that same breathless feeling as when she first saw him in the garden that night.
And now...
“We’re almost there, Your Highness.”
The driver’s casual use of her new title made her sit up straighter in the backseat.
“Thank you,” she said, feeling like a fish who’d accidentally leaped out of the water and onto a dry dock. What was she supposed to say now? If Zayid were here, he’d know whether or not to make conversation with the driver.
But Zayid wasn’t there. They’d landed in Raihan three days ago, and he’d gone immediately into a late-night meeting. His waking hours were jampacked with other meetings—meetings with security teams, meeting with cabinet members, meetings with...all kinds of people, she supposed. He’d toss her a bone some mornings and share a cup of coffee with her, but otherwise Laila barely saw him.
The driver pulled the car around the final corner before her grandfather’s house. Laila swore she’d stop dwelling on Zayid’s schedule. It was for the best, anyway. They were two individuals with separate lives, and the more separate they kept them, the better. That way they could go their own ways without fuss in twelve weeks, after Yaseen’s wedding.
Her grandfather’s house came into view, and Laila sucked in a breath. While her grandfather had been in the palace for the wedding, Zayid had kept his word and hired round-the-clock care to tend to his needs. He’d also had the entire house renovated for optimum comfort. The exterior looked much the same as it had before, only with a fresh-painted sheen. Everything had been buffed and repainted and reinforced. She spotted a subtle camera by the doorbell—a safety feature she’d never once thought about before her great escape.
“That looks incredible,” she said, forgetting her question about whether it was royal protocol to remain silent during drives.
“It’s excellent work,” agreed the driver. “I’ll be waiting out here when you’re ready to return.” He stopped the car by the front door and got out to open Laila’s door. “Message me before you come out, and I’ll be prepared.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. She hadn’t said a word about being nervous to come back to this house, but her driver had sensed it, nonetheless. “Thank you. I will.”
And then it was time to focus on visiting. Laila took a deep breath on the front porch. There’s no one inside but Grandfather, she told herself sternly. He didn’t know what he was doing.
She opened the door and went in. Her grandfather greeted her with the warmest embrace she’d received in weeks.
Maha waited in the living area of Laila and Zayid’s shared suite, dusting the side tables. She looked up with a half-smile when Laila came in. “How was your visit, Your Highness?” Maha’s smile disappeared as quickly as it had come.
“It was lovely.” Laila sat down on the floral-patterned sofa and stretched out her legs. She’d been tense the first few minutes of the visit, but had soon relaxed in her grandfather’s love. Harb could do nothing now that she was married to the crown prince. Not that he hadn’t tried but Zayid had been true to his word and when the man had attempted to call on her grandfather shortly after the wedding, he’d been quickly shown the door. A subsequent visit from the royal family’s lawyers pointing out their awareness of many of his more unscrupulous actions along with veiled threats of legal proceedings had the man quickly shuttering his house and off on an extended visit with relatives outside the country. She could finally rest assured that Harb would never bother her or her grandfather again.
“How was everything here?”
Maha stood in front of the coffee table at Laila’s feet, and Laila waved her into a chair opposite the sofa. Would she ever get used to having staff? Probably not before the fake marriage came to an end. An ache moved through Laila’s chest—premature disappointment. She couldn’t get used to living in the palace and being with Zayid. Not that they spent much time together. Not that she should even care about it.
“While you were gone,” Maha said carefully, “the Prince Zayid sought your attendance.”
Laila dropped her feet to the floor and sat up straight. “I didn’t know he would want to see me today. There was no indication that—sorry, Maha, was there something else?”
“He was a bit perturbed to find that you’d gone. He wanted to pass along the message that in the future, he would like you to clear your trips with his office beforehand.