Page 24 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

Kareem sighed. “It’s notfear,” he told her. “I’m being sensible, and you should be too. If we’re discovered, the event won’t take place at all. Is it so important to you to take credit for it that you’re willing to sacrifice that?”

Keira stared at him. “You’re asking if my work is so important to me that I don’t care about getting credit for it? Not really, Kareem. I’m passionate about racing, but I’m notsopassionate that I’m willing to abandon all thought of recognition for my work. I’m trying to make progress.”

Kareem gritted his teeth. The truth was that he knew she was right, even though it inconvenienced him. She had come all the way to Qalmar, and she had a right to be as involved as she wanted to be, and to have her name on everything the two of them achieved together.

“All right,” he said. “I’m leaving for Monaco tomorrow. I was going to have you stay here, since it’s a short trip and it would be better for you to keep a low profile, but why don’t you come along with me?”

“Monaco? What’s there?”

“A couple of high-profile drivers that I’m hoping to persuade to enter our race,” Kareem told her. “There’s a private event taking place — you have to qualify to enter, and the criteria are demanding. I think we might be able to meet with the drivers and tell them what we’re planning to do, though, and if we could get them to come to our event as headliners, we’ll be able to bring other people on board a lot more easily.”

“Of course I want to come with you,” Keira said at once. “That’s the kind of thing I should be included in.”

She probably had a point. Still, Kareem was nervous. It was difficult enough bringing home a surprise bride and telling his parents that he had gotten married without their knowledge. When his father discovered that Keira had an interest in racing — which was beginning to seem inevitable — what little approval he had extended to the two of them so far would go up in smoke.

But Kareem didn’t need his father’s approval, he reminded himself. All he really needed was to make sure his father didn’t find out about the racing event he was planning — until it was too late for him to put a stop to it.

CHAPTER 11

KEIRA

“Welcome to your private suite, Your Highnesses,” the concierge said, opening the only door in the hallway on the top floor of the luxury hotel.

Keira stepped inside and gasped. She had never seen anything like it before.

Kareem had told her that the two of them would be staying in a suite, assuring her that she would have her own bedroom on their trip. But Keira had been picturing two adjoining hotel rooms, perhaps with a shared bathroom — similar to the sort of places she had stayed before.

This suite was nothing like that.

The first thing she took in was the fact that the wall opposite the door was entirely windows, floor to ceiling. A person could stand there and look out over the city of Monaco, take in all the sights below. Immediately, Keira wanted to rush to the window and do exactly that, but there was too much else to see to focus on looking outside right away.

She crossed the marble floor, mindful of the way her low-heeled shoes clicked against it. It evensoundedluxurious.

The room she had walked into was clearly meant to serve as a living space. It had a U-shaped sectional sofa facing a large television, which was mounted over a fireplace. Someone had set out a fruit basket and an array of meats and cheeses on the heavy coffee table. The TV was on and displayed a welcome message. Kareem found the remote control and began to cycle through the channels until he landed on footage of a race. He muted it and left that on.

“The master bedroom is here,” the concierge said, walking past Keira to open a pair of double doors.

Keira peered in, but the truth was that the master bedroom didn’t hold much interest for her. It would belong to Kareem during their stay. She could see that it was splendid, with a king-sized bed and another large TV, but she was more interested in the room that would be hers.

There was no good way to express that to the concierge, though. “Thank you so much for your help,” she said. “I think we’d like to get settled in now.”

“Please don’t hesitate to call the front desk if there’s anything you need,” the concierge beamed. “I’ll leave you to unpack.”

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Keira wandered around, letting her fingers brush over various things in the room — the marble countertop, the back of the sofa. Then she walked toward a door that stood closed on the far side of the room.

“What are you doing?” Kareem called after her. “I thought you wanted to unpack.”

“That’s what I was going to do,” Keira said, looking back in confusion. “I figured this would be the door to the other room.”

“You should take the master,” Kareem said.

“Oh, I couldn’t do that.”

“Sure you could. You’re a lady, and you’re here as my guest. You can’t possibly think I’m going to take the good bedroom.”

Keira laughed. “Kareem, this has to be the nicest hotel room in all of Monaco,” she said. “I’m sure all the bedrooms in this suite are wonderful. It’s not like you would be making me sleep on the couch.”

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