by Holly Rayner
“Gondolas?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes. It’s either that, or a helicopter ride over the city.”
He was speaking with a perfectly serious face.
“Rashid, I meant what I said. I still haven’t made up my mind.”
“I know. That being the case, I don’t see why we can’t spend the day together.”
“I can think of plenty of reasons why.”
“Oh yeah? Name them.”
“Well, first of all, my job. Secondly, my job. Third of all, did I mention my job?”
Rashid fake-yawned, then showed me his phone. I had to read the message on the screen three times before I fully grasped what it said and what it meant.
Hi Rashid, thanks for your message. Of course you can take Lacie out today. My store really appreciates your donation. You two have a great time—Tania.
Seeing my constantly grumpy boss’s downright chummy text, I directed my stunned gaze to Rashid.
“What the… How did you…?”
Rashid shrugged. “For a thousand dollars, there’s not much that people won’t do.”
I couldn’t really argue with that.
“And me? Is that why you’re so sure that I’ll say yes to your proposal?”
He shook his head. “Not entirely. It’s more that I think you feel the same way I do.”
“Which is?”
He stepped forward and took both of my hands in his.
“You feel this. This, whatever it is. That we get along, that—even though we hardly know each other—we have chemistry. We could work together. Maybe even build a real relationship.”
I was mesmerized by his words, his broad chest almost pressing against me, his handsome, chiseled face inches from mine.
An ambulance careened past and we separated.
“So, you were saying something about plenty of reasons?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Okay, what if I say that I want both?”
“You mean a flying gondola? That can be arranged.”
Rashid offered me another one of his stoic shrugs and I almost bought it before he started cracking up again. With an exasperated groan, I punched him in the arm, then he grasped my hand in his.
“C’mon princess, we’ve got a gondola to ride!”
Chapter Nine
Rashid
“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable—especially not with me.”
I glanced down at Lacie. It was the fifth time I’d asked her since she’d admitted that she was afraid of large bodies of water.
“No.”
It was the first honest answer she’d given me so far.
With a resigned sigh, I took her hand.
“What do you want me to do?”
She took a deep breath, then gave a determined look, which wasn’t very convincing.
“Pick me up and plop me in there. And don’t, under any circumstances, let me fall out.”
When I glanced at her again, she looked terrified, but there was a glimmer of excitement there, too. So, all there was left to do was pick her up, carefully set her down in the back of the gondola, and get in myself.
The scene around us was stunning, and truly romantic. Central Park’s lake reflected our images along with the verdant trees behind us perfectly on its serene surface. Birds chirped in the branches high above the dock, and the sky shone a blue as bright as Lacie’s eyes. The gondolier began paddling, and I turned my attention back to the beautiful woman in the boat with me.
“So, let me get this straight—you’ve never swum in your life?”
She shook her head, keeping her eyes locked on mine. “Never.”
“And this is because…?”
“Something I will tell you in the future as we go through the motions of getting to know each other, like any normal couple.”
She blushed, and it was clear that neither of us had missed her referring to us as a couple, but I let it go, not wanting to stress her out more than she already was due to being in the boat.
“All right, fair enough. But you still like beaches, right?”
She grinned. “Is that a rhetorical question?”
Throwing my arm around her, I squeezed her. “Okay, maybe we can get along, after all.”
I reached into my suit jacket pocket and took out the box that had been nestled in there since that morning.
“I got you something.”
Her eyes widened as they settled on the little jewelry box.
“Well, go on. Open it.”
So, slowly, she lifted the lid. Seeing what was inside, she gave a sweet little gasp.
“Rashid, it’s…wow. It’s beautiful.”
“Try it on,” I urged her.
As soon as she had the necklace on, it was clear that I’d made the right choice. The sparkling, teardrop-shaped sapphire set off her sky-blue eyes perfectly, while the silver chain twined around her neck as if it had been designed with her very body in mind.
Turning the stone in her hand, her happy gaze settled on me.
“Are you trying to bribe me?”
I nodded. “Is it working?”
She took my hand. “Maybe.”
With my arm around her, I directed her gaze out to the lake.
“Does it ever get old—the beauty of it?” she asked the gondolier.
He shook his head, causing wisps of grey curls to escape from his baseball cap.
“Every night it’s different, and more exquisite. Like getting closer to a diamond with a microscope.”
He went on to tell us how he had been a jeweler, how he had worked with diamonds, what kind of customers he’d had—celebrities, wealthy, demanding businessman and regular people alike. Then, he told us how this was where he’d taken his first wife before he’d proposed, and then met his second wife, years later.
“With relationships, what do you think makes them work?”
Lacie’s face wore a pensive look. The man smiled, though it was a sad one, stretching his wrinkles into a series of horizontal and vertical lines over his face.
“I’m in the process of divorcing my third wife, so I can’t tell you that.”
He sighed and gave one big nod, making more hair wisps tumble out.
“Though I can tell you what makes a relationship not work. Holding part of yourself back, not being true, not letting yourself be vulnerable. Doing those things will always hinder your sense of trust and intimacy with your partner.”
