The Sheikh's Rescued Baby - Leslie North Page 0,3

window and searched for something to say. When she’d climbed into the car behind him, they’d talked about morning beverages. She’d lifted a stainless-steel travel mug and reminded him of the coffee. She’d said she had an easy time packing. And that had been the extent of the conversation.

“It’s beautiful countryside.” Nadim could not fathom caring any less about the countryside. It was beautiful, yes, but so was the countryside in Raihan. The two countries shared the same bands of desert and rolling green hills. He might as well be looking out the window back in his own kingdom, but he wanted to be looking at Aisha.

If only she wasn’t so pointedly not looking at him.

“Yes,” she said, after a pause that told him exactly how interested she was in her own countryside. “We’re extremely fortunate here in Kendah.”

The problem was—one of the problems was—that Aisha just wasn’t playing by the rules. Nadim had been pursuing women since he was in high school, honing the fine art of seduction, or at least attaining a certain degree of charm. But Aisha didn’t want to be charmed. That was clear from the set of her jaw and the way she pressed her lips into a thin line anytime she wasn’t talking.

The car rolled over a bump in the road at the same time he realized what the unsettling feeling was.

A challenge.

Could it be that he was looking forward to spending time with Aisha? She was certainly different from any of the other political leaders he’d interacted with. Most of them fell all over themselves trying to win him to their side. They played their hands close to their chests. They simpered. They used doublespeak. Not Aisha. She’d been very upfront about the fact that she did not want his attention, or even his presence.

And that was odd.

Most of the women he’d come to know over the years had wanted his attention. They’d been eager for it. Aisha wasn’t. She had been so cool. So forthright. And she hadn’t gone out of her way to put on a show for him. So what if she wasn’t the most glamorous woman he’d ever met? It all made her oddly mysterious. Like she was hiding a rich warmth underneath her stiff exterior. He itched to break through to that warmth and dip into it, at least for this week.

Nadim shook his head as if he could shake away all those ridiculous thoughts. He wasn’t going to go there. Not even for this week. It wasn’t fair to lead her on when he had no long-term intentions. There were things he needed to do before he could begin to consider a relationship, much less get married and settle down.

He’d stick to the plan. He’d appease his parents, get them to stop obsessing over his marriage prospects, and go home to Raihan in one piece.

Aisha gave a little sigh under her breath, barely audible, and shifted in her seat. Nadim stole a look at her while she faced out the window. She wore a comfortable traveling dress, sheath style, and the way it nipped in at the waist...

It did things for him.

But he wasn’t going to give in to that temptation. No. He’d find something to talk about.

So far, he’d come up with...absolutely nothing. The constant hum of the air conditioning washed over both of them, providing a pleasantly boring white noise. It would have been comforting if he hadn’t been so on edge. The energy surrounding Aisha was not relaxed.

“There’s the city,” Nadim said, pointing ahead. “I’m sure you already know that, but I’m about to suffocate in the silence.”

To his utter shock, Aisha laughed. “I’ve been trying to think of something to say that will stay firmly within the boundaries we’ve set.”

“You mean the part where you said you didn’t want anyone else to help you rule, and I said I didn’t want to get married?”

“Yes.” She gave a rueful smile. “Those boundaries. They make the trip a bit of a moot point, but we’re here now, so we might as well make the best of it.”

“I agree.” The closer they got to Liddah, the more Aisha relaxed. She sat back against her seat and let her foot tap against the floor. The rhythm reminded him of the beat to a song his great-aunt had taught him as a child. “I came up with something just now. Do you want to hear it?”

“Anything to pass the time.” It could have been a barb, but she