Luke“Don’t be out too late,” Mother said, hardly disguising her stamp of approval.For the rest of the conversation, I asked Abir about Alda and how they met. It all seemed to have occurred naturally enough, but I kept an eye on Mother’s reaction. I didn’t know why I cared so much, maybe because she had tried to set me up every single time I came to visit the palace. There wasn’t one time before a month ago, when I brought Sophia as my fake girlfriend, that she hadn’t set me up on at least two dates during whatever short time I’d been home. And she wondered why I stayed in England for most of the year.Abir didn’t want to be late for his date with Alda, so he left soon after shoveling his breakfast in his mouth.I wanted him to stay, but I knew I would have to face Mother alone sooner or later. After discussing Abir’s love life, I knew what was coming before she said the first word.“With all this talk of girls and women in my boy’s life, I wanted to tell you that I’ve arranged a dat
SophiaBy the time Friday rolled around, I was so ready to go home. The sun from the first day I arrived had disappeared for good, and it poured buckets of rain every day since. How could anyone live in this sort of weather? I looked forward to the blistering Dallas heat to dry me out.Matt had been a gracious host, leaving me to explore and clear my head during the day while he worked and taking me out at night. I wished he lived closer. Now that I was without a job, it was nice to meet up with him on a regular basis. It was something I never did before, since I rarely went out with anyone other than co-workers, but those were usually company-planned events.I wondered if I would ever be that girl who went out with other women and chatted about our boyfriends or husbands. I supposed I would have to make some female friends before that could happen. And get a boyfriend or husband.Perhaps this new job would open a chapter in my life that I’d never had before. Being with Matt made me c
SophiaMatt shrugged. “What harm could it do?”“I thought tonight was about you and me?” I asked. “I’m not going to see you for a while.”“Remember, we agreed to change that,” Matt said. “Just go over there and say hi. It’s not like I’m going to leave you stranded.”“I don’t know how saying ‘hi’ is going to help me,” I said.Matt’s eyes widened. “Maybe you can sleep with him. Get Luke out of your system and someone else inside.”I glanced at the end of the bar, and the guy was gone. “That’s not—”“Hi there,” a deep voice said from next to me.Matt pinched my arm, and I drove my elbow into his side. The guy in the black suit stood right beside me. My mouth went dry as I took him in. Tall, pale blue eyes, and a five o’clock shadow. He smiled, showing off white teeth.“Hi,” I said.“I’m Thomas,” he said, extending his hand to me.I took it. He had a firm handshake, and my hand disappeared into his palm. “Sophia.”“I haven’t seen you here before,” he said.“I’m visiting from Dallas. My fr
LukeI had agreed to go on a date with Saanvi, but if I was going to attempt to find someone to replace Sophia, I was going to do it in my own way. Which meant I dismissed the outfit that Mother approved for my date and went with a slick suit and tie.Holding onto my independence was vital for my future at the palace. I didn’t need it to get around that at thirty-three years old, my mother dressed me up for dates. It was bad enough that she had set me up in the first place. I wasn’t going a step further to add to my humiliation.Even though most of it was in my head, I felt a little more like myself before heading off on my first blind date in some time. Years before meeting Sophia and taking over the family business, Mother had set me up with some women. Those were forgettable, and I hoped Saanvi was interesting to talk to at the very least.I also chose the venue. My mother intended for me and Saanvi to eat dinner together at the palace, but if I was going on a date against my will,
LukeSince we were both single, it was inappropriate for me to pick Saanvi up. So, we met at the restaurant. It was nice to be alone in the back of the car, mentally preparing for an evening with a stranger. Even though Mother and Father had a successful arranged marriage, the idea was archaic to me. If I was going to spend the rest of my life with someone, they needed to be someone I could tolerate on my own without anyone else interfering.I arrived early enough to secure our table and gather myself before meeting her.The restaurant was exclusive enough that no one approached me, but I noticed heads did turn when I sat down. I ignored their stares, already feeling the weight of Mother’s persistence in the back of my head. I had a sense that she would wait up for me and want every minute detailed to her when I arrived home.Deep inside, I hoped that I had something to tell her. Distracting myself with another woman would surely help me get over Sophia. It was all I wanted, even thou
SophiaThe hot feeling of embarrassment over the encounter with Thomas faded over the next few days. While I knew Matt wanted me to get a one-night stand out of my system, he’d been supportive when I told him what happened. It wasn’t as if I would ever see Thomas again, but talking to him all night and feeling that rush of excitement at a new love interest was what I needed at the time.Sex would come later. It would be with someone I knew well, as I had known Luke well before taking that step with him. I wasn’t about to jump in the sack for the sake of it. I was worth more than that.Funnily enough, thinking of Luke didn’t hurt as much since returning from Seattle. I imagined Gia had set him up on plenty of dates already and he had probably chosen a bride by now. The relationship we had was a whirlwind, but it wasn’t practical. I would hold it in my heart forever, but the sting of heartache I had felt began to fade away.I went into Monday morning with a new outlook on life. While ge
SophiaI narrowed my eyes. Carrie was nice, but she was, at the very least, a reporter. I wanted to believe she was genuinely interested in me, but I couldn’t reveal too much too quickly. Falling in love with a subject of a story wasn’t something that reporters did while expecting to keep their jobs.“What was the story?” she asked.“The king of Qatar was stepping down from the throne,” I said, trying to keep emotion from my voice. Even though I hadn’t known Erol that long, his loss still affected me. In the end, he was a kind man to Luke and me, accepting us as a couple. “I was sent to England to interview the prince.”“And what happened?” she asked. I stared at my hands. The buried feelings about Luke resurfaced, filling me with guilt and dread for the rash decisions I had made throughout our relationship. Pushing through them, I said, “We came to an arrangement.”“You and the prince?”“Yes,” I said. “I traveled to Qatar with him so that I could secure the interview.”Carrie leaned
LukeTaking the trip to America to see Sophia was the most spontaneous thing I’d ever done. Growing up in a palace with a daily schedule and then working at a company with complete focus and structure didn’t prepare me for what was to come.Each leg of the journey brought moments of doubt. What if she was completely over me and I was about to make a fool out of myself? Going to her apartment to see another man hand in hand with her would have broken my heart. But thinking of that possibility made it all seem very real.It would be better for everyone if she moved on, but I had to see her one more time. Putting it all out there for her one last time would give me a chance to either make something of our relationship or leave it in the past for good.It was the only way I would be able to stomach any other dates with Mother’s picks for my wife. Getting Sophia out of my head and heart was the solution.With enough money to travel privately, I reached Dallas far quicker than anyone flying