Page 10 of The Sheikh's Fake Bride Scheme

“Oh.” She should have seen this coming. “If you’re a racing fan, you know my family, I suppose.” Kevin wasn’t the first driver in the family — far from it. Keira’s father, her Uncle Steven, and herGrandpa Joe had all raced in their younger days. The Hardings were an institution.

“Of course I’m familiar with your family,” Kareem said.

“I can probably arrange a meeting with Kevin for you.” Of course that was what he would want. And even though Kevin wasn’t always the most agreeable about the idea of sitting down with fans, Keira thought that for a sheikh he would probably make an exception.

“Oh, no,” Kareem said, waving a hand. “That’s all right. You don’t need to do that.”

“You don’t want to meet Kevin?”

“Well, of course I’m happy to if you’d like. I’m much more interested in being here withyou, though.”

“With me?” This was new. Keira couldn’t remember a time a racing fan had had the chance to meet Kevin and had declined in order to spend more time withher.

“I just know that you’re the person who established the ProBar Cup in Oklahoma last year,” Kareem explained. “Right? That was you?”

“You know about that?”

“Sure I do. It was a big deal. The first motorsports event to feature solely female drivers. It really made a mark on the sport. You must be so proud of that.”

“Well… yes, I am,” Keira admitted. “Everyone in my family thought it was pretty stupid, though. They told me there were lots of races for women.”

“And there are, but the male drivers do tend to take up a lot of the spotlight, don’t they? They’re always the headlining attraction when it comes to things like endorsements and interviews…”

“Well, exactly!” Keira was impressed that he’d understood. Maybe he was less annoying than she had originally taken him for. “That was the reason I did it. I wanted to create an opportunity for female drivers to gain attention and sponsorship deals without having to compete against the men who always tend to get noticed more for no real reason.”

“I thought it was great,” Kareem said. “You know, I told my family about the ProBar Cup at the time, but they don’t really understand racing. But I’m so happy to have the chance to meet you now.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I spent the whole day withtheKeira Harding and didn’t even realize it.”

It was Keira’s turn to laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever been calledtheKeira Harding before.”

“Well, you are. The one and only. I’m so glad I met you,” Kareem said. “You’ve got to let me take you out for a drink, Ms. Harding, to thank you for everything you’ve done today.”

Though Keira had spent most of the day trying to get away from Kareem, looking forward to the end of their time together, she found that in the last few minutes, her feelings had changed rather dramatically. He did have respect for her and for what she did. He was genuinely interested in getting to know her better and in understanding her hard work. He was a true racing fan, not just someone looking to take advantage of her unwillingness to throw him out of the venue.

She could respect that.

“All right,” she agreed. “I know a nice bar not far from here. Once I’m finished for the day, we can go over there and talk some more.” She smiled. “Actually, I’d like that quite a lot. Like I said, I’ve never met a sheikh before, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know a little more about you too.”

“It sounds like we both have a lot to learn from each other,” Kareem said. “Though I don’t see how my life can be of any particular interest to you. As I said, I’m never even going to rule. I’m a sheikh only because of who my father is — nothing more. But even so, I’m happy to get to know you better and answer any questions you might have.”

“It will certainly be more exciting than spending the evening with my brother and hearing about how healmostwon his race,” Keira said.

“You don’t think your brother is going to win his race?”

“He never wins. He likes to brag about his skill as a driver, but the truth is that he isn’t that talented. But let’s see if he proves me wrong.” She gestured to the track. “The race is about to begin.”

Sure enough, the cars were pulling up. Keira recognized Kevin’s car from here, bright yellow and emblazoned with the sticker of the men’s body spray that sponsored him — a product Kevin didn’t even use.

She found her eyes wandering, though, as the race began. She was unable to focus on the track.

Instead, her gaze returned again and again to the face of the handsome sheikh sitting beside her.

CHAPTER 5

KEIRA

“So here’s the problem,” Kareem said. “I’m putting this event together without my father’s knowledge.”

“I thought you said having the approval of a head of state wasn’t going to be an issue,” Keira said. “Isn’t your father the head of state?” The inner workings of Qalmar politics were still confusing to her, but she thought she understood that much, at least.

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