“Very well,” he relented. “You’ll need to pack your things, anyway.”
“Why?” She frowned as she gathered her hair into a band. “Am I going somewhere?”
The ring sparkled on her finger, and he looked at it pointedly. “You’re engaged to me. You’ll live in the palace. “
“What? No, I don’t think so. You said that we’d get to know each other, some. I can do that just as well from Sahaar’s house.”
“Mila.”
He was trying to be patient, but she cut him off and narrowed her eyes. “Rashid. No. I’m not going to argue about this. We just got engaged six hours ago. I’m not ready to leave my home.” She stared at him for a moment, and he could see the anger in her eyes. “I’ll call a taxi.”
“Ori will take you home,” he said, his voice harsher than he expected. “He’ll pick you up for dinner as well. If you can make it,” he amended.
Mila seemed a little mollified at that and appeared to relax. “Thank you. I know it seems strange to you, but I still need to take this slow.”
“I understand.”
Except that he didn’t. He was offering her a place to stay in a multi-million-dollar palace, and she still insisted on sleeping in her exchange-mother’s humble abode. Striding across the kitchen, he kissed the top of her head. “I hope to see you tonight.”
He already planned on calling the restaurant and ensuring that she had the night off. Tonight’s dinner was far too important for her to miss.
She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. “I’m a little grumpy in the mornings,” she admitted. “I’ll see you tonight, if I can.”
“Okay. I’ll call you later.”
She left his suite with a smile on her face, and he felt his stomach cramp as he clenched his teeth. Apparently getting Mila ready to be his wife was going to take more time than he’d realized.
To Mila’s irritation, her manager was more than happy to give her the night off. In fact, he told her that she didn’t need to return at all, but she insisted on making up her shift tomorrow. She called one of the other waitresses and agreed to take her lunch shift. Then she could finish up her time at the lounge and not feel like she hadn’t fulfilled her obligation. She also spent some time applying to a few other restaurants in the area.
Sahaar was out for most of the day with her sister, so Mila didn’t get to tell her the good news. Not wanting to let Liyah see the engagement ring before she’d had a chance to apologize, she slipped it onto a chain around her neck.
By the time Ori arrived to pick her up, she’d showered, napped, and changed into a simple but elegant black dress. It was a few years old, something she’d picked up off the discount rack, but she didn’t need to impress anyone. Liyah had already seen her in the dress a couple of times and had even borrowed it once.
Rashid waited for her at the steps to the main entrance of the palace. He immediately frowned when he saw her. “Where’s your ring?” he demanded.
“Easy,” she laughed as she pulled it out from under her dress. “I know it may seem silly, but I’m not sure how Liyah is going to react, and I want to talk to her before I start flashing it in her face.”
He instantly relaxed. “Actually, that’s probably a good idea. I want a chance to announce it to my family.”
“Announce it to your family?” Mila frowned. “Are Amira and Khalid joining us?”
“Yes. And my parents.”
His parents? Mila gasped and stared at him. “What? I’m not dressed to meet your parents! Did you know that this morning?”
“You look fine.” He wrapped his hand around her waist and gently pulled her through the doors. “I did know, but I didn’t want to stress you out. That’s why I wanted you to stay.”
“Well, I’m stressing out now because I didn’t know.” She intertwined her fingers with his and dug her heels into the ground, forcing him to stop lest he topple her over. “Rashid, I need a second to process and prepare.”
He quickly kissed the top of her head. “Too late. Let’s go.”
“No.” Wide-eyed, she shook her head rapidly. “It’s not too late. I can go change real quick, and you can tell them that something held me up.”
“Mila . . .”
“I had to feed the dog.”
“You don’t have a dog.”