Page 15 of Queen of Barrakesch
“There is one problem that we haven’t considered. You’re not Muslim, and while my father and aunt probably won’t have a problem with that, there are conservatives in the Parliament who would. Any chance you’d be willing to convert to Islam?”
“Any chance you’d be willing to convert to Christianity?” She arched a brow.
Wasim let out a soft laugh, the first since he’d received the bad news from his father. “We’re not really getting married, so it shouldn’t be a problem. But I thought you should be prepared for some backlash.”
She tilted her chin higher. “I can handle it. So we’re all set. You’ll get your birthright, and when you’re ready you’ll find and marry that intelligent,obedientwoman who’s good with kids.”
“And you’ll be able to marry your funny, smart businessman,” Wasim said, the words tasting like the remnants of burnt ashes on his tongue. “We both get what we want…eventually.”
“Yes,” Imani said quietly.
The air became unnaturally heavy with the softly spoken word and her eyes veered away from his. Wasim could often read women, and there were times he believed he saw interest from Imani. Were those moments his imagination or not? Had that kiss in Estoria affected her as much as it affected him? Did she think about the way he made her feel, the way he frequently relived the pleasures of her mouth and the softness of her body wedged between him and the wall?
“So, do we have a deal?” Imani asked.
“We have a deal.”
“As soon as you give me the all-clear, I’ll let my father know to expect a call about our pending marriage, though I don’t expect any objections from him. It will be quite the upgrade, going from a businessman to a crown prince,” Imani said dryly, standing.
“We’re really going to do this? You’re sure you want to do this?” Wasim examined her face for any sign of hesitation.
In some ways they were very much alike. He was drawn to her rebellious nature and the way she did as she pleased, running headfirst into any problem and tackling it with skill and calm.
“Positive. Are you?”
No, he wasn’t positive. Something in his gut warned that their plan could present problems for them both. They had to be very careful.
“This will be good for us both. I should go now. I have a lot to think about,” he said instead. He led the way out of the office and stopped at the front door. “I’ll be in touch.”
* * *
The next day,Wasim called to let Imani know that his aunt and father approved of their engagement, and King Khalid believed their marriage was an excellent way to strengthen the alliance between their countries.
Then Imani called her parents to let them know that the king would be calling to speak to her father. Her mother’s shriek of pleasure had her pulling the phone away from her ear, and she almost felt guilty about the tangible excitement coming down the phone line.
She wasn’t privy to the conversation between her father—Prince Kehinde—and King Khalid, but after they talked, both men gave their blessing, paving the way for a harmonious marriage.
Her father’s swift acceptance of Wasim’s offer of marriage disappointed and hurt Imani—that he was so willing to marry her off, without once checking to see how she felt about the situation. He would never marry off one of her brothers in the same manner. Just like he would never make offhand comments about her brothers’ fiery tempers just because they wanted to control their own destiny. She might have been married off already if she hadn’t appealed to her uncle, the king, for the ambassador post in Barrakesch as soon as she finished graduate school.
A few days later, King Khalid made a formal announcement naming Wasim as his successor to the throne and announced his engagement to Imani. The days following the announcement were spent in a flurry of activity. Imani fielded numerous phone calls from friends in Barrakesch, some teasing her for snatching up one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. No surprise there, since no matter their age, women developed heart eyes and engaged in excessive giggling in his presence. A few not-so-jokingly expressed envy that she’d snagged the crown prince and future king.
Her staff expressed their congratulations and best wishes. Several of them stated they’d suspected something was going on between her and Wasim all along. She found it interesting that people saw a relationship where there was none and believed their suspicions were now confirmed.
During that same period, she received a call from Dahlia, her cousin’s wife. Dahlia was an American woman he’d married over a year ago and they now had two children—a boy and a girl. She and Imani had become close, so she wasn’t surprised when Dahlia called.
“You and Wasim?” Dahlia demanded as soon as Imani answered the phone.
Imani strolled from her bedroom out onto the balcony. “I’m fine, and how are you?”
Dahlia laughed. “Excuse my abrupt greeting, but you have to admit that this is a bit of a surprise. Or is it? I suspected there was an attraction orsomethinggoing on between the two of you a long time ago.”
Why was everyone saying that? What did they see besides mild flirtation? It’s not as if she and Wasim didn’t have other relationships. He had his secret and not-so-secret liaisons, and she had a string of “toads” she’d had to walk away from.
“Barrakesch has religious restrictions against dating, so I assure you there was nothing going on between us.” Moving forward, she and Wasim would have to be extra careful about being alone together to avoid any semblance of impropriety.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Well, there was definitely an attraction there, and I told Kofi that.”
Kofi spoke next. “She seems to think I didn’t notice the way you two were with each other. My only surprise is that neither my cousin nor my best friend saw fit to tell me first that they were engaged. I had to hear the news from my father.”
