Closing the door, she turned and put her hands on her hips. “About what?”
“My mother is hosting another party. This time to formally announce our engagement. We need to go.”
“Are you crazy? This has gone on long enough. Tell her the truth.”
“Not yet. You need to make sure your family turns elsewhere for relief from your brother’s gambling. It’s only one evening. You’ll meet people, smile and look as if you like me.”
“I’m not sure I do,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “This gets more complicated by the moment.”
“We need to invite some of your friends to make it seem real.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. This was unexpected. “I’m not involving my friends. Besides, no one would believe it. They all know how much I loved Alexander. And do you really think they’d believe you’d fall for me?”
“So pretend.”
“We don’t have to pretend anymore. Antonio’s gone and it was for his benefit, right?”
He was silent for a moment.
“Right?” she repeated.
“He did not leave as we thought.”
“Why not?” She frowned. What was her brother doing? He wasn’t waiting for the wedding, for heaven’s sake, was he?
“Now how would I know what your brother thinks…I just met him. But the limo showed up at the hotel in time to get him to the airport for the first flight to Rome and he said he’d changed his plans and would be remaining in Quishari a bit longer.”
“Great.” She walked across the room and turned, walked back, trying to think of how to get out of the mess the men in her life had caused.
“I’ll go away,” she said.
“After the announcement,” he replied.
She looked at him. He was calm. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. Which made her all the more annoyed. “This is not a joke.”
“No, but it’s almost turning into a farce. I thought telling him would shut him up. Do you think I want the world to think I got engaged again and then a second fiancée breaks the engagement?”
She had not thought about that at all.
“Then you break it,” she said.
“That’ll look good.”
“Well, one of us has to end it, so you decide. In the meantime, I do not want to go to your mother’s. I do not want the entire city to think we are engaged. I do not—”
He raised a hand to stop her.
“Then you come up with something.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t told my brother.”
“You could have told him the truth at dinner last night.”
She bit her lip. She did not want to return to Italy. She would not be pressured day and night by parents trying to talk her into a marriage with some wealthy Italian to shore up her brother’s losses. The days when daughters were sacrificed for the good of the family were long past. If only her father would accept that.
“Okay, so we pretend until Antonio leaves. Can we hurry him on his way?” she asked, already envisioning her mother’s tearful pleas; Giacomo’s little boy lost entreaties; Antonio begging her to think of the family reputation. She loved her family, but she wasn’t responsible for them all.
“He’s your brother. I could never hurry Rashid. The more I’d push, the more he’d resist.”
She nodded. “Okay, so brothers are universal. Somehow we have to get him to leave me alone.”
“So we’ll convince him tonight that it’s an arrangement meant to be and maybe he’ll leave.”
“Or hit you up for a loan.”
Khalid frowned. “Do you really think that’s the reason for the delay?”
“I don’t know.” Maybe her brother just wanted to make sure she was happy. Yet he’d been right there when her parents had railed against her for marrying Alexander and never said a word in her behalf. She had no intention of letting any of her family dictate her life.
“What time do we go to your mother’s?”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“How dressy?”
“About like last time. Do you need a new dress?”
She looked at him oddly. “I have enough clothes, thank you. What—do you expect everyone to hit you up for money?”
“No. But women always seem to need new clothes. I can help out if you need it.”
“I do not.” She studied him for a moment. Thinking about her own family, she knew there were some shirttail relatives who had asked her father for handouts. He’d refused and when she was a child, she wondered why he didn’t share. Once she was older, she realized some people always have their hands out.
For a moment she wished she had brought some of her clothes from home. She and her mother had shopped at the most fashionable couturiers in Rome. She’d left them behind when joining her husband in Quishari. The dresses for receptions were more conservative. She wished at least one would make Khalid proud to be escorting her.
Then she remembered the red dress she’d bought from a shop near campus. Her friend Samantha had urged her to buy it. She’d never worn it. It was too daring for a professor’s wife. But for tonight, it might just be the thing. Sophisticated and elegant, it was far more cosmopolitan than anything else she now owned. She smiled almost daringly at Khalid. If he insisted they continue, she’d show him more than he bargained for.
He studied her for a moment, a hint of wariness creeping into his expression.
“Until tonight,” he said.
She nodded, opening the door wide and watching him as he started to leave.
“I don’t think I trust your expression,” he said.
She feigned a look of total innocence. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, darling.”
He tapped her chin with his forefinger. “Behave.”
She laughed and shooed him out the door. Tonight might prove fun. She was not out to impress anyone, nor kowtow to them. Madame al Harum would be horrified. The minister might wish he’d kept his mouth shut. And her brother would learn not to mess with his sister’s life anymore.
Ella was ready before the appointed time. She’d tapped Jalilah’s expertise in doing up her hair. She remembered the maid had a talent for that which her former employer had used. The dress was daring in comparison to the gowns Ella had worn to the university functions. The thin crimson straps showed brilliantly against her skin, the fitted bodice hugged every curve down to where the skirt flared slightly below the knees. The satiny material gleamed in the light, shifting highlights as she walked. She had her one set of pearls she again wore. The dress really cried out for diamonds or rubies, but Ella had neither. The high heel shoes gave her several inches in height, which would add to her confidence. She was ready to face the world on her terms.
Khalid arrived at seven. He stared at her for a moment, which had Ella feeling almost giddy with delight. She knew she’d surprised him.
“You look beautiful,” he said softly.
She felt a glow begin deep inside. She felt beautiful. The dress was a dream, but the color in her cheeks came from being near Khalid. She knew she would do him proud at the reception, and give others something to think about. All too soon this pretend engagement would end, but until midnight struck, she’d enjoy herself to the fullest. And make sure he did, as well. He deserved lots for helping her out without question.
“Thank you. So do you,” she said with a flirtatious smile.
He gave a harsh laugh. “Don’t carry the pretense too far,” he said. “This is a dumb idea.”
“It was yours,” she reminded him.
He laughed again, in amusement this time. “Don’t remind me. I say we ditch the reception and go off on our own. You look too beautiful to be stuck in a room full of my mother’s friends.”
“You’re not thinking. What would your mother say. She went to all the trouble to celebrate what she thinks is a happy occasion. You can’t disappoint her.”
“You got it right first time—it’s hard to think around you the way you look right now.”
Ella smiled, delighted he was so obviously taken with how she looked. The dress was really something and she didn’t ever remember feeling so sexy or feminine. The hot look in Khalid’s eyes spiked her own temperature. Maybe his idea of not going out had merit.
“Let’s go wow them all. And when we’ve put in our appearance, we’ll dash back here and take a walk on the beach. Much more fun that the ordeal ahead.” Filled with confidence from his reaction, she could hold her own with his mother and anyone else who showed up.
CHAPTER EIGHT
WHEN they arrived at his mother’s apartment building, Ella was impressed. It looked like a palace. They were admitted by the uniformed doorman and quickly whisked to the top floor by a private elevator.
“The family home, no hotel,” she murmured.
“Only a few intimate friends, like maybe a hundred. You never gave me a list of your friends, so I had one of my assistants contact the university and find out who your friends were. Told them it was a surprise.”
Ella gave a loud sigh. “You just can’t leave things alone, can you? Did you drive everyone insane while growing up?”
“Hey, I had Rashid to help me then.”