His gaze wasn’t on us anymore; instead, he looked out towards the sun, which had begun its descent. It looked far away, almost like a misplaced part of the city, some streetlight that had moved.
My gaze went to Lacie, but hers was back on the flickering city’s reflection on the lake, which we had started to float over.
“When I was six, my dog drowned in a lake when we vacationing up north. I’ve never gone in the water since.”
My hand found hers, and my voice found words. “I’m so sorry, Lacie.” After a moment, I spoke again. “I’m almost as afraid of this—us—working, as I am of it not. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to be a king—or a husband.”
When she turned to face me, her eyes were teary as she spoke. “I’m absolutely terrified.”
I pressed her head against my chest and stroked her silky hair. “I know. But we can and we will make it work. I truly believe that.”
And then, as the tiny waves lapped at the gondola and the gondola glided atop the reflection of the sunset, we sat there, us and the gondolier, quiet as the still water. Far-off birds sang of the coming shore, but we didn’t listen. No, we listened only when the gondola started heaving. The gondolier cursed.
“Too close to the rocks.”
I turned to him.
“What’s that?”
“You’ll have to get out; we’re too close to the rocks. If we all stay in, the boat’ll sink.”
As the import of what he’d said settled into my fuzzy brain, I shook my head.
“Cou
ld I get out, and you and Lacie stay?”
He shook his head.
“I’m sorry. Either you both go or the whole boat does.”
Lacie’s body was now rigid.
“Lacie, I…”
“It’s okay.” Her voice was cold, tense, her body shivering.
“We can do this.”
Her harried gaze sought out mine. “Don’t let me drown.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “I won’t, I promise. I’m a good swimmer.”
And then we were lowering ourselves into the icy-cold water, and I was proving the truth of my words.
Her whole body was a rigid sinking machine, one which took all of my strength to keep upright. Silently thanking God for those many hours spent doing laps in the palace pool, I made my way to shore, all the while keeping an iron-tight grip on Lacie.
It was only once she was safely on the sand, and I was seated beside her, that I let the exhausted exhale of relief explode from my lips.
Lacie was hunched over, her teeth chattering. I wrapped her in my arms.
“We did it, did you see that? We did it!”
And, amidst her deathly white face, a smile trembled up and she nodded weakly. “We did it.”
She let out a half-hysterical laugh of relief. Once again I hugged her, holding her tightly her until the trembling stopped, until her breaths were no longer gasps. And, when I released her, she lifted her head to give me a grateful smile.
“Oh, God, I was out-of-my-mind scared. You saved me. Thank you.”
“Anything for my—"
At her poke, I jerked backwards.
“Hey…”
“I told you, I haven’t made up my mind yet.
“How did you know I wasn’t going to say ‘my very favorite Lacie in the whole wide world,’ hmm?”
Under the scorch of her glare, I sighed.
“Okay, okay. Though, really, I don’t know what’s holding you back, I mean, any girl would kill for the opportunity to nearly drown in a lake with me.”
We laughed as we made our way back to the lake’s dock. Once the gondolier reached us, he apologized profusely, before handing us a coupon to a bubble tea shop down the road.
“What do you say about drowning in some bubble tea for our next adventure?” I asked Lacie.
By now, the wind had blown both our clothes to a semblance of dryness, and she nodded. “Today wouldn’t be complete without some tea drowning, too.”
So, on to the bubble tea shop we went.
It was small but empty, with cheery bubblegum-pink walls and marmalade colored tables. We choose a booth at the back and cozied up, side by side. There, Lacie gulped down the big-bubbled fruit tea she’d chosen and I slurped my chocolate one. We toasted teas and drank and talked and talked. We talked about little things, our favorite smells—mine being the ocean, and hers, fresh vanilla—and big things, like what we wanted in a marriage, if we wanted kids.
“What will you do if I say no?” Lacie asked.
I scoffed. “Don’t speak of things that aren’t going to happen.”
But her gaze on me was steady, intense. “What will you do?”
I set my now empty cup down and met her gaze.
“I won’t be king. I don’t know…I’d go back and try to make the council change its mind, to make my family understand my choice. Then, I’d come back, maybe bother you some more, ask you on a date or something—try things out the normal way.”
Her face crinkled with skeptical amusement.
“So, you’d basically go home, give up the crown and position you’ve been hounding me to marry you for, and then come back to try to have some kind of normal relationship with me?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose you could put it that way.”
“Why?” Her bright blue eyes met mine, and it felt like she was looking into my soul.
“I like you, Lacie. Not because you’re a virgin, not even because you might be crazy enough to marry me with less than two weeks’ notice, but because you’re you. Because you’re funny and sassy and charming. And maybe I don’t really know you, maybe when I really get to know you, we wouldn’t work together, but I don’t think that would happen. No, if the real you is anything like the girl I’ve known for the past two days, then I know we’ll get along just fine. We’d be perfect for each other.”
