Sheikh's Stand In (11 page)

What have I done?
Vivian asked in agony, but the answer came back loud, clear, and truthful.

What you had to do.

CHAPTER EIGHT

She didn't know what to expect from the engagement that they had that morning. All she knew was that she received a note at the breakfast table requesting her presence at the car at eleven. It was their first engagement since their talk at her bedroom door, and Viviana had not seen Mikal since. He had respectfully been keeping his distance, or at least that was what she assumed. On one hand, she was grateful, because after all, it did make things much easier. On the other hand, she missed him terribly.

This engagement looked no different from the ones that they had attended before. She dressed carefully, and when she smiled in the mirror, she looked as stunning as ever. Her heart leaped up to her throat when she saw him in his dark blue western suit, but he looked preoccupied and they rode to the event in silence.

"Only a few more of these," he mentioned as he handed her out of the car. She wondered if it was her imagination that he lingered a little, but she dismissed it as they made their way into the event.

Viviana reminded herself that this was her element. This was where she belonged, and that was enough to spur her to work. There were still plenty of people on the fence about Mikal's legislation, still plenty of people who were simply not sure what women could offer if they were simply granted the rights that their male counterparts had.

She and Mikal mingled together and apart, chatting about this and that, and ultimately bringing their views to the forefront. Viviana was approached by a stern looking woman who intimidated her at first, but soon she was intrigued to find that the woman ran a service for placing young girls into the workplace.

"There are many risks for them," she said. "Some of the recruiters are less than scrupulous, and the work that the girls do is not what they wanted …"

Viviana frowned, nodding in agreement. She had spent some time as a model, and even now she could see some of the terrible practices that would be horrible surprises to young girls freshly away from their family.

"I'll definitely bring your organization to Mikal's attention …"

"Actually, I was wondering if you would care to help us yourself," the woman said with a wry smile. "No offense to your husband-to-be, but one of the ways that the girls truly trust us to do right by them is to show them that the leadership is by women who have their best interest at heart."

Her hesitation must have looked like disapproval, because the woman hastened to smooth it over. "Perhaps in the future, it might be different, but right now, this is what we are doing. This is what we know has worked. Please, will you consider it?"

Viviana couldn't tell this hopeful woman who was doing so much good that there was no way she would be able to help them as Mikal's wife. She did take the card, but it gave her a sick feeling to her stomach. She resolved to bring it up with Mikal and also with Charlotte, who she could see doing a great amount of good for the organization.

She had barely turned away from the woman with the job service when she was cornered by a man who wanted to tell her exactly what was wrong with Mikal's legislation. She was so stunned by his vitriol that she simply stared at him in confusion for a moment, but finally, when she realized what he was saying, she straightened her spine and glared at him. It was a source of grim satisfaction to her that he fell back. She wondered if he had ever met a woman who wouldn't accommodate him before, and she pressed her advantage.

"Excuse me," she said icily. "But do you know who I am?"

He stuttered something, but she steamrolled right over him. This was familiar territory as well. There were always a few men who had loose ideas of what her job really was, and more often than not, she had to bring them back into line.

"I am the wife-to-be of Mikal ben-Arie," she said, her voice gaining volume. "I am not some whipping girl that you should feel free to
spew
at, and on top of that, you have decided to waste my time with something that is patently untrue. This is the behavior of a man who has nothing to offer, and who I will not listen to. And, sir, let me tell you, I am a woman with a very long memory."

She turned on her heel and stalked away, not caring what he was doing behind her.

There was a split second when she realized that someone was coming up behind her. It was a feeling of prickles running up her spine, and she spun, fearing the worst. Before Viviana had even turned around all the way, however, she realized that Mikal was standing with his back to her, and the man who had wanted to harangue her was falling back, holding his wrist tightly with a look of fear on his face.

"I think Mr. Abbad looks ill," Mikal said, and though his words were solicitous, there was something deadly and cold in his eyes. "Will someone please call him a cab?"

While the people around them moved to look after the matter, Mikal turned to Viviana. His eyes were still bright from whatever it was he had done to the man, but his expression quickly became one of concern as he came to stand close to her. He offered her his arm, and automatically she took it. He guided her to one of the private sitting rooms that ringed the public area, closing the door behind them.

"Are you all right?" he asked intently. "Did that bastard manage to lay a finger on you?"

Viviana was still stunned at the speed with which everything had happened. She shook her head, but she realized that her heart was beating faster and that everything looked too shiny and too bright.

"Are you all right, beloved?"

That endearment was a sword that cut. It was so sharp that she barely knew how hurt she was until she was on her feet and glaring.

"Don't call me that," she hissed. "Don't. Don't you dare. You don't mean it, and it's bad enough to hear it out there for your constituents, but hearing it in here is a goddamn insult!"

He fell back, shocked. Viviana could feel herself breathing hard. She forced herself to remain calm, but it was difficult with adrenaline shooting through her system.

"Viviana, I truly meant no harm …"

"Of course you didn't," she said bitterly. "You're the man with the plan, the one who knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. You just meant nothing at all."

"Not nothing."

In that moment, she could have slapped him. He stared at her, watching her with those calm eyes, and she could have screamed. "Yes, nothing," she repeated. "Because this is what we have, isn't it? It doesn't matter what I want, what I feel, all we have is an agreement, and if I bit off more than I could chew, then so be it."

"I had no idea you felt like this," he said softly. "I had no idea that this … that this was hurting you. Viviana, I swear, it was never my intent."

She didn't have to look at him to know that he was telling her the truth. He would never do anything besides that. "I know," she said more softly. "I know. It's no one's fault but mine that I am here now."

