Page 28 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

“Kareem—”

But Kareem had already caught the driver’s eye. He towed Keira over. “Good evening, Mr. Devereux. I hope you’re enjoying the festivities.”

“Oh, very much,” Devereux said, his French accent so thick that it occurred to Kareem that Keira might have trouble understanding him. He himself interacted with French people regularly, so he was used to the accent, but Keira certainly would have encountered it less frequently.

“Are you one of the hosts tonight?” Devereux asked.

“Oh, no,” Kareem said. “Not tonight. Although I do hope to take on that role in the future — and that’s why I came over to speak with you. My name is Sheikh Kareem Nusaybah, of Qalmar. This is my wife, Sheikha Keira.”

“How lovely to meet you both.” Devereux’s eyebrows raised slightly, but other than that, he gave no indication that he was particularly impressed at the fact that he was meeting with royalty. Kareem had to give him credit for that. He always appreciated it when people were able to keep their cool around him. It was one of the things he had liked about Keira — she had been shocked to learn who he was, but it hadn’t changed the way she had acted toward him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Devereux,” Keira said, stepping forward slightly. Then she said something else — something Kareem didn’t understand.

Devereux’s eyes widened again. Kareem thought he looked a bit more surprised than he had when he’d learned he was talking to royalty, which was certainly interesting. “You speak French!”

He sounded positively delighted. Kareem had to admit that he was surprised to learn this new fact about Keira, but he couldn’tallow his surprise to show. She was his wife. Things like her linguistic abilities shouldn’t come as a surprise to him. He schooled his expression carefully so that his reaction wouldn’t be visible to Devereux.

Keira smiled. “I don’t speak much,” she said. “Just enough to get by. I’ve worked with plenty of F1 drivers in my time, and as you know, some of the best in the world come from France.”

“Well, that’s very true,’ Devereux said, beaming. “Your Highness, your wife is a very clever and well-spoken lady.”

“I agree,” Kareem said, feeling rather bemused. No matter how well, he thought he had gotten the measure of Keira, she seemed to keep surprising him.

“Can I speak to you about our project, Mr. Devereux?” Keira asked. “Kareem and I are hoping to bring motorsports to Qalmar, and we’re very excited about the potential.”

“I’m not familiar with your country,” Devereux admitted.

“Few people are. That’s one of the things we hope will change as we implement the new race we’re trying to create.”

“It will be an annual event,” Kareem chimed in. “We’re hoping to put on the inaugural race in a few weeks’ time, and if we’re able to pull that off, it will be a wonderful opportunity for someone to become the first ever winner of this event. It would allow whoever walks away with the trophy to stamp their name on the history of motorsports.”

Briefly, a faraway look came over Devereux.

Kareem glanced at Keira and saw that she was looking back at him and smiling. He felt a swelling of satisfaction at how well this was going.

Devereux returned from his reverie. “You want to have this race soon?”

“Very soon, yes. We’re hoping to find some top-notch racers who are able to come and compete, and of course we thought of you right away.”

“When we heard you would be in Monaco for this event, we knew that we had to come and speak to you,” Keira added.

Kareem thought it was a nice touch. Of course they hadn’t come here specifically for Devereux, but he didn’t need to know that.

Maybe he did know it, though, because he smiled at them. “You two make quite a pair,” he said. “I can see why you chose to marry. It’s always refreshing to see a couple whose love is so powerful that it enhances the rest of their lives. I can see that the two of you work well together because you care so deeply for one another.”

The words felt like darts to Kareem’s heart.

It was a misconception, of course. He didn’t work well with Keira because he was in love with her. That wasn’t the nature of their relationship.

And yet…

And yet he found that hewantedit to be true.

On some level that he couldn’t quite comprehend, he wanted to know what it would be like to love a person that deeply, the way Devereux had described.

He didn’t imagine that was something he would ever get a chance to feel.

CHAPTER 13

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