“I can explain.”
“Of course you can.” He looked down. “So your high school class voted you girl most likely to be Miss America.” His eyes were hard when he looked up. “Was this before or after being chosen prom queen?”
“Please let me tell you—”
He flipped a page. “And here a newspaper article. You were a hometown beauty queen.”
“Will you listen to me?”
“Why not?” he asked in a tone that said he wouldn’t believe anything. “What’s another lie after so many?”
Chapter Eleven
Crystal faced Fariq in his luxurious living room, the elegant glass-topped coffee table between them. The thick carpet beneath her feet made her feel as if she was floating. Or maybe it was the furious look that gave his features a dark, dangerous air making her dizzy. She wanted desperately to sit, but decided she needed to be on her feet for this conversation. This must be what it was like for someone whose life flashed in front of their eyes. Fear and dread twisted inside her as she realized she was about to lose everything she’d come to care about very deeply.
And more.
“May I have my glasses back, please?” she asked, holding out her hand. It was shaking, but that couldn’t be helped. Her whole life was spiraling out of control. Maybe being able to see would give her the illusion of getting a grip.
“Don’t you think it’s time to abandon the disguise? Your secret is out.” He glanced at the spectacles he’d hastily stuck in the breast pocket of his suit jacket as if they were a particularly creepy bug.
“Disguise is such a strong word and so negative.”
“Yet so very accurate. You misrepresented yourself.”
“I think that’s an exaggeration.”
He gestured to encompass her from head to toe. “So this is your usual appearance?”
That question was a land mine. “It is for this job. I merely pulled my hair back, wore no makeup and put on glasses.”
“That’s why you kept me from removing them. It was an effective mask. Because your eyes give you away.”
Her heart was pounding so hard her chest ached. She hoped her eyes didn’t give away the fact that she was in love with him. What a darned inconvenient time for that revelation. Because she had a lot of explaining to do if she was going to keep this job. More than on her feet for this, she needed to be on her toes. Maybe she could salvage the means to help her mother even if there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in the desert of a happily-ever-after with the prince she’d fallen for.
Slowly shaking his head, he studied her intently. “I do not know why I didn’t see it.”
“If you don’t give me my glasses, I won’t be able to see anything, period.”
“So the story about your vision was the truth?”
“Yes. Normally I wear contacts.”
“Of course.” He handed her glasses over, but was careful not to let their fingers touch.
When his features came into clearer focus, she almost winced at the hostility swirling in his dark eyes. “Look, Fariq, if I was unqualified, I could understand why you’re bent out of shape. But did I abuse the children? Neglect my duties, their care, their studies? Disrupt palace routine? Draw attention to myself in a negative way?”
His silence was answer enough. But it didn’t explain the way his eyes suddenly grew hot before he replaced his mask of indifference.
“That does not matter,” he said.
“Even though I’m probably the best nanny you’ve ever had and the kids have bonded with me, you won’t cut me any slack?” Frustration ballooned inside her. “I have a very good reason for doing what I did.”
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with wanting to marry a prince of the House of Hassan, would it?” he asked, one dark eyebrow lifting.
It made him look bitter and cynical and she missed his teasing grin, his seductive smile. She felt guilty and awful for doing this to him. It never occurred to her that anyone would be hurt by her actions. If only he would hear her out with an open mind. Yeah, and the desert could expect snow in July.
“Marriage was never my motivation. It’s much worse than that and not especially noble. Pure and simple, it’s all about money.”
“Excuse me?”
She had the gratification of surprising the sardonic expression right off his face, replacing it with low-grade shock. He hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. But the satisfaction didn’t last long enough to calm her racing pulse.
She drew in a deep breath. “First let me assure you that my credentials and references are all legitimate. I’m very good at my job and extremely qualified to do it.”
“Your competence has never been in question. But your methods are.”
She winced at his icy tone. “When I arrived in New York for the agency screening process, the interviewer was going to eliminate me on the basis of the way I looked.”
“So you saw it as a challenge?”
“Survival is always a challenge.”
He frowned. “I knew you had a flair for the dramatic, but…survival?”
“I needed the money. But not for myself. It’s for my mother.”
“Really, Crystal. You can do better than that.”
She decided to ignore his sarcasm. “My mother and father were teenage parents. They worked hard to raise five children. There was never anything left over in their budget for luxuries like trips. We all had to contribute in whatever way we could.”
“So this disguise is the means you chose to buy them a trip?”
“Of course not.”
“I see.”
“No, you don’t. How could you possibly understand? You’ve never had to worry about a mortgage, putting food on the table or paying tuition.”
“No, I’ve never experienced those things.”
“I wanted to tell you the truth. Many times. But several things stopped me.”
