by Holly Rayner
“I think this should do it.” Kelsie zipped up the suitcase just as Cowboy came into the room.
“I wish you could come with, boy.” She squatted down and rubbed his ears before burying her face in his neck.
Cowboy sniffed at the suitcase.
“He knows something is up,” Francesca said.
Kelsie stood. “Hey, thanks again for watching the house.”
“No problem. You know I’ve got your back. Plus, you’re doing this for the whole town. We’re kind of counting on you.”
Kelsie exhaled harshly. “That’s not any pressure at all.”
Francesca laughed. “Sorry. Are you nervous?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve never been out of the country before. God, I’ve never even been on a plane.”
“Does Masoud know that?”
“Only if he’s read my mind.”
There was a knock on the door, and Cowboy jumped up with a bark and ran out of the bedroom.
“Sounds like your prince has arrived,” Francesca said.
“Oh, gosh,” Kelsie groaned, hauling her suitcase off the bed. “Don’t say anything like that around him.”
“Relax, Peep. I’ve got your back, remember?”
“I know.” Kelsie smiled. “Sorry. I guess I’m just nervous. About all of this.”
“I know.” Francesca took Kelsie’s hand in hers. “But it’s going to be all right. Whatever happens... with Masoud... with the mine... We’ll get through it. This town is strong. We’re strong.”
“I know.” Kelsie breathed in deep, feeling better already. “Thank you. For everything.”
Francesca pulled her into a hug. “Thanks aren’t even necessary.”
Kelsie squeezed her best friend tight. “I’ll still dish them out to you till the end of time. And give me a kick in the shin if I ever forget to stop doing that.”
There was another knock on the front door, and Cowboy barked again.
“I forgot to answer the door!” Kelsie squealed, laughing at herself as she rushed to let Masoud in.
Five minutes later, after leaving Leila in the house with Cowboy and Francesca, Kelsie and Masoud were off, the sun climbing above the horizon as Masoud drove them to the airport.
Relaxing into the leather seat, Kelsie looked in her rearview mirror, at the house that grew smaller by the second.
“I miss it, too,” Masoud said.
Kelsie blushed. She hadn’t even known Masoud was watching her.
“You do?” she asked, skeptical.
Masoud paused, his throat rolling as he swallowed. “I do.”
Kelsie studied his profile, and decided he meant what he said. “I’m slightly worried about the dogs.”
“I know. But Leila had such a great time when I left her with you. She has Cowboy and the sheep. And you know Francesca will look after them.”
Masoud reached across the center console and closed his hand over Kelsie’s. Warmth shivered its way up her arm and into her heart.
“You’re not having second thoughts about this trip, are you?” he asked.
“Definitely not.”
“Good. Neither am I.”
Masoud drove through town, and at a stop sign, a few people glanced over at his car. One older man, who Kelsie recognized as a retired librarian, scowled at them.
Kelsie’s face burned, and she was glad as Masoud turned right down the street and left the town behind.
“Have you been into town?” she asked Masoud.
“No,” came his tight reply. “Have you?”
“Nu-uh. Francesca went to the grocery store yesterday, though, and apparently there are a few people who are in favor of the mine being built.”
Masoud started to answer, but Kelsie quickly interrupted.
“But,” she said, “I bet most people are still against it.”
“Fair enough,” Masoud said. “I’ll let you have that win.” He glanced her way. “For now.”
Kelsie must have fallen asleep on the drive to the airport, because before she knew it, Masoud was softly saying her name. She woke with a start, rubbed her eyes, and looked around her.
They were on the tarmac, parked right in front of a small, white jet that was embellished with a swirling red and blue design. A staircase connected its door to the ground.
“We’re here,” Masoud announced, as a man in a suit came forward and opened Kelsie’s door.
“Thanks,” Kelsie told the man. She blinked away her sleepiness, and went to get her suitcase, but a second man had already grabbed it for her.
