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The thought of him meeting with yet another prospective bride had made her skin crawl with invisible ants all day long.
“Was she another stunning princess in waiting?” The barb reeked of jealousy. Her expression was suitably contrite.
“Sina is nice.”
“Nice?” Cassie stepped into the kitchen and began to unload the groceries. “Nice is a little bit of a let down.”
He hated talking about this with Cassie, but she was like a dog with a bone. “Fine. She was excellent. A very good candidate.”
Her heart dropped. “In what way?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. I suppose she’s got supermodel good looks, like Arja.”
“I never said Arja was stunning.”
She rolled her eyes. “Go on. Tell me about Sina.”
“She is well-educated and interesting. She would involve herself in political matters and she is already well-liked. As for looks, she is the opposite to Arja.”
“Oh? Short, blonde and curvaceous?” She queried sweetly, chopping onions with more force than was necessary.
“No, she is also dark in complexion.”
“Then what?”
“Two years ago, she was touring a school in one of our Western provinces. An electrical fault broke out and caused a fire. She didn’t flee. Instead, she ferried children to the window, leading them to safety. She managed to bring nine out before it collapsed. She suffered permanent disfigurement and scarring as a result.”
Cassie’s eyes burned with tears, and now, she couldn’t check them. “That’s very brave,” she whispered, her heart breaking. How could he refuse the charms of a woman such as this? How could she ever compete? The question scared the heck out of her. How could she compete? Did she want to compete?
“Yes. She is considered a hero.”
“You should choose her,” Cassie said quietly, her eyes focussing on the onions. At least they gave her tears legitimacy.
; “Thank you for your opinion.”
Cassie moved over to the chicken. She diced it neatly, trimming the fat, then added it to the pan.
He watched her work, fascinated by her deft movements, and frustrated by her silence. He could practically see her mind working, and yet he knew nothing of what bothered her. She had been in a strange mood since she’d arrived. Jumpy and cross.
She was just putting the finishing touches on the meal when his cell phone began to vibrate. His chief security advisor’s name was flashing up at him. “Excuse me,” he muttered, standing swiftly and disappearing from the kitchen.
When he reappeared in the kitchen, several moments later, something was wrong.
Cassie could see it in every line of his body. He was tense. Alert. Watchful.
She turned the heat off the casserole and put the spoon down. “What is it?”
He continued to look at her, as if trying to sum up what he should tell her.
“Layth Sati, you tell me now. What is it?’
He turned his phone around in his palm, and held it to her. There was a grainy image on the screen. She squinted at it, and then ice began to drudge in her veins.
“You know this man.”
