The Sheikh's Blackmailed Bride (Sheikhs of Al-Dashalid 2)

“Catelyn Wolf,” she said. Rami’s palm was smooth, his hand huge. She dropped it.

“By herself,” her mother pressed.

Catelyn felt heat rise to her cheeks. Her mother was making her seem like a country bumpkin. Naturally.

“Is that so,” said Rami, eyes raking over Catelyn again. “Alone?”

“Oh, yes,” said Anna, pursing her lips. “I told her she shouldn’t go unaccompanied, but you know—”

“I agree,” Rami said quickly, and Catelyn looked around for a hidden camera. What was he saying? He didn’t know her. He’d just run into her. That’s how invisible she’d been to him. “Unaccompanied women—especially beautiful ones—sometimes find themselves in brand-new lives, never to return to the States.”

Anna gasped. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Ask my brother’s wife all about it.” Rami’s eyes flashed with an emotion Catelyn couldn’t identify.

There was an awkward silence.

Of course, neither Catelyn nor her mother were going to be visiting with the royal family of Al-Dashalid. The cruise would stop at the port for a few days, and then she’d be gone.

Catelyn laughed nervously. “It’s not that bad, Mom. I’m sure Sheikh Rami is…exaggerating.”

“I’m certainly not,” Rami said, and she honestly couldn’t tell by the look on his face whether he was kidding or not. He raised one eyebrow, and—what did that mean? “If you’d like to hear more about it, I’d be happy to meet with you later,” he said to Anna. “With your daughter, of course. She should know what she’s getting into.”

Catelyn’s mother fluttered a trembling hand near her face. “Oh, I think we should. I think we should,” she insisted. “If it’s that dangerous, there’s no telling what might happen when—”

“Mom.” Catelyn kept her voice absolutely even, as if her mother were a bride getting cold feet at the last minute. “This is not something to worry about. Al-Dashalid is perfectly safe—”

“For a woman like you?” Rami’s voice was smooth but pointed. “I’d be surprised if a man didn’t make you his wife.”

Catelyn snorted. “That’s not going to happen.” She’d been buried in work for a year, and she’d go back the moment her vacation was over. She was not getting married.

Even if it would put all eyes on her wedding planning business.

“What’s not going to happen?” Wonderful—Lydia had breezed up behind Rami and put a hand on his shoulder, grinning as if she were in on the conversation.

Catelyn beamed back at Lydia. “Rami was regaling us with a few…jokes…about Al-Dashalid.”

“Isn’t he a charmer?” Lydia laughed out loud. Rami relaxed, his shoulders dropping an inch, and Catelyn’s curiosity flared. Why did that make him feel more at ease?

“Yes,” Catelyn said quickly. “But—look at the time. I’ve got—” She waved vaguely at the exit. “Brides. Brides to take care of. You know how it is.”

Lydia came forward and embraced her. “I wasn’t finished with you yet,” she said, a pout playing over her lips. “But I understand.”

Catelyn faced Rami. “It was lovely to meet you.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake again. He took it, and the moment their palms touched an electric delight moved up her spine. She dropped his hand. Nope—no way. Not getting a crush on a sheikh from Al-Dashalid she’d never see again. Not now, not ever. Even if she did love the way his eyes moved over her face, her hair, her body—

No.

“Love you, Mama,” she said to Anna, kissing her on the cheek. “I’ll see all of you later.”

“I hope so,” Rami called after her as she walked away. She gave him one last jaunty wave over her shoulder and kept going, not looking back.

2

Catelyn swirled the last of her wine in its glass and considered pouring herself another.

It had been that kind of day.

She’d fielded calls for part of the morning, but bookings had been slim. To be honest, they’d been slim for a while now—at least six months. They’d had a burst of attention at the very beginning, thanks to an early endorsement by Lydia, but then winter had come, and spring, and now they were back to summer.