A Christmas Bride (10 page)

AS’AD WALKED INTO the king’s offices the next day and nodded at Robert, his personal assistant.

“Go right in, sir,” Robert said with a smile. “The king is expecting you.”

As’ad walked through the double doors and greeted his father.

“I hear you have taken in a family,” his father said from his seat behind his impressive desk. “Lina tells me you are to adopt three orphans. I did not know you cared for such causes.”

As’ad took one of the chairs opposite the desk and shook his head. “It is all Lina’s doing. She insisted I go to the orphanage to prevent a nun from jumping off a roof.”

“A what from what?”

“Never mind. There was no nun. Only a teacher.”

A small kitten who had spit in fury and outrage. He smiled at the memory of Kayleen’s determination.

“Three American girls were there,” he said. “Their father was born here. When their mother died, he brought them back and then he was killed. Tahir heard of their situation and wanted to take them back to his village.”

“Admirable,” the king said. “Three orphaned girls would be of no value. Tahir is a good man.”

“Yes, well, their teacher didn’t share your admiration. She insisted the girls could not be separated, nor could they give up their education to be servants.”

“Without family, what choice did the girls have? Tahir would have given them the honor of his name.”

“I agree,” As’ad said. “Yet that, too, was lost on their teacher. She attacked Tahir.”

The king’s eyebrows rose. “She lives?”

“She’s small and apparently did him no harm.”

“She is lucky he didn’t insist on punishing her.”

“I suspect he was pleased to find a way out of the situation.”

“So you solved the problem by taking the girls.”

“Yes, and their teacher, who will be responsible for them.” He looked at his father. “They are charming girls,” he said, hoping it was true. “Almost like granddaughters for you.”

The king stroked his beard. “Then I will visit them and their teacher. As’ad, you did the right thing. This pleases me. Obviously you are settling down as you grow older. Well done.”

“Thank you, Father.”

As’ad kept his voice respectful. Lina was right. Now As’ad would be spared the royal matchmaking for a while.

“What is she like, this teacher?” the king asked. “Is she of good character?”

“Lina thinks so.” He was nearly convinced himself. Her sad history could have made her hard or bitter. Instead she led with her heart.

“Have you any interest in her yourself?”

As’ad stared at his father. “In what way?”

“As a wife. We already know she likes children and is willing to face a chieftain to protect her charges. Is she pretty? Would she do for one of your brothers?”

As’ad frowned. Pretty? Kayleen? “She is not unattractive,” he said slowly, remembering how she’d looked the previous night with her long hair glowing like fire. “There is a spark in her. A pureness.”

Pureness? Where had
that
thought come from?

“I wonder what she thinks of the desert,” the king mused. “Perhaps she would do for Kateb.”

“She would not,” As’ad said sharply, suddenly irritated, although he could not say why. “Besides, I need her to care for my daughters. Find my brothers’ brides elsewhere.”

“As you wish,” the king said easily. “As you wish.”

* * *

AS’AD STARED AT the three bridge proposals in front of him. While each provided the necessary access, they couldn’t be more different. The cheapest bid offered a utilitarian design while the other two had an architectural element that would add to the beauty of the city. There were—

His phone buzzed. He stared at it a second, then pushed the intercom. “I said I was not to be disturbed.”

“I understand, sir. Your orders were very clear.” His normally calm assistant sounded...flustered. “It’s just, there’s someone here to see you. A young woman. Kayleen James. She says she is the nanny for your children?”

The slight rise in Neil’s voice probably came from the fact that he wasn’t aware As’ad
had
any children.

“I’ll explain it all later,” As’ad told him. “Send her in.”

Seconds later Kayleen walked into his office. As she moved across the open space, he took in the plain brown dress that covered her from the neck to down past her knees, and the flat, sensible shoes. She’d pulled her hair back in a braid. Her pale skin looked bare, and although her eyes were large, she did nothing to enhance her features. Even her earrings, tiny gold crosses, provided little adornment.

He was used to women who took the time and made the effort to be as beautiful as possible. Women who dressed in silk, who showed skin, who smelled of enticing perfumes and glittered with diamonds. Did Kayleen not care for such adornments or had she not had the opportunity to dress that way?

She could, he acknowledged, easily transform herself into a beauty. The basics were already in place—the perfect bone structure in her face, the large eyes, the full mouth.

Without meaning to, he imagined her wearing nothing at all. Pale and soft, covered only by her long hair, a naked temptress who—

“Thank you for seeing me,” Kayleen said, interrupting the erotic image that had no place in his head. “I guess I should have made an appointment.”

“Not at all,” he said as he came to his feet and motioned toward a sofa in the corner. “How can I help you?”

She sat down. “You’re very polite.”

“Thank you.”

She smoothed the front of her dress. “The palace is really big. I got lost twice and had to ask directions.”

“I can get you a map.”

She smiled. “For real or are you teasing?”

“Both. There is a map of the palace. Would you like one?”

“I think I need it. And maybe a computer chip implant so security can find me.” She looked uneasy as she glanced around the room. “This is nice. Big, but I guess that comes with being a prince.”

He couldn’t tell if she was just nervous or stalling. “Kayleen, is there a reason for your visit?”

“What? Oh. Right. I enrolled the girls in the American School this morning. It all went well. I used your name.”

He smiled. “Bowing and scraping?”

“Some. Everyone was very eager to help. And to have me tell you they helped. That part is weird. You’re probably used to it.”

“I am.”

