Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Small of body, great of will. That was his mother.
“Excellent.” She straightened up. “Let’s talk to the seamstress, darling girl. I think the dress is perfect, but they must bring the hem up slightly. We can’t have you tripping at your wedding. And Kashmir, I have a tailor coming for you as well. The appointment is at four. Please don’t be late. We shall dine tonight as a family. Seven p.m. sharp.”
He watched as Day led his mother back toward the room they appeared to have set up as a dress shop. Of course. Day would need new clothes.
Kash walked out, ignoring Murdoch, who followed behind him. He strode through the palace until he got to his room. He ordered everyone out, locked the doors, and when he was absolutely certain he was alone, he sat at his desk. He stared at the picture of his family, his father and mother, smiling and proud. Shray at twenty-two, the almost king. Himself, grinning though the photographer had asked them all for restraint.
Kash stared at the photo and wished he could cry.
The papers didn’t do the man justice. He was far more beautiful in person. Even more handsome than she’d remembered him.
Day sighed as she walked out onto the balcony. Their small family supper had turned into a twenty-four-person state dinner after the parliament heads learned that Kash was back home and a bride had been selected.
Her first lesson in politics—family couldn’t come first when one was the king.
She’d sat at the opposite end of the table from Kash, but she’d managed to watch him. He’d been charming and witty and he’d deflected many of the rather rude questions about how his marriage would change the way things were run.
On her end of the table she’d been asked numerous questions about what she would wear and who would arrange her hair for the ceremony, and did she worry about how the public would take a commoner queen?
She rather thought they would prefer a Loa Malian on the throne. Unfortunately, all the females who could claim some royalty were related to Kash, the downside to one family holding a crown for so long. If Kash wanted royalty he would have to marry a foreigner.
That was the moment the minister of infrastructure went back to asking about her hair. Apparently he had a niece who was a hairdresser.
She took a deep breath and stared out over the city. At this time of night, it was quiet in this sector, though she could see the lights twinkling downtown and closer to the beach. All the tourists and young people would be dancing the night away or sipping a cocktail after a long day of surfing and fishing.
God, she loved this place.
Was she doing the right thing? Perhaps she was for her country. For herself and Kash, she wasn’t so sure.
She’d watched him from across the long, formal table and she hadn’t seen any hint of the boy he used to be. Somehow, in the back of her mind she’d thought they would meet again and he would be the same.
So foolish of her.
“Did you enjoy the dessert? They had been planning on serving crème brûlée, but I remembered you like gelato. Strawberry.”
She turned and Kash was standing in the doorway, the tie to his tuxedo undone and the first few buttons of his shirt open, showing off golden skin.
Oh, how the girls must swoon over that man.
Unfortunately for him, she was a woman and not a girl. She curtseyed, recalling her etiquette classes and going down deep, to show her respect for the crown. “I thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Come now, Day. I asked you not to call me that long ago, and now it appears there’s even less reason. We were friends then. We’re going to be husband and wife in a week. Shocking how quickly that woman can move when she wants to.”
He looked so composed, but she couldn’t forget that he’d only found out his mother was dying this afternoon. That was when she’d seen the real man. She’d interrupted them with her silly dress and she’d seen the shock and pain on Kash’s face before he’d smoothed it out and gone back to being the polite royal he’d become.
“Are you all right?” She asked the question for two reasons. First, she wanted to know the answer and second, to see if they really were still friends.
His lips curved up slightly. “I’m faring quite well. We Kamdars are made of sterner stuff than this. Did you enjoy the dinner?”
So, not so friendly he would talk about private things with her. It was good to know where they stood. They needed to have a long conversation about how this was going to work. They might be marrying to protect the Kamdar line and to give his mother some peace, but they needed a plan of action about how best to achieve their goals.