The rest of the day was pure, luxurious bliss. From the facial to the full body massage and the chocolate wrap (who knew that was a thing!), Rachelle munched on fresh fruits and vegetables as she was treated to every possible spoiling experience she could imagine. Before she knew it, the afternoon had ebbed away, and as she lay in a comfortable chair getting her nails finished up, the door opened.

“Miss, I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but your driver has called the hotel to inform you that he will arrive in thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes! I’ve got to get ready!”

Jumping up, she headed to a small dressing room, where she removed her luxurious white robe and changed back into her clothes. She went straight to her room and stared at her suitcase.

Nothing she had was suitable for a night at a palace.

As she mused over whether or not to wear the dress Darian had bought her the day before, another knock landed on the door. When she opened it, another bellboy stood with a box in his hand.

“Man, he sure knows how to anticipate my needs!” Rachelle laughed.

The bellboy looked confused, but he handed over the large box and nodded before making a quick exit. Rachelle placed the box on the bed and opened it without preamble. There was no time to waste in anticipation. Pulling off the lid, Rachelle pulled out a long black gown, smiling as she slid it on. At the bottom of the box, she found a note.

Enjoy your evening, and your new gown!

Chantilly

Rachelle’s smile broadened as she slid into the perfectly fitting gown. She had just finished applying her makeup when the phone rang, announcing the arrival of the driver. Placing her phone into her purse, Rachelle felt like a princess as she made her way through the hotel lobby, catching stares from all around her. When she stepped outside, a very long limo was waiting for her.

“Good evening, miss,” the driver greeted.

Rachelle nodded to him in gratitude as he held open the back door. Secretly, she wished Darian had been with him, the better to help her in, but she erased the thought. Since when had Rachelle Smith needed a man to step into a car?

The limo pulled out into the street, making its way quickly toward a highway that led just outside the main city. Rachelle’s whole body felt rejuvenated, and she shifted in her seat in anticipation. She couldn’t wait to see Darian again. Their kisses from the night before had haunted her every thought for the entire day.

As the palace came into view, it sparkled against the rays of the setting sun. The limo pulled up to the towering main entrance, where a butler was waiting. Rachelle squashed another bout of disappointment at not seeing Darian. She would see him soon enough, she told herself.

The door to the limo was opened, and she stepped out into the cool night. The butler bowed to her respectfully.

“His Highness is waiting for you just this way, miss,” he said, turning on a heel.

Rachelle sped up to keep pace with him, following closely behind while trying not to gape openly at the palace walls. In spite of being ancient, everything around her sparkled with luxury. Rachelle was not unused to wealth, per se, but this was certainly on a whole other level.

They reached a staircase, and Rachelle did her best to keep up in heels as she nearly lost her breath following the butler to the top. Finally, he stopped on one of the many floors and led her toward a pair of curved doors, opening one. When Rachelle stepped through, she found herself on a private veranda. Standing at the edge, Darian turned to see her, and smiled.

Her heart stopped then and there.

The butler quietly nodded and made a hasty exit as Darian approached her, a flute of champagne in his hand.

“You look delectable,” he whispered, leaning in and pressing a butterfly-soft kiss along her cheek.

That small gesture was enough to set Rachelle’s body aflame. Taking a breath, she gazed up at him in the glowing dusk, torches burning along the edge of the veranda behind him.

“A day at the spa will do that to a person,” she answered with a smile.

“I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

“Immensely.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” she said, though she wasn’t speaking entirely about food.

Darian grinned as he held his arm out to her to take, which she did, even if it was only for the short distance to their set table along the edge of the veranda.

“Welcome to the palace,” Darian said, gesturing around them.

“It’s stunning,” Rachelle said as he helped her to her seat.

“We like it,” Darian agreed, nonchalant.

“I wonder that you feel prejudged for your status, yet you’ve invited me here so soon after we’ve just met,” Rachelle observed.

Darian leaned in, his eyes captivating her.

“Perhaps I have a level of trust for you that I don’t usually reserve for others.”

“Why?” she asked.

It was a question she had asked herself several times over the course of the day. While a part of her was loving the romantic turn of events, the logical, rational side of her that had long reigned over her thoughts had questioned all of it, several times over. Not wanting to give in to doubt, she had pushed the thoughts away, but it was worth asking the question. She needed to know.

Darian held her stare, not backing down.

“Perhaps it is because you know me from the business world, where I am generally respected for my accomplishments, and not those of my family. You and I enjoy and work toward the same end, and while anyone can be wowed by this,” he said, gesturing around them, “I believe that you see more than the shine in the background. I think you’re so much more than any woman I’ve ever met before.”

Rachelle blushed, smiling at him from beneath lowered lashes.

“Well, if that’s all it is,” she said with a tiny laugh.

As the sun began to set, pinpricks of starlight began to dot the sky above them. They enjoyed another fabulous meal, speaking this time of advertising and marketing, what it was like to go to college in that field, and how each of them rose to the top in their own right. Before she knew it, the food was gone, and she felt happy and full.

Gazing up at the sky, she inhaled the clean desert air.

“These stars seem so different from the ones I see back home,” she sighed.

“It’s the declination. We’re much further south than you are. Come, I’d like to show you something.”

He stood, and Rachelle joined him as he got up from the table, further away from the light of the torches. He pointed up at the sky.

“You see that constellation there? The six stars that look a bit like a shattered heart?”

Rachelle stared up until she found what he was looking at. She nodded.

“Yes,” she replied.

“That constellation tells a story: in our local folklore, it is said that long ago, a young warrior named Banu fell in love with a woman named Farika. Farika was a princess, destined for another man, but when she fell in love with Banu, she knew that she could never marry another. Giving up her throne, she left in the night with Banu, where they were never seen or heard from again. Her departure was so abrupt that it is said she broke her father’s heart, which he cast out into the sky to let her know wherever she went, that she had sacrificed everything for love.”

“That’s so sad,” Rachelle said, stepping a bit closer to Darian for warmth.

He nodded.

“It is, but it also isn’t. Farika followed her heart. Doing that won’t always make everyone happy, but in the end, she and Banu were. Isn’t that what really matters?”

Rachelle stared up at him in the starlight as he gazed down at her. She had been hoping that he would forego the niceties and just kiss her already, but it was clear he had been waiting for just the right moment.

Dipping his head, he captured her lips once more, and everything in her world fell into place. As his kisses grew deeper and more passionate, Darian bent down and scooped Rachelle into his arms, carrying her to another doorway that led to his bedroom.

There, he laid her down on his enormous, cloudlike bed, and made love to her for the rest of the night.

It was better than Rachelle could have possibly imagined.

* * *