The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) (2 page)

As they sat down to an elegant dinner at the exclusive, beautifully decorated restaurant, Rashid glanced at his baby sister carefully. She really was a stunningly beautiful woman. He hadn’t realized that she’d grown up so well, but looking at her across the table, he was impressed with how she held herself, the dignified way she moved, the inherent grace of her stature.

Where was the immature girl who had argued passionately to be allowed to attend university? Who had thrown a temper tantrum when he’d refused? He remembered Zarah storming out of his office several years ago, slamming the door in her wake when he’d refused to allow her to leave the security of the palace to attend a school thousands of miles away. Gone was that girl and in her place was a sophisticated, elegant woman and, despite his previous objections to her wishes, he was very proud of all that she’d accomplished and how she presented herself.

He wasn’t even sure how she’d finally convinced him in the end, but here she was. Not only had she completed her undergraduate work, but she had a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University. Not a small accomplishment since Columbia was an extremely good school.

“So what are you planning to do now that you’re finished with school?” Sidra asked as soon as the wine was served.

Rashid glared at his wife, wondering what she was up to. They had just been discussing the offers he’d received for her hand in marriage. That was the only option for Zarah and Sidra knew it. Putting ideas into her head that there were alternatives was not helpful.

Unfortunately, Sidra didn’t look back at him so she didn’t see his irritation.

Zarah glanced from Sidra to her brother, then back again. Could it be this easy? Had Sidra knowingly provided the needed opening? Zarah wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She took the presented opportunity and ran with it before the window closed with Rashid rejecting any other possibilities. “I was actually considering various options,” she started to say and looked over at her brother, trying to gauge his reaction. “Now that I have my degree,” she said carefully, “I think the best way to be an asset to my future husband is to get some experience in the business world.” She saw Rashid open his mouth and knew he was going to reject the idea for the more traditional marriage route so she spoke quickly. “I know that, whoever I marry, will have many business interests. It would be much better if I could speak intelligently with my husband and help him through the multi-faceted issues he will probably be facing.”

She couldn’t believe she was speaking such ridiculous tripe! Helping her husband? Good grief, let the man figure out his own problems. She intended to have several of her own to work through so the old coot would be on his own. Nor could she imagine even wanting to hear about some old man’s problems, much less caring and hoping to advise him.

But she had to play to the audience and Rashid wanted her safely married off to someone who could ‘protect her’. She didn’t even want to contemplate what that might mean in terms of men. Old and fat with a protective detail surrounding him, and her, came to mind. She hated the idea. All of her freedom to come and go and explore the world would be eliminated simply because some disgusting old man wanted to protect his property, namely his wife and children.

“I don’t think…” Rashid started to say but Zarah interrupted him again.

“I’d like to be able to converse intelligently at meals with his guests. Right now, I have business theories in my mind but no practical knowledge. Could you imagine me spouting off about some random economic theory to a world leader when they’ve already dismissed that idea for their country?” She added a forced shiver of ‘revulsion’ for affect and kept her eyes on Rashid. She’d glanced at Sidra during her little speech and saw the amusement. Sidra knew exactly what was going on. But did she approve? Being an American, maybe Sidra could add her influence to her brother’s decision.

“Enough!” Rashid commanded. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was adamant. “Zarah, you know…”

Sidra laid a hand on his arm and he stopped instantly. Looking at her, he shook his head and sighed heavily. “Let’s have a relaxing dinner and discuss your future another time.”

Zarah glanced at Sidra to thank her, but her heart was sinking in her chest because she knew it was only a matter of time before Rashid laid down the law and denied her the opportunity to find a job. All she could do was take the time to come up with another argument for delaying what was probably the inevitable. But the longer she delayed, the stronger the possibility that she’d find someone that would suit her better. And she’d be stronger as well. The more she learned, the better off she would be in her marriage. She didn’t want to be a doormat. She wanted to be respected and needed.

Just as any other woman wanted.

