Rashid sighed as he leaned back in the seat of the car. “It’s just dinner. Why can’t you tell me where we’re going?”

Smiling mischievously, Mila leaned over and kissed him. “You need to learn to give up some of that famous control of yours. This is supposed to be a surprise, so just relax and be surprised.”

Excitement jumped inside her. Tonight was the night of the surprise engagement party. Karam and Arvio had assured her that they’d invited all of his friends.

She had borrowed one of Amira’s dresses so she wouldn’t embarrass Rashid if the press showed up. After the past few long and heady nights of making love, she really felt like they were making progress.

He’d changed. He’d turned back into his charming and patient self, and she was falling in love with him.

Not falling but fallen. Head over heels, completely, madly, in love with him.

It was exhilarating and terrifying. She’d never felt this way about any man, and she wanted to believe that her heart would be safe with Rashid. In fact, she planned on telling him tonight. She could see the question in his eyes sometimes when he looked at her. She wanted to assure him that she was in this for the long haul.

“The sports complex?” He frowned as she pulled the car into the arena. “We’re having dinner here? You do remember that I own this place, right?”

“Of course.” She laughed. “But I haven’t been inside since you proposed to me, and I wanted to get to know the place that you love so much.”

“Really?” A slow smile curved over his face. “If you had said something earlier, I could have arranged a private tour, and then you could have really gotten to know the place.”

“Dirty mind.” She leaned over and kissed him, long and slow. “I may have checked with your secretary and gotten the scoop on all the empty rooms tonight, so we might be able to do just that,” she whispered in his ear.

He groaned and slid his hands down her sides until he could shove the hem of her dress up. She knew he could feel the heat radiating from her center when he said, “You’re killing me.”

The car pulled up to the valet station before things could go too much further. Mila laughed and shot out of the car before the driver even had the opportunity to open the door. Rashid had no choice but to follow.

Feeling devious, she led Rashid to the elevators, and as soon as the doors were closed, he was up against her, his hands roaming her body. “We could skip dinner and go straight to dessert,” he said as he pushed her panties aside and slipped a finger inside her.

Mila gasped and clutched at him. She’d planned on seducing him to get him into the room, but she hadn’t expected it to get this far. If she didn’t put a stop to it, she was going to come all over his finger.

“There are cameras in here,” she whispered, but she let him stroke her a couple more times before she reluctantly pushed him away. “Are you planning on giving them a show?”

“I’ll destroy the recording.” He cocked his head and grinned. “Or maybe keep it for later.”

“You’re terrible!” The doors opened, and she quickly danced out of his reach. Scanning the doors for the right one, she stopped at the closed double doors and knocked to let them know inside that she was ready. “Maybe just a quickie.” She winked at him and opened the doors.

As soon as he stepped inside, she flipped on the lights, and sensed rather than saw everyone in the room turning to greet them. Then Mila saw the shock in Rashid’s face and turned to take a look at the decorations.

Except that there were none. Instead of the big Happy Engagement banner that she’d planned, half-naked women were dancing on the tables. Televisions flashed with several games going at once, and some people groaned while others cheered. Money exchanged hands, and booze was flowing freely.

“Oh, no,” Mila whispered.

Karam and Arvio sauntered out from the corner. “Surprise, Rashid!” they crowed. “Happy engagement!”

Rashid barely looked at them as he stepped out of the room, back into the corridor, and pulled out his phone.

Mila stared at the two supposed friends. “I don’t understand. What’s happening?”

Karam winked. “We thought we might give you a taste of what Rashid’s life used to be like. Before this sports complex and diamond rings. This is how he spent every night. Women, booze, and gambling.”

Arvio grabbed her hand and kissed it while Karam crowed with laughter.

She snatched her hand away and wiped it on her dress. “He’s not like that anymore,” she whispered.

“Are you sure about that?”

Dread filled her, and she watched three men loudly placing bets on the football game. “You’re the ones who have been gambling? You’re going to get this place shut down! I thought you were his friends!”

“What? He doesn’t care. We are his friends. We’re just making a little money on the side.” Karam held his hand up and helped one of the dancers off the table. Openly caressing the woman, he grinned at Mila. “Table’s empty if you want to get up there and show us what you’ve got.”

“Leave her alone,” Rashid said coldly, suddenly reappearing.

Grateful that he’d returned, she reached out for him. “Rashid, I’m so sorry. This was supposed to be an engagement party. I thought your family and friends would be here.”

Instead of embracing her, he stepped back. “Stop talking,” he hissed. “You’re so naive. I had to call security—did you know reporters are swarming the parking lot? How long before one of them slips in and gets a picture of this? And I’m supposed to admit that while I had nothing to do with it, my fiancée orchestrated it? You didn’t think to ask me about these so-called friends that I never talked about? They’re the reason I had to get engaged in the first place! Of course, maybe this is your way of thanking them. If it hadn’t been for their reckless behavior, you’d still be a waitress at a bar instead of engaged to a sheikh, wouldn’t you?”

Numb with shock, Mila stepped back. Everyone in the room had quieted to stare at them, and she felt like she’d walked into someone else’s nightmare. Never in her life had she imagined that this might happen. “You don’t really think I did this on purpose, do you? I wanted to do something nice for you.” She was sobbing now. “I love you!”

Her confession did nothing but turn his eyes even colder. “I don’t know what’s worse. The idea that you did it on purpose, or the idea that you were stupid enough to fall for their lies. You want to be a world traveler? You don’t know a damn thing about how the world really works, do you, sweetheart?” His words were dripping with poison.

Mila was paralyzed, but when the doors flew open and the police arrived, reality came crashing down around her.

Rashid was right. She didn’t know how the world really worked. She’d thought that maybe, just maybe, he could fall in love with her.

She was a fool.

With the chaos inside matching that going on around her, she turned and ran from the room. In the privacy of the elevator, she let the first few tears slide down her face, but she struggled to keep herself together.

Police cars lined the parking lot, and the press were taking hundreds of pictures, but she ignored them all as she searched for a way out.

A car pulled up, and the window rolled down. “Mila?”

“Ori!” Relieved, she jerked on the door handle and slid inside.

The driver’s expression was full of concern as he gazed at her in the mirror. “Is Sheikh Rashid coming with you?”

“No.” She closed her eyes. Ori probably had orders not to leave without him. “I just need to go home. I’ll call a cab.”

“No, miss. I’ll take you.”

He didn’t say anything as he drove, and she did nothing but stare at the ring on her finger. Was everything that Rashid had said to her a lie? Fabricated to manipulate her into doing whatever he wanted?

She’d been so blinded by love and hope that she hadn’t even seen it.

Slowly, she slipped the ring off her finger and set it on the seat next to her.

The veil was off, and Mila knew one thing for certain.

She needed to get as far away from Dubai as possible and never look back.