by Lexi Blake
Despite her obvious weariness, there was a light in her eyes. “It’s not insane. It’s quite good, my plan. And you will marry, won’t you, Kashmir?”
So neatly was her trap sprung. Still, he couldn’t say the word. He couldn’t give this up. She would be gone and he would be trapped in some loveless, sexless, hopeless marriage.
“I want to see you happy.” The words sounded more like a plea coming out of his mother’s mouth.
“Then don’t ask me to marry.” He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the city. In the distance, he could see the Arabian Sea. When he’d been a child, he and Shray had played on those beaches, building sand castles to rival their home.
He was going to be alone. No one would remember who he’d been. He would be who he was now for the rest of his life. He would be the player king, the party boy.
“What do you think of this one, Your Majesty?” a feminine voice said. “I like it but I worry it’s a bit revealing.”
He turned as a woman in a brilliant yellow dress walked in from the side room.
For the second time in minutes, he felt the world flip and realign.
“Day?”
She turned and her spine straightened. Her body, so relaxed before, seemed to grow a few inches, and her gaze took him in.
She looked like a queen with her steely eyes.
“Hello, Kashmir,” she said, her voice deeper than he’d remembered. That voice of hers washed over him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”
Dayita Samar. How many years had flown by? She didn’t look older, merely more mature. As though the beautiful girl he’d cared for had turned into a gorgeous woman who knew exactly who she was.
Day. The first woman he’d ever thought about settling down with.
God, was she really the only woman he’d ever thought about settling down with? He’d had a few girlfriends over the years, women he’d spent time with, escorted to the world’s glittering events, but none of them had ever been like Day. None of those women had talked science and politics and put him on his ass when he needed it.
“Hello, Day.” He couldn’t help but stare at her. It was like a ghost had walked back into his life at the precise moment he needed to be reminded of his past.
“Well, are you going through with it or should I take off this dress and get back to work?” There was no mistaking the challenge in her eyes.
Oh, she should take off the dress. He remembered vividly how he’d wished he could get her out of those ridiculously prim clothes she’d worn at Oxford. Gone were the heavy sweaters and thick, too-long skirts. The gossamer yellow fabric skimmed her every curve and she was luscious.
More than that. She looked like home, a home he’d long thought lost to him.
His mother looked up at him expectantly. “Well, I thought if I was going to force you into a quickie marriage, I should at least give you a bride, too. Should I tell you why I selected Dayita? She’s lovely and of the right age and you have much in common. She has a master’s degree in physics from Oxford, so she’s intelligent. We don’t want an uneducated queen.”
“I thought you planned to go for your doctorate.” He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. While he was looking at Day, he didn’t have to acknowledge that his mother was dying.
“Circumstances changed,” she replied, gathering the flowing skirt around her. “My father required help at home so I returned to Loa Mali and I eventually took over the education department, with her majesty’s blessing.”
His mother smiled Day’s way. “She’s been brilliant, but the parliament is giving her trouble about funding for elementary education. It seems they would prefer to spend it on other things.”
Day had been here on Loa Mali all this time? She headed his education department? And what the hell was his parliament doing? “There is nothing more important than our children receiving the best possible education we can afford.”
“Our girls and our boys,” Day said with a quiet will.
Those old men were giving her hell about educating girls? Another thing he’d allowed to slip by. “You’ll have your funding.”
“Will I have my wedding?” His mother started to stand, her hands shaking. “Or should I prepare the lawyers?”
She was really going to do it. His mother was lovely, but when she decided, her mind was made up. She would force them into a constitutional crisis and he had no idea what the fallout would be. Day had reminded him what was at stake. Education and equality for an entire generation of Loa Mali’s daughters.
“You’ll have your wedding.” He rushed to steady his mother, her hand so small and frail in his.
Small of body, great of will. That was his mother.
“Excellent.” She straightened up. “Let’s talk to the seamstress, darling girl. I think the dress is perfect, but they must bring the hem up slightly. We can’t have you tripping at your wedding. And Kashmir, I have a tailor coming for you as well. The appointment is at four. Please don’t be late. We shall dine tonight as a family. Seven p.m. sharp.”
He watched as Day led his mother back toward the room they appeared to have set up as a dress shop. Of course. Day would need new clothes.
Kash walked out, ignoring Murdoch, who followed behind him. He strode through the palace until he got to his room. He ordered everyone out, locked the doors, and when he was absolutely certain he was alone, he sat at his desk. He stared at the picture of his family, his father and mother, smiling and proud. Shray at twenty-two, the almost king. Himself, grinning though the photographer had asked them all for restraint.
Kash stared at the photo and wished he could cry.
* * * *
The papers didn’t do the man justice. He was far more beautiful in person. Even more handsome than she’d remembered him.
Day sighed as she walked out onto the balcony. Their small family supper had turned into a twenty-four-person state dinner after the parliament heads learned that Kash was back home and a bride had been selected.
Her first lesson in politics—family couldn’t come first when one was the king.