The meal was uneventful but delicious. Zarah hadn’t forgotten that one of the perks of being Rashid’s sister was the delicious food. He had a fabulous chef in the palace and, since she’d never needed to learn to cook, she relied on salads a great deal of the time while at school. It was hard to mess up raw vegetables, she knew. At least they were healthy if not creative or interesting. Besides, there were so many other things she wanted to do and cooking was way down on the list so bland food was acceptable most of the time.

As Rashid dropped her off, walking her up to her apartment, he looked down at her with concern in his eyes. “We still need to talk about your marriage, Zarah.”

Zarah looked away, her heart sinking even further and she had to fight back the tears that formed in her eyes. “I know.”

“I’ll meet you for breakfast tomorrow at my hotel. Sidra won’t be able to stop the conversation then. Do you understand?” he asked carefully.

Zarah took a deep breath and nodded, her head bowed with frustration.

Rashid wished that he could help her feel better about her future but he didn’t know what to say, what words would help her. They’d discuss it in the morning, he told himself and kissed her head before walking out the door. He shook his head in amazement that she enjoyed living in such a hovel. As he stepped into the limousine beside an exhausted Sidra, he pulled out his phone and issued a curt order, ensuring that two men watched her apartment at all times going forward.

“Why does she need a body guard now?” Sidra asked as she leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, her pregnancy making her sleepy a lot of the time.

Rashid took her hand and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. “I didn’t know she wasn’t living in a gated community with adequate security around her. That was the type of apartment I’d selected for her when she’d started this whole college debacle so how she ended up here is a mystery. What was wrong with the condominium I bought for her years ago?”

Sidra laughed softly and kissed his shoulder. “I’ve never heard anyone refer to a person getting an education as a debacle before.” It didn’t matter how many years they’d been married, she was still amazed by some of his sexist attitudes.

“You know what I mean,” he grumbled and pulled her closer. “She shouldn’t be living like that. She doesn’t understand the danger she’s in by living so unguarded.”

“But you do and you’re here to fix it, eh?”

“Don’t joke, Sidra. She’s a princess and the world isn’t as kind as you would like to think it is.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed and snuggled against him. “But she’s also a woman and an independent one at that.”

“The men I’ve considered for her to marry will take that into consideration.” At least he hoped so, but he didn’t say that to his wife. He knew there were certain things that riled her up, with that crazy American independent attitude of hers. Sometimes he really didn’t understand her, but he always appreciated her gentleness of spirit and kindness towards the world.

Sidra didn’t respond, but she couldn’t help but worry about her sister-in-law who wasn’t much younger than she was. She could definitely imagine how she would feel if someone told her that she couldn’t work anymore because it had happened when she’d married Rashid. As an interior designer by education and profession, it had been hard to let that go but there hadn’t been any hesitation. She loved Rashid too much and if it were a choice between her career and him, she’d choose him any day. Oh, he let her redecorate the palace when the mood struck her but she couldn’t offer her services to other clients. She didn’t mind though because she had Rashid and her sons, and hopefully a daughter on the way.

Sidra strongly prayed that one of the men Rashid had lined up as possible grooms might tempt Zarah and be an interesting possibility for a husband. Unfortunately, she didn’t hold out much hope of that after living in the palace for so many years and meeting some of the men who came through to speak with Rashid. They were just as stubborn and opinionated as he was which didn’t bode well for her young sister-in-law’s independent mindset.

Chapter 2

“What’s wrong?” Zarah’s best friend, Suzanne, asked as she sat down in the chair next to Zarah in the coffee shop they frequented in between classes. “I would think you’d be on cloud nine with excitement now that classes are over and graduation is two days away.”

Zarah took a sip of her green chai tea and grimaced, not at the flavor but because she had to face her future and it didn’t appear to be very exciting. “I have to get married.”

