Chapter 12
“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Sheik el Maistri,” Khal announced smoothly, stepping forward to shake Tiro’s hand.
Tiro took the man’s hand, absently appreciating the firm shake while his eyes strayed to the woman who had constantly invaded his thoughts over the past several days. She looked stunning in a blue dress that made her dark eyes sparkle. The smile on her soft lips was…!
He forced his eyes back to the leader of Lativa, reminding himself of the etiquette required for this moment. “The honor is mine,” he replied, lying through his teeth. If it weren’t for the beautiful vixen, who was struggling to hide her laughter during this tedious greeting, he wouldn’t be here. Hell, he never really thought about Lativa, other than when a company his government had been coaxing to set up business in Ginisia chose Lativa instead. And even then, it was only a passing thought.
The rest of the world thought that he hated Lativa and Tiro didn’t understand why. His predecessor, Tiro’s uncle, had been an ass, but there hadn’t been any indication about Tiro’s feelings toward Lativa over the years beyond his acceptance of Sheik Khal as a worthy competitor. Granted, he hadn’t fostered any communication with the country either.
Going through the familiar motions, he exchanged greetings with the men, wondering if they were intentionally forming a human wall, separating him from the woman he most wanted to speak with.
Even after he’d greeted the sheik’s brother, Angela’s father, Tiro then had to be introduced to the crown prince and the other princelings. Not that they were small men. In fact, Prince Zayn, Laith, and Rafi were all about his height of six feet, three inches tall. They were handsome too. But he didn’t give a damn about them. He wanted to see Angela. He wanted to speak with her and find out how she’d fared over the past few days. It had been such a tornado of phone calls and back channel questions coming at him after that video’s release. Every damn person in every damn country wanted clarification of his relationship with Angela and what that meant for trade agreements, the political environment, and all the hullabaloo that came along with what the world perceived to be a peace treaty between two hostile countries.
After Tiro had gone through all of the appropriate introductions, Sheik Khal finally turned to Angela, who had been standing off to one side. Out of the corner of his eye, he’d watched her the entire time. He didn’t know her well, but even he could see through the diplomatic smile she offered to the press that were cordoned off, snapping thousands of pictures of this moment. Tiro doubted that the others noticed the strain in her eyes, or the tension in her shoulders. But he saw it. Hell, he wanted to pull her into his arms and whisper assurances in her ear.
She was younger than the other diplomats that he’d worked with over the years. And yet, the list of her accomplishments was impressive. She had probably asked for a list of all the annoying issues that needed to be fixed in the world, according to Lativa, and was quickly checking them off, cleaning up the problems and soothing the wounded feelings.
Sheik Khal and his brothers were big, impressive men. But they couldn’t outshine Angela.
Finally, he was able to greet his faux-fiancée !
“Good morning, Sheik el Maistri,” she whispered softly, conscious of the press that were eagerly snapping pictures of their meeting. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Her smile was forced and he had the urge to pull her against his side. But he knew the drill and would play the game.
But when he’d decided that the press had obtained enough pictures, Tiro shifted slightly so that the cameras were blocked. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, leaning forward so that no one could overhear his question.
When he pulled back, still leaning down so that he could see into her eyes, there was relief in her lovely, expressive eyes. And he relaxed ever so slightly.
“I’m okay,” she whispered back. “And I’m terribly sorry for this mess!”
He chuckled and then, despite admonishments that he still needed to have a ceremonial conversation with Prince Raj to formally ask for her hand in marriage, Tiro tucked her hand onto his elbow. “Why don’t you lead me to a place where we can talk privately?”
Angela hesitated, looking startled. But after that brief flash, a sweet, almost mischievous grin caught everyone off guard. If the cameras had been clicking before, that was nothing compared to the tidal wave of clicking now! Tiro ignored the scowls from the men behind him . They could all go to hell. He was more than ready to get out of this circus and have a private word with Angela.
She led him out of the formal receiving room. He felt, rather than saw, the men filing in behind their exit. Tiro half expected the six men to pull Angela away and take a swing at him. He would probably do that if his child were in this situation. An innocent…actually, not so innocent…kiss had brought two countries together. It was a good idea, but his priority at the moment was to get Angela to a place where she could relax.