by Ali Parker
Alda chewed on her lip. For a moment, I thought Gia had gotten to the girl before I could meet her. But she shuffled toward me before her mouth split into a wide grin. “I’ve never met an American before.”
Luke coughed out a laugh, and I offered my hand to her. “Come, sit. I want to hear everything about how you and Abir met, Alda.”
Two servants rushed onto the balcony with place settings and extra chairs for Abir and Alda. The servants poured two more cups of tea, and we were back in our seats within a minute or so.
Abir scooted his chair closer to Alda, and Luke gave me a weighted look. Abir watched Alda almost as if he were waiting for her to move before he did anything.
I couldn’t help smiling at the two of them. They were so damn adorable.
“Tell me about yourself, Alda,” I said, starting the conversation. I already had Abir on my side, but there was no harm in getting a good recommendation from Alda to convince Gia that I wasn’t the devil, wanting to steal her son away to America, never to be seen again.
While Alda spoke of her background, Abir didn’t take his eyes off her. As a daughter of a big wig in business in Qatar, it seemed she was the perfect fit for a prince when it came to social status. I had no idea how it would affect anything with the kingdom, but I was sure that Luke would fill me in if I asked. Since leaving my lifelong job as a reporter, I still had the same curiosity that helped me get insight into many of my stories, even though most of them were puff pieces for the Dallas Post.
A sour taste filled my mouth, thinking of them. While I tried to stay engaged with Alda, I couldn’t help but blame my former employer for exposing Luke and me getting engaged before he could tell his mother. It was icing on the layered cake of disdain that Gia held for me.
It didn’t take long for Luke to warm up to Alda. Her charm won him over quickly. She was sweet and so in love with Abir.
“We won’t waste too much more of your time,” Abir said, standing up. He helped Alda from her chair. “We have plans for dinner tonight, so don’t wait up!”
We said our goodbyes, and the two of them left without a second look. Abir took Alda’s hand as they walked down the hallway together.
“Oh my god,” I said. “How cute are they?”
Luke turned from the hallway to face me. “He’s head over heels for her.”
“I’d say it’s mutual,” I said. “When I was sixteen, I never felt that way for someone.”
“Never?” Luke asked.
“Unless they were on the movie screen and out of my league, sure. Those were crushes. Whatever Abir and Alda have is for life.”
“Like you and me?” Luke asked.
He puckered his lips, and I met him halfway, melting into his kiss. “Like you and me.”
Even though we were years ahead of Luke’s brother, finding what he and Alda had was the dream. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
Luke stared into his mug as if he were trying to conjure something from it.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” I asked him.
He shook his head and blinked as if coming out of his own mind. “What?”
“You seem distant today,” I said.
He sighed and drank the rest of his tea in one gulp. “Probably jet lag.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he said firmly, without looking at me.
I knew when to drop it, but if this went on for much longer, I would have to push. I hadn’t been there for him during his first month as king. If he was stressed about his duties, this was my time to be there for him. That was why he traveled across the globe to get to me. We were partners, and I wouldn’t give up on him ever again.
“Maybe we should rest for a little while before dinner,” I suggested.
Luke nodded his head. “That sounds like a good plan to me.”
* * *
Since I had slept for a majority of the flight to Qatar, I wasn’t tired at all. In a way, I tested Luke by offering to go to bed. If he wasn’t tired, then he would have to explain what was on his mind. It was something I did as a reporter, allowing the subject to lead the interview until I backed them into a corner, and then the tougher questions started.
But Luke, true to his word, passed out within minutes of laying down. He didn’t sleep at all on the plane, but lack of rest wasn’t the only reason he acted so strangely after the meeting with the council.
Staring at the ceiling, my mind wandered. As the queen, would I not be privy to the information that went on during those meetings? Would there always be a divide when it came to Luke’s work and our relationship?
I wasn’t on good enough terms with Gia to ask her, even though it would have been nice if she offered any help when it came to the transition. I bet she would help any other woman in my position.
It was so unfair.
I hoped that Luke and I would be as different as we already were. Him marrying a woman outside of his culture was a big enough change. Taking it a step further and ruling as a family would keep the new traditions going. Would Luke be up for that? So far, he wanted honesty. I could demand that he be honest with me when it came to what would happen after the wedding.
The wedding. In all the traveling and dealing with family drama, I hadn’t even thought of the wedding. The minutes sped by as visions of big white gowns and sparkling crystals filled my mind.
By the time Luke stirred, it was already dinner time.
“Hey,” he said, rolling over. His hair was smashed on one side, and his heavy-lidded eyes sparked something inside of me. I loved seeing him ruffled like that. It made him seem a little more normal and down to earth.
“What’s on the agenda tonight?” I asked. “Dinner with your mother?”
Luke smacked a palm on his face. “That’s going to be pleasant.”
I kissed his cheek. “We’re in this together.”
