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  HER ROYAL CHRISTMAS SECRET

  Princess Sasha of Sergenia was born to rule, not change dirty diapers. But after threats force her family into exile, Sasha becomes “Sara,” a nurturing nanny in Chantaine. Now, rather than having servants wait on her during holiday festivities, Sasha is caring for construction specialist Gavin Sinclair’s children for Christmas. Baby Adelaide and five-year-old Sam win her heart, but their father makes her pulse pound...

  For Gavin, “Sara” is a holiday miracle. Since his late wife died in childbirth, Gavin has struggled to keep his life afloat and his family together. This unexpected addition has brightened his world—and made him wonder if love might be on the horizon. He knows the mysterious nanny has secrets aplenty. But is true love enough to create a fairy-tale ending under the mistletoe for the sexy single dad and the lovely royal?

  Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and found Gavin staring at her.

  He crooked a finger at her and then pointed toward the hallway. She followed him outside the door of Sam’s bedroom.

  “That’s a first,” Gavin said. “In six months. Sam has been coming into my bedroom and staring at me, making sure I’m not going to leave him forever. The way, in his eyes, his mother did.”

  Her heart twisted at his words. “He’s had a hard time. You’ve all had a hard time.”

  Gavin gave a slow nod, and she was all too aware of his height, his power, his masculinity. “Yeah, we have. Who would have known a sound machine would make such a difference?”

  She shrugged, knowing that a sound machine was the secret to a night of sleep for her. “Yeah. Who would have known?”

  “Thank you,” he said, and lowered his head toward hers.

  She caught her breath.

  He squeezed her arm. “Get some sleep.”

  Sara nearly collapsed in a combination of relief and strange disappointment. She stared after him and felt a flip in her stomach. Yes, she definitely needed more sleep.

  * * *

  ROYAL BABIES: A new generation of little princes—and princesses!

  Dear Reader,

  We’re back in Chantaine with a new family. The royal Tarisses have come to town! Times are hard in the small country of Sergenia. The economy is failing and there are threats against the Tarisse royal family. Princesses Sasha and Tabitha are sent to Chantaine to wait out the instability. The princesses are instructed to live as commoners for their safety and to adopt different identities.

  Princess Sasha goes from being a celebrated concert pianist representing her country...to Sara Smith, a nanny for the young children of single dad Gavin Sinclair.

  Can you imagine trying to make that switch? Have you ever been forced out of your comfort zone?

  Gavin and his young children are suffering from a huge loss. Despite the fact that Sara has her own worries, she gets caught up in their lives and grows attached to all of them. This is supposed to be temporary. But as time goes on, she wonders how she can ever go back to the life she led before.

  I hope you enjoy meeting this new royal family and also getting a chance to see how the royal Devereaux family is doing.

  I would love to hear from you at [email protected]. My website is leannebanks.com, and I can also be found on Facebook.

  Wishing you the best in life and love!

  Leanne Banks

  A Princess Under the Mistletoe

  Leanne Banks

  Leanne Banks is a New York Times bestselling author with over sixty books to her credit. A book lover and romance fan from even before she learned to read, Leanne has always treasured the way that books allow us to go to new places and experience the lives of wonderful characters. Always ready for a trip to the beach, Leanne lives in Virginia with her family and her Pomeranian muse.

  Books by Leanne Banks

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Royal Babies

  A Royal Christmas Proposal

  How to Catch a Prince

  A Home for Nobody’s Princess

  The Princess and the Outlaw

  The Doctor Takes a Princess

  The Prince’s Texas Bride

  Royal Holiday Baby

  Montana Mavericks: 20 Years in the Saddle!

  Maverick for Hire

  The Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow

  Happy New Year, Baby Fortune!

  Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys

  The Maverick & the Manhattanite

  Montana Mavericks: Back in the Saddle

  A Maverick for the Holidays

  Montana Mavericks: The Texans are Coming!

  A Maverick for Christmas

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  This book is dedicated to all the single parents and all the people who step in to help when things get crazy. You are everyday heroes!

  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

  Chapter Fourteen

  Excerpt from Wyoming Rugged by Diana Palmer

  Prologue

  “Your Highness, Princess Fredericka Devereaux, please allow me to introduce you to Princesses Sasha and Tabitha Tarisse,” Paul Hamburg said as the beautiful princess who had arranged for Sasha and her sister’s safety swept into the room.

  Sasha stood and dragged her younger sister to her feet. The past few months had been nonstop terror for her and the rest of her family, the royal Tarisses of Sergenia. Her country had suffered a terrible economic downturn during the past three years, and the citizens had grown angry and impatient. Just lately they’d turned their anger and frustration against the royal family. There’d been threats. Sasha had barely escaped a beating and her sister Tabitha had nearly been kidnapped.

  As much as Sasha had despised the idea of leaving her country, her brother, Alexander, had convinced her that all of them must leave, at least temporarily. One of the royal advisors had negotiated with Princess Fredericka for the Tarisse siblings to come to Chantaine, a peaceful Mediterranean island country.

