What was he thinking?
As if he caught the silent question, his hand dropped from her throat, and he faced the crowd. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth, as if he was acknowledging that he’d just shared a special moment with every citizen in his kingdom, and millions more around the world. A second later, he looked down at her, his eyes telling her that she needed to also acknowledge the crowd.
Blushing fiercely, Niesha faced the crowd again. In unison, they waved, smiled, waved some more. All the while, her senses spun.
Her first kiss.
Was this how everyone felt? She was drowning in sensation, as if the whole world had tilted and taken a different course that would never be the same again. Because how could anything else compare to this?
She wasn’t a romantic. Childish, fairy-tale feelings had been beaten out of her by years of hard work and the reality that only a lucky few found their happily-ever-after, most of them in the books she treasured. She was old enough to accept that those foolish daydreams needed to be set aside the moment she closed the book.
So what she was experiencing now was nothing short of a daydream she needed to put behind her as soon as possible.
This was temporary. She was a stand-in.
Come tomorrow she’d be back in her beige uniform, fluffing pillows and refilling shampoo bottles in bathrooms in the east wing.
The thought froze the smile on her face, even as she continued to wave to the crowd.
After an excruciating half-hour, with one final wave, Zufar steered her away from the balcony. They re-entered the small anteroom serving as a holding place before, but that was now a path that led to the banqueting hall where the formal wedding reception was being held.
‘You did well,’ Zufar stated as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Despite the tersely murmured statement, a bubble of warmth speared through the sizzling shock that hadn’t entirely left her.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured, pleased that she hadn’t completely let him down.
‘Of course, you could do with smiling a little bit more,’ he added.
The bubble burst. ‘I can’t smile on command,’ she replied.
‘You are the Queen now. You have to learn how.’
‘But I am not, though, am I?’
‘That ring on your finger, my dear, is all the evidence you need.’
‘You know what I mean, Your Highness.’
‘Do I?’ Zufar murmured even as he nodded to a guest bowing as they passed.
‘Of course you do,’ Niesha muttered fiercely. Why was he pretending he didn’t know what she was talking about? ‘I’m not your Queen. This was temporary. You said so yourself.’
His body tensed, then a muscle rippled in his jaw. ‘We’ll talk about this later,’ he said.
A spurt of apprehension turned into full-blown alarm. ‘What is there to talk about, Your Highness?’
‘You calling me Your Highness, for starters. I’m your husband now. You are allowed to address me as Zufar.’
Her footsteps faltered. For as long as she could remember, he’d always been Sheikh Zufar, or Crown Prince Zufar. Not even in her dreams had she addressed him by his given name alone. It felt...huge. As if she were taking a leap into thin air. Niesha started to shake her head.
Somehow, she had to bring this back to reality, back under her control.
‘You also need to stop shaking your head at every little disagreement. As my new bride, you’re supposed to be glowing and blushing with happiness, not wearing an expression as if you’ve been led into the devil’s own playpen.’
‘You know why I am acting this way. I don’t know why you’re pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about. You said this was temporary.’
‘Did I?’