“Please go on. I cannot wait to hear what was more important than the truth.” He folded his arms over his chest, and the expression on his face was ice-cold and implacable.
She was dead in the water. But the truth was all she had, and he was going to hear it. “I fell in love with the children and they liked me, too. They were born into a privileged life, but it can be a burden as well as a blessing. I saw a chance to bring balance, make a difference.”
“Children are easily duped.”
Wincing at his choice of words, she felt as if she was fighting her way through the desert in a sandstorm. She wanted to shake him. But one look at his tall, powerful body told her that would be a waste of time and energy. She might as well just waste her breath instead.
“My mother always dreamed of traveling. She always told me to do everything I wanted before settling down or there would never be an opportunity. And it turned out she was right.”
“How so?”
“I was the last of five to leave home. When I was gone, my father and mother got a divorce. It seems after I left they realized the kids were the only thing holding them together.”
“Why?”
“Probably because they married too young and finally admitted to each other that they weren’t happy. But my mother had never worked outside the home. In the divorce settlement, she had a choice of going to school for career retraining or owning the house free and clear. She chose the house.”
“I do not understand.”
“She figured she was brighter than the average untrained bear and could support herself with an unskilled low-paying job. But she didn’t want to leave her home, the place where she’d raised her five kids.”
“I see.” He looked at her and held up his hand. “It’s not that I see precisely, it just means go on with your story.”
His voice held just a hint of sarcasm, and his lips twisted scornfully on the word story. Crystal sighed, wondering why she bothered. Maybe if his wife hadn’t put him through the wringer there was a chance he would believe her. But Crystal was paying the price for what the other
woman had done.
She tossed a long strand of hair over her shoulder. It felt good to have it long and loose again, not pulled back so tightly. Every cloud had a silver lining, maybe that was hers. In fact, she found it liberating to finally come clean. The burden of her secret had weighed heavily on her. Unfortunately, her mother would probably have to suffer for Crystal’s error in judgment.
“Mom was getting on with her life alone and doing fine. Until the accident. She was hit by a drunk driver.” The look on his face was skeptical, and her own anger ignited. “It’s a matter of public record. The case is still pending in the courts. Check it out.”
“I will.”
She glared at him. “My mother was hit head-on. She was in a coma, and we thought she was going to die. Finally she regained consciousness, and the doctors said she would live. That was when the real trauma started.”
“How so?” he asked, studying her intently.
“Her care was expensive and she had no medical insurance. It was offered at her job but she couldn’t afford the deduction from her paycheck. If I’d known, I would have done something. But she never said a word.”
“I do not understand what this has to do with the fact that you deliberately deceived me.”
“No, you wouldn’t. Because you’ve always had enough money. You’ve never had to sacrifice or struggle. Mom tried to see it as a positive. Before high school when the boys noticed me, girls made fun of my clothes or my glasses, and Mom would say, ‘Chin up, Crystal. Beauty is only skin-deep. Real beauty is on the inside. Hardship builds character.”’
Tears stung her eyes as she remembered the difficulties her mother had endured—her swollen, bruised face. The excruciating pain of getting out of bed. Crystal blinked the moisture away before meeting his cynical gaze. “My mother has more character in her pinkie than I’ll ever have. But I like to think a little of it rubbed off on me.”
“Go on.”
She’d expected him to walk out by now. The fact that he didn’t and still listened gave her hope. “Her recovery was slow. And she’ll never be the same. She’s still going through physical therapy and won’t be able to work. But my brothers are taking care of her. Everyone is doing their part.”
“Contributing,” he commented.
She nodded. “Like we always have. My brothers are all supporting their families, so the financial part fell to me. There are several hundred thousand dollars in medical bills to pay. Or—”
“What?”
“She could lose her home.” She swallowed hard and made sure her voice was steady before saying more. “I would do anything to keep that from happening.”
“Obviously,” he said. “Did she know of your plan to deceive me?”
“No,” she admitted. “When I was looking for work, I came across this job, and I didn’t know about the stipulation for a plain nanny until the agency clued me in. Because I had such a strong early-childhood-education background, they gave me another interview. I toned down my appearance and was accepted as a candidate. Your aunt hired me. But my mother only knew the opportunity involved travel and she was very excited. The salary was so much more than I could earn in the States, and I desperately needed the money to help her. She put her dreams on hold for her children. How could I not put my dreams on hold for her?”
“So she would have approved of your methods to obtain employment?”
She shook her head. “She wouldn’t condone anything less than the absolute truth.”
“That is something on which we agree.” His eyes smoldered with anger. “You could not have obtained a loan?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have enough collateral to borrow the amount of money I needed to pay off the debt.”
“I do not believe that the end justifies the means.”
