Cassie had seemed uneasy ever since her arrival and her reticence made me unsettled. I worried that maybe she was upset on my account. Maybe she was having second thoughts, or maybe the newness of the place and the length of her trip had worn her out. Perhaps the new surroundings and experiences were frightening to her. But Cassie had never struck me as someone who scared easily; she had spent a week embedded with a militant group in Lebanon, after all.

It was disappointing, because I would have been having a lovely time otherwise. Maybe I was just starved for love because I hadn’t dated a woman in so long, but I wanted her with an intensity that scared me a little.

She was wearing a soft, floral shirt and a pair of stylish blue jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places. She had pinned up her hair in the back, but a few loose curls had fallen between her ears and pink cheeks. I loved looking at her. If I could have gotten away with it, I would never have stopped looking at her.

She went on kissing me, half reluctant and half willing.

“Are you okay with this?” I asked.

She nodded, though a sense of disquiet lingered behind her eyes. “I think so,” she whispered. “We’re going to be doing it anyway, later, aren’t we? So, I suppose I had better get used to it.”

I turned away because I didn’t want her to see the effect her words had had on me. The absurdity of the situation struck me: we had agreed beforehand that we were going to have sex, and I wanted that, but I didn’t want to go through with it until she was completely ready. I didn’t know how long that would take, but I had found myself in the odd position of having to seduce someone who had already consented to sleep with me for business reasons.

“Have you done this before?” Cassie asked as we drove past the town square with its many-pillared buildings and marble-staired courthouse.

“Done what? If you mean, have I ever slept with a woman in exchange for part of her late father’s estate…then, no, I’ve never done that.”

“That isn’t what I meant at all,” said Cassie, grinning.

I returned her smile. “If you’re asking if I’ve ever slept with anyone for business reasons, then the answer is no. Have you?”

Cassie bit her lip as if wanting to ask a follow-up question but thinking better of it. “No, I’ve never done this sort of thing,” she said. “It feels a little scandalous if we’re being honest.”

“Only if you were doing it for money,” I said lightly. “The fact that you’re willing to do this for a children’s book is…kind of adorable, if we’re being honest.”

“Is it?” she asked in surprise. She was stretched back in her seat, looking more relaxed now, as if relieved to be discussing the questions she had been afraid to broach earlier. If we were going to be intimate, it would help if we talked first. “The rest of the family thinks I’m an idiot for wanting the book this much.”

“Maybe because they don’t appreciate fine literature,” I replied. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to own a children’s book, especially one that you grew up reading. I think it’s sweet.”

“I suppose it is. I just wish I hadn’t had to jump through so many hoops in order to get it.”

There was a tone of reproof in her voice, and I bristled at the accusation embedded in the statement. She must have resented me for agreeing to this arrangement in the first place. But, of course, I had only done it because I wanted her to fly out and see me again. I wasn’t using the book to gain access to her body, although I couldn’t deny I would have loved to have it. At this point, I liked her so much that I might have just given her the book if she had asked. The thrill of having her next to me had left me feeling faint and giddy like a schoolboy in love for the first time, and that was an exceedingly dangerous position to be in.

“Have you stayed in a palace before? I wouldn’t be surprised if your job has taken you to interviews with royals and such.”

“I haven’t, actually,” said Cassie. “My experience in journalism hasn’t been very glamorous.”

“Maybe that’s for the best. I was worried.”

“Worried about what?”

“That you’d be underwhelmed.”

As I said this, we rounded a corner and the estate came into view, palatial and forbidding. Cassie’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of a large four-storied building standing at the end of a long drive shaded with ancient Ghaf and acacia trees, some of them older than her country of origin. A broad set of stairs led to an arched doorway flanked by double rows of Corinthian columns and a niche containing a bust of Minerva, goddess of wisdom, with a doleful owl on her shoulder.

I’d promised myself I wouldn’t stare, but I couldn’t resist enjoying the look on her face, as first one wonder and then another came into view. As the limousine pulled up to the side of the house, I made sure she glimpsed the park at the back of the house, with its immaculately maintained native shrubbery, trees, and flowers. Further back behind the trees stood another small mansion that could have comfortably fit three suburban homes inside.

