Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Do you get that now, you ninny, Harper wanted to yell at Jennifer’s face, but caught herself in time and instead stopped to inhale deeply, realizing too late that she hadn’t even paused to breathe in her entire tirade. And she was shaking too, dammit. She only shook this much when she was really angry, and this Jennifer woman was definitely—-
A sound interrupted her thoughts.
Clapping?
A moment later, and the applause became thunderous.
Holy shit.
Harper gaped.
She had lost her temper, and they were clapping for it?
As Jennifer stormed out of the scene, Kyria rushed to the queen, eyes glowing with admiration. “You were so great, Your Majesty.”
Harper cringed. “I was such a hothead, you mean.”
“Because you were angry for me,” the younger girl said loyally.
“I was, but I should have remembered to be more...” Queenly? But that had occurred to her earlier already, hadn’t it? She had thought about the right thing to do, thought about why she would do it and whom she would do it for—-
Don’t do it for me.
And in the end—-
She had done it for Kyria. For people who needed protecting. For people like the kingdom of Ramil—-
Oh.
Her head immediately snapped, her gaze wildly searching the crowd—-
And finally, her eyes met the sheikh’s.
And he was smiling.
Do you understand it now, wife?
She wanted to laugh and cry, wanted to wrap her arms around him as much as she wanted to throttle him. Damn him. He could have simply told her straight that he wanted her to be a queen who would put the people’s needs before everything else, but no—-
Damn sheikh.
Even knowing she could hate him for it, had hated him a little for it, the sheikh had not taken the easy way out—-
Damn sheikh.
Because he had trusted her more than trusted herself, had trusted Harper to discover for herself the queen that she could and should be—-
Damn sheikh.
And so he had not spoken a word and let her hate him instead.
Damn sheikh.
But oh, how she loved this sheikh—-
How could she not, when now all his actions made sense—-
And they were the actions of a man who loved her more than he loved himself.
Emotions clogged her throat, and Harper quickly looked away before she started shouting the words.
I love you. I love you. I love you!
To hell with pride. To hell with their marriage of convenience. To hell with everything.
She was in love with him, he was in love with her, and for this she would take the risk of saying it first.
Her heart slammed against her chest and her body trembled, but Harper refused to let her nervousness change her mind. She was going to tell him she loved him. In fact, she would tell him as soon as she could be close enough to whisper the words to his ear.
And so she promised this to herself, not realizing that the next time they were together, the sheikh would end up breaking her heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Sunday morning showered the desert kingdom of Ramil with sunlight, and for the second day of the sheikh’s birthday celebration, a lavish breakfast spread had been prepared in the safari hall, a long, glass tunnel that also served as the palace’s direct connection to the sheikh’s private wildlife preserve. Here, guests were able to dine while enjoying the sight of the sheikh’s beloved pets. There were lions and jaguars and even a small herd of elephants that the guests glimpsed in the distance. At the end of the tunnel was another enclosure, this time an indoor jungle paradise in which exotic species lived – rare snakes wrapped around tree branches, huge camel spiders crawling swiftly on the sand, while Egyptian uromastyx flicked their tails languidly atop large boulders.
It made a breathtaking sight, one Harper usually enjoyed immensely. But right now, she just wanted to see the sheikh.
She had fallen asleep by the time he had returned to their room and was gone by the time she woke up. If not for the note he had left by her bedside table, she wouldn’t even have known he had been there at all.
And as for the note—-
Thank you for being the queen we need you to be.
Your proud husband,
Khalil
Her cheeks flushed at the mere thought of it, and she hastily ducked her head before the guests could see her face. Damn sheikh. He wasn’t supposed to be that sweet. Or at least he shouldn’t be if he knew he’d be cooped up in his office for the rest of the day.
Her phone suddenly buzzed, and her heart swayed giddily, knowing that it could only be him.
Khalil: Miss me?
Harper: No comment. Everything okay there?
A secret memo had circulated among the palace’s staff this morning, and it was through it Harper had learned of the terrorist threat that had kept the sheikh away from her bed the previous night.