They slept in separate rooms that night. Just the thought of Mila there, on the other side of the wall, drove Rashid mad, but he respected her wishes. Tossing and turning, he tried to ignore the way she’d felt against his body, the way her tongue had danced with his.

By the time the sun rose, he was exhausted and irritated, but he tried to hide it as he made coffee.

“Good morning,” she grumbled behind him.

Turning, his whole body stood at attention.

Her hair was still tousled from the pillow, and she wore only his t-shirt. It skimmed her bare thighs and showed off her gorgeous legs. “God, is that coffee? I would kill for coffee.”

“What else would you do for a cup?” he asked. Several erotic pictures popped up in his head at once, but she didn’t even catch the desire lacing his voice as she pulled the pot off the burner.

“Maim. Slaughter. Slice and dice.” She poured herself a cup and closed her eyes.

Rashid gripped the counter. He was so turned on that now, he was jealous of a damned cup of coffee.

“Those are all different ways to say kill,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that if you were hoping for a blow job, you’re out of luck.” She winked at him and headed back to the guest bedroom. “Do you think it’s too early to call Liyah and see if she made it back?”

“Perhaps. May I suggest an alternative? You take off that t-shirt, spend the morning enjoying a few mind-blowing orgasms, and then we can all have dinner tonight.”

His request was followed by a beat of silence, and he thought she might take him up on his offer. Instead, she popped her head around the door frame and grinned. “Tempting, but I have to work tonight.”

Rashid frowned. “Work? I thought you quit.”

She ducked back into the bedroom, and her voice was muffled—in his mind’s eye, he could see her changing clothes. “I put in my notice, but tonight is my last shift. I should be spending the day job-hunting.”

He had a feeling that telling her she no longer needed to work would just upset her. He tried to choose his words carefully. “If you’d let me, I could call your supervisor and ask if you could work your last shift another time. I spoke to Asad this morning, and he told me that he and Liyah weren’t going to be available until this evening.”

“Why?”

From the giggling he’d heard in the background, he had a feeling that Asad wanted to spend some quality alone time with his wife. “Personal time, I imagine.”

“Oh. Oh!” Mila came back around the corner, and Rashid was disappointed to see that she was fully dressed. “Right. I guess they’ve both been busy lately. I’ll have to talk to my boss and see if he can’t find someone to take my place. I definitely need to go home and take a shower.”

“You can shower here.” With me.

“And change my clothes.”

“I’m sure Amira can find something for you to wear.”

When she looked at him, there was nothing but irritation on her face. “Rashid, I need to go home. I want to check on Sahaar, among other things.”

“Very well,” he relented. “You’ll need to pack your things, anyway.”

“Why?” She frowned as she gathered her hair into a band. “Am I going somewhere?”

The ring sparkled on her finger, and he looked at it pointedly. “You’re engaged to me. You’ll live in the palace. “

“What? No, I don’t think so. You said that we’d get to know each other, some. I can do that just as well from Sahaar’s house.”

“Mila.”

He was trying to be patient, but she cut him off and narrowed her eyes. “Rashid. No. I’m not going to argue about this. We just got engaged six hours ago. I’m not ready to leave my home.” She stared at him for a moment, and he could see the anger in her eyes. “I’ll call a taxi.”

“Ori will take you home,” he said, his voice harsher than he expected. “He’ll pick you up for dinner as well. If you can make it,” he amended.

Mila seemed a little mollified at that and appeared to relax. “Thank you. I know it seems strange to you, but I still need to take this slow.”

“I understand.”

Except that he didn’t. He was offering her a place to stay in a multi-million-dollar palace, and she still insisted on sleeping in her exchange-mother’s humble abode. Striding across the kitchen, he kissed the top of her head. “I hope to see you tonight.”

He already planned on calling the restaurant and ensuring that she had the night off. Tonight’s dinner was far too important for her to miss.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. “I’m a little grumpy in the mornings,” she admitted. “I’ll see you tonight, if I can.”

“Okay. I’ll call you later.”

She left his suite with a smile on her face, and he felt his stomach cramp as he clenched his teeth. Apparently getting Mila ready to be his wife was going to take more time than he’d realized.

