11. Keira
CHAPTER 11
KEIRA
“ W elcome to your private suite, Your Highnesses,” the concierge said, opening the only door in the hallway on the top floor of the luxury hotel.
Keira stepped inside and gasped. She had never seen anything like it before.
Kareem had told her that the two of them would be staying in a suite, assuring her that she would have her own bedroom on their trip. But Keira had been picturing two adjoining hotel rooms, perhaps with a shared bathroom — similar to the sort of places she had stayed before.
This suite was nothing like that.
The first thing she took in was the fact that the wall opposite the door was entirely windows, floor to ceiling. A person could stand there and look out over the city of Monaco, take in all the sights below. Immediately, Keira wanted to rush to the window and do exactly that, but there was too much else to see to focus on looking outside right away.
She crossed the marble floor, mindful of the way her low-heeled shoes clicked against it. It even sounded luxurious.
The room she had walked into was clearly meant to serve as a living space. It had a U-shaped sectional sofa facing a large television, which was mounted over a fireplace. Someone had set out a fruit basket and an array of meats and cheeses on the heavy coffee table. The TV was on and displayed a welcome message. Kareem found the remote control and began to cycle through the channels until he landed on footage of a race. He muted it and left that on.
“The master bedroom is here,” the concierge said, walking past Keira to open a pair of double doors.
Keira peered in, but the truth was that the master bedroom didn’t hold much interest for her. It would belong to Kareem during their stay. She could see that it was splendid, with a king-sized bed and another large TV, but she was more interested in the room that would be hers.
There was no good way to express that to the concierge, though. “Thank you so much for your help,” she said. “I think we’d like to get settled in now.”
“Please don’t hesitate to call the front desk if there’s anything you need,” the concierge beamed. “I’ll leave you to unpack.”
He left the room, closing the door behind him.
Keira wandered around, letting her fingers brush over various things in the room — the marble countertop, the back of the sofa. Then she walked toward a door that stood closed on the far side of the room.
“What are you doing?” Kareem called after her. “I thought you wanted to unpack.”
“That’s what I was going to do,” Keira said, looking back in confusion. “I figured this would be the door to the other room.”
“You should take the master,” Kareem said.
“Oh, I couldn’t do that.”
“Sure you could. You’re a lady, and you’re here as my guest. You can’t possibly think I’m going to take the good bedroom.”
Keira laughed. “Kareem, this has to be the nicest hotel room in all of Monaco,” she said. “I’m sure all the bedrooms in this suite are wonderful. It’s not like you would be making me sleep on the couch.”
“Just take the master,” Kareem insisted.
“You’re not worried about what that would look like?”
“No, why would I be?”
“Are you kidding? All you do is worry about what things are going to look like. That’s why you wanted us to get married in the first place.”
“Okay,” he allowed. “But it’s different now that we’re here. We don’t have to worry about what people are going to think, because my father is back in Qalmar. These people — the staff of this hotel — they won’t make any assumptions. They’re just honored to have the sheikh and the sheikha staying with them.”
Keira pulled at the collar of her shirt, feeling awkward, as she always did when he referred to her as the sheikha . It had only happened a few times, and she knew it was accurate — the title did apply to her, since she was officially married to Kareem. But even so, it didn’t feel like her. It didn’t feel like what she was.
Maybe that was why Kareem’s focus on outward appearances had been bothering her so much — she felt as if her true self was getting lost. This fake marriage was a difficult thing to maintain, but what made it harder was feeling as if nothing at all in her life was authentic. It would have been easier if she had been able to be her true self.
“We’ll leave for the venue in two hours,” Kareem told her. “Why don’t you take that time to freshen up and settle into the suite?”
“There’s no race tonight,” Keira said, surprised. “Why are we going to the venue?”
“There’s a VIP event,” Kareem explained. “It will be our best opportunity to mingle with the drivers and get to know them. We’ll be able to talk to them about our race.”
“You want me to come with you to that?”
“Keira, you have to come. This is your area of expertise. You’re the one who has done this before. I have no idea what I’m doing. I need you to manage public relations for me.”
Keira laughed.
“What’s funny?”
“This is just such a shift from the conversation we had back in Qalmar. You were adamant that you wanted me to stay out of things as much as possible. You said that my involvement in any public-facing capacity risked allowing your father to find out what we were doing, and that it would all be ruined if he did.”
“Well, I know that,” Kareem acknowledged. “But being away from him… I feel a little more secure about it all. It seems safer to let you get involved. And besides, I want you there. I had fun with you at the Spritzer Cup. Didn’t you have a good time that day?
“Better than I thought I would,” Keira admitted.
“You’re a fun person to spend time with.”
“I didn’t realize you saw me that way.”
