Page 52 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

“I still don’t appreciate you lying to me,” King Hassan said. “I especially don’t like that you lied to your mother. She deserves better. But… I can acknowledge that we made you feel as if you couldn’t give us the truth. I’m sorry for that.”

Kareem nodded. “I’m sorry too.”

“You must know that all we’ve ever wanted was to see you happy,” King Hassan said. “And if this woman makes you happy, we will support your marriage to her.”

“Really?”

King Hassan allowed himself to smile for the first time since entering their box. “You did put on a very good event, Keira,” he said. “I think the people of Qalmar really enjoyed it — and I’m sure they’ll enjoy next year’s even more.”

“Next year’s?” Keira could hardly believe what she was hearing.

“This is an annual race, is it not? You’re going to have to get started on plans for the next one. And I wouldn’t wait. This was a good race, but with a whole year to plan, I think the next one could be truly legendary. Like you always said, you could change the face of the motorsports world.”

Kareem tensed. “I didn’t realize you heard me when I said that.”

“I do listen,” King Hassan said with a gentle smile. “I realize I haven’t put a lot of faith in your ideas, Kareem, but I believe in you. And you really proved me wrong today. This race was a success — and I believe that your marriage can be just as successful.” He smiled. “I trust you.”

Keira hadn’t known Kareem that long, but she knew enough about him to recognize just how powerful it would be to hear those words from his father.

She leaned her shoulder against his, proud and happy for him, and beyond thrilled to be able to share this moment with the man she loved.

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER: KAREEM

“And… we’re sold out,” Keira announced. “The last of the tickets just sold.” She turned away from her computer and faced Kareem, beaming.

He returned her smile. “That was brilliant, saving a handful for the last minute,” he said. “How did you know that last-minute sales would be such a thing?”

“It’s been like this at every event I’ve ever managed,” Keira said. “But usually people who decide they want to attend at the last minute are simply out of luck. They have to get tickets illegally, from scalpers and resellers, at a ridiculous markup. My idea should help to put those people out of business by reassuring racing fans that they’ll be able to access tickets even if they leave it until the last minute.”

“I love that,” Kareem said. “You think of everything.” He took Keira’s hand, pulled her to her feet, and kissed her.

She returned the kiss, and for a few moments the two of them remained lost in one another, but then Keira pulled away. She smiled up at Kareem. “You know,” she said, “I love how muchcredit you give me for everything, but it isn’t that big a deal. Anybody could have thought of this idea.”

“But you’re the one who did,” Kareem said. “And it’s thanks to you that our race is taking off the way it is this year. The Qalmar Cup is going to become a famous international race, just the way we dreamed it would, and it’s all because of you, Keira. You’re the one who made this possible.”

“You give me too much credit. We definitely did it together,” she said with a smile that lit up her face. Kareem’s heart warmed at the sight of her happiness — there was nothing he liked more than to know that his wife was happy.

“I wasn’t sure we would be able to pull this off,” Keira said. “Given that we took six months off after the last race, I mean. I thought we might need the whole year to make it a success. But I have to admit, it’s all come together brilliantly. I’m so proud of us.”

“Incidentally, I have a message for you from my father.”

“Oh, really?”

“He called earlier. He wanted to know when you’re going to come over and cook with him. He has a new recipe that he wants to teach you.”

Keira laughed. “Any time!” she said. “I love cooking with your dad.”

“He loves it too. He can’t believe his good luck, actually. Nobody else in the family likes to cook. I honestly never realized how sad that made him until he met you. It was like a switch flipped that day. It lit him up. I didn’t know he wanted someone to cook with so badly.”

“Well, I’m glad we found something we could bond over,” Keira said with a smile. “I’ll give him a call later tonight and we’ll make a plan — although it probably won’t be able to happen until the race is over. Maybe next week.”

“He understands how busy we are with all this,” Kareem said. “Actually, I think he’s just as excited as we are for this year’s event. He didn’t know a lot about racing last year, but he’s paid attention to the events throughout the past year. He’s told me how much he wants to be able to participate in my interests.” He wasn’t able to keep the smile off his face as he said it. He’d never dreamed that his father would care about participating in his life. It had taken the Qalmar Cup for King Hassan to see that racing was a legitimate thing that mattered to a lot of people — that it wasn’t just a childish interest of Kareem’s. And now that he was taking it seriously, he was truly giving it his full attention. Kareem couldn’t have been any happier about it.

“Is your dad planning on coming to the races?” Keira asked.

“Oh, he’s going to be there all four days,” Kareem assured her. “I asked him if he wanted to make a speech or anything, but he said he doesn’t want to attend in his capacity as king. He just wants to be a spectator.”

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