Days later, Jasmina was in a meeting with her council. Seated at the round table, she was beginning to feel a little more comfortable there, though a part of her still doubted her place at its head.

“The contractors have arrived and have already begun the interview process for workers. Black’s money has come through, and our coffers, I’m happy to say, are much fuller than they were just last week.”

Jasmina breathed a sigh of relief. In that moment, her sacrifice seemed worth it. The tension that had been among the members of her council from the beginning had eased, and she supposed she had Jenson Black to thank for it, even if she did loathe the man’s very existence.

“That’s great news, Kalim. Thank you for these reports. There is something I must confide in you all now, and I’m not convinced that you’re going to like it.”

Jasmina had considered telling her council the whole truth about her negotiation with Jenson. She’d lost a lot of sleep, in fact, pondering over the right thing to do. In the end, she had thought about her father’s betrayal, and decided against it.

“Jenson and I knew one another before I came back to El Jayiah. We met in New York, and fell in love. I didn’t expect him to be the one to save us, but when we met privately he asked for my hand in marriage, and I have accepted.”

There was a general rumble of protest around the table, which she had expected. Once it died down, Javir was the first to be heard.

“Your Highness, do you really think this is wise? Your father always hoped that you would marry a man from El Jayiah, one of your own countrymen. Putting an American man on our throne is inadvisable at best—we don’t know how our people will react.”

She met the eyes of every man at that table as she considered her words.

“I understand your concerns. However, you must have faith in me when I tell you that marrying Jenson Black is the only way to keep this nation safe. It is something that I will do, and we will prosper as never before. When our people have full pockets and fuller bellies, they will not have room to complain.”

Javir’s eyes narrowed at that declaration.

“What does he have on you? Jasmina, if you have baggage in your past, it’s important that you tell us, so we can protect you. Don’t let an American steal our throne by blackmailing you.”

“I assure you, he is not,” she said, trying to sound convincing. “It is as I said: the heart wants what it wants, and I believe that my father intended for me to be happy above all else.”

She could have cried, then. In her heart, Jasmina knew she would never know happiness again, and she was putting her own reputation at stake by picking such a man to be her husband.

A heavy silence weighed down upon the chamber as she gave the men some time to come to terms with her decision.

“And will this man have the power to rule, if anything were to happen to you?”

“No,” Jasmina said firmly. “We will set up our marriage contract in such a way that he will never have claim to the throne of El Jayiah, and while I am alive I will remain the sole ruler. He will be Sheikh in name only, and has no desire to work in politics as it is. He enjoys what he does.”

She was making assumptions, but she had plans to speak with Jenson in the near future about how they would move forward. Somehow, she knew that he would rather be out making money than managing trifling affairs of state. He was certainly shallow like that.

Her statement seemed to calm her council, and by the end of the meeting she was certain that they would allow her to proceed unhindered. As the meeting adjourned, Javir cleared his throat.

“One last question, Jasmina, if you don’t mind?”

She lifted an eyebrow, waiting for him to proceed.

“Were you to have any children with this man, what are your plans for them?”

The thought of bearing Jenson’s children was a less than pleasing one. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, mostly because she didn’t want to. It was her duty to continue the royal line if she could, but she had cousins—there were others that could take the throne of El Jayiah when her time had come and gone.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it, shall we? Until then, I will prepare to announce our engagement to the public, likely later today, she said.

Javir looked as though he wanted to press the issue. Instead, he nodded respectfully, and they all left the room. Asha was waiting just outside the door, a gleam in her eye.

“What are you up to?” Jasmina asked, her dress swishing along the floor as she walked.

“Your contractor is here. He said he has a meeting with you this morning.”

“And so he does. Can you send him out to the gardens? I will meet him there.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Jasmina braced herself for another meeting with Jenson. She dreaded them every time, even knowing just how necessary they were. She took a deep breath of warm, sweet air as she stepped out into the gardens, where a silver teapot and matching cups were placed on her table beneath the tent. She thought about the last time she had met Jenson there, how angry she had been. Perhaps she should have chosen another location, though she realized that if she were to avoid every place he angered her, she would have no safe harbor left.

