would not offend her sense of fairness.
“I do not wish the need to remain faithful to become a purgatory for me, either.”
“So, you plan to be?”
“Faithful? Yes, of course. The men in my family are not philanderers.”
“Everything you have listed up to now is superficial…what about you and she having interests, likes and dislikes in common?”
“Not necessary. It’s not even preferred. As long as we are compatible in bed, we can lead totally separate lives.”
She looked at him as if she questioned his sanity, which was frankly a marginal improvement over her doubting his integrity.
“That’s not the best environment to raise children in, or didn’t you plan to be a father?”
“I do not have to be a besotted fool to be a good father.”
“Your parents love each other.”
“So?”
“Are you saying you don’t want that for yourself and your family? Not even a little?”
Thoughts of the only time he had ever known anything close bombarded his brain, leading to memories of Yasmine.
During the time right after Yasmine died, his mind shied away from those images, and the pain and weakness they represented. “Not everyone craves that kind of relationship. I definitely do not.”
Her frown was back full force. “With an attitude like that, it would serve you right if I did it.”
“That’s exactly what I’m hoping.”
But she wasn’t listening, or at least she wasn’t looking at him. She was too busy glaring out the window again. What was her problem?
Was it possible his ultra-efficient secretary who dressed dowdily and never dated had a severely hidden but equally deep romantic streak? It would certainly explain her negative reaction to his proposed marriage of convenience…both the one his father had decreed and the one Amir himself was trying to facilitate with her help.
It would also explain why she never dated. Because no matter how dowdily she dressed, he knew other men had to have noticed the latent sensuality in his Grace. But apparently she was waiting for Mr. Right…the knight in shining armor to come along and sweep her off her feet. In a way, he was glad she had this hidden streak of romanticism. It kept her working by his side rather than off dating and/or married to another man.
“Will you just think about it, Grace?” He played the card she’d never been able to ignore in the past. “Please.”
Her gaze slid to him, another expression he could not read settled in her hazel eyes. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
Victory was his, if he just waited.
Something of his certainty must have shown on his face because she pursed her lips with affront. “Don’t look so smug. I may yet say no.”
It was so unlikely as to be an impossibility, but he was savvy enough to her ways not to say so.
CHAPTER TWO
GRACE CURLED UP on the sofa in the living area of the two-bedroom suite she and Amir shared, pretending to watch an old Hepburn-Tracy movie on low volume. But all she was really doing was thinking about Amir.
He’d once told her that if his family knew of their traveling arrangements, it would upset his mother. In the next breath, he had laughed as if the idea of anything inappropriate happening between them was too funny for words.
And wasn’t it?
She’d asked him what constituted attractive to him and he had pointed her to his former playmates after agreeing he had been perfectly happy with his father’s choice for his future wife. Every one of those women fell in the realm of near physical perfection. He dated models, but usually stuck to women within his social set, women who dressed like they should be on the cover of a fashion magazine even if they weren’t. And Princess Lina. She was a pocket Venus if there ever was one. Grace’s hands went to her own small breasts and she frowned.
If she had to be as tall as a lot of men, couldn’t she have gotten the voluptuous curves to go with her height? Instead she was stick-skinny with what could charitably be called understated curves. Hugging the throw pillow from the sofa, she frowned. Amir had said not one word about personality or compatibility, unless she wanted to count sex. Was he really that shallow?
She knew he wasn’t. So why was he willing to settle for a marriage of convenience with a woman who had little more to offer than her beauty and ability to be charming in social situations? He deserved so much more. His passionate soul needed more, even if he refused to see it.
This had to be the result of losing Yasmine at such a young age. He’d once told her the grief had led him places he never wanted to go back to. The men of the Zorhan royal family hated any semblance of weakness. Perhaps Amir even more than the others, because he was the youngest and felt he had something to prove.
It must have been difficult growing up an alpha male with two brothers of equally dominant natures. She often saw him chafing against that reality even now. But to resort to this? It wasn’t right.
The second to the last thing Grace ever wanted to see was Amir in love with another woman. The last was him married to a woman he could never love. As annoyed as his current attitude made her, she couldn’t help wanting him to be happy.
He wasn’t going to end up that way married to some empty-headed beauty, who shared nothing in common with him but her ability to traverse the two worlds he inhabited and her prowess in bed.
Grace hugged the pillow more tightly, feeling lonelier than she had since first meeting Amir. From the moment she’d walked into his office at the age of twenty to interview for the position of personal assistant, he had changed her world. He’d filled it with light, warmth and sound.
The social awkwardness that usually plagued her did not touch her when she was with him. It was as if, standing in his shadow in her role as PA, she was part of him. He had nothing to be shy and awkward about and therefore neither did she on his behalf. She had felt at home in his office from the very beginning.
She’d also loved him practically from the first, not that she’d realized it. Sure, it had started as a typical crush on the gorgeous, wealthy prince—and even when she’d had a crush on him, she’d been singularly naive to what that meant. But Amir had quickly shown her that he was more than a rich and pretty face.
He cared about his family. He cared about the people of Zorha. He cared about the people of his adopted home, giving more to charities than most businessmen ever dreamed of doing. He was also kind to children and old people. It was such a cliché, but true. Not to mention, he was patient and generous toward his nondescript PA. Not patient and generous enough to consider her for the position of his convenient wife though.
For a mad moment, right at first, she had let herself imagine it was possible.
After all, hadn’t he made a point of saying he didn’t expect or even want to love his future wife? Even the idea that his wife must be able to move in his different
