by Holly Rayner
“Why aren’t we going to the plane now?” Dakota asked.
“I’m sure they have people there,” Majeed said. “Those officers weren’t at all surprised to hear that I just flew in from America. They saw the plane.”
“But what happened back at the hotel?” Dakota asked. “The fire alarm?”
“I held a lighter up to the sensor,” Majeed said. “It only took a second, when their backs were turned searching for you. Then I had to count on you to figure out your half of the plan. You did a wonderful job, by the way.”
Running in the sand wasn’t easy. After a while, Dakota and Majeed fell silent, saving their breath. The house appeared in the distance, and Majeed pointed it out, but for a long time it seemed not to get any closer. Then, finally, they were stumbling up the driveway, and Majeed was punching a code into the box by the garage, which opened to reveal a shiny gray convertible.
“Come on,” Majeed said, urging her onward.
Dakota climbed into the car and fastened her seatbelt. Majeed threw it in gear and backed up, executing a sloppy three-point turn. Then he gunned the engine and sped forward, turning out of the driveway onto the road. The sports car zoomed ahead.
“We need to get out of here fast,” he said, his eyes trained on the road. “They’ve probably already realized we’re not at the hotel anymore.”
“Where are we going to go?” Dakota asked. “I’m sure they’ve alerted all the hotels in the area. No one’s going to hide us.”
Majeed was silent for a moment. “Dakota, do you really want to marry me?”
“You know I do,” she said. “You know how much I wish things were different for us.”
“I offered to move to the States to be with you,” he reminded her. “You said no.”
“I would never have been able to forgive myself if I’d taken you away from your life here,” she said. “I know what the traditions of the royal family mean to you, Majeed. I know what it would mean for you to be the first royal in generations to abandon your title and your country. That would haunt you, probably for the rest of your life. I couldn’t let you do that for me.”
“But if it wasn’t for that,” Majeed said. “If all of that was no issue, would you marry me in the States?”
“I would marry you anywhere,” she said.
“I know you love Baraq,” he said. “I love that you do. But I want to make sure that you love me, too.”
“Of course I do,” she said. “Majeed, why are you asking me this?”
“Because I did some research last night while you were asleep,” he said. “Remember what you said when we were in Seattle about marrying me for citizenship?”
“And you said nobody marries royals just for citizenship,” Dakota remembered.
“But why can’t we?” Majeed said. “We’re in love. We want to be married anyway.”
“But our families…”
“They won’t know. They don’t even know you’re here. We won’t have a big ceremony this time. We’ll go to the courthouse and sign the documents to make everything legal, and once we do, you’ll be Baraqi just like me.”
Dakota was quiet, pondering. Could she do it? She couldn’t deny that her heart had soared at the thought of marrying Majeed, being with him here in Baraq forever. But what would her family say when they found out? And furthermore, what would his family say? The bin Ayads hated the Lees. Would she be binding herself to in-laws who would always resent her for joining their family? Would the population of her new country hate her for the way their first wedding had gone?
But she would be with Majeed forever. Somehow, that seemed bigger than all her worries.
It occurred to her, as they sped through the desert, that there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for Majeed or for their partnership. Dakota thought back to when she had first met him and how she had refused point blank to have anything to do with him. That seemed so distant now. It was only a few short months ago, and yet it felt like they had been different people.
“Ask me again,” she said, turning in her seat to face him.
Majeed took one hand off the wheel and gripped her hand in his. “Dakota Lee, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
“I will,” Dakota said and leaned over to kiss him.
Chapter 23
It was the polar opposite of their first wedding, Dakota thought as they stood in the courthouse.
Instead of a beautiful, ornate dress, she wore the same jeans and button-down blouse she had worn the night before. She hadn’t had time to shower and fix her hair, so she’d simply tied it into a messy bun at the back of her head. She wore no makeup at all, having brought none with her. She and Majeed stood before the officiant in sandals, hands clasped, hearts racing. She felt more like a runaway here in this moment than she had when her family had dragged her out of the original wedding.
There were no members of the press, no excited citizens gathered to welcome the newest member of the royal family. Instead, it was just the two of them, the officiant, and an employee of the courthouse brought in to serve as witness.
They spoke their vows without formality, a simple affirmation of the feelings they had already professed to each another over and over, and everyone present signed a document. It should have felt anticlimactic, and yet, as Dakota scrawled her name across the line, she was acutely aware that her life was changing forever. She was tying herself in a tangible way to both Majeed and his country, and their futures would be forever linked. Her heart soared. This was more than she had dared to hope for, even twelve hours ago, and now it was really happening.
They brought two copies of their newly printed marriage certificate with them, after receiving assurances from the officiant that this was all they would need to prove the legitimacy of their marriage and Dakota’s new citizenship. “We should take it straight to the Emir,” Dakota said, standing on the courthouse steps. “Show him that we’ve taken the necessary steps.”
Majeed drew her in for a kiss. “Never mind the Emir,” he said. “He can’t touch us now.”
