeping and the boys screaming. “At least, they better be on their way. I hope the boys don’t—”

      “Need a diaper change?” she asked, nodding in understanding. “Time for the—”

      “Nanny,” he said in complete agreement. “I just wish I could find one who would stay around longer than two weeks.”

      “That sounds difficult. Are you working with an agency?”

      He nodded. “Part of the problem is I work long hours.”

      “Hmm, and your wife?”

      “I don’t have a wife,” he said.

      Her eyes widened. “Oh, that must make it very difficult.”

      Ryder sighed. “I’m actually the boys’ godfather. My brother and his wife were killed in an automobile accident one month ago.”

      Bridget gasped. “That’s terrible. Those poor boys, and you, oh my goodness. Do you have any help at all?”

      “Not unless I hire them,” he muttered. “Do you have any children?”

      She shook her head quickly, the same way he would have before he’d learned he would be raising the boys. “Two baby nieces,” she said.

      “That’s how you knew to bob up and down with Tyler,” he said.

      “Yes,” Bridget said and glanced at her watch again, growing uneasy. She’d agreed to the charity appearance she would be attending as a favor to her sister’s longtime friend, and her security was only a three-button code away if she should need them. If her sister’s friend became uneasy, however, she might call Valentina. Valentina might call security to check on her and … She shuddered at the public scene that would cause. Bridget was here in Dallas to do the job her brother had asked of her and as soon as she was done, she was off to Italy.

      It was so warm that she was getting past the glow stage. Right now, she probably looked like she’d just finished a spinning class, although she did those as rarely as possible. Getting sweaty wouldn’t matter that much to her if she weren’t being photographed. During the last year and a half, however, it had been drilled into her that her appearance in front of the camera was a reflection of her country. It was her duty to look immaculate and to avoid scandal at all cost.

      Bridget had slipped a few times on both counts. She might be a princess, but she wasn’t perfect. Nor was she particularly patient. She could tell that Ryder, the other adult in the elevator, wasn’t patient either. He was glancing upward as if he were assessing the structure of the lift.

      “You’re not thinking of climbing out, are you?” she couldn’t resist asking.

      “If no one shows up, I may have to,” he said.

      “And what were you planning to do with the babies?” she demanded, panicked at the prospect of being left alone with the twins. Now that she thought of it, Ryder’s presence had made her feel much more reassured.

      He shot her a level look. “The purpose of getting out would be to ensure safety for all of us.”

      He looked like a no-nonsense kind of man, strong, perhaps intolerant of anyone weaker than himself. Which would include her. Okay, she was making assumptions. But what else could she bloody do? She was stuck in an elevator with the man. She couldn’t deny the appeal of his strong jaw and lean but muscular body. She also couldn’t deny her admiration that he had taken on his brother’s orphaned twins.

      An instant parent of twin boys? The mere thought made her sweat even more. Bridget would have forced herself to accept her responsibility in such a situation, but hopefully with sufficient support. Multiple children, multiple nannies.

      She sighed, glancing at the emergency button. “We’ve heard nothing. Do you think we should call again?”

      “It will make the boys cry again,” he said, clearly torn.

      “I’ll take Tyler,” she said and picked up the baby. He flashed her a smile that gave her a burst of pleasure despite their situation. “You’re a little flirt, aren’t you?” she said and tickled his chin.

      Ryder stabbed the button and the shrieking alarm started. Tyler’s smile immediately fell and his eyes filled with fear. He began to scream. His brother began to wail.

      Seconds later, the alarm stopped and a voice came on the intercom, but Bridget couldn’t make out the conversation with Ryder as she tried to comfort Tyler. The only thing she knew was that Ryder had spoken in a firm, commanding voice that rivaled that of her brother’s, and anyone in their right mind had better obey.

      The intercom voice went away, but the babies still cried. Bridget and Tyler bobbed. “What did they say?”

      “They said they would take care of us in five minutes,” he yelled over the cries of the boys.

      “How did you do that?”

      “I told them I was climbing out in three,” he said.

      “Effective. I wonder if I should try that sometime,” she mused. “Is there anything else we can do to settle them down?” she asked loudly, still shielding Tyler’s closest ear with her hand.

      A long-suffering expression crossed his face. “Just one thing,” he said. “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.”

      Bridget stared in amazement at this man who reminded her of a modern-day warrior singing a children’s song and something inside her shifted. The sensation made her feel light-headed. Alarm shot through her. Or perhaps, it was the heat. Pushing the odd feeling and any self-consciousness aside, she sang along.

      Six minutes later, the elevator doors opened with a swarm of firemen, paramedics and Bridget’s security guard standing outside.

      “Your Highness,” her security guard said, extending his hand to her.

      “Just a second,” she said, putting Tyler into his stroller seat.

      “Your Highness?” Ryder echoed, studying her with a curious gaze. “Why didn’t you—”

      “It—it causes a fuss,” she said. “Will you be okay? Will the children be okay?”

      “We’re fine,” he said, and she felt foolish for questioning such a capable man.

      “Well, thank you,” she said and extended her hand to his, noting that his hands were smooth, but large and strong. She felt an odd little spark and immediately pulled back. “And good luck.”

      “Your Highness, a medical professional is waiting to examine you,” her security said as she stepped off the lift.

      “I don’t need a medical professional,” she murmured. “I need a cosmetic miracle.”

      Chapter One

      Sitting at the kitchen table of her brother-in-law’s ranch, Bridget watched Zach Logan hug her sister Valentina as if he were leaving for a yearlong journey. Instead, she knew he would be gone for only a couple of nights. Bridget resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Zach and Valentina just seemed so gooey in love.

      “Call me if you need anything,” he told her, then swung his young daughter, Katiana, up into his arms.