I took her hand, then released it. “Though the money’s off the table if you won’t marry me ASAP.”
There was a glint of mirth in her eyes as they scanned me. “Are you trying to bribe me?”
I assumed an innocent expression.
“Maybe.” I shrugged at her frown. “I’m going to need at least half that money to get a lawyer or police force good enough to get my family and me out of the country. You don’t know Zayed-Kharan. Current rulers aren’t always so gentle with the former ones.”
Behind the counter, the two girls working in the shop were putting everything away, and one of them flipped the ‘Open’ sign on the door to ‘Closed’. That was our cue to go.
Even as we left the little shop, I was unable to let go of Lacie’s hand, and I launched into a half-talk, half-rant about nothing at all, only so she’d stay close, so she wouldn’t have to go.
“Rashid,” she finally said gently, squeezing my hand. “I have to go.” Seeing my disappointed face, she continued, “I may have a long day tomorrow.”
I nodded, released her hand, and hugged her.
“Good night, Lacie. I…”
I couldn’t find the words and yet, she understood. Nodding, she gave me something between a smile and a grimace.
“I know, I know.”
And then she was gone, and I was flooded with the words. The ones I was going to say, should have said. The ones that would’ve made her stay all night and leave with me in the morning. The words that would’ve made everything all right.
Chapter Ten
Lacie
When I first opened my eyes, I closed them immediately. I didn’t want to be awake, to have to choose. I was as uncertain as when I had gone to bed. My head was cloudy with tiredness and all that had happened last night. I glanced at the clock. It was 6 a.m. I had time to visit Mom and Dad and make it to work—or to Rashid’s jet.
As I scrambled into some clothes and out the door, I didn’t think about it. Not even on the subway with its faceless passengers, all of whom looked happier than I felt. No, I only thought of it when I walked up to the depressing gray building—just why I had decided to come here first thing in the morning, of all times. I needed to see them. I needed to know what to do.
One look at the formerly white walls, now beige from years of grime and no cleaning, should have told me all I needed to know. Even once I’d plunged inside and spoken to the usual gruff receptionist, Marla, who seemed to wear a permanent glare, and the uncaring nurse, Glenda, I didn’t let myself feel it. Yes, as I passed one dead-eyed resident after another, I felt nothing. I couldn’t afford to.
No, it was only once I saw them that I could let myself feel. Tucked away in a room too small for a single person, let alone two, once I saw their eager faces at the sight of me, the tears came.
“Oh, stop that now.” Mom’s voice was a wheeze, while the effort sent her into a fit of coughing, which only a whole minute of my dad’s brave-faced patting extinguished.
“How nice, you coming first thing in the morning like this.” Dad tried at a smile himself, though his face didn’t quite seem to remember how.
“Breakfast in five!”
All of us jumped at the angry shout just behind my head. Already, though, the stomping nurse was gone, along with her announcement.
As I stood there awkwardly, Mom waved me over, the effort making her hand flop down by her side.
“You look troubled, sweetie. Is something the matter?”
I was about to respond when it happened. The kind blue eyes I loved so much widened, her patchy-haired head fell back, and her frail body collapsed onto the floor.
Foots
teps, then an older nurse was beside me. She grabbed Mom and held her still, muttering in irritation to herself. She caught my angry look and mumbled a begrudging “Sorry.”
When Mom came to, her eyes sought out mine. “Lacie?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
She was between Dad and me, each of her hands in one of ours. I kept my gaze on that hand so she wouldn’t see my tears.
“What were you saying?”
I shook my head, took her hand to my lips, and kissed it.
“It’s nothing, Mom. Nothing.”
“You sure?”
I rose. “Yes. I have to go now, but I’m glad I got to see you. I love you.”
I hugged them both, and then, I left. I didn’t feel bad for not telling them about Rashid and the choice I had to make. I couldn’t. Not after what had just happened, what I’d just seen.
Besides, my visit had done what it was supposed to—now, my mind was made up. Now, there was no doubt about what I had to do.
On the subway home, I closed my eyes. I opened them to Rashid smiling down on me.
“Morning, darling.”
He kissed me lightly on the cheek, while I could only gape back at him.
“Is this a dream?”
An amused smile played on his face.
“I guess you could say that. I mean, I’m married to the love of my life and today is the day your parents are visiting us.”
“What?”
He chuckled, took my hand, and helped me out of an ivory silk-sheeted bed.
“Come on, sleepy, the attendants have brought breakfast out for us.”
He led me outside to a balcony which looked out over a gorgeous blue ocean. It was only when I flopped onto one of the wrought-iron seats that I noticed the spread of food before us. Pancakes, bacon and eggs, and my favorite—apple waffles. Rashid patted my hand.
“You did request an American breakfast this morning; is this what you envisioned?”
“Yes,” was all I could manage to gasp.
No sooner had I taken my first bite of food and directed my gaze to the beach, than I glimpsed some far-off figures.
Rashid, following my gaze, grinned. “Ah, they must have arrived early.”