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

He gave her a skeptical look.

“Try it,” insisted Catelyn. “You think fast enough that there won’t be a noticeable delay.” And, she thought to herself, it might make his answers less off-putting.

“My turn,” said Adira. She looked her brother in the eye. “Please describe the perfect woman.”

There was a pause during which Catelyn’s heart leapt into her throat. She half expected Rami to dismiss the question out of hand while also going to great lengths to explain why it wasn’t a legitimate question in the first place.

Then he spoke.

“Petite,” he began. “Blonde, her hair just past her shoulders. Blue eyes, the color of the sea.” Catelyn felt her face heating up. “Laugher like a summer day. Confident and funny. Brave.”

He finished speaking and glanced at Catelyn for confirmation.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adira, Hassan, and Karima sharing a knowing look.

“What?” Rami asked. “Did I take too long to answer?”

A burst of laughter escaped her. “No, I’m just—I can’t believe you—” She tried again. “Your answer was perfect, and it was very charming.”

“Good,” he said, nodding seriously. “That’s good. Next question.”

She sat back in her chair as Hassan read another question off. Was it possible that Rami hadn’t realized he was describing her? Was he only listing those characteristics by rote, just to have something to fill the silence after his thoughtful pause?

Or had he meant it?

12

“What you’re describing is a total train wreck, Daisy, and I—” Catelyn paced the suite down the hall from the room she shared with Rami, trying to keep her heart rate under control. She deliberately slowed her steps. It wouldn’t do anybody any good if she ended up running in circles around the room. Plus, her dress was a revelation. Every time she caught a glimpse of it in the mirror she flushed with pride. “I don’t know what to do. Let me think.”

The moment she was past the mirror, though, reality set back in. Catelyn had spent a few days checking in every so often with Laura and Daisy on the phone, letting them run things back in New Jersey.

It was not working out.

“She’s saying she’s going to get on a plane, Cate.” Daisy’s voice was trembling. She was normally the most poised of the three of them, but the situation had her rattled. “What am I supposed to do to convince Marissa Keller that she can trust us after this?”

“Daisy, it’s not the end of the world if the venue won’t book.” Catelyn’s business instincts kicked in. “We put together a whole binder of alternates.”

“Yes, but she’s insisting on the Ashford Estate. She’s threatening to cancel our contract if we can’t get it.”

“I’ll make some calls first thing in the morning.” Catelyn raised a hand to her forehead, then remembered her freshly applied makeup. “I’ll take care of it. I’m sure, given all the increased publicity, that the Ashford Estate could make some scheduling rearrangements—”

“They won’t,” Daisy said, and Catelyn could practically see her shaking her head. “They won’t. The date she chose is booked by someone in the Rockford family.”

Catelyn hissed a breath through her teeth. “The Rockfords? Seriously?” She wracked her brain for some connection—any connection. “When did they book?”

“I—I didn’t ask,” Daisy said, and there was a shift in the background noise that made it sound as if she were going back inside from the street.

“If it’s a recent booking, maybe we can negotiate something. We’ll figure it out. And I’ll send a message to Marissa right now. Sound good?”

“Thank you,” Daisy said. “I know we should be able to handle this, but the amount of calls—”

“I totally get it. Was there anything else you needed?”

Daisy laughed. “You, back in the office. But this’ll have to do in the meantime.”

“I miss you guys,” Catelyn told her, and Daisy begged off the call. Piles of work, she said.

Catelyn was torn. On the one hand, she felt guilty and a little anxious. It was harder than she thought to work from Al-Dashalid, but she’d have to get over it and buckle down. The business needed her.