“I don’t have anyone else I can enjoy racing with,” Kareem explained. “No one in my family appreciates it. Actually, they outright dislike it. My father thinks it’s a childish waste of time, as you know, and my brothers find it boring. It’s a pleasure to have a friend I can share my interest with.”
“Is that what we are? Friends?”
Kareem laughed. “I suppose so. I mean, we’re husband and wife, but we can be friends as well.”
“We’ve done things in a strange order.”
“Well, not that strange. My mother and father were married before they knew one another at all, and they grew to like each other over time. We can be the same way — except that instead of falling in love, you and I will grow to be good friends.”
Keira found herself smiling. She wouldn’t have thought she would feel so comfortable with Kareem so quickly, but he was different here in Monaco — more relaxed. He’s more like the man I met back in Vegas , she thought. He has a sense of fun.
She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this side of him when it had gone away.
“All right,” she agreed. “We’ll be friends.”
“So go into the master bedroom and unpack. We have a party to get ready for.”
“You really don’t need to give me the master bedroom. I appreciate that you’re being chivalrous, but it’s not necessary. Truly, any room in this place is going to be the nicest hotel room I’ve ever been in.”
“Just take it,” Kareem said with a light laugh. “You’re doing me a kindness by allowing me to give something back to you. You’ve been so helpful to me, after all.”
“It isn’t as if there’s nothing in this for me,” she said.
“You seemed to feel that way back in Qalmar!”
“I felt that way when I thought you weren’t going to include me in things. Now that you are, of course it’s different. Of course I feel like this is all going to benefit me as much as you.”
“Well, I’m glad,” Kareem said. “But I’m also going to ensure that you enjoy yourself as much as possible every step of the way, Keira. Remember, you are only going to be a sheikha for a short time. I’m going to be in this position for the rest of my life, but you should take advantage of the luxuries we’re afforded as much as you possibly can while you have the chance. So take the master bedroom.”
“All right,” Keira agreed, finally swayed. That argument made a great deal of sense to her. “Thank you, Kareem.”
“Thank you . I haven’t lost sight of the fact that you’re helping me to achieve my dream.” He grinned at her. “Go get yourself ready for the party. We have an exciting evening ahead.”
Keira nodded and went into the master bedroom, pulling the double doors closed behind her.
Once inside, she saw that the room was even more luxurious than she’d realized. There was a balcony on the far side that looked out over the city, and when she went to take in the view, she saw that there was a jacuzzi on the balcony. Her body shivered with excitement at the thought of relaxing there later. She hadn’t brought a swimsuit, but that was all right. She could buy one in the hotel gift shop, maybe, or— well, this was a private balcony, after all. Maybe she didn’t need swimwear.
She opened the drawers of the ornate wooden dresser that stood on one side of the room, unzipped her suitcase, and began to load her things into it. It felt odd to do this — they were only going to be here for a few days, after all, and ordinarily she would have simply lived out of her suitcase for such a hotel stay. But it didn’t seem appropriate to do that on this trip. It’s not what a sheikha would do .
Keira smiled wryly to herself. Maybe she was getting more accustomed to her temporary title than she’d realized.
With her suitcase emptied, she stowed it under the bed. Then she flopped down on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Above her, a wide-bladed fan rotated lazily, stirring the air in the room and adding a bit of pleasant ambient noise to the space.
I can’t believe Kareem gave me this room. He didn’t have to do that. He’s more caring than I’ve given him credit for.
She thought about what he’d said about the two of them — how they made such good friends. It certainly wasn’t anything she had expected to hear from Kareem. Neither one of them had gotten into this arrangement out of a sense of genuine friendship for the other one. And yet… well, there was something to it.
Keira could relate to what he had said about not having anyone who appreciated the same thing she did. Her whole family loved racing, of course — she and Kareem were opposites in that way. But none of them appreciated what went into planning an event, staging a race. None of them could appreciate the hard work Keira put into everything she did. Now that she knew Kareem, she felt as if there was someone in the world who truly saw her for who she was and how hard she worked, and that was a wonderful feeling.
She closed her eyes. It would be good to take a quick power nap before tonight’s festivities. She had no idea what a VIP party in Monaco might entail, but she did know that she was going to need to be at her best. This might be the event that would make or break their entire plan. If the right people were present, and if she and Kareem were able to persuade them of the benefits of a race in Qalmar, there would be nothing to stop them from achieving success.
If enough high-profile drivers get on board, even the king won’t be able to shut us down.
A smile crossed her face at the absurdity of the fact that she was even having such a thought. Here she was, lying on a bed in Monaco, thinking about the best way to thwart a king.
How had this become her life?
One thing was for sure — Keira was determined to enjoy it as much as possible for as long as she could.