She’d sat at the opposite end of the table from Kash, but she’d managed to watch him. He’d been charming and witty and he’d deflected many of the rather rude questions about how his marriage would change the way things were run.
On her end of the table she’d been asked numerous questions about what she would wear and who would arrange her hair for the ceremony, and did she worry about how the public would take a commoner queen?
She rather thought they would prefer a Loa Malian on the throne. Unfortunately, all the females who could claim some royalty were related to Kash, the downside to one family holding a crown for so long. If Kash wanted royalty he would have to marry a foreigner.
That was the moment the minister of infrastructure went back to asking about her hair. Apparently he had a niece who was a hairdresser.
She took a deep breath and stared out over the city. At this time of night, it was quiet in this sector, though she could see the lights twinkling downtown and closer to the beach. All the tourists and young people would be dancing the night away or sipping a cocktail after a long day of surfing and fishing.
God, she loved this place.
Was she doing the right thing? Perhaps she was for her country. For herself and Kash, she wasn’t so sure.
She’d watched him from across the long, formal table and she hadn’t seen any hint of the boy he used to be. Somehow, in the back of her mind she’d thought they would meet again and he would be the same.
So foolish of her.
“Did you enjoy the dessert? They had been planning on serving crème brûlée, but I remembered you like gelato. Strawberry.”
She turned and Kash was standing in the doorway, the tie to his tuxedo undone and the first few buttons of his shirt open, showing off golden skin.
Oh, how the girls must swoon over that man.
Unfortunately for him, she was a w
oman and not a girl. She curtseyed, recalling her etiquette classes and going down deep, to show her respect for the crown. “I thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Come now, Day. I asked you not to call me that long ago, and now it appears there’s even less reason. We were friends then. We’re going to be husband and wife in a week. Shocking how quickly that woman can move when she wants to.”
He looked so composed, but she couldn’t forget that he’d only found out his mother was dying this afternoon. That was when she’d seen the real man. She’d interrupted them with her silly dress and she’d seen the shock and pain on Kash’s face before he’d smoothed it out and gone back to being the polite royal he’d become.
“Are you all right?” She asked the question for two reasons. First, she wanted to know the answer and second, to see if they really were still friends.
His lips curved up slightly. “I’m faring quite well. We Kamdars are made of sterner stuff than this. Did you enjoy the dinner?”
So, not so friendly he would talk about private things with her. It was good to know where they stood. They needed to have a long conversation about how this was going to work. They might be marrying to protect the Kamdar line and to give his mother some peace, but they needed a plan of action about how best to achieve their goals.
Partners. That was how she’d decided to look at this. They were partners. And if she ended up governing the kingdom while he was out fucking around with supermodels, she wouldn’t get her heart broken.
Just humiliated.
Yes, they needed a talk and perhaps a contract.
“I enjoyed the meal very much. The company left something to be desired, but I suspect I’ll get used to dining with windbag politicians.” She turned back to the balcony, leaning against it. The view from here was spectacular. Beyond that, it was soothing in a way.
“Yes, Mother told me they’re giving you trouble.” He joined her, leaning beside her, their bodies so close but not touching. “I’ll talk to them, ensure you have your funding.”
“Don’t. It can wait a few weeks. I need to go back to them and introduce myself as their new queen.” She wasn’t about to let them think she sent her husband in. If he behaved as he so often did, he wouldn’t be around much and it would be up to her to keep everyone in line.
“Is that why you agreed to this arrangement? Because you wanted power?”
“I agreed because I care about this country. I’ve spent the last ten years of my life working here and trying to ensure that our children get what they need to make it out in the world. I agreed because your mother is excellent at putting one in a corner. I agreed because someone has to and I wasn’t sure who you would bring home if given the chance.” She shuddered at the idea of some brainless model attempting to be a role model for Loa Malian girls.
“Ah, you don’t think I have good taste in women.”
“I think you have an unquenchable appetite for them, Your Majesty, and that is something we should talk about.”
“Ah, the wifely lectures begin,” he said with a sigh. “Please proceed. I’m anxious to get this over with so I can be properly chastened.”
“I only ask that you attempt some discretion, Kashmir. I don’t expect you to be faithful in any way, but I do expect you to not humiliate me.”
He turned, frowning a bit as though she’d surprised him. “You don’t expect me to be faithful?”
It was time for some honesty. “I don’t think you can be. How long have you kept a single woman? A month? Three?”
“Six,” he replied. “I was with Tasha Reynolds for six months before we went our separate ways.”
“And were you faithful to her?” She already knew the answer to that question.
“We had an agreement.” He frowned as though the conversation wasn’t going at all as he’d expected. “She was on set much of the time. She knew I had a highly stressful job, so she was understanding. I gave her the same options.”
“Excellent, then let’s be fair with each other. As long as we’re both discreet, this marriage of ours doesn’t have to mean the end of our lives.”
“You have a man?”
“No, but I do have a life and I can’t imagine never sleeping with someone again.”
