Luke“Yes,” I said. “Admittedly, he’s made the environment a little more fun and light. Everyone still works hard, but I suppose his personality has bled into his managing style.”“You were also the boss’s son,” she said. “There’s more stress to that than people know.”“True.” My shoulders relaxed. For some reason, I always underestimated her and how she understood me so well.“I bet you feel relieved that he fits in so well. I know you were worried.”“Not worried, exactly,” I admitted. “It was a rapid transition, and I wanted to make sure that he was ready. From what it seems, he was ready and has thrived with more responsibility.”“Too bad you don’t get a lot of time with him during this trip.”“I know.” Again, I wondered what it would be like to stay in England permanently with Maddox and Sophia. How much different would my life be? I knew I would be happier.“Maddox did say that I could come back to the company if I wanted to. He’d be ready to give it up just like that.”Sophia tu
SophiaLuke tossed and turned for most of the night. If I didn’t already know he had something on his mind, I would have then. My night of distractions hadn’t worked as I’d hoped. Something was bothering him, and I wished he would only tell me what.I had kept a secret from him too. It wasn’t a big one, but if I told him about the wedding dress, then he would probably feel the pressure that I wanted to get married right away. I didn’t want to be engaged for the next ten years, and I did want to discuss the timing eventually. It would come up sooner or later when we got back to Qatar. From what he’d told me, it wasn’t like a king to remain unmarried for so long.Though, if Gia had anything to do with it, she would postpone it as long as she could in the hope of finding Luke a more “suitable” wife.I couldn’t believe that we were headed back into that mess in just a few hours. I wished we could live like we did in Dallas, where Luke and I shared our own little bubble and nothing could s
SophiaComing back up to the hotel room, I was surprised to find the bed empty and Luke nowhere to be found.“Luke?” I called, balancing the two coffees and bags of breakfast. I wasn’t sure what he wanted, so I grabbed a few things, more than enough for two people. I figured it was easier to bring food onto a private jet than a commercial airplane.“In here!” Luke called from the bathroom. He came out wearing only a towel with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. “Oh great, you brought food. I’m famished.”Steam rolled out of the bathroom behind him, outlining his handsome figure.“You didn’t wonder where I was?” I asked.He cocked his head to the side. “Should I have?”“No,” I said, not wanting to make him uncomfortable to know that a strange man hit on me. “I didn’t want you to worry.”“If you didn’t return by the time I changed, I would have come looking for you. Be sure to take your cell next time.”My phone sat on the side table next to the bed, still connected to the charger.
LukeSophia’s admission was more than enough for me to prepare myself for the decision I had to make when we got back to the palace. Even though I knew the council would force my hand, having a plan in mind gave me somewhat of an advantage. Little did they know that I had to get Mother on board before anyone else. She had no say in any of the council business, but she was a force to be reckoned with. If Mother gave her approval of Sophia and me, then the council may have to concede, even just a little bit. And then, I would have the ability to change their minds.I bet Jaabir hoped that Mother would give a good fight, knowing her values. But what he underestimated was my negotiation abilities, along with the nautral love between a mother and son.I wasn’t blood-related to her, and I never would be, but she chose to bring me into her life, and she wanted to keep me there. Throughout all of this, she never threatened me with questions of our bond, only the bond between Sophia and me. If
Luke“Of course I do. Which means I don’t want to see you suffer, either. These American women, they have grand dreams of being wealthy and living the good life.”“Don’t generalize,” I said. “You haven’t bothered to get to know her at all, so making assumptions won’t work on me. You and Father raised me right, and I found a woman that understands me and still wants to be with me.”“For now,” Mother said. “Until things get difficult. There is more to being a queen than both of you realize.”“You can show her, teach her. She wants to get to know you.”Mother scoffed. “She cares nothing of this place. This isn’t her home country. It’s ours. She needs to have the passion of someone who’s lived here and wants to continue to see our country thrive.”“So, if I went out there and plucked a commoner from the streets, you would give me your blessing?”“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “The match needs to be beneficial.”“There it is,” I said.“There what is?”“You want to pick out the woman. Jus
SophiaUnpacking our suitcases took all of ten minutes. The trip to England had been a short one, and we hadn’t taken much along with us.After staring at the bed for too long, I was anxious to do something while waiting for Luke. I knew he wanted me to remain nearby for when he was finished speaking with Gia, but without doing anything, my stomach was a bundle of nerves while my mind whirred with endless possibilities of how the conversation would end.I kept imagining that Gia would come into the room and demand I leave the palace and her son alone. Needing to distract myself, I went off to explore the palace for a little while. Besides, if Gia was going to try and find me, keeping myself moving would delay that confrontation.There was a flurry of activity in the main ballroom. I wasn’t aware of any event happening at the palace, so curiosity got the best of me.Wandering into the room, the servants huddled around a table. The clinking of silverware filled my ears as I got closer.
Sophia“Don’t think about it then. There’s no use worrying over nothing. As long as you treat her well, the both of you will end up quite happy. I’m sure of it.”“I appreciate that, coming from you,” he said. “If only everyone would make it easier on you and Luke.”“That would be nice.” I wondered if he could hint that to his mother, but asking for that would be putting Abir in the middle of our issues. I wasn’t going to drag anyone else into that mess. It was already crowded with too many people.“Here it is,” Abir said, holding out his hand in front of him.The new fountain was massive, reaching up at least ten feet in the air, and the pool width was at least three times the size of me. We were far enough away from it, but still, the water spray peppered me in the face as the water crashed down over the oblong-shaped pool. The stone was black and slick with water. It was a really beautiful fountain and only enhanced the look of the garden as a whole.“It’s breathtaking,” I said.“Fa
LukeThe sense of calm that I’d felt in Father’s office stayed with me as I walked the halls of the palace, back to my chambers. When I arrived, Sophia was nowhere to be found. Checking my watch, I realized I’d spent more time away from her than I’d originally intended.Before going out to search for her, I wanted to change into something more comfortable.By the time I finished, the door had swung open, and Sophia stood in the doorway.“Hi,” I said. “Where did you go?”“Just took a little walk around the palace. Apparently, the servants had a lot of questions for me.”“What did they say?” I asked. The servants normally kept to themselves, but I imagined having an American woman in the palace was a novelty for them.She shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. “They asked about my life back in Dallas. They were much more excited about it than I was about living it.”“Most of them were born into this position. The palace is all they know.” I crossed the room and planted a kiss on