Sheikh's Stand In (2 page)

"Oh, less than you might think, but yeah, let's get to my room. I'm sure you have a ton to tell me about what's been going on."

Viviana followed Charlotte through the palace, at once amused and impressed by how quickly such a grand place had simply become home to Charlotte. It might have been an amazing piece of architectural wonder and history, but to little Annika, it would simply be home, the place where her parents looked after her and built their family with care and love.

The moment Charlotte showed her to her room, she fell in love with it. It was a corner room close to the top of the building, with light that came in the tall French windows like honey pouring into a clear jar. The room itself was draped in green silk, giving it an otherworldly feel, and the bed was enormous and best of all, round in shape; an antique that made Viviana feel like a queen. Immediately she kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed, cuddling her niece at her side.

"I think I could live here forever and a day," she said dreamily.

"I was hoping you might consider it."

Startled, Viviana looked up at her sister, who had come to sit on the bed as well. "Charlotte? Is there something wrong? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Charlotte's expression was amused. "Whoever said that it was the oldest sister who was meant to be the most protective? No, Viviana, it's fine. Everything's going well. In fact, that's why I want you to consider it. I mean, I'm not asking to tie you down or to make you feel like you have to be in residence all year. I just meant … well, Aladdin and I talked about it, and in general, we feel that it would be amazing to have you around more as Annika grows up. Khutal is an amazing country, but it's not really as progressive as it should be when it comes to women's rights. We both think that she could use a strong women around as she grows up.

"Maybe you could operate out of Khutal, or even out of Dubai? There are lots of opportunities for someone in your line of work in the Middle East and Europe. I even know that you have European contracts … it wouldn't be a huge leap."

Viviana lay back in the bed, toying with Annika's dark hair as she considered it. "It would be a big leap, maybe the biggest that I've ever made, but it's definitely doable. On top of that, I would get to see the kid grow up, and that—I'll admit it, Charlotte—that would be amazing. I already feel like I've missed out on so much, and it's just been barely over three months."

Charlotte took her hand, holding it tight. "You don't have to make a decision now," she said. "You're here for the wedding and to have a good time, let that be enough for now."

Viviana nodded, inexpressibly touched that Charlotte and Aladdin thought so well of her. If she thought about it too long, she would start to cry, and that was distinctly not something that she was all about.

"So tonight we're getting together to discuss the wedding?" she asked instead. "The whole party?"

"Well, if by the whole party, you mean me, you, Aladdin, and Mikal, then yes," Charlotte responded with a shrug. "We're doing things pretty traditionally, and that means that there's only going to be one attendant for each of us. Apparently, it's lucky in Khutal tradition that the groom's attendant is his brother and the bride's attendant is her sister."

"Well, I definitely like the idea of being lucky. So Mikal's going to be in the wedding party?"

Charlotte eyed Viviana with something like distrust. "You've got a tone in your voice," she said warily. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Viviana laughed. "But I remember Mikal. We were at school with him, but I think he graduated before you showed up at Bridewell."

"Yes, I don't remember him at all." Charlotte hesitated. "Were you … involved or something?"

Viviana's laugh was brash and a little disbelieving. "I remember that he was cute and incredibly awkward," she said. "Not really my type back then. Sweet, though. Mostly, after you told me that you were marrying his brother, I wondered what the heck that might have been like growing up. Aladdin is, well … everything that Mikal's not."

Charlotte looked startled, and then thoughtful. "So I guess you've not really kept in contact with Mikal?"

"I suppose I should have at least became Facebook friends with him at some point? But no, not really. Why do you ask?"

Charlotte swept her daughter up into her sack again, grinning as she stood up. "No reason at all, dear Sister. I'm going to leave you to get settled now. The showers here are amazing, and dinner is at seven. I'll see you then."

Viviana was immediately suspicious of her sister's look, but she quickly forgot all about it as she started to unpack and explore her space. The more she thought about it, the more she could see herself living here, getting to see her sister more, and getting to watch her niece grow up.

She and Charlotte had really only had each other growing up. There was some distant family that she was fairly certain had all but forgotten them, and after that, there was only Aladdin, Mikal, and their family.

It might be good to be with people she cared about and trusted for at least a little while, she thought. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

CHAPTER TWO

Despite having done nothing but travel all day, Viviana felt as if she could sleep an entire week. She set her alarm, and stripped down for a nap. She woke up refreshed, but there was more to it than that. The sun had sunk low in the sky, bathing the room in a warmer glow. She felt good here, safe in a way that she didn't often get to experience.

Viviana's life was usually a whirlwind of rental houses and penthouse apartments. They were luxurious to be sure, but they were not places where one truly lived, not precisely. She had compensated in her own way, learning to be at home in herself, to take pleasure in the small things that always stayed the same.

However, she had to admit that there was something different about this place, about Khutal's palace. It was a gorgeous place, but it went far beyond that. This was a place that had history, and thanks to Charlotte, it was a place that had welcomed her. She still wasn't sure about the idea of staying, but it was growing more and more attractive by the moment.

Viviana padded over to the closet, pulling things out to spread on the bed. It would be a fairly casual dinner, so she chose a light cream cotton dress that skimmed along her slender frame and lent a lovely softness to her complexion while making her russet hair shine. She slipped on a pair of light sandals, and after running a brush through her long hair and braiding it, she was ready for dinner.

She remembered vaguely that Charlotte had told her she was in the family wing. It was a smaller section of the palace, a place where the bulk of the living actually happened. She realized that she wasn't quite sure where the dining room was, but with almost twenty minutes to spare, she was relatively certain that she would find it.

About ten minutes later, she had ceased to be so sure. Though the palace had many modern accoutrements, there was an old-fashioned twisting to the corridors. One path that had looked promising took her straight to a small indoor courtyard filled with lush flowers, and another lead her down to what she supposed must be a gaming room.

