Chapter 23
After returning to the meeting with Astra and Maggie, Ciara silently acknowledged that she’d made a complete fool of herself. Sitting back down in the damask covered chair she’d just recently…maybe not so recently…vacated, she tried valiantly to concentrate on the conversation.
However, she kept replaying the scene from the hallway in her mind. One moment, she was thinking about how she’d love to find Falk and finish what they’d started. The next moment, she was trying to anticipate his thoughts regarding her actions. Did he think she cared for him? Didn’t he know that she cared for everyone in the palace? Or was he remembering the time last year, when Zayed, Falk, and Ramit were racing their horses through the grounds, and Zayed had been accidentally kicked by a horse? She hadn’t raced to his rescue at that time. Instead, she’d teased him over dinner that evening along with the others around the table.
What had been different about today? She’d heard about Falk’s contretemps with one of Zayed’s staff member and…? Ciara glanced over at Tara, who was busily typing on a laptop at a nearby desk. She was a very diligent worker.
In that same moment, Tara looked up, the soft clicking of her fingernails against the keyboard pausing. Was the woman blushing? Tara was an exceptionally lovely woman. Why did she downplay her looks? The brown dress she wore made her skin look sallow. But there was no way to diminish the light in those striking green eyes.
So, what was going on between her and Zayed? The gossip earlier was that Falk had been about to punch Zayed when Tara had stepped in and flipped Falk over her shoulder.
Ciara pursed her lips, considering the scene from a different angle. Did Tara have feelings for Zayed? And more importantly, did Zayed have feelings for his pretty assistant?
If that were the case, why hadn’t Zayed broken off their betrothal and pursued Tara? She and Zayed had often talked about how there was no romantic interest between them. It was the main…or only…reason they hadn’t set a wedding date yet.
So…why hadn’t Zayed pursued Tara? Or was Tara the person that was slowing down any potential relationship?
Should Ciara formally end her betrothal with Zayed so that he would feel more comfortable pursing a relationship with Tara? She contemplated the possibility for a moment, thinking to speak with Zayed about it later.
But resolving that mystery only brought her thoughts back to Falk and her reaction to him earlier. Her response had been completely out of proportion. She shouldn’t have raced out of the room to make sure he wasn’t hurt. She’d revealed too much to everyone.
Including herself.
So why had she run to him? Why had she nearly screamed at the thought of Falk being hurt or wounded? What did the man mean to her?
“Ciara?” a soft voice called.
Ciara jerked her attention back to the present. Looking at Astra, then at Maggie, she knew that she’d been caught. The two ladies eyed her with carefully hidden amusement.
Sighing, Ciara slumped in her chair. “Okay, what did I miss?”
Astra laughed, then pushed the paper across the low table. “Maggie thinks that it is going to be too expensive to have floating lights and balloons along the ballroom ceiling. But I think it would be a romantic next step to introduce her to the world. The attention would be on the ceiling and would take some of the pressure away from her.”
Ciara stared at the picture that Astra had drawn of the idea. It was just a rough sketch and, if someone had just said, “Let’s have balloons overhead at our party!”, Ciara would have rolled her eyes. Balloons weren’t really a palace-party décor. But what Astra had created was more like a fantasy world. The floating balloons and lights made the space appear to be more of a starlit night, but without the weather or security concerns of an actual outdoor event. It was absolutely brilliant!
She set the sketch down and turned to Maggie.
“It’s too much, isn’t it?”
Ciara smothered a smile and gently shook her head. “Maggie, I don’t think that you understand what’s happening here. You married a very important man whose net worth is…”
“I don’t care about his money, Ciara. I just…,” Maggie stopped, unable to finish her sentence.
Ciara reached out and touched Maggie’s hand. “I know. And that makes you even more special.” She leaned back and tapped a manicured fingernail against the sketch. “However, I think that this idea is perfect. It’s something that the palace staff can accomplish quickly, since Ramit won’t give us six or seven months to plan. Because your wedding was done in secret, your new Hubbie wants you established in everyone’s eyes as his wife, with no questions asked about Nadia’s birth or Ramit’s complete support of his new wife.”
Maggie frowned, then rubbed her forehead. “Good grief, this all seems so…outside of my normal world!” she laughed. She glanced over at Astra, who was smiling at the back and forth. “Will these events truly help?”
“Without a doubt,” Ramit announced, stepping into the room and striding over to Maggie. Without hesitation, he took her hand and lifted her out of the chair. She hit his chest with a small thud. “You are my wife and I want the world to know it.” He kissed her softly. “Just get through a few more events so that the world can get to know you, and then we can get back to a normal life.”
Maggie blushed, but Ciara noticed that her arms slipped around Ramit’s neck.
She pulled her eyes away from the happy couple, only to lock gazes with Falk. He still looked grumpy, but with all of the new questions spinning around in her head, she struggled to keep her emotions in check.
Turning back to her friend, she tapped the drawing again. “Astra, these ideas are brilliant. Thank you!” She cleared her throat, feeling a tingling heat from Falk’s steady gaze. She wasn’t sure what to do with her hands, so she clasped them in front of her and looked around for an excuse to escape. “I’d better speak with the chef about tonight’s dinner,” she announced. Then Ciara moved towards the other door, keeping her distance from Falk. She didn’t understand why she’d run so hard to reach him earlier. And until she understood, she needed to keep a clear head so that she could avoid that kind of revealing action in the future.