You asshole, I raged at myself. What kind of man fires someone so he can sleep with them? My clenched my fingers on the door frame.

“Papa?” Dauphine’s voice came from behind me and I jerked upright. “What are you doing, Papa?”

I sucked in a breath and scrubbed my hands down my face. “Um, ah. I was thinking.” Shit.

She cocked her head sideways as she let out a yawn.

“I was resting,” I amended. “I had a headache. Come on, let’s get you back in bed. What are you doing awake?” I gently steered her back to bed. Straightening her duvet, I pulled it open and she crawled in. My throat felt thick, like I’d been caught stealing. At least Dauphine’s appearance had doused my raging lust.

“I had a nightmare,” she said.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” I leaned down and kissed her damp forehead. “It was just a dream.”

“I dreamed you were sending Josie away. I love her so much, Papa. Do you think she can come with me to Grand-mère’s? I really want Mémé to meet her. I think she will love her like I love her.”

Guilt flooded me, and I tried to swallow it down my already closed throat. I tucked in the duvet around my daughter’s small body to stall. “Shh. It’s time to sleep, okay? We’ll talk in the morning.” I kissed her head again. “Goodnight, mon chou.”

“Good night, Papa.”

My shoulders slumped as she let me off the hook. I left Dauphine’s room and walked straight to the stairwell and went to my stateroom, ripping off my clothes. There was no fucking way I was going to have a tawdry affair with the nanny and sneak around on my own damn boat and try to hide it from my own damn daughter and everyone who worked for me.

I was not my father.

I didn’t screw the help.

I flicked off my light and lay under the sheet. Immediately sensations and images assaulted me. I was harder and longer than a circus tentpole. Sleep was impossible.

I finished my morning workout, feeling tired, troubled, and out of sorts. The boat felt … empty. Or maybe that was me. A ping on my phone told me Evan had taken the Mercedes out of our parking bay in St. Tropez. He would be running some errands and picking up some stuff for me at my office in Sofia Antipolis and meeting us at my mother’s later. But Evan often left the boat, and it didn’t leave the place feeling like something was missing. My gut felt troubled.

Andrea sat at the table in the galley with a cup and saucer and didn’t say anything when I walked in. It was her day off, so I could hardly complain. But it was totally out of character.

“Good morning,” I tried, anyway.