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“Yes, but you can be a very naughty girl as well. Can’t you?”
Could she? She’d never stepped into the role of bad girl. She couldn’t even believe that’s how Zadir saw her. No one saw her like that, ever. “I don’t know.”
“Well I guess we can find out together.”
Five
“This place is spectacular,” she whispered, awestruck at the sight of Mallorca as they approached the largest of the Balearic Islands from the air. In contrast to Jovanbar, the island was a rich collage of greens and blues, with small patches of vibrant flowers giving a truly tropical flair. Shala was entranced by the beauty of Spain from the air and she was eager to see up close, to touch that kind of beauty and absorb it.
“This is a great place to holiday. It’s tropical, the food is light and delicious and there are so many resorts that there’s always a party to be had.” Zadir had enjoyed more than a few lost weekends on this beautiful island.
“Seems like the perfect place for your American style Spring Break.” Shala wished she’d had the chance to let go and have fun like that. Her strict upbringing meant she’d gone to university close to home and was, therefore, unable to let loose as many of her classmates had. Most of her time was spent studying so her people skills weren’t the best unless it had to do with her job. It was an ironic twist that never failed to amuse her.
Zadir smiled. “I can’t deny it. The Americans definitely know how to have reckless fun.” And he’d lapped it all up and took it to the next level. And that was why he was out on the road, trying to convince his father that he was ready to take over the family business.
“You know, I was surprised that you weren’t looking at any other resorts on one of these islands.”
“We own enough of the resorts here. But since we can’t rely on oil like many of our neighbors, securing Sun Energy Makers for a song will set us up for the future of energy.” Her smile knocked the breath out of him.
“Exactly. You should hear my father bemoan our lack of oil without any regard for the fact that it is finite.” She shook her head, remembering the tense arguments they had about it.
“My father would never have a conversation like that with me, it’s more of a Rashid conversation even though he’s not the one in charge of the company.” The helicopter he commissioned to take them to Cabo Blanco had just touched down and they waited for it to come to a full stop.
Shala heard the tight tone in his voice and she realized there was a lot of animosity between the royal twins. “Tell me about it. There’s something special about the first born. Us seconds will never get it, even if it is different for you.”
“Because I’m a royal?”
She shook her head. “No, because you’re a twin. I’m the second born by a couple years but for you, it’s just minutes that deprive you of it.”
He muttered a string of curses. “Damn you’re observant.” He shook his head, almost amused by his own reaction.
She nodded with a sad smile. “It’s the one benefit of being invisible your entire life.” She held up a hand to stop his attempts to convince her otherwise. He would fail, she knew, but he was the one person she’d always wanted to notice her but never had.
“Not like you have that problem anymore.”
“True, but now people just notice me for the wrong reasons.”
Zadir shook his head and twined a lock of hair around one finger. “If that’s true it’s only because you don’t let anyone close enough to like you for the right reasons.”
Had she been doing that? She didn’t think it was true. The men she met as an adult were interested in her because of her father’s business or her curves. Either way they weren’t interested in her. So maybe she had built up armor around her and protected that armor with a ten-foot tall brick wall. “I’ve found that men who want more than sex are willing to work a little harder.” At least she hoped they were.
“So how am I doing?”
She looked up at that naughty grin of his, the one that told a girl that he already knew all her secrets down to the style and color of her lingerie. “Better than expected.”
Zadir leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Then I’m way ahead of the class.”
* * *
“You really planned all this?” She couldn’t believe it even now, halfway through dinner, that Zadir had gone through all this trouble for her.
Zadir nodded, a proud and predatory gaze in his eyes. “I did. While you got settled, made phone calls and freshened up, I was busy making my own calls to get the table set up, the food cooked and delivered.” He couldn’t remember a time when he’d done more than spend a bit of cash to make a woman happy. He didn’t need to be thoughtful because he was good looking and rich. But with Shala he wanted to go through the effort. Wanted to show that she was worth the effort.
Her brow crinkled and her nose scrunched up in confusion. “But…why?”
He looked at her and saw total confusion written on her beautiful face. If it were any other woman he would think she was fishing for compliments but he sensed Shala really wanted to know. “I like you.”
“Just that simple?”
