Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family #1)- Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,25

was a drawing. A caricature of Ellora and Elsa, both with huge, sparkling eyes and giant bows in their hair…she couldn’t fully process the image in her mind.

Her hand lifted, trailing over the picture just as Elsa had done. Stunned, she looked up at him. “Did you… draw this?”

“Of course,” he replied, then flipped the notebook back around. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight, Harper.”

And he was gone, leaving a stunned and confused Harper staring after him.

A drawing! The great and powerful Sheik of Izara had drawn a silly, goofy picture of two sweet, funny girls!

Chapter 10

Harper smiled happily as she stepped into the palace again that afternoon. As bad as yesterday had been, today had been wonderfully productive. She’d met with several teachers today who had some truly innovative ideas. She was eager to research the details and incorporate them into a broader teaching plan. In fact, the ideas could be applied to other aspects of family therapy!

But just as she’d done yesterday, Harper first made her way through the seemingly endless palace hallways, eager to speak with the twins and talk to them about their day. Maybe today was the day that they’d speak to her. She’d planned on spending several hours with them this afternoon, just coloring or some other activity where they worked with their hands while she talked to them. And hopefully, today was the day that they decided that their world was safe enough that they might talk back.

Of course, it would help if…!

She stopped in the doorway to the nursery, spotting the tutor and the nanny having a cup of tea together. That was strange, she thought.

“Where are the girls?” she asked, setting down her tote bag.

“The girls went riding with Prince Gaelen,” the nanny explained. “Their ponies were excited to see them, apparently.”

Riding? Harper’s heart sank. Riding meant horses and horses meant big, scary teeth and powerful feet that could crush a person easily. Harper definitely wasn’t a fan of horses!

“Oh, well, that’s good!” she replied. Stables. Horses. Ick! Definitely not her thing. Grabbing her tote bag, she hurriedly left the nursery.

Even if she didn’t want to be near the horses, that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate their beauty…from a safe distance. So instead of returning to her suite, Harper headed down the hallway that would lead to the stables, eager to see the girls ride.

But as she passed one of the courtyards, Harper spotted the stunning woman she’d met the previous evening.

Although, this wasn’t the vital, gloriously stunning woman she’d seen before. This woman’s head was bowed and she seemed to be crying.

Harper considered her options. She really should go to the woman and ask if she needed to talk. But…Princess Talia probably had dozens of friends and relatives to talk to. What could Harper do that those others couldn’t do better?

And yet, Harper was aware that some extroverts led a very lonely existence. Add in the princess’s public image, and that probably compounded her need to present a different face to the world than her personal reality.

So Harper banished her jealousy and stepped into the courtyard.

“Your Highness?”

The woman’s shoulders stiffened and she turned her head away, obviously not wanting anyone to notice she’d been crying.

Harper bit her lip, torn between her desire to help, and the woman’s obvious desire to hide her pain.

Going on instinct, Harper stepped into the beautiful courtyard filled with flowering plants and large, shady trees. “Your Highness, I’m sorry to intrude on this private moment and you can tell me to go away if you’d prefer privacy, but…” Harper stepped closer, her fingers curling around the strap of her tote bag nervously, “I’m a stranger here in the palace. If you need someone to talk to, someone who can offer you absolute discretion and a sympathetic ear, I’d be happy to help.”

The lovely princess turned those huge, hazel eyes, so like her brothers’, up to look at Harper, the pain evident in those lovely depths. Talia wiped her tears with a piece of embroidered linen and the gesture seemed to enhance her beauty. When Harper cried, her face turned all blotchy and read, her eyes swelled and mascara usually smeared her cheeks.

When Princess Talia cried, her eyes sparkled and her skin looked almost luminescent. Life really wasn’t fair. Still, Harper moved closer, drawn in by the pain in the younger woman’s eyes.

“What’s going on?” she asked, prompting Talia gently.

The woman lifted a damp handkerchief in the air in a sign of desperation. “I never really knew