Tears threatened because she’d never seen Oliver smile like that. He’d always been polite, always scrupulously in control. Except that night when he wasn’t, when he’d taken her in his arms. “What was it?”
“Oh, darling, it was you. You were wearing a blue skirt and a white cardie and you looked like a little bit of sunshine walking down the street. By the time you walked into the building, he was suitably dour. But for that moment, he was Oliver again.”
Tori sniffled a little and was grateful Sabir chose that moment to sit in her lap. He cuddled close and she took comfort in his warmth. “Well, I’m afraid he changed his mind.”
“He’s a fool then.” Lan kissed his wife briefly before getting to his feet. “You can’t let the past rob you of a future. That’s one thing my wife taught me. You’ve got two hours before the ball. Alea, my love, we’ve got to get ready to go.”
Tori sighed. Another ball. She’d proven she was no Cinderella. “I’m going to stay far away from the ball and get in my PJs and watch Disney movies with the babies.”
“No, you can’t do that.” Alea let Lan help her to her feet. “It’s been announced you’ll be in attendance. If you don’t come there will be gossip that you and your sister are at odds.”
“Why would they think that?” This was the part of her sister’s life she couldn’t comprehend. Even when she was working for the Thurston-Hughes brothers, she’d struggled with the idea of being the target of all those vultures. She knew how to work them. She had no problem being the spokesperson or the woman behind the scenes plotting to get a client out of a sticky situation, but the idea of her life being under a microscope made her ill.
Which was another very good reason she should stay away from the Thurston-Hughes brothers. They were a bad idea all around.
“They think that because the tabloids here use any excuse to pit the royals against each other. It doesn’t help that we’ve had two cousins try to kill us,” Alea explained. “You have to come. I believe Piper said arrangements had already been made for your gown.”
The last thing she wanted was to be in another borrowed gown. PJs sounded so comfy, accompanied by a nice gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream. “You could say I was sick.” She coughed a little. “I definitely feel an illness coming on.”
“Oh, if we say you’re sick, they’ll report that you’re pregnant and bringing shame on the sheikh. They really enjoy the bringing-shame-to-the-sheikh headlines. Those sell out in record time.” Alea picked up her baby and cuddled him to her chest.
Lan flashed a devastating grin. “You’re caught, Tori. That’s what happens here. One minute you’re happy in your comfortable fatigues and the next someone’s sticking you in a monkey suit and telling you to dance like it’s freaking 1805.”
“At least you don’t have to wear heels,” Tori complained.
“Perks of manhood.” Lan winked and whisked away his wife and baby. Piper’s nanny came to take her boys as well.
She was alone again. Well, except for the next guard on duty who opened the door and took up sentry.
Tori sighed. It really was time to go home.
* * * *
Rory stepped into the sheikh’s office beside Callum with his head held high. It was located in the business wing of the palace. Tori was likely in the residential wing, but he would have to talk fast to even be permitted to walk those halls. The fact that the sheikh had chosen to use his formal office rather than the private one reserved for gatherings with family and friends told him a lot. Of course, so did the look on his face.
Talib al Mussad looked like a man in a bad mood. He sat behind his massive desk, wearing an impeccable three-piece suit, and when they were introduced he nodded his regal head and gestured to the chairs in front of him.
“Gentlemen, you may sit.” The words were polite, but Rory was fairly certain Talib would be excruciatingly polite even as he delivered a death sentence. How did they dispatch people who committed crimes against the royal family in Bezakistan? He was fairly certain it wasn’t pleasant.
“Thank you for agreeing to see us,” Rory said.
“And for letting us in the country, but you need to talk to your security people. I don’t think that full body cavity search was really warranted.” Callum had been unhappy with the extra security protocols that had been put in place since the last time they’d visited.
Yes, Rory was fairly certain the very intrusive personal search had been just for them.
The sheikh’s lips curled up the tiniest bit. “You can never be too careful these days.” His smile faded and he leaned forward. “Now why don’t you explain to me why you’ve come to my country. I know it can’t be because you’ve come to enforce the contract you had my sister-in-law sign. I believe I sent you a check for the full amount, and the jewelry you allowed her to borrow has been returned. Unfortunately, her dress was torn. I added that expense to the check.”
If words were ice, Rory would have frozen where he sat. “No, Your Highness. We didn’t come here to demand anything.”
“And the jewelry was a gift. I’m not cashing that check,” Callum insisted.
“A gift? For what?” Talib’s hawk-like glare settled on Callum.
His brother might not be the world’s most diplomatic man, but he wasn’t a coward either. He held the sheikh’s stare. “For the woman I love.”
“From what I understand you didn’t present it to her as a gift. You chose to trick her into thinking she was purchasing the items herself.”
“I didn’t think she would accept it,” Callum said, finally starting to squirm the tiniest bit.