Page 27 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

Keira beamed up at him. “That’s a beautiful sentiment, Kareem,” she said. “I really admire how passionate you are about Qalmar, in spite of the fact that you aren’t going to rule it. I think there are a lot of people who would have been perfectly willing to leave it behind in your shoes.”

Kareem felt his cheeks flush and was grateful that it was dark in the elevator. No one had ever said such a thing to him before. His father loved to talk about what a disappointment he was to the people of Qalmar and how fortunate it was that he had elder brothers to take on the responsibility of ruling, since Kareem himself would be so unfit for such a thing. But Keira made it sound as if she didn’t see things that way. She seemed to think that Qalmar ought to be proud of him — grateful to have him as a part of its royal family.

He would have loved to believe that something like that was true. Even knowing that she thought it was enough to make him feel warm inside.

The elevator stopped, and Kareem pulled himself together. It wouldn’t do to be caught up in his emotions at this party. There was work to be done.

“Are you ready?” he asked Keira.

“I think so,” she said. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Remember, all we’re trying to do is make some friends. You’re good at that. Just talk to people. Find out about them, and if you can, bring up our event and let them know we’re looking for participants. Don’t make any offers. We’ll gauge who’s interested tonight, and if we want to make formal offers, we’ll call around in the next few days and do that. Tonight is just about information.”

“Right,” Keira said.

The elevator doors opened.

The event space was bustling — the party was already in full swing. Kareem took Keira by the arm, mindful of the fact that they were supposed to be husband and wife. It was true that the act mattered less here in Monaco, but even so, if things went well tonight, these were people who would eventually be joining the two of them in Qalmar. It made sense to ensure that they believed in the marriage.

Besides, Kareem found that he wanted to be physically close to Keira. It made sense, of course. She was a beautiful woman. The dress he had ordered for her — black and floor-length with pearl embroidery — hugged her curves, and the fact thatit was strapless made her look taller than she normally did — or perhaps she was wearing heels. Kareem had always favored short women, and the fact that she stood a bit taller than she normally did had him entertaining a fantasy of taking those heels off her.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He couldn’t afford to think about things like this. Not only was Keira not really his wife, she was his business partner, and the two of them had to keep things utterly professional if their endeavor was going to have a chance of success. There was no room for fantasy or romance.

But at least he could walk her around the room and show her off. For tonight, at least, he could pretend that he had some sort of claim to her, and no one would know any differently.

They stopped at the bar. Kareem picked up a glass of champagne for each of them and handed one to Keira, and she accepted it with a nod.

“How are we going to do this?” she asked him. “Divide and conquer?”

“No, we’re here as newlyweds,” he reminded her. “No one will believe it if we separate from one another. And besides, we work much better as a team. Your experience putting racing events together will be invaluable here. I know what my dream looks like, but if I try to explain it to these people, I’ll risk sounding like a little boy who’s just excited about race cars.”

Keira laughed. “I don’t think that’s how you sound when you talk about motorsports.”

“You don’t?”

“No, I think that’s your father talking, not you. You’re passionate about this. I feel the same way. And I think it’s a very reasonable thing to be passionate about! My whole family is like this, remember — I don’t think of it as a strange or childish interest. In my life, it’s always been very normal to care about racing.”

Kareem nodded. “You see? This is why I need you by my side, Keira. You make me feel as if I’m normal, and I’ve never had that feeling before.”

“I didn’t sayyouwere normal,” Keira chuckled. “I still think you’re a very strange person. I just don’t think racing has anything to do with that.”

Kareem had to laugh too. “All right,” he agreed. “Fair enough. Come this way. I’d like to introduce you to someone.”

“Who?”

“Hugo Devereux. He’s a French driver.”

“Oh my God. You know Hugo Devereux?”

“I should have assumed you would know who he is,” Kareem realized, feeling foolish.

“I can’t believe you know him!”

“Oh, no, I don’t know him.”

“What? How are you going to introduce us, then?”

“It’s easy. I know who he is. I know who you are.”

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