A flight attendant?
Masoud lightly took hold of Kelsie’s arm and steered her for the jet. The stairs were narrow, and at the top of them, a smiling female attendant met them.
“Good morning, Sheikh,” the woman said with a bow.
“Good morning, Kamala,” Masoud said.
Kelsie glanced at Masoud. Did he fly this airline frequently? Wait. Why had they driven right onto the tarmac? Who was going to take Masoud’s car?
And then, as she saw the white leather seats and matching couch, the flat-screen TV, the tasteful furnishings, Kelsie understood: they were on Masoud’s private jet.
Somehow, she’d actually forgotten that he was royalty.
“Where would you like to sit?” Masoud asked.
“Uh, wherever.”
Kelsie selected a seat facing the front, since that seemed like the most normal thing to do, and Masoud settled across from her. Without them even having to ask, Kamala arrived with shots of espresso for the both of them. Kelsie sipped at hers and looked around, wondering where in the world the espresso machine was hidden.
“This is...nice,” she said softly. “Really nice.”
Masoud took off his suit’s jacket and rolled up his sleeves, obviously very at home in the jet. “Thank you. It makes traveling so often a bit more bearable.”
The jet roared to life, making Kelsie gasp a little bit. Setting the espresso cup down on the little table at her side, she quickly buckled up. The jet was already moving, rumbling across the tarmac.
“Everything all right?” Masoud asked.
“Yeah, um, I just...” Kelsie gulped. The jet was picking up speed, going way faster than she’d expected it to. “I’ve never, uh, flown before.”
Instead of looking shocked, as she had expected, Masoud seemed concerned. Unbuckling, he stood and took the seat right next to Kelsie, where he buckled back in and reached across her to close the window’s shade.
“That will help,” he said. “If you don’t see the plane leaving the ground, it’s easier.”
Kelsie gulped. “Good to know.”
Masoud put his hand on hers. “It’s all right. The strangest part is when the jet tips back a bit, but that is only for a moment.”
Right as that part happened, Kelsie looked into Masoud’s dark eyes. It was as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. The jet, the noise... all of it just melted away.
Kelsie licked her lips, her mouth going dry. Masoud’s gaze had trapped hers, and she found it impossible to look away.
“There,” Masoud whispered, reaching up and gently stroking Kelsie’s cheek. “How do you feel?”
“Pretty good,” she whispered back.
Masoud kissed her tenderly, and a lightness filled Kelsie. Whether it was from his touch or her body being airborne for the first time in all its existence, she didn’t know.
What she did know was that she really, really liked it.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“It is my pleasure.”
Masoud leaned back in his seat, but one of his hands remained on top of hers. Feeling a little braver, Kelsie lifted the blind and peeked out the window. They were soaring above white, fluffy clouds. In between the white spaces, roads stretched out.
Kelsie gasped.
“What?” Masoud asked.
“I can see the cars. They look like toys. Like remote control cars.”
As soon as she said it, she expected her to l
augh at him. Masoud had probably flown a million times before. In his eyes, she probably looked like some kind of country bumpkin.
But Masoud just nodded. “I like to look down at them and think about all the people in them. Who they are and whether or lives will ever intersect or not. What the chances of that happening are.”
Kelsie looked at him straight on. He’d done it again. When she expected him to laugh or not understood what she talked about, he’d proven that he was kind and wise.
Could this really be the same man who planned on kicking her whole town out of their home?
“So you think people meet by chance,” Kelsie said.
Masoud blinked several times, long, dark lashes grazing his high cheekbones. “Sometimes. Sometimes, no. I think that for the most part, encounters are random. But I also believe there are some people we are destined to meet.”
What about us?
Kelsie burned to ask the question, but she swallowed it back down. Maybe Francesca was right, and she was getting in over her head. What if she couldn’t make Masoud change her mind? What if she fell even harder for him, but he refused to budge?
