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

Catelyn frowned at her computer screen. She needed to put something on the company blog. Something that would, hopefully, drive some traffic. But what? The last wedding they’d worked on had been two weeks ago, and it had been a rush job. The bride had only wanted them to coordinate a small reception at a local restaurant. Catelyn had arranged some last-minute bouquets from a local flower shop and double-checked that the local courthouse had an opening, and that…well, it didn’t make for very exciting photos. The couple had brought along a sister to take pictures of the occasion, and that was that.

“You gon

na sit here all night?” Daisy, one of Catelyn’s business partners and very best friends, poked her head in the door. Her dark hair was piled atop her head in a messy bun that made her look every bit the creative, and she was. She was the one who pulled together decor, color schemes, and fantastic ideas for the couples they served. When there were any to work with, that was.

“Only until I get an idea for what to post on our blog.” Catelyn gave her a confident grin over her shoulder. “It’ll come to me soon. The wine is helping.” She lifted her glass toward Daisy in a faux toast.

“I’m headed out,” said Daisy with a laugh. “Don’t drink yourself under the table, okay?”

“There’s only half a bottle left, so you have nothing to fear.”

Daisy gave her a wave and hitched her purse up onto her shoulder. “I have confidence in you.” Her voice didn’t sound very confident, and it made Catelyn swivel her chair fully to face Daisy.

“What does that mean?”

“It just means…” Daisy shrugged. “I have confidence that we can all…work this out.” Worry flickered over her face, and Catelyn’s heart sank. It had been easy enough to power through the first few months on pure adrenaline, but now that things were still slow and her friends were starting to worry about their livelihoods—

“We will work this out,” Catelyn said reassuringly. “I’ve got something in the works tonight.”

“You do?” Daisy’s face brightened, but then she narrowed her eyes. “Not something drastic, I hope.”

“You know what they say about desperate times.” Then she gave Daisy a wink. “Get out of here. I’ve got it handled.”

“See you tomorrow,” called her friend, and Catelyn listened as her footfalls grew quiet and the front door of the little office building opened and closed.

She drained the rest of the wine and poured herself another glass. Fortifications were indeed necessary. Business was so slow that she’d had to cancel her international cruise.

What she needed, she thought as she swiveled her chair gently back and forth, was a miracle. Was…a celebrity. The closest she’d come to a celebrity in forever was….oh.

It was Sheikh Rami. A month ago at that party.

It hadn’t mattered that she’d been in a hurry to leave. His face was burned into her memory. The royal, elegant lines of his cheekbones and chin. The dark eyes that held her in thrall.

“If I could plan his wedding,” she said to no one, draining half her wine glass, “that would catapult us straight to the top.” It really would. All of New Jersey’s nouveau riche—the crowd that had limitless budgets for wedding planning and the weddings themselves—would be in awe of her if her little Elite Occasions put on an event for a member of Al-Dashalid’s royal family. Not that they’d know him specifically. The look of him was royal enough.

While she was thinking it through, she tapped in a Google search of his name and was handsomely rewarded.

The royal family of Al-Dashalid was well-photographed, and Rami appeared in the most photos of anyone. Many of them were from business meetings, but it was the official royal portraits that caught Catelyn’s eye. She brought up one of Rami sitting confidently upright, leaning slightly in to the camera. Even in black and white, his eyes gave her a flutter of desire.

Or maybe it was the wine.

No, definitely his eyes.

He might be less awkward away from events like that cocktail party. He might be…

The perfect groom.

Catelyn sat bolt upright, clicking furiously through all the available photos of Rami. She clutched the glass tighter in her hand until she realized she was doing it, then set it down on the desk, carefully out of her own reach. The last thing she needed was a cascade of wine over her keyboard. It would be a distraction from the idea making its way through the pleasant buzz she was feeling. It was so close to the surface…so close.

She found what she was looking for.

A photo of Rami, standing alone in what looked like an outdoor garden, though—who knew?—it could have been some kind of indoor studio. It didn’t matter in the end. What mattered was that the light that shone on his face, playing over his dark hair, was golden and pure. And it came from the perfect angle to make a match.

She saved the photo to her desktop and went hunting in another folder.

There.

Catelyn opened the folder and browsed through a collection they’d had photographed last summer at the sumptuous Ashford Estate in Allentown. They’d sweet-talked the management company into letting them shoot a faux ceremony early one morning so they could pitch the story to a bridal magazine for some exposure. She laughed to herself when she flipped through the photos. They’d had no budget to speak of, so Catelyn herself had posed as the bride, and Daisy had done her hair. Laura, their other partner and the third member of their trio of friends, was good at makeup, and she’d transformed Catelyn into a blonde vision. As for the groom…