Page 14 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

“By the time I got there, the guy had wandered off and you were playing Princess Slots as if nothing at all had happened.”

“So you can see how it would worry me to seeyouacting like this, right?” Allie asked. “I’m supposed to be the irresponsible one of the two of us. You’re supposed to be the one who’s on top of things. The one who makes good choices.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure this is irresponsible,” Keira said. “It’s not like I’m getting married because I think it’s going to lead to some kind of happily ever after. You have to think of it as a business investment. I fly to Qalmar, spend a few weeks playing happy housewife to this man, and then we end the marriage and sign divorce papers and I fly back home, simple as that. Except that when I get back, I’ll be set up for the next phase of my career. It really is a perfect opportunity.”

“Keira, you already have a great career,” Allie pointed out. “You oversee three different racing events. Do you know how rare it is for a woman to be in charge ofone?”

“Of course I know,” Keira said. “It was hard enough for me to break into this, even with family connections on my side. But with the money I could get working with Kareem, I could take the ProBar cup to the next level. I could make it international. Could you imagine, bringing in top female drivers from all over the world? I could make it the biggest women-only race anywhere — a real headliner of global motorsports.”

“And that’s the reason you’re doing this?”

“Why else?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Allie scrunched up her mouth in the way she did when she was pretending to think hard about something. “Maybe because this guy is a real-lifehandsome prince? Maybe because being swept off to a foreign country by a handsome prince is literally the thing we’ve dreamed about since we were little girls?”

Keira laughed. “It’s what you dreamed about,” she said.

“True,” Allie agreed. “Well, that and fixing cars.”

“I never dreamed about handsome princes.”

“Which makes it all the more wild that you’re the one this is happening to!” Allie sighed. “Keira, to tell you the truth, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you if you walk away from this.”

“I thought you thought I was making a rash decision!”

“I do think that,” Allie said. “I also think making rash decisions every once in a while would be good for you. You play things way too safe, and I think it would be to your benefit to take advantage of an opportunity like this one.”

“You also think it’s good for my career, then?” Keira asked.

“I mean, maybe it is, but that’s not why I’m saying this. Hand me the pressure gauge, will you?”

Keira picked up the tire pressure gauge that lay on the floor and passed it to Allie. “Don’t overfill those tires.”

“You think this is my first time? I know you’re a hotshot event coordinator, Keira, and you might be marrying a prince?—”

“A sheikh. If I marry him, you’re going to have to start getting that right, Allie.”

“Well, prince or sheikh, I still know more about car maintenance than you do.” Allie’s eyebrows shot up. “Hey, wait. If you marry a sheikh, what will that make you?”

“A sheikha,” Keira said. “I looked it up.”

“Wow. My best friend, a sheikha.”

“Don’t get excited. Remember, it would only be temporary. Only until we ended the marriage and came home. Then I would go back to being just regular old Keira.”

“But this would always be part of your story,” Allie said dreamily. “You would always know that for a few weeks, you had been a princess.” She caught Keira’s eye and sobered up slightly. “Or a sheikha. Whatever. But the point stands, right?”

“And here you were just telling me I was being crazy.”

“I support it,” Allie said firmly. “I encourage it.Becrazy. I really can’t convince you to have a royal wedding?”

“I’m kind of on a timeline here,” Keira laughed. “If we do this, we do need to do it quickly. But I’ll let you come down to the Chapel of Love with us. You can be my bridesmaid there.”

“Well,that’severy girl’s dream.”

“And you can wear anything you want. My treat. We’ll go shopping and pick you out the most gorgeous dress imaginable, and because it’s the Chapel of Love, you won’t have to worry about being inappropriate or anything. You can get something totally sexy. How’s that?”

“Well, I hope you’ll bring me to Qalmar to see the palace before this is all over!”

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