It took all my willpower to hold back my amazement at everything I saw at the palace. Having Abir take me around to the gardens was the best choice. My bones started to thaw from the frigid temperatures I’d been dealing with in the UK.

Even though it was warm, Luke had been right about my clothes not being too heavy when it came to the heat. The sun’s warmth pressed against my cheek, and I knew if I stayed out long enough, I’d have a little bit of a burn. I tugged the scarf around my cheeks to prevent that.

“If you are too hot, we can go into the greenhouse for a little shade.”

“I’d love to go wherever you want to take me. This place is so beautiful.”

The flowers were so colorful, and I loved watching the butterflies and bees jumping from one to another. It gave the garden life that I’d never seen before.

I had a brown-thumb, though I doubted Luke’s mother, Gia, tended to the garden. Several gardeners moved throughout the paths, checking on the brilliantly colored plants.

Up ahead was the strangest looking greenhouse I’d ever seen. White pillars shot up from the ground and spread out into what looked like a massive spiderweb surrounding the structure all around, leaving open oblong shapes so that the sun could beat down on the vegetation inside.

“Whoa,” I said as we walked under the awning. While the sun was still strong, it gave me a little break from the heat.

“Luke always liked to come out here,” Abir said.

“I can see why,” I said.

“I can see why he picked you,” he said.

I glanced at him. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, and he was smiling at the ground.

“You’re very sweet,” I said.

Walking through the garden, Abir gave me the scoop on the palace grounds. It was much more impressive than I thought. We had only explored half of it before my urge to see the inside of the palace took over. I partly wanted to see Luke again, but he probably had some business to attend to.

While Abir was adorable and sweet, I still had a story to write. As the only Western woman to visit the palace, Mr. Fraser’s words about finding another story piqued my interest. I imagined walking in on some family secret and giving my boss two amazing stories to put in the newspaper.

I didn’t think Luke would have an issue with any story I ran with. He wanted nothing to do with the throne. But I had to dig up the story first before I considered it.

Due to the nature of the temperature in the area, the boxy entrances that reached several stories high were open entryways filled with plants and smaller trees, making the palace look like a resort more than a home.

Abir was the perfect host, not something I expected. We went through several of the rooms while he allowed me to walk around the space. We toured through one of the banquet rooms, the library, and several guest bedchambers. If at all possible, the beds looked even more comfortable than the ones on the plane. Though, I supposed they would. Luke and his family had more wealth than I could wrap my mind around. Of course, every part of their life would have the opulence meant for a king and his family.

While I kept up the facade of Luke and me being together, I couldn’t help but feel like an intruder in their life. It had been Luke’s idea to lie, but the more I lied to Abir, the worse I felt. I doubted I’d feel the same way if Luke’s mother had taken me on the tour. It was apparent she disliked me, but she didn’t have to like me. And I wasn’t going to spend the time trying to get her to warm up to me. My mission was to convince the family that we were together. That was it.

I only had to pretend for a weekend and make sure the story stood true until Sunday. After that, it was up to Luke to figure out what he needed to do when it came to his mother and her meddling nature.

An unwarranted flair of jealousy flitted around inside of me at the idea of Luke with anyone else. It was irrational, but for some reason, it bothered me. I had no claim on him, so I couldn’t wrap my mind around feeling that way.

I tried to shove it away, but Abir’s keen observations brought it back to full force when he said, “Luke has never brought a woman home to meet us.”

“Never?” While I was sure plenty of women would be happy to have someone like Luke in their lives, I supposed he didn’t make much of an effort. Being thirty-three years old and never photographed with a woman in front of any press—I had checked—was a little odd. I supposed his workaholic nature had something to do with it in addition to him not caring to impress his mother. If he were wed, I bet there were more obligations he’d have to provide for the kingdom, which was very low on his list of things to do.

“Never,” Abir confirmed. “He must like you.”

I nodded, not wanting to give away anything unless directly asked.

“I’d say he loves you,” Abir said.

If we were actually dating and Luke brought me home to the palace, it would be because we were in love. I couldn’t believe that we hadn’t discussed it. I hoped Luke wouldn’t be upset if he found out I’d talked about it with Abir.

“I hope he does,” I said, smiling into my hand. Playing the coy girlfriend was easy enough, and I hoped it would stop his questioning.

“Abir!” someone called down the hallway.

Abir’s face fell. “Yes, Mother? I’m down here.”

My stomach hardened as Gia walked down the hallway. With her robes covering her feet, it looked as if she were floating toward us. Her eyes didn’t shift from her son.

“Dinner will be served soon,” she said. “Please get ready.”