* * *

To Mila’s irritation, her manager was more than happy to give her the night off. In fact, he told her that she didn’t need to return at all, but she insisted on making up her shift tomorrow. She called one of the other waitresses and agreed to take her lunch shift. Then she could finish up her time at the lounge and not feel like she hadn’t fulfilled her obligation. She also spent some time applying to a few other restaurants in the area.

Sahaar was out for most of the day with her sister, so Mila didn’t get to tell her the good news. Not wanting to let Liyah see the engagement ring before she’d had a chance to apologize, she slipped it onto a chain around her neck.

By the time Ori arrived to pick her up, she’d showered, napped, and changed into a simple but elegant black dress. It was a few years old, something she’d picked up off the discount rack, but she didn’t need to impress anyone. Liyah had already seen her in the dress a couple of times and had even borrowed it once.

Rashid waited for her at the steps to the main entrance of the palace. He immediately frowned when he saw her. “Where’s your ring?” he demanded.

“Easy,” she laughed as she pulled it out from under her dress. “I know it may seem silly, but I’m not sure how Liyah is going to react, and I want to talk to her before I start flashing it in her face.”

He instantly relaxed. “Actually, that’s probably a good idea. I want a chance to announce it to my family.”

“Announce it to your family?” Mila frowned. “Are Amira and Khalid joining us?”

“Yes. And my parents.”

His parents? Mila gasped and stared at him. “What? I’m not dressed to meet your parents! Did you know that this morning?”

“You look fine.” He wrapped his hand around her waist and gently pulled her through the doors. “I did know, but I didn’t want to stress you out. That’s why I wanted you to stay.”

“Well, I’m stressing out now because I didn’t know.” She intertwined her fingers with his and dug her heels into the ground, forcing him to stop lest he topple her over. “Rashid, I need a second to process and prepare.”

He quickly kissed the top of her head. “Too late. Let’s go.”

“No.” Wide-eyed, she shook her head rapidly. “It’s not too late. I can go change real quick, and you can tell them that something held me up.”

“Mila . . .”

“I had to feed the dog.”

“You don’t have a dog.”

“Your parents don’t know that.”

He snorted. “You want to lie to my parents?”

“No.” She tugged a little as he grabbed her hand. “I know! Tell them I’m adopting a dog. And we can go adopt a dog real quick so it’s not a lie. And then I can change.”

“By then, dinner will be over.”

“That’s great. We really should just reschedule. On account of me getting a dog. We’ll need some bonding time. Training time. We’ll have to go get some dog food and toys and . . . Rashid!” she squeaked as he pulled her down the hall.

The doors at the end of the corridor opened as a servant bowed before them.

Terror gripped her as they walked in, and it only got worse when she realized that they were the last ones in. All eyes looked up and stared at her.

Liyah stared at her in confusion, and Asad’s face darkened. Khalid choked on whatever he was drinking, but Amira looked bored. Mila skimmed over them as she settled on the man at the head of the table and the woman by his side. Navine and Shekinah Sharif. In true royal fashion, they didn’t look surprised when they saw her, but neither did they look happy.

“Rashid,” his father growled. “I’m glad that you could finally join us. Could you please seat your guest so that we may begin.”

Mila was relieved when Rashid escorted her to the empty seat next to Liyah. She stared at her friend helplessly, and Liyah reached under the table and squeezed her hand.

In that moment, she regained her composure and relaxed. No matter what happened, she knew that Liyah would be by her side.

“Sheikh Navine, Sheikha Shekinah, I would like to thank you for the invitation and am honored to dine with you this evening,” Mila said formally as she bowed her head.

“We were not aware that you were coming,” Shekinah said coolly. “You are Liyah’s friend, yes?”

“Yes. My name is Mila.”

A servant poured wine into her glass from behind, and Mila quietly thanked the man.

The sheikha was still staring at her. “Mila,” the older woman mused. “And you are friends with my son?”

Clearly, the woman hadn’t turned on the television.

Mila glanced nervously at Rashid, but he was staring at Asad in stony silence. The air was tense around them. Why did she feel like she’d come unprepared for battle? “I have gotten to know your son very well.”