“The school is great. Big and modern with a real focus on academics. Not that the orphan school is terrible. If they had more funding...” She sighed. “Asking about that is probably inappropriate.”

“Will knowing that stop you from asking?”

She considered for a second. “Not really.”

“I will see if funds can be made available.”

Her eyes widened. “Just like that?”

“I have made no promises. But I’m sure a few dollars could be found.”

“That would be great. We’re not working with a big budget over there, so anything would help. Most of the teachers live in, which means the salaries aren’t huge.”

He doubted they would ever be huge. Teachers didn’t choose their profession in an effort to amass a personal fortune. He frowned.

“Why did
you
become a teacher?” he asked.

“Because I couldn’t be a nun.”

An answer he never would have expected. “Did you want to be a nun?”

Kayleen nodded slowly. “Very much. The orphanage my grandmother took me to was run by nuns. They were wonderful to me. I wanted to be just like them. But I don’t really have the right personality.”

“Too outspoken?”

“Too...everything. I’m opinionated, I have a temper, I have trouble with the rules sometimes.”

She seemed so quiet and mousy in her baggy brown dress, but there was something in her eyes, a spark that told him she was telling the truth. After all, she had attacked Tahir.

He’d never met an almost-nun before. Why would a pretty woman want to lock herself away from the world?

“Our Mother Superior suggested I go into teaching,” Kayleen continued. “It was a great idea. I love it. I love the children. I wanted to take a permanent position there, but she insisted I first see the world. That’s how I ended up here. Eventually, I’ll go back.”

“To the convent school?”

She nodded.

“What about a husband and a family?”

Kayleen ducked her head, but not before he saw her blush. “I don’t really expect that to happen to me. I don’t date. Men are... They don’t think of me that way.”

He recalled his earlier fantasy about seeing her naked. “You would be surprised,” he murmured.

She looked up. “I don’t think so.”

“So there has never been anyone special?”

“A boyfriend?” She shook her head. “No.”

She was in her mid-twenties. How was that possible? Did such innocence truly exist? Yet why would she lie about such a thing?

He found himself wanting to show her the world she’d been avoiding. To take her places.

Ridiculous, he told himself. She was nothing to him. Only the children’s nanny.

CHAPTER THREE

KAYLEEN BACKED OUT of the kitchen, her hands up in front of her, palms out. “No really. I mean it. Everything we have is terrific. I love the food. I’ve gained three pounds.”

When she could no longer see the head chef’s furious expression, she turned and hurried to the closest staircase, then ran up to a safer floor.

She’d only been offering to help, she told herself. But her offer of assistance had been taken as an insult.

With the girls gone all day and a kindly worded but clear letter from the orphan school saying it would be too awkward to have her teaching there, now that she was under Prince As’ad’s “protection,” Kayleen had nothing to do with her time. Sitting around was boring. She needed to keep busy with
something.
She couldn’t clean the suite she and the girls lived in. There wasn’t even a vacuum in the closet.

She wandered down the main hallway, then paused to figure out where she was. The wide doorways looked familiar. Still, what would it hurt to have a few “you are here” maps to guide newcomers?

She turned another corner and recognized the official royal offices. In a matter of minutes she was standing in front of As’ad’s assistant, Neil.

“I really need to see him,” she said.

“You do not have an appointment.”

“I’m his nanny.” It was a bluff. She was staff and she had a feeling that all staff needed an appointment.

“I’m aware of who you are, Ms. James. But Prince As’ad is very particular about his schedule.”

Neil was British, so the word sounded like “shed-ule.”

The door to As’ad’s office opened. “Neil, I need you to find—” He saw Kayleen. “How convenient. You’re the one I’m looking for.”

Guilt flooded her. “Is it the chef? I didn’t mean to insult him. I was only trying to help.”

His gaze narrowed. “What did you do?”

She tucked her hands behind her back. “Nothing.”

“Why don’t I believe you? Come inside, Kayleen. Start at the beginning and leave nothing out.”

She glanced longingly at the exit, but followed As’ad into his office. When they were both seated, he looked at her expectantly.

She sucked in a breath. “I went down to the kitchen. I thought I could maybe help out there. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m bored. I need to do
something.
”

She stopped talking and pressed her lips together to hold in a sudden rush of emotion.
Need—
there was the word that mattered. She had to be needed.

“You have your three charges,” he said. “Many would find that enough.”

“Oh, please. They’re in school for hours at a time. Someone else cooks, cleans and I’m guessing does our laundry. So what do I do the rest of the time?”

“Shop?”

“With what? Are you paying me? We never discussed a salary. Are there benefits? Do I have a dental plan? One minute I was minding my own business, doing my job, and the next I was here. It’s not an easy adjustment.”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “If I remember correctly, you assaulted a chieftain. Not exactly minding your own business.”

She didn’t want to talk about that. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. Tell me, Kayleen. What did you teach?”

“Math,” she said absently as she stood up and crossed to the window. As’ad’s view was of a beautiful garden. She didn’t know anything about plants, but she could learn. Maybe the gardener needed some help.

“Advanced?”

“Some.”

“You’re comfortable with statistical analysis?”

“Uh-huh.” What were the pink flowers? They were stunning.

“Then I have a project for you.”

She turned. “You want me to do your taxes?”

“No. I want you to work with the education minister. While many girls from the rural villages are graduating from high school and going on to college, the number is not as great as we would like. For El Deharia to grow as a nation, we must have all our citizens educated and productive. I want you to find out which villages are sending the most girls to college, then figure out what they’re doing right so we can use that information to help the other villages. Does that interest you?”