He stopped, his body going still for a moment. “What is that supposed to mean? I’ll be your husband. You’ll sleep with me. I know biology wasn’t your field of study, but do I have to explain how babies are made? That’s what my mother is doing. She’s buying your womb.”
So he wasn’t as sanguine about the marriage as he’d seemed earlier. That was another thing she needed to know. “There are many ways to make a baby, several of which don’t involve sex.”
He frowned. “You can’t be serious. We’re going to be married. We’re going to have sex.”
“When I decide I’m ready, we’ll talk about it.” This brought her to the place she needed to be. “I think we need to negotiate our own private marriage contract. I would feel much better if we understood the parameters. It would help us both to know how to act and what our roles are.”
“Your role is as my wife, and part of that is sleeping with me,” Kash insisted.
“Not until you’ve had an STD test and I’m certain I want to sleep with you. I’ve already confirmed that it’s traditional for the king and queen to keep separate rooms.”
“There’s nothing traditional about this.”
She had to laugh. “I think it’s quite traditional.”
“Not for my family. My father was deeply in love with my mother. He met her at a ball in Bombay. Her father was the king of a small South Pacific island. I was told they danced all night and he went to her father the next day and demanded her hand in marriage or there would be war. As neither country had much of a standing army, they chose wedding.”
She’d never heard the story. “That’s sweet, but it’s not how most royals wed.”
“My grandfather selected his own bride as well. I’m the first in a hundred years to be arranged by someone else. I suppose my mother thinks I’m incapable of selecting a proper bride.”
She had to offer him an out if he wanted one. They would both be miserable if he truly thought he could do better. “You should talk to her if you have someone you care for. I don’t think she wants you to be unhappy. If there’s a woman you love, you should present her to your mother.”
Kash huffed, a disdainful sound. “After she’s presented you to the parliament? I think not. Anyone I could bring in would be less than perfect. You really are, you know. I spent the last several hours studying up on you. Top of your class at Oxford. Accepted into MIT’s doctoral program, but you turned it all down because your mother was sick. You had the whole world laid out for you, but you came home and took a job so far beneath you it’s ridiculous. This one is beneath you, too, you know. You should be in a lab somewhere mapping the universe, not trying on designer dresses.”
“I assure you I can make a difference.” There were times when she wished she’d been able to follow through on the plan she’d made so long ago, but things changed. Dreams changed. “I have a purpose here. There are many brilliant minds working on the universe. The former head of education barely passed her O levels, much less university. I’ve thought this through. I can have a voice in this position, a unique one.”
“Yes, you’ll be my better half. My smarter half. Everyone will know the only way a woman like you marries a man like me is because it was arranged.”
He was being frustrating, threatening to bring out the piece of herself she’d decided to suppress. No matter what the queen said, she wasn’t sure Kash would be able to handle her when she got into that state of mind. She forced her voice to be gentle. The last thing she needed was to hear from another man how unwomanly she was. “What are you worried about, Kash? I told you if you have another woman, I’ll step down.”
He pushed away from the wall. “And I told you there is no single woman. Do you know where they found me? The bodyguards my
mother hired to drag me home, that is.”
“Miami, I heard.” She was curious where he was going with this. Something seemed to be raging in the king this evening. Something that needed soothing, but she wasn’t sure that was her place.
“They found me in bed with not one woman, but three.” He said it like she was supposed to gasp and quiver with shock and distaste.
Did he think she didn’t read the papers? Didn’t see the way the press covered his antics? “Hence my offer to negotiate a path that will please us both.”
His eyes narrowed, anger flaring as though he wasn’t getting the reaction he wanted. “You think I was pleased?”
“If you weren’t then you were doing it wrong. And with three women. You would think one of them would know how to do it right.” She wasn’t about to feed into his beast tonight.
He chuckled but there was no humor in the sound. “I wasn’t talking about the sex. Or maybe I was. Maybe I was talking about how hollow it is now, how nothing fills me. There is no other woman, but there won’t be any love for you either. Don’t think you can win me back by following through on this ridiculous plan of my mother’s.”
It was her turn to laugh. “I haven’t thought of you that way in years.”
He was quiet for a moment. “You never think of that kiss?”
She wasn’t going to lie. Despite what he’d said, she’d had time to think. This wasn’t a ridiculous plan. This was the queen’s way of knowing someone would be watching out for her country after she died. Day did want this to work. Not the relationship. Not in any romantic way. Rather, she wanted the job. She was ready to do her duty, and only Kash could keep her from it. That meant if they couldn’t be friends, at the very least they had to respect each other. “I think about it from time to time, but we were two different people then. Those children are gone. I get wistful when the memory washes over me, but I don’t mourn for some lost love between us.”
She sometimes wished things had turned out differently. She certainly wished Kash hadn’t lost such a huge chunk of his family. But she knew the Kash whom she’d kissed that day by the river wasn’t the Kash standing with her tonight. He’d changed in that moment. He’d become a king, and it was obvious the weight didn’t sit well.