“You really undersold yourself,” said Cassie quietly. “This is magnificent.”

“Thank you,” I said, beaming. “I’d rather hoped you’d think so.”

“Are you sure you’re not royalty yourself? Because I have a hard time believing that anyone but a king could have afforded a place like this.”

“You’ve glommed onto my secret,” I said as we emerged from the limo. I offered her my hand, and she climbed out, gawking all the while at the immensity around her. “I’m actually a sheikh, a member of the extended family of the reigning monarch of Qia.”

Cassie searched my face for any sign that I was joking. Not finding it, she exclaimed in surprise, “And you waited until now to tell me? What took you so long?”

I chuckled irresistibly, feeling more confident that she liked me than I had since the night we’d first met.

“I like to keep little things like that a secret when I’m getting to know a woman. If everyone knew I was a royal, how could I know who to trust? But you seemed to like me, even before you knew.”

“I could have liked you a lot more if you’d told me,” said Cassie, and we both laughed.

* * *

Feeling newly emboldened, I led Cassie on a tour of the grounds. Given that I so rarely had visitors from out of the country, it was a joy to show her through the various dining rooms and galleries and saloons and gardens. After years of living here, I had almost forgotten how it must look to an outsider. But as I watched her quietly contemplating the ancient tapestries that lined the walls of the hallway, I was reminded of how I had felt when I’d first crossed the threshold.

“My father would have been so jealous if he knew I’d taken ownership of this place,” I told her. “I like to think he would be proud, after he got over his jealousy.”

“Didn’t you inherit the estate from your father?” Cassie asked.

I shook my head. “No, my uncle died with no children and left me the estate in his will. It was the most unexpected turn of events, like a fairy tale. Of course, I was wealthy before, but never on this scale. I was thrilled.”

“I’d be thrilled, too,” said Cassie, laughing. “When Aisha—my best friend—and I were little, we used to daydream about what it would be like if we somehow found out we were the heirs to a foreign castle. Being a princess sounded like it would be really complicated but fun, getting to wear dresses and go out to dinner and be generally fancy.”

“We can go out to a fancy dinner tonight, if you’d like,” I said hopefully. “This doesn’t have to be a quick trip.”

“I’d love to go out,” said Cassie, delighted. “What else were you thinking about doing while I was in town?”

“Salim—my nephew—really enjoys the museums,” I said. “We could take him with us if you wanted an educational visit. Other than that…I’ve got a hot tub on the roof, and I was thinking we could go up there tonight, once it gets dark…”

I drew close to her as I said this, speaking in a tone that left no doubt as to what I had in mind.

Slipping my arm around her waist, I added in a low voice, “That sound good to you?”

But my clumsy attempt at being physical had the opposite of its intended effect. Cassie stiffened and pulled away with a determined look.

“Listen, there’s something I have to tell you.” She spoke at a rapid clip, her eyes on the ground. I could see that she had been working up the courage to say this for most of the morning. “That book means the world to me, and that was true before I ever found out how much it was worth. I didn’t really have a father, and I lost my mother too early. That book is all I have left of my parents.”

“Cassie, I—”

But Cassie raised a hand to shush me; she wasn’t about to be interrupted.

“I don’t know if I can explain to you why this matters so much to me. When I think back on my life, I tend to remember the difficult parts, mostly. I have to remind myself that it wasn’t all bad—that I had a mother who loved me and read to me and inspired me to pursue a career I’m passionate about.”

“Cassie, I don’t know what to say.” She had tried to explain it before, but I don’t think I had fully grasped the meaning of the book to her until that moment. “I wish you had told me sooner.”

“Just tell me that you understand,” said Cassie. “I feel like this whole trip will have been wasted if you come away thinking I cheated you out of that book. That was never my intention. It’s just that, sometimes, we want something so badly we’re willing to do anything to get it.”

She’d been slowly backing away from me as she spoke, curling more and more into herself with her slumped shoulders and down-turned face. There was a part of me that wanted to cross the space that had opened up between us and take her into my arms, stroking and kissing her to signal that I understood.

But then, seeming to guess what was on my mind, she gave me a warning look. I’d have to try harder than that, it seemed to say. Kisses could only do so much.