Taking a seat, she helped herself to a hot mint tea with plenty of sugar. She heard footsteps approaching, and continued sipping, not bothering to turn and look behind her. Jenson appeared before her a moment later.

“Good morning,” he said, cheerful.

Jasmina looked up at him, then. He was dressed in dark denim jeans and a gray T-shirt, and the outfit had a way of making him appear even more handsome than usual—the rat. She nodded, gesturing to the seat across from her.

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked, reaching for a pastry and smothering it with cream before taking a bite.

“I assure you, no cat has ever had possession of my tongue. I just got out of a meeting with my council. They informed me that your company has arrived and things are going as planned. The payment has been received.”

“Oh I’m fully aware of that,” he said, pouring himself a cup of tea. “I always know the exact moment that a large sum of cash leaves my pockets. Still, you have to spend money to make money, unfortunately.”

“What is your obsession with money, anyway? Do you have a desire for nothing else?”

Jenson shrugged, unperturbed.

“You seemed pretty into it when you agreed to marry me, so perhaps you can answer your own question. Now, why is it that we’re always talking about business? You’re going to marry me soon, why not be pleasant for one moment of your life?”

“I am perfectly pleasant to people who have manners. Since you do not fall into that category, I’m afraid I have no choice but you treat you as a foreign dignitary that I don’t particularly enjoy, but must deal with if I am to do my job.”

Jenson laughed.

“Cold, Jasmina. That was real cold. So what business do we have to go over today?”

“We must begin the discussion of how we fell in love.”

“So soon? And here I thought you just told me you hated me.”

“I do, but the public doesn’t need to know that. Tonight I have scheduled a meeting with several members of the press, where I am going to announce our engagement. I would like you to be with me when I do. There will be follow-up questions after, and we need to be prepared to have our stories straight if we’re going to pull this charade off.”

“Fair enough. What’s our story, then? Since you’ve thought this all out already, I imagine you’ve managed to daydream something sappy enough even for the press to believe.”

“Mr. Black, I just spent the last four years at university in New York. I believe you have an office there.”

Jenson nodded.

“I spend a good chunk of my time there, yes.”

“Good. That is where we met. Perhaps we were attending a charity gala and ran into one another there. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“You think they won’t be begging for details?”

Jasmina shrugged, taking another sip of her tea.

“If they do I will read about it and know what story you have told them.”

Jenson sat quietly for a moment, staring out at the gardens.

“There is another matter we need to discuss before this meeting is done.”

“Aw, so soon? And here we were just getting started on our whirlwind romance.”

Jasmina ignored him.

“I will be drawing up a marriage contract that ensures my throne is safe from your greed. You can have the status of Sheikh, you can have the Sheikha for a wife, but you will have no say in the running of this nation. All of that will fall to me, and if I die, your title will be revoked and the reign of this nation will pass to another one of my blood relatives.”

Jenson leaned in, his eyes narrowed.

“What makes you think I don’t want the power?”

“Because running a country isn’t like running a business. You can make money for yourself, while I will ensure that my people are safe. Seeing as how you care for no one outside of yourself, I imagine you wouldn’t actually want the welfare of three million people on your hands.”

“I already do, though my company. Still, you do have a point. I don’t need to be in all those boring diplomatic meetings about who gets what land or such nonsense. I’m here for the title and the connections. I suppose I can agree to your terms.”

“Good. When we announce our engagement this evening we will do it from the palace press room. I expect you to be ready to stand in front with me at six o’clock sharp, after which we will have dinner on the terrace to publicly show our affection for one another.”

“You’re very good at ordering people around. How do you know I don’t have plans at six tonight?”

“Do you want to be Sheikh or not? Like it or not, this life comes with obligations. If you don’t have what it takes to do that, you can take your money back and leave.”

“All right, all right, no need to get your claws out, Jasmina. I’ll be there. I’ve got some work to get done before then, so if you’ll excuse me…”

“Gladly,” she mumbled.

“Until tonight, my dearest love,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

She couldn’t look at him, instead keeping her eyes on the gardens in the distance. It wasn’t until she heard the door close behind him that she let out an aggravated snarl.