“But there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the means I used.” She lifted her chin and squarely met his gaze as her anger kicked up again. “I know this is a stretch for you, but put yourself in my position. If your father or brothers or Princess Farrah needed something—If either of your children was in trouble and this was the only way to get it, wouldn’t you have done the same thing?”
“No.”
“How can you say that?” Her hands started to shake. Frustration knotted inside her because she couldn’t make him understand.
“Because it’s wrong. Your actions are fundamentally dishonest.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “However, if you had been completely honest about your motives, I have every reason to believe my aunt would have chosen you for the position. Your work history and references are impeccable.”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t take the chance. But I’ve always believed beauty comes from within. This was a chance to see if I could be valued for my character and intelligence.”
“Why would there be any question?”
“Oh, please. We wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for that ridiculous qualification of a ‘plain’ nanny. All the men in your family see beauty as a distraction instead of an asset. You’re just like—” She sighed and shook her head.
“Who?” he asked sharply.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I wish to hear.”
As she met his gaze, another of her mother’s sayings went through her mind. “Do as I say, not as I do.” How could she encourage him to open up if she was unwilling?
“You know I was engaged. Before him, I thought only men having a midlife crisis wanted a trophy wife. I was wrong. He thought I would make the perfect wife for a man on his way up the corporate ladder. At a party I had the audacity to voice my opinion. He took me aside and told me to keep my mouth shut and just stand there and look pretty.”
“Obviously, he was a swine.”
The memory churned up the anger and humiliation all over again. She drew in a calming breath as she met Fariq’s gaze.
“Obviously,” she said dryly. “But the point is, from my first day here, no one cared about the way I looked. The children took to me and I came to care for them. You and I have talked about many things including politics, finance and education. You’ll deny it, but I believe you respect my opinion. I was valued for my character and intelligence, not the way I looked. And I discovered something completely unexpected about you.”
That startled him. “What did you discover?”
“You’re a nice man.”
“Flattery will not aid your cause.”
“You liked me in spite of the fact that I wasn’t pretty. Do you have any idea how much that means to me?”
He shifted his feet. “You’re mistaken.”
“Really? Then would you care to explain that kiss a little while ago?”
“I do not have to explain anything.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Must be nice to be a prince, to hide behind a throne when someone turns up the heat.”
“Hiding is your specialty, not mine.”
“I was completely myself with you. You once said there is strength in disguise. When I came here, I had to excel without props, rely on depth of character and internal fortitude. I wasn’t anything close to your type, but you paid attention to me. You tracked me down in the city today. You kissed me,” she pointed out.
“That was before I knew you were an illusion,” he said.
She threw up her hands and huffed out a breath. “You refuse to understand because you’re angry. But if you were honest, you’d admit there are sparks between us.”
“Even if there was some truth to what you say, you have done an exemplary job of extinguishing them. My wife gave me one lesson regarding the duplicitous female nature. Now you’ve reinforced the message. There won’t be a third time.”
“Then I feel sorry for you because you learned the wrong lesson.”
“Which is?”
“Never judge a book by its cover.”
The look in his eyes chilled her clear through to her heart and way down to her soul. “It would be best if you pack your th
ings. Arrangements will be made for you to go back to America. In the morning there will be a car waiting to take you to the airport for the first flight available.”
Even though she’d been pretty sure that was coming, his words were like a blow to the chest. It took all her concentration to keep the tears gathering in her eyes from falling.
She let out a shuddering breath but refused to look away. “Very well. I’ll pack immediately.”
He turned and walked away without another word. She couldn’t fault him for not listening. But that brought her no comfort. It had been bad enough when she was only concerned about losing her job. But she’d lost her heart as well. She was in love with Fariq Hassan. By comparison, the fury of a thousand sandstorms seemed like a day at the beach.
The following morning, after being admitted to his aunt’s suite, Fariq angrily stared down at her as she calmly sat on the sofa and sipped tea. How could she look so dignified, elegant and serene when everything was falling apart? When news of Crystal’s charade spread, and chances are it already had, the palace would once again be in an uproar. And it was his Aunt Farrah’s fault.
Before he could vent his anger and frustration, she looked up. “You have obviously heard the news about your sister.”
That stopped him. “What news?”
“She is with child.”
He let out a long breath as he shook his head. “Damn. But that would explain her illness.”
Crystal had warned him what would happen if the girl’s needs and emotions were ignored. She was right.
“How did my father take the news?”
There was irony in her gaze. “How do you think? He is hurt and angry. He lashed out, and now he’s backed himself into a corner from which there is no escape because he will never admit he was wrong or hasty. He’s disowned her and will not speak to her. He says he has no daughter.”
Crystal would say the king was “cutting off his nose to spite his face.” Pain sliced through Fariq at the thought. He didn’t want to think about her. She’d committed the unforgivable. She’d deceived him.
To Kiss a Sheik Page 14