Suzanne’s eyebrows went up in surprise. That was the last thing she had been expecting to hear from her friend. “Since I know this can’t be a pregnancy crisis because you don’t date any of the guys around here, I’m guessing it has to do with your position as your big brother’s very protected baby sister. Is this one of those royal things that continue to baffle me and the rest of our group?”

Zarah smiled slightly at her friend’s reference to her position in the Tasain royal family but she nodded. Very few people knew who she was, but Suzanne and a few others knew. They were a circle of friends who she cared for a great deal and had confided in over the years. As expected, they’d all been interested to learn more about her and her country, but thankfully they hadn’t changed the way they treated her. Her secret had been kept between them the whole time and she was extremely grateful to have friends she could trust so implicitly. “Yes, one of those ‘royal things’,” she teased with a soft laugh as she lifted her tea for another sip.

Because of her breakfast with her brother, she was much more aware of her surroundings. Zarah wasn’t sure she appreciated that though. Whereas before, she went about New York as she pleased, unconcerned with who she might run into or any possible threats. But her brother had reinforced the issues she could be facing by being so unprotected and unconcerned with where she went and who she spoke with. It was a bit intimidating but she was trying to shake it off so she could get back to that carefree living for her last few days of freedom before she became an engaged woman.

“Who is the guy?” Suzanne asked and opened the top of her cappuccino so she could sprinkle some chocolate powder on top of the foam, making the coffee slightly more decadent.

Zarah sighed and glanced down at her tea. “I don’t know yet.” She sighed heavily and turned her cup around nervously. “At least I get several to choose from and my brother isn’t just giving me one option. I met Rashid for breakfast this morning and he told me about some of them, their backgrounds and titles and such. He has set up a series of lunches and dinners with the men who have asked to marry me. It’s sort of a blitz dating session spread out over the next several days.” Zarah looked down at her tea, warming her hands with the heated beverage more than drinking it since her stomach still didn’t feel very good after her breakfast meeting. There was just something disturbing about knowing she’ll be married to a stranger in the very near future that diminished her appetite.

Suzanne’s eyes widened in surprised. “More than one choice? That’s hopeful, right? How many are there?”

Zarah felt grim. Just the thought of talking to all those strangers, knowing that she would be assessing them for a role she didn’t want, and they would probably be judging her as well, the whole process was daunting and mortifying. “I think there are ten of them but I’m not positive. I stopped listening after a while because they all sounded so….boring.” There were princes of other royal families, one aristocrat from an Italian family and the rest were wealthy businessmen that simply wanted a connection to Rashid. Okay, probably all of them wanted the connection to Rashid and she couldn’t blame them, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Yikes,” Suzanne cringed. “That’s a lot of meals to endure with men who might be creepy.” She looked at the foam on top of her coffee and grabbed a wooden stir stick, mixing the foam and chocolate into her beverage. “But that seems like a large group of men. At least it isn’t two or three, right?”

Zarah shrugged, unconvinced that the size of the potential grooms would help her get through this selection process. “Yes. There’s at least a large selection pool.” She looked over at her friend, her eyes wide with the possible issues facing her. “But what if I don’t like any of them?”

“Then don’t marry any of them. Come to Willingham with me and work with me and my family for a little while until you feel up to facing your responsibilities again.” Suzanne had a different view of the possibilities.

Zarah looked over at her friend, shaking her head as she immediately dismissed the suggestion. It was completely out of the question. There was no way she could outright defy her brother. Argue with him yes. Disregard an order? No. “I couldn’t just leave.”

“Why not?”

Suzanne said that as if it were an obvious solution but she had no idea of the chaos that kind of action would cause. “Because my brother would be furious.”

“And?” She continued to look at Zarah with wide eyes, still not understanding the culture of Tasain and the way families were all connected through marriage and alliances. It wasn’t just her family because her brother was the ruler. It was done all over the country. Business was conducted, agreements finalized and partnerships formed with familial alliances that started with a marriage. It might be antiquated, but it made things work in her country.