  “Please call me Ericka,” she said, moving toward the two women. “You must be tired. Would you like some tea?” she asked.

  “Yes, please,” Sasha said, hoping she’d made the right choice about coming to Chantaine. She and her sister had left everything familiar to them back in Sergenia. What if this move was a disaster? Despite Princess Ericka’s cool, blond beauty, the woman’s eyes held a world of compassion.

  Ericka nodded toward the assistant. “Please get some tea and pastries.”

  Sasha patted the loose chignon at the back of her neck. “We’re grateful you’ve welcomed us to your country,” Sasha said. “You’ll forgive us if we’re not at our most congenial.”

  “Because we’ve been tricked,” Tabitha added with a scowl. “We made an agreement with our brother, Alex. He told us he would meet us in Chantaine, but he has disappeared.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Do you have any idea where he could be?” Ericka asked.

  Tabitha crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes nearly spitting sparks. “Who knows? He may be roaming the mountains on the border of our country. Or he may be partying in Italy.”

  “Tabitha,” Sasha said in an admonishing voice. “I apologize,” she said to Ericka.

  “I can understand some of your frustrations. I’ve dealt with my share of sibling skirmishes.”

  The assistant returned with tea and snacks and the three women sat
down. Although Sasha was hungry, she couldn’t imagine being able to swallow a bite. She did well to sip the tea.

  “It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Chantaine,” Princess Ericka said. “But as you know, we have several conditions for your visit here. These are for both your safety and the safety of our citizens. I’m sure you’ve been told you’ll need to assume different identities. You’re not to reveal your true identity to anyone. Sasha, I know you’re a talented concert pianist, but while you are here, we ask that you not play in public.”

  Sasha nodded, fighting a stab of sadness. Music had always provided her with peace. Even though she’d known that giving up her concert career would be part of the bargain, she couldn’t help the emptiness she felt.

  “You can, however, play in private. We’ll try to make sure you have access to a piano during your stay.”

  “Thank you,” Sasha said. “It would be difficult for me if I couldn’t play at all.”

  “Tabitha, we’re working on finding a position for you within the next few days. In the meantime, the two of you can stay here. However, and this is hard for me to say, you must not appear in public together.”

  Tabitha’s face fell. “Never?”

  “This is not forever,” Ericka reminded her. “This is just during your stay while your country resolves its current turmoil. It’s for your safety. Think about it. If the two of you are seen together, it’s more likely that someone will figure out your true identities.”

  Her heart wrenching at the realization of what would be required of both her sister and herself, Sasha slipped her hand through her sister’s. “We will do what we must, but what do we do about our brother, Alex?”

  Ericka looked at Paul Hamburg expectantly.

  “We’ll make inquiries, but we must tread carefully with the princesses staying in Chantaine. We don’t want to arouse suspicion,” he said.

  “But we have contacts who have contacts,” Ericka said.

  Paul sighed. “Yes, we do.”

  “Then, although I know that you don’t take orders from me, I hope you will give this your best discreet effort.”

  “I will,” he said.

  “Thank you,” she said before turning back to the sisters. “Now let me tell you about Chantaine.”

  Despite the grim situation, Princess Ericka regaled Sasha and Tabitha with tales of Chantaine’s beauty, temperate climate, numerous beaches and kind citizens. Sasha began to relax a tiny bit, or perhaps she’d been tense for so long that her body couldn’t maintain the adrenaline rush any longer.

  “This is a delicate subject, but as I said, you will need to use other identities. Have you thought about what names you’d like to use during your stay here?”

  Tabitha tossed her long, dark hair. “I was thinking Gypsy Rose,” she said.

  Sasha rolled her eyes. “We’ve already discussed this. We need names that won’t draw attention.”

  Tabitha lifted a dark eyebrow and shot her a look of challenge. “All right, Miss Sensible. What have you chosen?”

  “Sara,” Sasha said. “Sara Smith. I chose a first name with the same letter as my real name, and one that sounds similar, so I’ll have a better chance of answering to it. Can you top that for ordinary?”

  Tabitha sets her lips in a pout that had been known to make a hundred men race to do her bidding. Sasha could tell that she’d hit on Tabitha’s competitive streak by the glint in her sister’s eye.

  “I don’t suppose I could get away with Jane Doe,” Tabitha said. “Isn’t that what an American would choose?”

  Princess Ericka chuckled. “I think not. Let’s go with Martin for your last name. It’s a common name in Chantaine and Europe.”

  Tabitha sighed. “Then I suppose I’ll have to go with Jane Martin if I’m going to beat Sasha at her game.” She cleared her throat. “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant to say Sara.”

  Chapter One

  One year later...

  From the porch, Sara heard the sound of screaming. If she hadn’t known better, she might have assumed the sound wasn’t human. The sound of scrambling footsteps followed and the door opened.

  A tall, rumpled-looking man stared at her as he held a screaming red-faced baby, and a young boy seemed to be attached to his leg.