Kelsie bit her bottom lip. “About the mine...”
She waited for him to take the bait and say something, but he only sat there. His hand was still on hers, and he didn’t seem inclined to remove it.
“You think you’ll be able to change my mind,” Masoud said. “And I think I will be able to change yours.”
Kelsie scoffed. “Oh, you do, do you?”
“Wait until you see Al Hayla.” Kelsie opened her mouth to protest, but Masoud held up his palm, and she closed her mouth. “And I know. You said that once people reach a certain income, happiness is not guaranteed. I understand that. But consider this: Al Hayla has made tremendous gains in the last twenty years. As a nation, we are a very well-off, and we regularly score in the top five when it comes to measures of overall happiness.”
“You do?” Kelsie asked, surprised to hear this.
“We do. Our people have opportunities to pursue both money and passions. They feel safe. They have a strong sense of community.”
“I have all of that back in Rancho Cordero,” Kelsie pointed out. “And would your people be happy if you suddenly told them they had to move? Especially if it meant relocating to a less peaceful or happy country?”
Something flickered in Masoud’s eyes, and Kelsie’s heart flipped. She’d done it. She was getting to him!
“I would never do anything that was not for the best of my country,” Masoud said slowly. “And, if I’m being honest, my time in Rancho Cordero has caused my heart to expand. I do not wish to do anything to harm you and your neighbors.”
“Anything you think harms us,” Kelsie clarified.
Masoud sighed lightly. “Here we go again.”
“Talking in circles,” Kelsie grimly agreed.
At some point during their conversation, without her noticing, his hand had left hers. Now her fingers felt cold and strange. She wanted his touch back. The touch that made all her worries seem like nothing but fabrications.
She’d never been the kind of woman to take the lead. It wasn’t that she wasn’t confident, only that usually, the guys made the move first. Masoud was a gentleman, though. That was one of his most defining features. If he ached to touch her at any particular moment, Kelsie couldn’t tell. It seemed he always restrained himself.
But this was the first vacation Kelsie had taken in a long time, and her first one out of the country. And despite Francesca’s warnings, she really felt throwing caution to the wind and following her heart was the best thing to do. Maybe things with the mine would just work themselves out. Until that resolution came, she could at least enjoy every minute she got with Masoud.
Lacing her fingers in his, she gave him a smile, and he smiled back.
“You are gorgeous when you smile like that,” he said, and Kelsie could tell by the way his breath caught that he meant it. “You glow.”
“It’s only because I’m looking at you,” she said.
Chapter 16
Kelsie
Kelsie pushed her face close to the glass, staring through the car’s tinted window as it crept through the open marketplace. Women, men, and children moved about, some dressed in long robes, scarves, and hijabs, and some wearing shirts and pants.
Dried herbs hung from one stall, and colorful fruit piled another. They passed one stall selling fish packed in ice, and Kelsie caught sight of flower garlands and bins of root vegetables she had never seen.
“What do you think?” Masoud asked.
She looked over at him and smiled. “It’s a lot to take in, but so far, I think it’s gorgeous here.”
Two black cars with tinted glass had picked them up from the airport. The sight of the burly men riding in the second car had confused Kelsie at first, and then she remembered that Masoud was royalty. Of course he had some kind of guard trailing him whenever he was home.
“Do you ever need them?” she asked now, nodding her head backward, at the car behind them. “The guards.”
“Has there ever been a situation? No. Not for me. Things are peaceful here now, but there could also be... the need. At least that is how the rest of my family feels. Personally, I’ve never felt unsafe in Al Hayla.”
“A need to be protected from who?” Kelsie asked.
“Right now, no one in particular. But as a public figure, you can never be too careful.”
Kelsie nodded.
“Do not worry,” Masoud reassured her. “We are perfectly safe.”
“I’m not worried,” she answered honestly. “I’m just in awe. This is another world for me.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I thought we could stay at my private home, instead of at the palace. You’ll have your own quarters, of course. And my housekeeper will take wonderful care of you.”
