Ebony hugged her. ‘You’ll be fine. Just remember everything I taught you and it’ll be a cinch.’

‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’

Since when had her life been easy? Sam had bucked the system for as long as she could remember, ignoring the old-fashioned views of her parents who were still caught up in the ancient fairy-tale of their royal blood. So she was descended from Russian royalty? Big deal. The more her family treated her like a princess, the more she wanted to rebel. When her five older male siblings joined her parents in reinforcing her ‘duties’ as the only princess in the family she’d been pushed over the edge. And the result? A three-month contract in Melbourne as Dylan Harmon’s butler, as far as she could get from Queensland, family constraints and their expectations.

What better way to shun family ties and prove her independence than accept a position as some rich boy’s servant? Not that she’d told them that. Instead, she’d spun them some lame story about meeting a prospective husband through her friend Ebony and they’d bought it. In fact, her parents had practically pushed her out the door when she’d mentioned the possibility of matrimony to such an influential man as Dylan Harmon. After all, what better way to ensure royal heirs than matching their princess daughter with the prince of Australia’s landowners?

‘Good luck, honey, you’ll be fine. And remember, ring me if you need anything.’ Ebony blew her a kiss as she walked out the door, leaving Sam alone with her thoughts.

Picking up her bag and scanning the room one last time, Sam hoped to God her best friend was right. Everything would be fine, as long as she kept her mind on the job and Dylan Harmon didn’t treat her like the rest of the females in his sphere. She’d had enough of egotistical, overbearing men to last her a lifetime and she had it on good authority that he was one of the best. Defying her brothers was one thing, gaining the upper hand with one of Australia’s most eligible bachelors would be another entirely. Not that his good looks would intimidate her. She loved a challenge in any shape or form and handling the likes of Dylan Harmon shouldn’t be a problem.

Now all she had to do was believe it.

Dylan Harmon stepped from the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and reached for a razor. While shaving, he heard the bedroom door slam and assumed it was the new butler his mother had hired. Not that he’d needed one but Liz Harmon seemed hell-bent on making his life easier these days.

‘Is that you, Sam? I’ll be out in a minute.’

Splashing aftershave on his face, he wondered what sort of man his mother had deemed suitable. Sam Piper must be a jack-of-all-trades, as his mum believed he needed someone to lend him a hand in all facets of the business. If he hadn’t been so pig-headed, she’d have hired someone a long time ago. They’d argued about his workload for far too long and he’d finally given in, knowing that his mother’s interference sprang from concern rather than any great desire to rule his life.

Strolling into the bedroom, he came face to face with a woman. Not just any woman, but a delicate waif wearing a navy blue uniform with the Harmon coat of arms over her left breast. Once his gaze strayed to her chest he had a tough time wrenching it back, for the evidence of her femininity, combined with the uniform, could only mean one thing.

‘Hi. I’m Sam Piper. Pleased to meet you.’ The woman held out her hand and he continued to stare, taking in her short blonde curls, wide green eyes and heart-shaped face. He wouldn’t call her beautiful but there was something he glimpsed in those eyes, some indefinable quality he recognised as class.

He shook her hand, surprised at the firmness of her grasp. ‘You’re the new butler?’

She gave a quaint little bow. ‘At your service…sir.’

He noted the cheeky pause, the twinkle in her eye. ‘Call me Dylan. Though it won’t be for long.’

She straightened her shoulders. ‘Why is that?’

‘Because you’re fired.’ He turned away and headed for the wardrobe, wondering what had possessed his mother to pull a stunt like this.

‘If you’re looking for the charcoal suit, white silk shirt and maroon tie, they’re hanging on the back of the door.’

He stopped midstride and turned around, surprised that she seemed unperturbed by his putting an abrupt end to her employment. In fact, she hadn’t moved an inch and didn’t seem at all concerned, when most women he knew would be cowering in the face of the famous Harmon wrath. ‘How did you know?’

She shrugged and he noticed the stubborn set of her shoulders, the clasped hands in front of her body. ‘You’re a man of habit. You always wear that combination on a Wednesday.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘Been studying me, have you?’

‘Call it research. All part of the job, sir.’

‘Don’t call me that!’ he snapped. He strode across the room and picked up the clothes, wondering when he’d become so predictable. ‘What are you still doing here? Didn’t you hear me before?’

‘I heard you but I’m not going anywhere.’

He stared at the waif. Rather than being intimidated, as most people were around him, she met his gaze directly, not flinching an inch when he moved towards her. ‘Care to repeat that?’

Sam squared her shoulders and silently wished for an extra few inches. It was difficult to look threatening when she had to tilt her head back to stare her new employer in the eye, though it provided her with the perfect excuse to stop ogling his near-naked body. Her gaze had been drawn to his towel too often for her liking and she needed something, anything, to distract her. ‘You can’t fire me. I’ve signed a three month contract.’