“But we’re going to have to let him know,” Dakota said. “Otherwise he’ll continue the search for us. I don’t want to be dodging the police forever.”
“There’s no need to dodge,” Majeed said. “When they catch up with us, they’ll bring us before the Emir, which will be easier than trying to get an audience on our own. In the meantime, I want to celebrate with my new wife.” He kissed her deeply, then, driving all thoughts of the Emir out of her mind. “Let’s get a hotel room,” he said. “Let them come to us, and in the meantime…”
He didn’t say what would happen in the meantime, but he didn’t have to. Dakota squeezed his hand and nodded. Majeed’s plan sounded like a much better use of their time than anything she had thought of.
The hotel he chose was in the heart of Kezab. Dakota had driven by it countless times but had never been inside.
Stepping into the lobby, she gasped. The ceiling seemed miles overhead, and at the far end of the room was a huge glass window that was at least two stories high looking out on a view of the Emir’s palace. While Majeed booked a room, Dakota walked to the window and looked out over the city that was now hers. Home, she thought, and for the first time in years, it felt true. She belonged here. She patted the paper in her pocket that made it so.
Majeed had chosen a suite, complete with a whirlpool—which Dakota couldn’t wait to use—and a stocked minibar. He pulled out a bottle of champagne and poured some into paper cups, and the two of them toasted each other. As wedding receptions went, Dakota thought, it wasn’t bad. No photographers, no need to make small talk with people she didn’t know, and best of all, no feuding families to keep in line. Just her and Majeed.
They were both desperate for a shower after their long trip and their ordeal with the police, so they climbed in together. Majeed shampooed Dakota’s hair, his strong fingers massaging her scalp, and she helped him soap his back. She rested against his chest under the
warm spray, her muscles relaxing, and she became aware of how exhausted she was. Her eyes drifted closed.
Dakota was only half aware of the water stopping and Majeed toweling her dry. The next thing she knew, he was tucking her into bed. “Sleep, my love,” he whispered in her ear.
A part of her wanted to force herself awake, to make the most of the romantic setting and this time with Majeed. She knew it was only a matter of time before the police caught up with them. But she also knew the danger was past. She had all the documents she needed now to legitimize her residence in Baraq, and not even the Emir would be able to kick her out. She and Majeed had plenty of time now. She rolled over into the soft pillow and let herself succumb to exhaustion.
The sun coming through the hotel window awakened Dakota the next morning. Majeed was still sleeping peacefully beside her, and she decided to let him rest for the moment. He looked so much younger like this, she realized, all the worry and stress that usually showed on his face having melted away. After the ordeal they had been through, he deserved to sleep.
She turned her attention instead to the room service menu. Checking the clock, she found that they were right in the middle of breakfast hours. They would start their honeymoon with a buffet of fruits and meats, she decided, and perhaps a little more champagne. She called down to the kitchen and, speaking quietly so as not to wake her new husband, placed an order. That would be nice for him to wake up to.
While she waited for the food to arrive, she went into the bathroom and examined herself in the mirror. She was still a mess, despite the shower, so she took a few minutes to finger comb out her long blond curls and applied some lotion to her face. It wasn’t much, but the simple rituals made her feel more like herself.
If my family could see me now, she thought. She wondered if they had noticed her absence yet. She should really take the time to call Dylan sometime today, just to make sure no one was worried. He would be able to figure out a way to keep their parents from panicking, if they’d noticed her disappearance, without letting them know where she’d gone until she was ready to tell them.
Oh, she’d need to call her new employer and quit, too. What would she say? Sorry, I ran off to another country and got married. I won’t be coming back. She chuckled at the thought.
Her reverie was interrupted by a knock at the door. Dakota rushed out of the bathroom, grabbing the bathrobe that hung on the back of the door and pulling it on as she went. Majeed was sitting up groggily in bed. “They found us.”
“No, no,” Dakota reassured him. “I ordered breakfast. I’m sorry, I should have been watching the hall. I didn’t mean for them to wake you up. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
But Majeed had scrambled out of bed, pulled on his pants and was fumbling through his pockets. He pulled out the marriage certificate. “Get behind me,” he said urgently.
“Majeed, I promise, it’s only—”
“We don’t know if it’s the breakfast or not, and if it’s the police, they might take you into custody first and ask questions later. Get behind me, Dakota.”
She did so. Majeed approached the door and peered out through the peephole, then turned back to Dakota, a perplexed look on his face. “It’s not the police.”
“Well…is it breakfast?” she asked, but by the look on his face, she knew the answer.
“No,” he said. “I’m not sure who it is.”
“Should we answer?”
The knock came again. “Majeed bin Ayad and Dakota Lee?” a voice called.
Majeed shrugged. “No point in hiding.” He pulled the door open.
The man who stood in the hall was about ten years older than Majeed, and dressed in an immaculate uniform. He held up an envelope. “You are Majeed bin Ayad?”
“Yes,” Majeed said, obviously mystified.
Dakota understood how he felt. This man had to know who Majeed was. Clearly, the hotel had revealed which room they were staying in, and besides, Majeed had one of the most recognizable faces in Baraq.
