An Inconvenient Marriage (Married to a Prince) (5 page)

Her body shook internally as if an arctic blast had fallen over the back seat of the limo. Nearly thirty minutes had passed in silence.

How was she supposed to answer his question?

It was not like he had just asked her on a date. Or dropped to one knee and proposed.  She had woken up in some alternate universe with a sexy, brooding husband who wanted no part of his plain, boring wife.

“
Lilah?”

“I don’t know,” she snapped and immediately felt guilty. 

“You don’t know if you want dinner?”

“I’m sorry.” Considering the circumstances he had been considerably patient. He hadn’t asked for this
any more than she had. “I don’t think I can eat right now.”

“We’ll stop anyway. We need to discuss a few things.”

The downtown center of capital could be anywhere in the world. Skyscrapers along the Gulf shores housed the usual array of chain establishments that line the streets of Manhattan. But as they moved inland, the architecture changed. Small shops and restaurants with Middle Eastern fare lined the narrow streets.  Parts of the Old Quarter dated back to the glory days of the spice roads, with structures built at the turn of the century considered modern.

When the roads became too narrow to pass with the car, they got out to walk.   She wanted to window shop but she had to run to keep up with Sami’s long strides. Didn’t he feel the triple digit heat? Thankfully they only walked for one block before arriving at the Ain
Souka Café. The inside took her breath away. Intricate arabesque chairs, with inlaid mother of pearl and mosaic tables looked like left over props from Lawrence of Arabia. She wanted to pull out her camera but she doubted Sami would appreciate her acting like a tourist. Especially since he became the center of attention of the patrons. He didn’t seem to notice.

The proprietor came forward to greet them. His enthusiasm flowed like a fountain. The men exchanged words that she could not follow, except for the last words. Ahmed
Rafik.

With a smile as wide as the sky, the man grabbed her like a rag doll and locked her in a bear hug. Delilah wasn’t used to demonstrative gestures and froze in fear.

“Let her go, Adem,” Sami said to her relief. His light touch on her arm calmed her. How could he do that?   “Your cousin was very fond of your father.”

“My cousin?”

“Tamour’s son.”

She shook hands before sitting down to tea. The small booth with soft leather cushions offered privacy, or would have until few more family members stopped by to meet their American cousin. Another hour of stories about her father followed. The smile never left her face but sadness settled over her heart. While she told Sami she wanted to meet her family, the continuous series of ups and downs left her stomach crying to get off the rollercoaster.

“You are very quiet,” he said when they were finally alone.

Granted she had never been a stimulating conversationalist but neither had she been at such a loss for words. Her day just kept going downhill. “What do you want?”

“Just making conversation.”

She shook her head. “No. I mean, what do you want?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want…”

“It does to me.”

Sami seemed thrown by the question. He must have given the matter some thought or he wouldn’t have such a chip on his shoulder. “I’d like a graceful way out of this for both of us. I just can’t see it happening.”

“Couples don’t divorce in
Nadiar?”

“Not before they consummate the marriage?”

“So the only way to split up is if we have sex first?”

He choked on his tea. Obviously he hadn’t expected it from her. He recovered quickly. “Arranged marriages are different. If they are dissolved it is done by the parents while the children are still minors. Since no actions were taken, it was assumed that the terms were agreeable to both parties. And once you returned here it was considered that you were ready to begin married life… forsaking all others … from this day forward, until divorce do we part.”

Was it the lawyer in him or was marriage just considered a business transaction in Nadiar?

“How long were you planning to stay?” he asked.

“A week.”

His jaw clenched. For a man who wanted a graceful way out, he seemed annoyed that she had hoped for the same.
“And now?”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s your exit strategy this time, Princess?”

His sarcastic tone just blew what was left of her very short fuse. She leaned forward. “Do you work at being a jackass or does it come naturally to you?”  She sucked in a gulp of air and continued despite his stunned expression. “I discovered I was married a little over a week ago. I learned only two days ago that I have a very loving grandmother who has been waiting twenty years for me to return and take my place as your wife. Any decision I make regarding my situation is going to hurt many people and probably brand me as a gold-digging witch. So forgive me if I don’t have an exit strategy that pleases Your Royal Highness!"

She slumped back in the seat and waited for the explosion sure to follow.

“Yes,” he said.

“Yes, what?” she snapped.

“Yes I work at being a jackass. In fact, I’m sure many women around the palace will tell you I’m an expert.”

She smiled. She didn’t want to. But something about his admission made the jackass seem more human.  “You don’t have to be so proud of it.”

“Stay for a while,
Lilah. Spend time with your family and when they get to know you better, you can bring up the subject again. All they really want is to have you back in their lives.”

“You’re not going to divorce me, are you?”

“Only if your family requests it.”

She considered her choices. 
“For how long?”

“As long as you need.”

“What do I do about my job? My apartment?”

“Sublet it for a while. You are a citizen. You can work if you choose. You wouldn’t be the only Princess who works for a living. A lot of insurance companies are based here. I’m sure there are positions available for an actuary.”

Her head shot up “How do you know what I do?”

“Did you think we wouldn’t run a security check before you arrived?”

Given where she now resided, they would naturally need to vet her.

Could she put her life on hold?  Her mother had already left for California. Bob would never marry a divorcee. That didn’t upset her as much as it should. But she knew in her heart, that if she passed on the chance to know her family, she would regret it.

