Prince of Midtown / Marriage, Manhattan Style: Prince of Midtown. Jennifer Lewis

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      Sebastian’s hackles shot up. “Caspia is in no way backward. If you were to visit…” Perish the thought. “You’d find a thriving, modern country on the brink of becoming one of the prime luxury tourist destinations in the world.”

      “How charmingly passionate you are about your homeland.”

      Sebastian glanced up to see if the elevator was coming. Yes, thank God.

      The doors opened and Vivian’s paisley skirt swirled about her ankles as she walked in. Her dogs yapped around Sebastian’s ankles, loud in the enclosed space.

      “Hold the elevator!” A deep voice rang across the marbled lobby.

      Sebastian looked up to see Gage Lattimer diving past the doorman.

      Vivian’s dogs diverted their hostile intentions to him. Fortunately for Sebastian, Vivian followed suit.

      “Why, Gage, our man of mystery. I was just chatting with Prince Sebastian.” She shone that fixed smile on him. “He should be a role model to you. He does live up to his clean-cut image.”

      Clean-cut? Sebastian resisted the urge to test his chin for stubble. He’d been called a lot of things, but clean-cut wasn’t one of them. Maybe she meant the suit?

      He shot a puzzled look at Gage.

      “Are you implying something?” Gage raised an eyebrow at Vivian.

      “Moi?” She forced a laugh. “Of course not. I believe people’s personal affairs should be kept private.”

      Gage shook his head.

      An awkward silence thickened in the air. Well, not exactly silence, what with all the growling.

      Sebastian’s muscles unwound a bit when the elevator reached his floor. He held the door open for Vivian to exit, her leashed demons scampering ahead of her.

      Unfortunately they lived on the same floor.

      Happily the walls were thick.

      Her dogs wiggled with excitement as she fumbled in her purse for her key. They actually looked sort of adorable for once and he couldn’t resist crouching to pet one of the fluffy fur balls.

      It turned and snapped at him, almost catching his finger.

      Never mind.

      Sebastian’s apartment had a neglected air. His former house sitter, Carrie Gray, hadn’t left his employ to marry that long ago, but already stacks of unopened mail tilted precariously on the hall table. He picked an envelope off the top and ripped it open.

      “You are cordially invited to celebrate the landmark status of our building.”

      He snorted.

      Yes, 721 Park Avenue was a beautiful building, but it probably wasn’t much over a hundred years old. Parts of the royal palace in Caspia were rumored to be five thousand years old.

      That was a landmark.

      He flung the envelope back on the pile and lifted his foot to step over the bag he’d dropped in the foyer the night before. He’d gone straight from the plane to the office to an all-night party and hadn’t had time to unpack. It was inconvenient having no one to do it for him.

      But the bag wasn’t there.

      Did he hear voices?

      He did. Female voices.

      Interesting. Especially since he hadn’t brought anyone home last night.

      Anticipation pricked through him as he walked down the marble-floored hallway toward the living room.

      A familiar mane of blond hair cascaded over the back of an uncomfortable eighteenth-century chair. “Tessa.”

      She jumped. “Oh, Your Highness, I didn’t hear you come in.”

      “Your Highness?” He lifted a brow.

      “I’m interviewing candidates for your new house sitter.” She indicated a red-haired girl seated opposite her.

      He smiled at them both. He always could count on Tessa to handle everything.

      Tessa excused herself for a moment and hurried after Sebastian. “I unpacked your bag. I’m not sure if I did it right. Let me show you where I put things.”

      She rambled on, suddenly feeling like an intruder in his private space. His house sitter used to handle the apartment, so she rarely came here. She was embarrassed that she still hadn’t had time to tackle his mail. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. I just thought it would be a good idea to interview the house sitters here so they’d have an idea of what the job entails. The antiques and all. You can tell a lot about someone by the way they treat your home.”

      “Good thinking.”

      She rushed along the hallway. Why was she so anxious? Perhaps because she was also secretly interviewing for her own replacement.

      “The agency had three girls ready this morning, and I didn’t want to wait, or to interrupt you at Reed’s. How did the meeting go?”

      “Great. I wanted to get his advice on how to bring Caspia Designs into the twenty-first century.” He glanced at her. “Or even the twentieth.”

      His mischievous grin made her heart beat faster.

      “You’ll turn the company around fast.”

      “With your help.” He shot her a dark look. “Starting with this trip to Caspia.”

      She swallowed. Even poring over the inadequate and whimsical financial reports of Caspia Designs had made her fall a little bit in love with the country. It seemed a land ruled by passion rather than politics. Exuberance rather than economics.

      Much like its devastatingly handsome prince.

      Tessa bit her lip. Already she’d reconsidered her plan to leave. Sebastian paid her well and treated her kindly. Her parents told her she was mad to quit a job with such excellent benefits.

      But she’d spent most of her adult life working with the rich and famous, first at a PR firm and now here. She was sick of glitz and glamour. She’d trade it in a heartbeat for the simple happiness her parents still shared after nearly fifty years of marriage.

      For some reason being tall and blond attracted the biggest jerk in every room she entered. She’d had enough of being arm-candy for movers and shakers who weren’t interested in anything beyond a night of sex.

      Normal “regular guy” types never asked her out. Patrick was the best thing to happen to her in a long time. Yes, he was a high-profile lawyer, but he was down-to-earth and practical. He called when he said he would. He took her out on dates—when he had the time—and treated her with respect.

      Something she’d begun to worry would never happen.

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