He started to speak, but she cut him off. Suddenly, she felt as if she had run ten miles with a heavy pack stuck to her back. She felt as if all of her blood had been drained out of her and replaced with water.

"Mikal, will you help me?"

"Of course. Anything."

She had expected nothing less. "Mikal, I either need you to let me go, let me out of this bargain …"

He winced, but nodded, waiting for the rest. "Or I need you to tell me that we have something here, something real."

He stared at her, and she felt a deep wave of humiliation come up as he stuttered over his words.

"Viviana, when I call you beloved, when I speak to you, when I touch you … it … those are things we haven't talked about, we were just doing them …"

Viviana nodded, tired to her bones. "Then you will release me."

It wasn't a question, but his silence answered it.

She started past him, but there was something that stopped her from leaving it there. She realized that there was a very real chance that this would be the last time she saw him, that if she ever saw his face again, it might be on a magazine. No matter how she felt, she couldn't leave it there.

She reached up, cupping her hand over the back of his neck. He watched her intently as she pulled his face down to hers. The kiss she gave him was gentle, but she put everything she had into it. She tried to tell him with that kiss how much joy he had given her, how much pleasure and how much purpose. She tried to tell him what she felt, even if he could not return it, and she tried to tell him she was sorry.

"Thank you," she whispered into his mouth, and then she walked out and closed the door behind her.

A helpful waiter had the car called for her. When he inquired as to her health, she said that she was unexpectedly stricken with a migraine and needed to go back to the palace.

When Viviana was in the plush private interior of the car with the soundproof glass between the passenger seat and the driver, she thought that she would break down in tears. She expected to simply dissolve into sobs. The sadness was certainly there. The emotions were violent, ready to tear her to bits as soon as look at her.

Somehow, she didn't.

Instead, all she felt was tired. She would be fairly pleased if this was what she felt for a good long time.

She tried to force herself to think ahead. She had to pack, but that wouldn't be too hard. She had to set up her flight. It would be far less enjoyable than flying in the royal jet, but she needed to get back to her real life.

That thought made her flinch, and she realized that it was because of its truth. Her time in Khutal playing lady of the manor was a fantasy, a pretty rainbow soap bubble blowing on the wind. She had been a fool to ever wonder if it would stay or to think even for a moment that she could keep it. She was a party girl, after all, not the wife of a prince.

Her real life was waiting for her in Paris, or Milan, or Buenos Aires, or Los Angeles.

It was time to get back to it.

CHAPTER NINE

"But I don't understand what happened," Charlotte said in bewilderment. "You two were getting along so well …"

"And now we're not," Viviana said shortly. "These things happen. Mistakes were made, things were said …"

Charlotte scowled. "Did he hurt you? What did he do?"

Viviana waved her sister's concern away, fighting through a fog of grief and sadness to do it. "Nothing, Sis, I promise. No need to get your husband to beat him up for me …"

"He would do it, too," Charlotte said ominously, but she shook her head. "Running away like this isn't good for you, sweetie."

"I'm not running away at all," Viviana snapped. "If anything, I'm waking up. Being here at the palace with you, Aladdin, Annika, and Mikal was the real dream. If anything, I was running away while I was here. My real life isn't here, Charlotte, and I need to get back to that."

"Your real life is with your family and with those you love," she said. "But you have to be the one who decides where you go."

"That's right," Viviana said, closing the last suitcase. "Look Charlotte, I'm sorry I can't stay. I know this is very sudden, but I really need to do it. I have a lot of work waiting for me."

"I know, I know," said Charlotte, throwing her arms around her sister. "Just come back soon, okay? I know that Annika will miss you so much."

"I'll definitely come back as soon as I can," Viviana lied, hugging her sister tight. If she were being totally honest with herself, she had no idea how long it might take before she could think about coming back to Khutal.

She couldn't bear to wait for anything, not to say goodbye to Aladdin, definitely not for the farewell party that her sister wanted to have. No, all she wanted was to get on with her life and put all of this far behind her. She knew that sometime in the future, she would open a magazine and find herself faced with news of Mikal's marriage, of what he had done with his life after this embarrassing chapter, but that was for the future.

For her right now, it was all she had to simply limp out of Khutal with her pride intact.

She called a cab for the airport, and this time, she had to put up with the irritation of long-distance flight and customs. Viviana almost welcomed it, even when they had to open her bags. It was another sign that she was getting back to her real life, to the way things really were.

It seemed to take forever for the plane to board, and when it did, it seemed to take another age for it to take off. She gazed out the window, looking up at the blue sky. It was endless, and soon she would be up in it, flying away …

Viviana came to herself when she realized that the people around her were murmuring with irritation and confusion. She checked her phone and realized that this was far more than a simple delay. They had idled on the runway for almost an hour.

"Are there difficulties of some sort?" she asked her seatmate, but the other woman only shrugged in confusion.

Viviana worried at her purse strap. It would be a special kind of dark humor if she had to go back to the palace for a night because her flight was canceled. When she peeked down the aisle, she could see the captain talking to someone on the built-in phone. He looked nervous and worried, and she wondered again what was going on. If there was some kind of equipment failure, surely that meant that they would get the passengers off, wouldn't it?

She was gazing out the window, almost dozing, when she heard a commotion at the front of the plane. A man came through the boarding tunnel looking around with what looked like panic, and she felt a stab of irritation.

Had all of this waiting been for one man? Who was so important that they would stop an international flight to wait for him? Then he turned, and she knew exactly who they had waited for.

Mikal strode down the aisle towards her as the people around them burst into whispers and murmurs of recognition. She stared up at him, eyes wide, as he offered her his hand.

"Come on," he said. "I have an answer for you. I want you off this plane."