Now, Sami was another matter. He made the offer, but did he want to put his life on hold. Or did he plan to carry on as if his life had not changed?

“What’s the catch?”

“We would need to pretend we are giving our marriage a try.”

On the surface the plan sounded logical. But Sami had a talent for getting beneath her ultra-conservative façade and inflaming her passions. Some of which she never wanted to explore. He made her feel physically and that scared her. Years of watching her mother fall in and out of lust, left scars.

“Would we have to live together?”

“Of course.”

“Sex?” Even as she said the word her cheeks burned. His laughter didn’t help.

“I wouldn’t turn you down.”

A soft gasp escaped her tightly pursed lips. “Well don’t hold your breath waiting for an offer.”

He only laughed harder.

In New York she had no problem maintaining a cool demeanor.  She would attribute the desert heat for getting her so hot and bothered but in truth her husband deserved the credit—and the blame.

“If you’re in, you’re in all the way. We make public appearances. Attend State dinners. Learn to sidestep the press but deal with them when we have to.”

“I don’t have proper clothes… I mean I am not prepared for…” She arrived in Nadiar with a few business suits and one pair of jeans. Certainly not a wardrobe appropriate for public appearance with the royal family.

“I will take care of it.”

“That’s a big expense for a short term marriage.”

“Not half as much as the divorce will cost,” he muttered under his breath.

And the jackass was back! “When this is over I will accept nothing from you. And since you are a lawyer I’ll make sure you get it in writing.” She finished the last sip of her tea put the cup on the table.  How long would she be able to keep up the pretense in front of family?  

****

Sami walked along the inner wall of the residential compound to clear his head. The private garden brought back childhood memories of days spent with his family. Before a fanatical gunman had taken his uncle’s life and left his father as king. A twist of fate made possible when a young secret service agent named Ahmed Rafik, stood in front of the Emir and took a bullet instead.  He died a few days later from complications but not before insuring for his daughter’s future the only way he knew how.

At the far end of the garden his mother played with his nephew. The barely walking toddler tried to chase down a big, hairy cat that his brother, in an inexplicable mental lapse, brought into the palace. The sun headed toward the western horizon and the temperature began to drop.

Yousef joined him near a water fountain and slapped him on the back. “How’s married life?”

Sami clenched his fingers into fists that he would gladly land in his brother’s jaw if pushed. “Get lost.”

Yousef dropped down into a carved bench. “That good?”

“I’m really not in the mood,” Sami warned.

“It can’t be that bad?”

He grunted his disgust. “The only good thing is that she doesn’t want to be married either.” He didn’t admit she had planned to marry another.

Yousef laughed.  “Funny, you seem more ticked off than relieved.”

He thought he’d done a good job hiding his anger.  “What are you talking about?”

“Admit it! You met a woman who’s not throwing herself at you. It would be a hell of a lot easier to walk away if she wanted your money and your title.”

“Get real.”

“She got to you, Sami. I don’t know how but in two short days, she got to you.”

He would never admit that any woman could get to him but he was intrigued.
Lilah put her life on hold for people who were strangers to her two days ago. She agreed to play the part of a resigned if not happy bride. And she wanted nothing for her part in the deception. Why? 

* * * *

Sami glanced at the morning edition of the Nadiarian Post and cursed the laws his father signed after becoming king that allowed for a free press. And it shouldn’t give the media the right to make up facts. He didn’t give a damn what they printed about him. The worse his reputation the more female attention he’d received. But this! Apparently one ambitious reported had followed him all around the city yesterday. The sarcastic headline, THE FUTURE QUEEN? accompanied a collage of unflattering photographs. Normally he wouldn’t raise an eyebrow, but Lilah might not laugh it off.

What kind of idiot believed that a woman’s designer clothing or lack thereof, deserved a front page spread? A glance at the byline confirmed his suspicions. The brother of his ex –fiancé shoveled out a load of payback for a perceived wrong against his sister.
The same woman who would have done anything to share his title—except give up her French lover. Her infidelity was splashed across the tabloids, but he had nothing to do with it. 

  He tossed the paper in the garbage. Thankfully
Lilah didn’t read Arabic but short of buying up every copy in the country, he couldn’t prevent her from seeing the pictures. He cancelled his afternoon appointments and headed back to the suite.

Lilah
sat at a computer desk in an alcove with an open journal in her lap. She didn’t hear him enter as she continued her phone conversation.

“I don’t want to hear it Mom…don’t blame me if you need to take a valium.”  Her rigid body language and curt tone led him to believe the call had not gone well thus far.

She pushed a handful of hair away from her face. “They are not holding me hostage. I agreed to stay for a while to get to know my family. ” While tapping her toe impatiently, she switched the phone from one ear to the other. “For a while my boss said I can work from home…Yes, I know it’s not home, but it is where I am staying for a while.”

Sami leaned against the wall. She chose to stay but he still felt sorry for her. Although they both had to modify their lives, she had to do it in a foreign country,

“Stop Mom! You don’t get a say in this. You lied to me, you lied to them. Hell you lied to the royal family, which might be a crime here for all I know.”

He started to back away and give her privacy.

“Since you didn’t think he was right for me, what do you care what Bob thinks?”

He froze.

“Well since you are so concerned, Bob doesn’t think he could marry a divorced woman, but if I can somehow get it dissolved, I should give him a call…what do you think I did. I deleted his phone number from my contacts.”