“So you live at the palace, and you have your own place?”
Masoud nodded in confirmation.
Kelsie shrugged. “Yeah, sure. That sounds good to me.”
“There is just so much happening at the palace. Business wise, I mean. I do not want to overwhelm you with it all by spending our evenings there. At the same time...” He paused. “I would love to take you there at least once. To see it, and to meet my mother.”
“That sounds nice.”
Kelsie’s heart fluttered. On the flight over, she’d wondered what Masoud’s plans were when it came to her and his family. Did he want them to meet? Or did he wish to keep her presence quiet?
Meeting a guy’s mom was a big deal. Or, at least it could be. That depended on some other factors, like how he introduced the girl.
Kelsie turned back to the window, not wanting to overthink the whole thing. Masoud wasn’t her boyfriend. He was a guy she liked who she’d been on a couple dates with. A guy who planned on kicking her off her family land.
She needed to remember that. No matter how close she and Masoud became, he could always choose to put his business before her.
The marketplace thinned out, and the driver turned onto a narrow street. They were far off from the wide road they’d first started on, and the car began a slow climb up a hill. The road curved, snaking higher, and they came to a wrought-iron gate. There, the driver signaled to the man in a guardhouse, and the gate opened.
Up they continued, around a circular drive in front of a white house. Like many of the buildings there, it was smooth, looking like it was made out of some kind of clay or thick mixture of the sort. There were two stories, and several balconies, plus a walkway on the very top.
“Home sweet home?” Kelsie asked Masoud as the car came to a stop.
He grinned. “It would be that if I ever got to spend any time here.”
Just like before, Kelsie didn’t even need to open her own door. Nor did she need to grab her suitcase. Masoud lightly looped his arm through hers and guided her to the front door, which opened immediately.
“Sheikh Al-Saffar,” th
e middle-aged woman who answered the door said with a bow. “Welcome back.”
“Hello, Dunya,” Masoud answered, bowing his head. “Thank you. It is good to be back. This is my guest, Miss Kelsie Mack.”
“Miss Mack.” Dunya full out curtsied. “How blessed it is to meet you. I have your rooms prepared.”
“Rooms?” Kelsie repeated.
“Would you like to go upstairs and rest?” Masoud asked her. “I need to make a few calls to let my associates know I’m here, and then we can have lunch.”
“Lunch. Right.” The fact that they had flown to the other side of the world and landed in roughly the same time they had left in Nevada made Kelsie’s head spin. Had she gone forward in time? Or back?
She knew she was probably jet-lagged, since that was supposedly how anyone who flew twenty hours felt, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins made it impossible to feel anything other than excitement.
“I guess I should probably rest,” Kelsie agreed. “I didn’t get much sleep on the plane.”
“I’ll see you soon.” Masoud lifted Kelsie’s hand and lightly laid a kiss on top of it before walking down the long hallway and turning into a side room.
One of the men was already passing Kelsie, carrying her suitcase upstairs.
“Right this way, Miss Kelsie,” Dunya said, leading her up the winding staircase.
“You are the housekeeper here?” Kelsie asked.
“Yes. I have been for years.”
“Are there other...” Kelsie hesitated to say the word “servants.” Was that the appropriate term?
“There are guards who switch shifts in order to keep a twenty-four-hour watch on the Sheikh’s estate, but other than them, I am the only one here. The Sheikh does most of his entertaining at the palace or event spaces.”
“Excuse me, but can I tell you your English is amazing?”
Dunya stopped in front of a door near the end of the hallway. Kelsie’s suitcase had been set next to it. “Thank you,” she said. “Al Hayla’s school system is a wonderful one. The ability to be multilingual is very valued here.”
“That’s amazing,” Kelsie said, and she meant it.
“Here are your rooms.” Dunya opened the door, Kelsie followed her inside.