He took my hand in his and then kissed the top of it. “I’m going to shower. Care to come along?”
“Of course,” I said and then bounced out of bed. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”
* * *
After our quick, yet erotic shower together, my shoulders were much more relaxed than before, although they started to tense up the closer we got to the dining room.
This would be my first real meeting with Gia since returning to the palace. When we’d arrived, Gia only wanted to speak with Luke about how upset she was that we were engaged. Now, I would have an entire meal with her to feel the hatred in her eyes while attempting to swallow the normally delicious food that the palace served. I already felt my throat closing up as two of the doormen opened the doors to the main dining area.
Inside the room was a long table that could easily seat twenty people. There were only three place settings at the far end of the table. I assumed Luke would take the head of the table, while Gia would sit across from me.
Maybe after staring at me for a while, she wouldn’t think I was so bad.
Though I doubted it.
“I don’t think she’s coming,” Luke said, holding my chair out for me.
I placed my napkin on my lap as he scooted me in. “How do you know that?”
Luke shook his head once. “Just call it a hunch.”
It turned out Luke was right. Gia never showed up. The tension in my shoulders remained high as each minute ticked by. Neither of us spoke about her until the very end of the meal.
“I think we should go back to England tomorrow to check on the company and Maddox,” Luke said. “It will give Mother some time to calm down. It was a mistake to come here so soon after the article released.”
I doubted she would ever learn to accept me, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. If he needed time to breathe away from her and wanted to take me along, that worked for me.
Luke sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Shoving out of my chair, I went over to him. Standing behind him, I dropped my hands to his shoulders and sta
rted to massage them.
He moaned, and his head fell back. I scratched his head, and a slow smile spread across his lips.
He was under a lot of stress. I could see it in his face and feel it in his muscles. Even though we’d just arrived at the palace, going to England to visit his best friend and check in on the business that he ran for many years might help clear his head.
It was all I could hope for so that when we did return to Qatar, maybe Gia would understand that I wasn’t going anywhere.
3
Luke
Unlike last time, I didn’t leave Qatar without speaking to Mother or the council. At least they wouldn’t think I was doing anything rash. If they thought I was running away with Sophia to marry her, all hell would break loose.
I spoke with Mother first, informing her that she would be rid of Sophia for a few days while I attended to Maddox and the business. I hadn’t heard from my friend for some time, and I wanted to see him again. To Mother, it probably appeared like I didn’t trust him, but she could think what she wanted. I had a life outside of the palace, and she didn’t. She would never understand.
“Feel free to come back here alone,” Mother said before walking away from me.
She always liked to have the last word, and in an effort to not leave in a shitty mood, I allowed it.
I contacted Qadeem and informed him of my trip. The council had a small hand in the oil business, and in the years I’d run it, they had no issues. Going back there would only improve relations with our clients and partners.
“Don’t think this gives you any more time to decide,” Qadeem warned at the end of the conversation. “We’re not forgetting this.”
“Neither am I,” I said, hoping that I convinced him that I wasn’t running away from my problems. I wasn’t. Not completely.
So much had changed in the matter of a few days, and while I wanted to flee the country and hide in England for the rest of my life, that wasn’t in the realm of possibility for me
I didn’t plan on doing anything without Sophia. We were a package deal, and being with her outside of the palace pleased me so much more. Mother could busy herself with Abir and Alda while I solidified the relationship between Sophia and me. If we were going to make it through this, our bond had to be as strong as possible. And that involved making sure that we took the time away from the drama of my family whenever possible.
I planned on telling Sophia about the ultimatum someday, but for the moment, this was a chance for us to enjoy ourselves in the city where we’d met. The layover after our engagement wasn’t nearly long enough. Spending a few days away to get some work done would clear my head. I hoped divine intervention would appear, and I would know exactly what to do regarding my title and my future wife.
* * *
Stepping off the plane in England, I took a deep breath, feeling as if I could fill my lungs again. The weight of the kingdom affected me so much more lately, and the council’s decision weighed on me like a ton of bricks.
Setting foot on the tarmac, Sophia visibly shivered. I held her close to me as we disembarked the plane and went straight to the car.
“All of these weather changes are starting to get to me,” Sophia said through chattering teeth.
“We can go shopping again if you want,” I said. “Maybe get you a thicker coat.”
“As much as I’d love that, don’t you have a reservation for tonight?”
“How do you know that?”
“You always have a reservation when we arrive anywhere,” she said, smiling.
“You’re catching on, my queen.”
“And I thought you were going to see Maddox?” she asked.
The meeting with Maddox wouldn’t give me enough time to wine and dine Sophia. “We’re going to meet tomorrow. Maddox needs a little more time to prepare the reports for me.”
“Are you sure that you two didn’t want to go out?” she asked.
I brought her hand to my lips. “Tonight, I want to be with you.”