Abir looked at me and then hurried past his mother to get to his chambers. Gia and I stood together in the hallway, yet she didn’t move an inch.

After wallowing in the silence for a little too long, I said, “I love these paintings—”

As quickly as she appeared to tell her son to get ready for dinner, she brushed past me, completely ignoring my complimenting her home.

The decorations down each hallway were gorgeous. I guessed the paintings depicted previous kings or other royalty, but since I lost my guide and his mother was no help, I wandered down the hallway with no direction in mind.

I recalled passing a main staircase at some point, but the hallways were long, and at any given corner, another one spread out in front of me with no end in sight.

Taking the opportunity to snoop, I peeked into several rooms, knowing that if anyone caught me, I would use the excuse that I was lost.

Instead, the one person I wanted to see appeared in the hallway. Thankfully, I wasn’t snooping when I saw him.

“Luke,” I said, unable to hide the smile on my face.

He strode down the hallway as if he owned the place. While he did that everywhere, in this context, I saw an entirely new person walking toward me. He belonged here, no matter what he thought.

“Where’s Abir?” he asked, his thick eyebrows mashed together.

“Your mother told him to get ready for dinner,” I said.

He nodded. “I see. I should show you to your room to get ready as well.”

He offered his hand, and I took it. The gesture was easy now, almost automatic. If anyone came upon us, they’d have no doubt we were a couple. I walked as close as I could to him to add to the facade.

“How was the meeting with your father?” I asked, lowering my voice as two servants walked by us. Where had they been when I was lost and snooping?

“Same as usual,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You know you’ll have to talk to me eventually,” I said.

“If that eventually is somewhere other than here, that’s better for me.”

“This place is insane,” I said. “Y’all live in a palace for Christ’s sake. You should appreciate it more.”

“I know,” he said. “But it comes at a price.” He let go of my hand. I was about to ask if I upset him, but then he opened a door in front of me. “This is your room.”

I peeked inside. “Nice.” It was as lovely as the rest I’d seen. From what I gathered, they could have dozens of guests staying at the palace at any given time. It must have been a bitch to keep it clean. I could barely keep my bathroom and kitchen clean in my apartment, and that was smaller than this guestroom.

“We’re staying in separate rooms,” he said. “Because we’re not married.”

“I figured that,” I said.

“You did?”

“From the plane ride,” I said over my shoulder as I walked into the room. The marble floor was covered with a large intricate rug that was soft under my shoes. I sank into it with each step, and I wondered what it would feel like to dig my toes into it.

“Your clothes are already in the armoire,” he said from the doorway.

I wasn’t going to push him to come inside. I knew there were rules about such things, and since he was already stressed out, I didn’t want to add to it. I crossed the room and opened the armoire. Just as he said, they were all there, plus a few pieces that we hadn’t brought with us. I touched one of the brightly colored robes. The fabric was thin and silky to the touch.

“Should I wear anything in particular?” I asked.

“Maybe the gray dress that we bought back home?” he suggested. The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

It was my favorite piece, too.

I grabbed the dress by the hanger, brought it over to the bed, and laid it in front of me. “What about a scarf?”

“Not tonight,” he said. “It’s a family dinner, so you can let your hair loose, so they say.”

I slipped the scarf off my head, and his eyes locked on the thin fabric. I slowly tugged it out from under the neckline of my shirt, and I could almost hear the pounding of his heartbeat. Or maybe it was mine? He looked at me like I wanted to be looked at by a man. Desire flitted across his face, and I forced myself to look away before I pushed it to another level.

I doubted anyone would care if I ran over to him and pressed my lips against his. It was a gesture that any couple engaged in, especially those who were in love. Or at least, under the impression that we were in love.

I grabbed hold of those thoughts and shoved them deep down inside me. This was business. There was no reason to push the relationship when it was just the two of us. One of us getting feelings for the other would only end in disaster.

“I’m going to change now,” I said without looking at him.

“Of—of course,” he stammered and reached for the doorknob. “I’ll be back in a little while to take you down to dinner. Let’s say in a half hour?”

“Perfect,” I said, holding the dress at arm’s length in front of me. Anything to keep my focus away from his lips and the fire in his eyes.

The door clicked closed, and I exhaled sharply. Dropping the dress on the bed, I walked over to the windows. The view was of a part of the grounds that I hadn’t seen yet. The city was in the distance, giving me a perfect view, unmarred by any buildings. I watched several of the workers moving across the grounds, doing their jobs.

Turning away from them, I knew I had to do my own job. It would be nice to live in a place like this, but I wasn’t going to be the girl to do it. I was an imposter, and for the first time, I felt a twinge of shame for deceiving his family.

Sometimes, bargains were hard, but I intended to finish this one on top.