“Sign here, please.” The man produced an electronic signature pad from an inside pocket of his vest.
“Hang on,” Dakota said. “What is he signing?”
“An acknowledgment of receipt,” the man said. “Proof that he got this message.”
It seemed harmless enough to Dakota, and apparently Majeed was similarly unworried because he picked up the stylus and signed his name. The messenger handed him the envelope, tipped his cap, and departed.
“What is it?” Dakota asked as Majeed shut the door.
He turned it over in his hands. “It has the seal of the Emir on it.”
Dakota felt a thrill of foreboding. “We’re not in trouble, are we? For going ahead with the marriage?”
“That part definitely wasn’t illegal,” Majeed murmured. “We might be in trouble for other things, though…” He slit open the envelope and read, his eyes skimming back and forth across the page. “It looks like he wants to see us.”
“Face to face? That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s a good sign that he didn’t have us arrested, I think,” Majeed said. “We don’t even have to go to the palace today—the summons is for tomorrow evening. It’s possible he just wants to discuss everything that’s happened and make sure all sides are at peace with the solution. Or we might get a slap on the wrist for causing so much trouble.”
“Or?” Dakota asked.
“Or…well, it’s possible there will be legal entanglements, but my family has good lawyers, and you and I are married now. We should be able to put anything that happens to rest quietly. The Emir doesn’t want a scandal, and arresting us now…I mean, imagine what the press would do with it. It would look like we were being arrested for the crime of loving each other.”
“Why do you think he doesn’t want to see us until tomorrow?” Dakota asked. “Wouldn’t it make sense to deal with this as quickly as possible?”
Majeed handed her the letter. “He wants our families to be there. He’s sending for your parents to fly in and giving them time to arrive.”
“Oh, no,” Dakota whispered.
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Majeed said. “They were going to find out what we did eventually anyway.”
“When has having our families in the same room ever been for the best?”
Dakota felt frantic. The last time the Lees and the bin Ayads had come together, they had ruined her wedding. She felt terrified that they would manage to ruin everything again, even though she didn’t see how it could happen. The documents were signed. It should be out of their control now, right? But if her parents had been able to intervene when she was standing at the altar, they might find a way to do it again. What if the arguing between the families reached such a chaotic pitch that the Emir decided it was necessary to annul the marriage?
She couldn’t be separated from Majeed again. She found herself clinging to his arm, as though she could keep him close by strength alone.
He extricated his arm from her grasp and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Nothing bad will happen,” he said. “I won’t let them come between us this time. Not now that we’ve finally found a way to be together.”
At that moment, as if summoned by the Emir’s letter, Dakota’s phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at the number the screen displayed. “It’s my mother.”
“She’s probably just received a summons,” Majeed said.
“But she’s all the way in Seattle. How could she have gotten her summons at the same time as we did?”
“Someone from the embassy will have delivered it,” Majeed said. “The Emir seems to be making this a top priority.”
“Should I answer it?” Dakota asked, but before Majeed could answer, the ringing had stopped. She stared at the missed call notification and tried to imagine her mother, what she must be doing right now. She would be pacing, Dakota knew. Anne Lee was a pacer. She would be in the kitchen, probably worrying aloud to Dakota’s father and fretting over how Dakota coul
d have left the country and gotten married without even talking to her parents first.
I tried to talk to you, though. Dakota wondered if they would be able to understand when she tried to explain. She wasn’t hopeful. They had never understood her before now.
Her phone began to ring again. It was her father this time. She opened her mouth to tell Majeed, but before she could, his phone began ringing too. He held it up to show her that his own mother was on the other end.
“They’ll be wanting us to explain ourselves,” Dakota said. “Justify what we did.”
“Which is what the Emir wants, too,” Majeed pointed out.
“So why go through it twice?” Dakota asked. “I say we ignore their calls. We turn off our phones. They can wait to talk to us until tomorrow when we’re before the Emir answering his questions. They can find out the answers to their questions then too. After all, they didn’t do us any favors getting here. They’ve stood in our way at every turn. I’m tired of making the extra effort for them.”
Majeed grinned. “We’re already thinking like a married couple, I see.” He held down the power button on his phone, and after a moment Dakota saw the screen go dark. She powered down her own phone as well and tossed it on the desk.
“We have a day,” Majeed said. “We know now that the police aren’t coming for us. The Emir must have gotten notice of our marriage, and he’ll have called off the search.”
“Are you sure?” Dakota asked.
“I’m positive. If we don’t respond to the summons, he’ll reopen the search, but for now he knows exactly where we are and what we’ve done and all he sent after us was a single messenger. That means we’re safe here until tomorrow. I say we enjoy it.”
“What did you have in mind?”
In response, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, one hand pulling the tie of her bathrobe loose so it fell from her shoulders and pooled to the floor at her feet. Dakota reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. Without disengaging, he began to steer her toward the bed until it hit her in the back of the knees and they both fell over, laughing.