She sidled closer to me and dropped her head to my shoulder. I pulled her close, and for that moment, I was able to forget everything except the two of us. It was what I wanted for tonight.
Even though I still owned my flat, I took advantage of the luxury hotels in the city. Sophia was my queen, and she was going to be treated as such. That also meant dining at the best restaurants around. Since I’d plucked her out of Dallas, I wanted to bring back a little of the Latin flavor that she loved so much.
* * *
Entering the restaurant, it seemed busy for a Sunday evening. We squeezed past a multitude of people huddled in the lobby area, desperate to get away from the gusts of wind that the opening of the door brought.
Sophia clung to my arm as we made our way to the hostess stand.
We sat right away, and the claustrophobic feeling dissipated quickly.
“I feel like we were here an hour ago,” Sophia said, grabbing the menu from the table in front of us.
“Don’t think about it too much,” I said. “Jet lag has a funny way of catching up to you in unsuspecting moments.”
Sophia glanced over her shoulder and then back at me. “I suppose I better keep quiet then.”
I grinned. “What looks good to you?”
She sighed. “All of it.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Sophia put up a finger.
“Don’t you dare get the whole menu,” she said.
“I wasn’t going to say that,” I said, though the idea had some merit.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, laughing.
“I was going to suggest we get a few items and share.”
She closed the menu and placed it on the table. “I like that idea.”
“Hey, I need your help,” I said. “This is your expertise.”
Sophia rattled off a few dishes when the server came back to the table. We shared a bottle of wine that I chose, and at that moment, I knew more than ever we were the perfect pair. In such a short amount of time, we could read each other’s minds when it came to enjoying a meal together. The stress from the palace seemed like a distant memory, at least for now.
Focusing on Maddox and the business would distract me for a little while. And of course, there was always Sophia’s body to make my mind wander.
I lowered my gaze to her chest. The shirt she wore was wide open at the neckline, showing off the top of her breasts. How I wanted to touch the smooth, silky skin. I knew what bra she had on, a cream-colored one with lace at the top. I wanted to tear it away from her body with my teeth.
“Luke?” Sophia’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Yes?”
“Where did you go?” she asked.
“Nowhere. I’m here.”
She pressed her lips together.
I hadn’t convinced her. “I was thinking of what you were wearing under that shirt.”
She blinked in surprise. “You were?”
My tongue darted out and dragged over my bottom lip. I grabbed my wine glass and sipped from it. “You’re rarely far from my mind.”
“I just thought…” she trailed off.
“What?” I asked, concerned that I’d offended her somehow.
“You’ve been distant since the first day we were at the palace,” she said. “I was curious. Was it something the council said? You’ve been off in your head a lot since then.”
I wasn’t ready to ruin an evening with Sophia with talks of the idiotic ultimatum from the council. I would speak to her when the time was right—after I decided how to get around it. Abir was so happy with Alda, shouldering him with the responsibility of ruling the kingdom would break his fragile disposition. I wasn’t sure Alda was ready to be a queen either, and like hell would I step down just because I wasn’t blood-related to Father.
“It’s not for you to worry about,” I said.
She stared at me, and to get her off my back about the subject, I stared back.
“Okay,” she s
aid and then reached for more wine.
She let go of it easily, but I knew that it wasn’t over. I just had to figure out a plan before she found a different way to ask me.
When the food arrived, Sophia’s eyes lit up. In an effort to take her mind off the topic, I took the opportunity to ask her about the dishes.
She speared each dish with her fork and brought them to my lips.
The sparkle in her eyes made me believe that she’d forgotten about me dismissing her question, but it was only a matter of time before it came up again. Sophia’s reporter instincts were piqued, and I knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t going to back down.
Little did she know, I had her best interests in mind by not telling her.
The conversation turned light, and Sophia asked about Maddox.
“I haven’t spoken to him much over the last month,” I said.
“You’re a bad best friend,” she scolded.
“I’ve been available to him,” I said. “But he seems to have taken to the position much quicker than either of us thought he would.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“Of course. It’s hard for me to let go, though. I suppose I’ve always thought that I was the best and only person for the job.”
“You hate to be proved wrong?”
I smirked and shoveled another delicious bite of empanada into my mouth.
“I’m sure Maddox would love to hear that,” she said.
“He would, so don’t you mention it.”
“Are you going to make me?” she asked.
“I could if I wanted to,” I said. “But you’re a smart woman. I might have something else up my sleeve if you do.”
Her eyes flashed. “You’re going to punish me?”
I licked my lips. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“Good,” she said.
The banter between us made me anxious to get out of the restaurant. I wanted to get Sophia alone and show her how important she was to me. She was so unlike any woman I’d ever met. We spoke more like friends and lovers instead of one or the other. The sensation drove me wild for her, and I didn’t see an end in sight to that side of our relationship. It made me want to fight for it more.