She opened a third door, ready to use her phone to call for help if necessary. She found to her irritation that it was a library, but then she realized that there was someone occupying it.

The man stood up from his armchair as she came in, revealing himself to be of a rather imposing height. He was well-built with sharp arresting features and the gold-rimmed spectacles he wore gave him an air of scholarly distinction.

Viviana, whose career involved her assessing men of power, immediately assessed him as a quieter CEO type. From the sure way he stood and the calm way he regarded her, she would never mistake him for an office worker or an adjunct, no matter that he wore black slacks and a plain white shirt rolled up at the wrists.

"Good evening," he said. "Do you need some help?"

There was something about his voice that sent chills up her spine. Before she thought about it, she smiled at him warmly.

"I suppose I could," she said. "I don't suppose you could direct me to the dining room, could you?"

"I suppose I could," he said, with a grin that made her feel a little warm inside. "What will you give me for it?"

She grinned, because she knew this game well, and though she didn't care to play it right then, there was something about him she liked.

"If you take me, I won't tell the son of the Sheikh that you were so disrespectful to his sister-in-law."

"Oh, well, I can't have that, can I? I have a position to maintain. Come along, I'll get you where you're going."

Despite his words, she noticed that there was absolutely no nervousness in him at all. He led the way with an assurance that reminded her of some of the most powerful men she knew, and then she put it together.

When she did, she froze in her tracks, allowing the man to get a few steps ahead of her before turning back to look at her quizzically.

"Are you all right?" he asked, but she was watching him with wide eyes.

"You're … you're Mikal, aren't you?"

His smile was slight, but it revealed the bare edge of his white teeth. For all that it was a friendly look, there was a predatory glint to it that made her alternately want to step forward and run.

"I was wondering if you had figured it out," he admitted. "Then I started to think that you knew from the beginning, and well …"

He shrugged, and then perhaps she could see the shy young man in him, the one who had watched her walk by with his green eyes wide and who had been too terrified to speak to her at all.

"You must think me awfully rude if I would just walk up without saying hello even if I knew you," she started, and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I would never accuse Viviana Johns of being rude, but yes, actually, I think I could see you doing just that."

She winced a little, nodding.

"All right. You've not known me since I was sixteen, so I probably deserved that. Was I really so horrible to you?"

"Horrible," he echoed, "No, that's not something that I would say, no. You were … regal, let's say."

Viviana laughed at that. "Well, that was the most polite way to say that I was a little stuck-up, I guess. Am I forgiven for that?"

"I think you are," he said. "You weren't an evil queen … maybe a little evil, but it was all in good fun."

"Ah, you did know me," she said with a grin. "I am glad that you seem to have fond memories of me."

Something flickered across his face, but it was gone before she could really read what it was, before she could really ascertain that it was there at all.

"I do. But anyway, I believe I have teased you enough," he said. "Shall I take you to dinner?"

"By all means."

She expected him to lead the way again, but this time, he offered her his arm. There was something elegant and courtly about it. She knew instinctively that if he had tried to do it as a teenager, it would have come off as affected and ridiculous. As a full-grown man, however, one that seemed to exude power and a kind of old-world charm, it enchanted her.

She took it with a graceful inclination of her head. Viviana had spent the better part of her life judging men's reactions to her, and she could see his eyes tracing the line of her neck and the elegant curve of her shoulder. She had no cleavage to speak of in this dress, but she liked to think that she hardly needed it.

When they got to the dining room, Charlotte and Aladdin were already seated, chatting as Aladdin held his daughter close over his shoulder. They both looked up as Viviana and Mikal entered.

"We were about to send out a search party," Aladdin teased. "Viviana, I expect my brother to have his head stuck in a book, but I thought that you at least would be prompt."

"Blame the vagaries of ancient Khutal architecture," Viviana said as Mikal pulled out her chair for her. "I was completely lost, and I might still be wandering your gardens if Mikal hadn't managed to lead me to safety."

"Did you two renew your acquaintance?" asked Charlotte innocently. "I was wondering if you would remember each other at all."

As Viviana shot her sister an exaggeratedly dire look, Mikal smiled.

"It's is quite difficult to forget the reigning queen of the local all-girls school," he said, and something about the way he said it made Aladdin look up.

"You mean she's—" Aladdin cleared his throat, suddenly focusing on his daughter again. "Well, it's nice that you two went to school together …"

"It is," said Viviana. "Do you think it's something that you might do with Annika?"

The two fond parents looked so shocked that Viviana burst out laughing.

"All right, all right, I can tell it is way too early for that…"

"I don't think I could bear it, having her so far away," mused Aladdin. "The thought makes me more than a little ill."  

Charlotte reached over to touch her daughter's dark hair.

"No, I don't think I want to. Maybe the family can spend a year or so in the United States or somewhere in Europe, just to give her a fresh perspective on the world, but I want her with us."

Viviana was oddly touched by that. She and her sister had always been looked after, but Annika was going to grow up being loved every day of her life. When she glanced over at Mikal, she was shocked to see that he had a wistful look on his face as well. He had been at boarding school also, and she wondered if he had ever been as fiercely homesick as she had been.

"Switzerland is lovely," she suggested. "That would be a fine place to spend some time."

"There's time to think about that yet," said Aladdin. "After all, before anything else happens, we need to get ourselves married in two days."

The food started being served, rich and fragrant bowls of meat and vegetables that were served with small plates of rice and platters of flat bread. Suddenly, Viviana realized that she was starving after all of her travel, and she tucked in with a will, listening to Charlotte and Aladdin discuss the wedding details. Fortunately for her, it sounded as if it was already all hammered into place, and anything that wasn't was going to be ironed out in the rehearsals over the next few days.