“What do you do, Mila?” Navine asked, and then he threw a sharp glance at his wife. Shekinah did not seem at all bothered by it.

“I’m a waitress at the lounge,” Mila answered in a soft voice.

“A waitress!” Shekinah gasped. “I thought you and Liyah were here for academic purposes. She is opening up libraries all across the nations, and you’re a waitress?”

Oh, God. Mila felt the first spark of anger rising in her.

Before she could say anything, Liyah squeezed her hand and jumped in. “I am opening up libraries thanks to the generosity of my husband,” she said softly. “Before that, I was unemployed.”

“But you had noble ambitions, my dear. What are your ambitions, Mila?” Shekinah asked sharply.

Rashid finally straightened and came to her aid. “Mother, perhaps you could grill her after dinner? I’m hungry.”

As the food was served, Mila seethed in silence. The atmosphere only grew thicker as the silent dinner went on. One or another tried to make small talk, but Mila could only glare at Rashid. Why was he throwing her into the lion’s den like this?

She reached for her wine, and her elbow hit the heavy, ornate knife and spoon to the right of her plate. They clattered loudly to the floor, and everyone stared at her. “Sorry,” she muttered and pushed back her chair. Bending down, she grabbed the utensils and reminded herself that this was her future family, and she needed to try harder to make a good impression. Resolving to find a way to bridge the gap to the ice queen, Mila straightened up again, and everyone at the table gasped.

Frozen, recovered utensils in hand, she stared at everyone. “What? Is there something in my hair?”

“Mila,” Liyah cleared her throat. “Your necklace.”

Looking down, she realized that the diamond had popped out from under her dress. She looked at Rashid in horror, but there was a smile on his face.

“Mother, Father, brothers, and Amira. I’d like to introduce you to my sheikha-to-be.”

“I’m going to kill you!” Asad growled. “I expressly forbid you to choose her.”

His parents looked thoroughly horrified. Amira finally looked interested in events, and even Khalid had cocked his head in amusement.

Mila clenched her fists. “Rashid, what’s he talking about?” Forbid him? When did this happen? Before or after he’d proposed to her the first time?

Liyah threw down her napkin and squared off with her husband. “What do you mean, you forbid him? Is there something wrong with Mila?”

“No, of course not,” Asad blustered. “She’s just not really the sheikha type. She likes her independence.”

“She is an amazing woman, and she’ll make a great wife for Rashid,” Liyah hissed.

Grateful that her friend was sticking up for her, but not wanting Liyah to get into trouble, Mila tried to intervene, but Rashid’s mother had finally found her tongue.

“Of course you did. We tell you to find a wife, and you go and pick the one person you knew we would all hate. The idea is for you to settle down, not saddle yourself with some loose American.”

“Loose!” Mila spluttered.

Rashid just shrugged. “I am free to marry whomever I wish,” he said in a bored tone.

“I think Mila’s great,” Amira said warmly.

“That in itself should be a warning,” Asad muttered.

Mila snapped. “Enough!” she cried out as she stood up.

Everyone fell quiet.

“You don’t have to talk around me. I am right here. I’m sure that Rashid did pick me as a form of rebellion, and that’s why, when he first asked me, I said no. He offered me money, and I wouldn’t take it.”

She smiled fondly at Liyah. “Thanks to Liyah and Asad, my exchange-mother and I want for nothing. Rashid has been courting me for several weeks now. I know that this marriage is quick, and I understand the reasons behind it, but it’s not based on a mask for the public. I have feelings for Rashid, and he has them for me. We’re developing a real relationship. I’m sorry that it’s come out like this. I wish I’d had time to get to know everyone a little better. I had hoped that when we did, you’d all come to love me.”

Even Amira and Liyah were staring at her with open mouths. Embarrassed, she finally sat down, and Asad started to laugh. “I apologize, little brother,” he chuckled. “I can see now why you chose her. Apparently, it takes someone like Mila to finally bring you to heel.”

Everyone else started laughing as well, and Navine nodded his head to her. “Welcome to the family, my dear.”

Only Shekinah didn’t seem to soften toward her, and as Mila looked across the table at Rashid, she realized that he didn’t look happy, either.