Page 16 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

She should check on her patient. Dr. LeBlanc had promised to keep her informed on both mother and child, but she’d shut her phone off before she went into surgery and hadn’t turned it back on.

Her empty stomach growled, winning the war for her attention.

Anna set her pack down to one side of the bedroom door then approached the table. She scooped up a porcelain cup, pointed at one of the carafes, and asked the hotel employee, “Coffee?”

The middle-aged man smiled and bowed. Bowed. Like a servant in the presence of royalty.

None of the other men in the room seemed to notice.

This guy should give lessons on manners.

“Thank you,” she said to him in a quiet voice.

The man bowed again, even lower than last time. He straightened, walked to the door, then turned to bow to the room at large. He finally left, closing the door behind him.

Okay, good manners were nice, but that guy took the whole concept way too far.

She poured herself a cup of coffee. It smelled strong and bitter, so she added a spoonful of sugar and a dash of cream before taking a sip.

Exactly what she needed to get her moving today.

Yesterday had been a shitshow of massive proportions.

She ignored the conversations going on around her, sipped her hot beverage of caffeine goodness, and went over the surgery from last night in her head.

“One moment please,” Zar said, a little louder than he’d been speaking before.

She opened her eyes to see Zar pulling the phone away from his ear. “Anna, please, eat. I’ll be finished in just a moment.”

It didn’t feel right to start all by herself, but she compromised by picking out a chair and topping up her coffee.

After a couple of minutes, Zar ended his call and joined her at the table. “I spoke with Dr. LeBlanc. He awaits your call after you’ve eaten, with an update on your patient. He seemed very cheerful, so I suspect she’s doing well.”

“Fantastic,” Anna said, lifting the dome off her plate. “Wow, this looks amazing.” Two crepes covered in custard, hand-cut potato wedges, and a variety of berries greeted her. She set the dome on the floor and dug into her food. “I’m glad he’s happy; that surgery last night was a challenge.”

Zar’s gaze was as warm as the memory of how his hands touched her earlier. As if every moment with her was precious. “According to LeBlanc, you’re a miracle worker.”

She gave Zar a half-grin. “Nope, no miracles here. I’m just very careful and don’t assume anything.”

“He said you were creative, inclusive, and supportive with the staff.” Zar poured himself a cup of coffee. “Don’t be surprised if he offers you a job.”

In the middle of swallowing a bite of crepe, she choked and had to wash it down with coffee. “What?” she asked when she could breathe normally again.

Zar’s lopsided smile did happy things to her insides. “You had his respect the moment he realized who you were. Watching you in action only elevated his opinion of you and your abilities.”

Anna wasn’t sure how she should feel about that. She was supposed to be on vacation, trying to find her roots, not getting tangled up with a job offer and a policeman who was turning out to be much too attractive for her peace of mind. Handsome, intelligent, and kind all in one package. If she didn’t find something wrong with the man, she might leave Europe with an injury that didn’t always heal—a broken heart.

“Well, I’m not looking for a job, so...” She shrugged and kept eating.

Jean Paul came over, his body stiff and expression cold, and showed Zar something on his phone.

Zar’s mouth tightened. He murmured something to the other man then looked at her. There was anger burning in his eyes, hot enough to scorch. It looked so out of place on Zar’s face she reared back. She glanced at Jean Paul again, but he was standing rigid, his attention on Zar.

“What’s wrong?” she asked very carefully in a calm voice. She’d learned a long time ago how to talk to people who were in the grip of panic, anger, or pain.

Zar sucked in, then released a deep breath. “I need to ask a favor of you, Anna.” He said the words like they cut him up on the way out of his mouth.

She could only think of one reason why he’d need her help. “You need a surgeon?”

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