  “Are you Sara?” he asked, out of breath. “Sara Smith. The palace sent you?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  He looked her up and down. “Thank you for coming,” he said over the cries of the baby in his arms. “No offense, but you look terribly young. Are you old enough to be a nanny?”

  Sara had scrubbed her face clean of cosmetics with the exception of lip gloss. All part of her temporary new role. She certainly didn’t need to wear the heavy stage makeup required of a concert pianist. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said. “I’m twenty-seven.”

  “Oh,” he said, surprise crossing his features. “I never would have guessed.” The baby let out another howl. “We’re having a rough day, so if you want to give them juice and cookies to calm them down, that’s fine.”

  He dragged his foot, with the attached child down the hallway. “This is Sam,” he said, nodding toward the boy.

  “Hello, Sam,” Sara said tentatively. Although she’d known the family she was going to be working with was still reeling from a loss, this wasn’t exactly what she’d envisioned.

  “And I’m holding Adelaide,” the man said. “As you can see, she’s a handful.”

  “Yes,” Sara said. “Mr. Sinclair?”

  “Oh,” he said, shaking his head. “Call me Gavin. You may be calling me some other names as the day wears on,” he said with a crooked smile on his face.

  She met his gaze for a long moment and saw a combination of weariness and determined humor in his chocolate-brown eyes. He wasn’t conventionally handsome. Sara had met much more smoothly handsome men in her life. His rough strong features might have put her off, but his dark eyebrows and hard jaw were offset by that crooked smile and eyes that crinkled with humor even as his daughter shrieked directly into his ear.

  He looked at Adelaide and stroked her cheek. “Sweetheart, you’re going to be fine.” He glanced at Sara. “She’s been cranky lately. I don’t know what’s bothering her. Drooling up a storm, nose running, but no fever. Maybe a midmorning nap will help. Let me show you where everything is,” he said. He held out his hand to Sam. “Help me out, bud. Let’s show the pretty lady around.”

  Sam reluctantly detached himself from Gavin’s leg and held Gavin’s hand with both of his while Gavin explained the layout of the house, which, in addition to the master bedroom, contained a small nursery in the back, a laundry room and two additional small bedrooms, one filled with the little boy’s books and toys. The other was positioned between the nursery and what she assumed was Sam’s room.“This is your bedroom. I hope you don’t mind sharing a bathroom with Sam,” Gavin said.

  “Not at all,” she said, appreciating the way the morning sun shone through the window. The room was small and decorated with neutral quality linens, and it felt cozy. The whole house felt safe. A trickle of relief slid through her. This could work, she thought.

  Gavin continued down the hall and waved his hand toward another bedroom containing a desk and computer along with exercise equipment. “Here’s the master. As you can tell, I’ve been trying to work some at home, but I haven’t been all that successful.” Adelaide had quieted and was letting out little moans.

  Gavin turned again toward her. “You’ve seen the small formal parlor. We’re using the den as a playroom. Lots of toys and books, movies and favorite television shows. Feel free to use whatever you need.”

  An old upright piano against the far wall immediately grabbed Sara’s attention. She gasped in delight. It was all she could do not to race over and feel the keys beneath her fingers. “You have a piano.”

  Gavin nodded. “You play?”

  In concert halls all over the world, she thought, rubbing her hands together. But not very much lately. She
shrugged. “A little.”

  “I can’t promise it’s been tuned recently,” he warned. “The piano hasn’t been a priority.”

  “Of course,” she said, putting her hands behind her to hide her eagerness. Bless Princess Ericka. She had promised to try to provide a piano for her.

  “Feel free to play whenever you want,” he said. “I hate to dump all this on you and leave so quickly, but I’ve got to get the palace construction schedule back on target. There’s a cell phone for your use on the kitchen counter and a pad of paper with all the contact numbers, including emergency numbers, you may need. Hopefully you won’t need the emergency numbers, but with young children, you never know.” He paused and glanced first at Adelaide as she rubbed her eyes, and then he glanced down at Sam.

  Gavin sighed, and the sweet sadness in all three faces clutched at Sara’s heart.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this? I don’t know what you’ve been told, but we’ve been having a rough time lately.”

  “I’ve been briefed,” she assured him. Determination coursed through her. She’d been put here for a reason. She would help this family find happiness and security again. It was her destiny. “I’m quite ready to care for your children. Now, move along to the palace. I’m sure they’re waiting for you.” She opened her arms to take Adelaide.

  The baby stared at her suspiciously, but allowed Sara to hold her. “Come along, Sam. We’re going to have juice and cookies. Give your father a big hug so he can have a good day at work. We all have our jobs to do. I’ll need your help with Adelaide.”

  Gavin hugged Sam then grabbed a computer bag and headed for the door. “Call if you need anything.”

  “We’ll be fine. Have a good day,” she called, feeling a bit like the magical nannies she’d watched in old movies while she was growing up. She could do this, she told herself. Children were so sweet.

  Suddenly Sara felt Adelaide clamp her teeth onto her collarbone with the force of a mini shark. Pain tore through her, and she couldn’t swallow a surprised shriek. Adelaide pulled back at the sound and began to howl.