in judgment on both our parts. We were attempting to protect each other and my son.”
“Yet instead you have created a scandal at a time when we are trying to convince our people this conservation project is worthwhile,” Rafiq replied. “Their attention has now been diverted from the need to relocate some of the farms to an illegitimate child born to the man in charge of protecting our borders.”
“Never use that word to describe my son again,” Adan hissed. “I may not have known about him, but he is every bit a Mehdi.”
Rafiq looked extremely surprised. “I never thought of you as being the paternal sort, Adan. That being said, it is my understanding his true mother is the narcissistic Talia Thorpe.”
Evidently the royal family and staff held the model in very low esteem. “That’s true,” Piper interjected before she could be cut off again. “I was simply pretending to be the baby’s mother to delay the questions over his parentage.”
“Yet everyone now believes you are his mother,” Rafiq replied. “That has created quite the dilemma.”
“I promise you I will handle this,” Adan said. “I will retract the marriage statement and explain that Samuel is my child from a previous relationship.”
Rafiq straightened and scowled. “You will do no such thing.”
Adan exchanged a look with Piper before bringing his attention back to his brother. “You would have us continue the lie?”
“As a matter of fact, that is exactly what you will do,” Rafiq began, “until you find some way to be rid of the model, for both yours and your heir’s sake. Naming her as the mother will only wreak more havoc. The woman is known for posing in the nude in several photographs.”
The king’s condescension ruffled Piper’s artistic feathers. “Some do not find nudity offensive. It would depend on what the photographer was attempting to convey.”
“Centerfold photos,” Adan added. “She posed for several magazines, in print and online. Some of those publications are obscure and questionable at best.”
That did change everything from an artistic standpoint. “Are they widely circulated here?”
Adan looked somewhat sheepish. “After word got out that we were involved.”
The king turned his full attention to her. “Ms. McAdams, if you would kindly continue the charade until your departure, then we will make certain you are compensated.”
She could not believe someone was offering to pay her for a humongous fib that could alter her own life. “No offense, Your Excellency, but I can’t in good conscience accept money for my silence.”
“Temporary silence,” the king added. “And I was not suggesting a bribe. However, I will award the contract to your corporation upon review of the bid. Once you have returned to the States, we will issue a statement saying you felt it best that the marriage be dissolved on the basis of irreconcilable differences, and that you feel your son should live in his homeland.”
“And what do you propose we do with Talia?” Adan asked. “Bind and gag her before she leaks the truth to the media?”
“She we will have to pay,” Rafiq stated. “I am certain it will cost a fortune to have her relinquish her rights as well as execute a legal document forbidding her to have any claim on the child. Fortunately, you have the means to meet her price, however high that might be.”
Adan released a weary sigh. “Rafiq, this could all backfire no matter how carefully we plan. Talia could refuse to meet our terms, and furthermore, the truth may surface no matter how hard we try to conceal it.”
“I trust that you and Ms. McAdams will see that does not happen.”
The man was making too many impossible demands as far as Piper was concerned. “How do you propose we do that when you risk someone within these walls leaking that information?”
“The staff normally practices absolute discretion,” Rafiq said, mirroring Adan’s words from the day they discovered Sam existed. “Yet it would be foolish not to believe someone with lesser responsibility in the palace could sell the information to the highest bidder. Therefore it is paramount you both act as if you are a wedded couple at all times. We will issue a press release stating you were married at an undisclosed location prior to the pregnancy.”
As she regarded Adan, Piper couldn’t quite contain her sarcasm. “Would that be all right with you, dear?”
He shook his head. “None of this is right, but I do believe it is a viable plan, at least for the time being.”
She saw her control over the situation begin to slip away. “Do I have any say in the matter?”
“Yes you do,” Rafiq said. “You are free to refuse and leave immediately. With your company’s crew.”
A not-so-veiled threat. She mulled over a laundry list of pros and cons while Adan and the king waited for her answer. If she didn’t agree, they would lose the contract, and that could send the struggling business into a free fall. If she did agree, she would have to stay on for at least a month immersed in a massive lie. And most important, she would be charged with contacting her grandparents to break the news before someone else did. She could only imagine her grandfather’s reaction to either scenario. Then again, if she went along with the marriage pretense, she’d have the opportunity to stand up to him once and for all if he gave her any grief. She could finally be her own person and control her own life—for at least a month. Not a bad thing, at that.
A few more seconds ticked off while she weighed her options. The one bright spot she could see coming out of this entire debacle had directly to do with Adan. Being his make-believe spouse could come with some serious perks.
She drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, “I’ll do it.”
Adan looked caught completely off guard. “You will?”
“I will.” She rose from the chair and managed a smile. “Now, if you gentlemen would please excuse me, this pretend wife needs to make a call to her very real grandparents.”
Adan stood and returned her smile. “Feel free to use my private study next door.”
“Thanks. I believe I will.”
Piper did an about-face, strode into the hall and prepared to lie.
* * *
“Have you totally lost your ever-lovin’ mind, sweet pea?”
Oh, how she hated her grandfather’s pet name for her. But Piper had to admit she was enjoying his shock. She’d never seriously shocked anyone in her sheltered life up to this point, at least not to this extreme. “No, Poppa, I’m quite sane. I would have told you sooner about the marriage but it was rather spontaneous.” And pure fiction.
“When did you meet this character?”
Lie number one. “Quite a while ago, when I was in the U.K. last year.”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me this when you knew full well I was sending you to his country? That dog just don’t
