SophiaThe meeting with Luke had not gone as I expected when I agreed to speak with him. It made up for the quick exit he made at the mention of his father at the fancy restaurant. At least at the very end of it, I would have my story and, hopefully, the promotion to go along with it. He was right; we were both benefiting from this arrangement, even though getting this interview hadn’t been at all the way I imagined.Now, all I had to do was travel to a Middle Eastern country and make it appear as if I was in a relationship with the crown prince.It all seemed simple enough, but the moment he dropped me off at my hotel, a flurry of nervous jitters shot up my arms and down my legs. Could I do this? Could I fool a king? Luke seemed more worried about his mother, though. Should I be more worried?I took a calming breath.This was my job, and my promotion was all about getting this interview. I couldn’t let my nerves get the best of me. I was used to doing whatever it took to get my story
SophiaNo pressure then.I paced around the room several times before swiping my finger over my phone screen. I needed to unload some of the tension in my body.I dialed Matt, wanting more of a friendly conversation where I could work through my anxiety about this assignment. Luke’s proposition had upped it a notch, and I needed encouragement instead of pressure.I had almost a week to prepare, but I imagined failing miserably, letting down Luke, Mr. Fraser, and worst of all, myself.There was my pessimism again. If only my optimistic friend would answer his damn phone.The call went to voicemail, and the food from dinner churned in my stomach. I needed to relax. A bath would do.As I started to undress, my phone rang.I grabbed it and swiped at the screen, briefly seeing Matt’s smiling face before the call connected.“Sorry about that,” he said. “I was in the middle of another call.”“No big deal,” I said.“It sounds like a big deal. What’s up, Soph?”I raked my hand through my hair,
LukeWaking up on Tuesday morning, I wasn’t filled with the same sinking sensation of dread in my stomach. Sophia had agreed to pretend to be my girlfriend. I couldn’t believe that everything had fallen into place like pieces of a puzzle. If I’d never met Sophia, I would have been subjected to Mother and her attempts to set me up again.I didn’t plan on marrying Sophia, but our “relationship” would get Mother off my back for a little while. I doubted I could convince Sophia to come back to the UK or even Qatar once she returned to Dallas, so I would be living on borrowed time.That was if we could convince everyone that our relationship was real in the first place.My feelings for Sophia were strictly platonic, but she was my type. Without dating anyone for some time, I didn’t think I had a type. But the way that she always said what she wanted and made me laugh made me excited to see her again. Of course, she was beautiful. That made it easier for what I intended to do. I didn’t mind
Luke“Justine is very observant.” I wasn’t about to tell her that I was the one who guessed Sophia’s size based on the time I’d spent with her. She might think I had thought about her body way more than I should have. It was the honest truth, but sharing that might turn her off completely.“Hm,” Sophia said and followed Katherine into the next room.The room was the size of my walk-in closet. A plush gray love seat sat in the middle of the room in front of a trifold mirror. On one side of the room was a door that I guessed was the changing room.“Mr. Walters, if you wouldn’t mind taking a seat,” Katherine said, opening her hand in the direction of the chair. “Ms. Holmes—”“Sophia,” Sophia said. “You can call me Sophia.”Katherine smiled tightly. “Sophia. Please come through here with me so I can point out some of my choices for you.”Sophia gave me a look and then followed Katherine.Unbuttoning my jacket, I sat down on the couch. I slung my arm over the top, then thought better of it
SophiaThe next two days went by in a flash. I’d locked myself in my room at the hotel and researched everything I could about Luke’s home country. I checked out blogs and articles written by women who had visited the country as well. But after a while, all of the words started to blur into incomprehensible blobs.The articles were helpful, but they didn’t mimic the experience that I was about to embark on with Luke. I was about to visit a palace! I didn’t doubt that I would be stared at, but it wouldn’t be for my clothing. I would be the girlfriend of a prince. There would be those—his parents and family—who wouldn’t be happy with him for choosing a woman like me. And others would be curious about how I captured the eye of a prince.I thought of Kate Middleton—the only princess I knew of—and how she must have felt to be in my position. Though our situations were totally different, as I was sure she loved her husband, it was probably a strange thing for her and the royal family alike
SophiaOnce we were in the air—after the smoothest takeoff I’d ever experienced—there was no going back. As if Luke realized that, he took off his suit jacket and tossed it over his chair.Within seconds, a flight attendant grabbed it and whisked it away.I had the urge to throw something on the floor and see how quickly it got picked up, but I quelled it. My giddiness about this whole experience was bordering on immaturity.I had two glasses of delicious champagne, much better than the one at the New Year’s party at work. Soon after, we were given a three-course dinner. Probably the best meal of my life.“How did you get into journalism?” Luke asked after a little while.He’d been on his phone for most of the time since takeoff, and I didn’t want to disturb him.“My mom got me a notebook when I was about six. There wasn’t much to do in our small neighborhood, so I started to spy on our neighbors and write down their daily activities.”“I could see a little Sophia doing that,” he said
LukeWith Sophia’s hand in mine, I felt like I could take over the world. Her small hand offered me the reassurance that I wasn’t going into this weekend alone. From the window, I saw Mother already had her passive expression on, the one that silently judged. She never thought I could make a decision when it came to my personal life. Yet none of her setups in the past had panned out.“Do I need a headscarf?” Sophia asked when we were near the door.I hesitated. It would give Mother a good impression.I opened my mouth to say something when one of the flight attendants, a woman, came forward holding two scarves in her hands. “These are mine. Pick one.”She wasn’t from my country, but she probably visited quite often if she was a frequent flier on Father’s private jet.I picked the light blue one and thanked her as I quickly wrapped it around Sophia’s head. “There.”“How do I look?” Sophia asked, raising one eyebrow.“Perfect,” I said, tracing my thumb down her cheek.Her eyes fluttered
Luke“You didn’t tell me how beautiful it was,” she said, nudging my arm.She kept her cool, though I could feel her practically vibrating on the inside with excitement. The truth was, I had the same feeling. Coming to the palace with Sophia made it that much more exciting, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t mind being home.Father and Mother were the first out of the car, followed by Abir, Sophia, and myself. Mother went off into the palace on her own while Father and Abir stood by the car.Father watched Mother enter the palace before he turned to Sophia. “Abir will get you acquainted with the palace. Son, please come with me.”Sophia and I detached, and I felt like a piece of me went missing at that moment. Abir offered his arm, and Sophia took it without hesitation.“I want to show you the gardens,” Abir said, tugging Sophia along with him. She didn’t appear helpless with my brother, but I wanted to get back to her as soon as possible.“Let’s talk in my study,” Father