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During her bath, the servant must have returned with her bags because all of her things were neatly put away in the drawers and a clean set of clothes was laid out on the bed for her—a little black dress and matching flats. She dressed quickly then wound her hair up into a messy bun before doing a bit of snooping. He’d mentioned “our rooms”, so she assumed he’d be staying in here with her, but as she looked around, she found none of his things. Huh. Well, maybe they’d made a mistake and put her up in a guest room until Rehaj returned.
She took a seat in the sitting area and clicked on the flat screen TV but found nothing interesting to watch. Next she flipped through some magazines on the table, but again, they held no interest for her. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer and got up to wander out into the hall in search of Rehaj.
No sign of him, but she did locate the same servant from earlier. She smiled at the woman. “Can you tell me when…” What did she call him? Sheikh Nazrani? Prince Rehaj? Just Rehaj? She ended up settling for something in between. “Will Sheikh Rehaj be ready for dinner soon?”
“Pardon, ma’am,” the woman said, bowing again. “But the sheikh is already at dinner, with his family. They all went out after the cabinet meeting. He told me to bring you whatever you’d like from our kitchens.”
“Oh.” She did her best to hide her disappointment and failed miserably, if the kind look the servant gave her was any indication. “I see.”
It felt like the world she’d expected had been pulled from beneath her and she was now suspended in mid-air with no safety net to catch her. Her stomach plummeted to her toes and any appetite Ani might’ve had evaporated. She turned back toward her rooms and walked away slowly.
“Wait, ma’am. What would you like me to bring you for supper?” the servant called.
“Nothing,” Ani said. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
She went back into the bedroom and locked the door behind her then slid slowly down the wall until her bottom hit the floor. She had no right to be hurt. Not really. Rehaj had never promised her more than the fling they’d had on the island. He’d invited her here, yes, but he’d never said he’d spend more time with her here. She’d just assumed he would. And that was the problem. That had been the problem her whole life. People told her things and she just assumed they were right. Her mother telling her that confidence came from outside yourself. Marcus telling her that she was nothing without him. Rehaj being so kind and nice and sweet and saying that she was beautiful and precious just as she was.
Ani gave a sad little snort. “Right. I’m so damned beautiful he can’t stand to be anywhere near me. God, I’m such an idiot.”
Out of habit, she got up and stalked over to her purse, first pulling out her compact, then tossing it aside in lieu of her phone. Normally, when she felt like crap, she’d go online and shop or look at pictures of gorgeous things until she felt better. But after being without her phone for so long, she was out of practice. Besides, she doubted she’d ever find anything as gorgeous as Rehaj on the Internet anyway.
Sad and lonely, she curled up into a ball in the middle of the huge bed and clicked the device on anyway. Maybe she’d check her emails. She still needed to let her parents and her sister know where she was and her plans for staying on with Rehaj for the next couple of weeks. But when she opened up her Internet browser, the main story splashed all over the screen was about the cabinet meeting earlier today and Rehaj’s failed attempt to win the advisory position. His expression looked harried and hurt and her heart ached all the more for him. No wonder he prized his privacy so much. Losing what he wanted most was bad enough. Having his failure flaunted all over the web was even worse.
Tears welled as she shut the stupid thing off and buried her face in the pillow.
The whole day had gone from glorious to horrendous in the span of a few hours.
* * *
Rehaj returned to the palace a few hours later and went in search of Anastasia. His plan had been to give his speech then come back here to celebrate his triumph with her. Unfortunately, things had not gone to plan.
The press had already been all over what they termed his “failure” to secure the head advisor position over Feraz’s cabinet members. In truth, Rehaj hadn’t failed at all. All of the voting members had liked him just fine for the position and his speech had gone a long way in convincing them he was the right man for the job. What they hadn’t liked was his stipulation that his private business remain private. The voting members had been vocal about their beliefs that the new Djevian government needed to be open and transparent in all aspects, including their rulers’ personal lives. They felt such disclosures would help to show the world at large that Djeva and its leaders were serious about joining the twenty-first century and had nothing to hide.
Of course, Rehaj had balked at the idea. Not that it had mattered.
As soon as the meeting was over, his sisters and brothers had swept him away to a local restaurant for dinner, despite his protests to the contrary. There, they’d grilled him about who Ani was and why he’d brought her to the palace. Then they’d moved on to why he’d not accepted the head advisor position when it had been offered to him. The crowning moment came when his eldest sister, Jessenia, had pulled out her phone and showed him just how futile his efforts to keep the two spheres of his life separate had been.
Already photos of he and Ani leaving the retreat were online, taken by what he assumed were resort staff, since no one else had been allowed to have any technology on the island. He should’ve known the precious, quiet bubble they’d been living in for two weeks would burst under the pressure.
He knocked softly on her door, then stuck his head inside when she didn’t answer, spotting Ani asleep on the bed. He’d wanted to put her into his own private rooms but had not wanted to overstep his bounds by overriding her wishes. So, he’d had the staff make up the suite adjacent to his. There was no connecting door, but they were just across the hall from each other.
She stirred on the bed and yawned before looking over at him, bleary-eyed and mussed and so damned adorable his chest ached. His sisters had questioned him about his feelings for Ani and he’d been deliberately vague with them. First, it was none of their business. And second, he’d tried so hard over the last few days not to put a label on things for fear it would all end badly. But as Ani sat up and beckoned him closer, her expression a mix of affection and sadness, his chest constricted with the intensity of his need for her. Not love, exactly. At least he wasn’t ready to call it that. But a powerful…desire to be near her. To hear her laugh, to feel her soft curves against him, to smell her delightful sweet perfume. To just be close to her, to have and to hold. He walked into her room then closed and locked the door behind him in case any of his family decided to get nosy again.
“You’re back,” she said, patting the bed beside her, inviting him to sit. “I’m sorry about the cabinet position. I saw it online.”
“Ah,” he said, toeing off his shoes. He loosened his tie and slipped off his suit jacket, rolling up his shirt sleeves and unbuttoning his top few buttons before climbing onto the mattress beside her. He stretched out then relished the feel of her warmth snuggling up beside him. Back in paradise at last. Rehaj kissed the top of her head, whispering into her hair, “Thank you for your concern, mahbubi. But you mustn’t believe everything you read.”
Ani pushed away from him slightly to frown up at him. “Did you get the job then?”
“Eh, no. But it wasn’t because they didn’t offer it to me. I turned them down.”
“But why?” She rested her hand over his pounding heart. “I thought that job was your life goal.”
“It was one of my goals, yes.” Rehaj closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Being here with Ani, relaxing, was another goal he hadn’t even realized he’d had. “But they asked too much of me.”
“How?”
“They wanted my life to be an open book, every area accessible. And you know why I cannot allow that.”
