Page 26 of Her Prince in Disguise
“Oh, just go…!” She wiggled her fingers towards the door where she knew her father and uncles were drinking. “Go get drunk or whatever it is that you menfolk do when you need to prove your masculinity.” Then Nahla turned, lowering her hand so that the dog followed her.
It occurred to Laith that the canine was definitely trainable, just not as a guard dog. Aida was definitely loyal, if only to whoever would pay attention to him.
Laith walked into the family salon, relieved to see that his uncle had already poured him a drink.
“Spill your guts,” his father ordered, relaxing back in his comfortable chair. He waved his index finger back and forth. “And don’t leave out any details.”
Laith thought about the offer for a long moment, still hoping to come up with an alternative to admitting his situation to these men. He admired his father and uncles far more than anyone else he’d ever known.
His Uncle Khal, always perceptive, put a hand on Laith’s shoulder. “I guarantee that, whatever you’ve done, we’ve messed up worse than you.”
And those were the exact words he needed to hear. Still, he turned to his father. “You won’t tell mom how badly I’ve messed up?”
Joran shook his head. “She won’t hear it from me,” Laith’s father replied firmly. “What’s going on, son?”
Laith shifted in his chair, facing his father and uncles as he stared into his drink, but didn’t take a sip, trying to organize his thoughts. Finally, he started with their first meeting, including the rather alarming boxes that Andi received, and ended with how she’d run off to Philadelphia before he could suggest that she come here with him. Of course, he didn’t include details of their private moments, but he did allude to the fact that their chemistry was off the charts.
When he finished, he looked up, first at his father, then at his two uncles. “Well?” he prompted in the tense silence. “What should I do?”
Joran was the first to say something. “Son, I’ve been in your predicament.” His serious features turned grim. “And I think you should marry this woman.” The others chuckled. “When you find someone that you enjoy being with, talking to, and…well, when all the other aspects of a romantic relationship fall into place, then the only thing to do is to marry her.” He gestured to Khal and Raj. “Both of them have been in your shoes as well, and I’m guessing they’ll offer the same suggestion.”
Khal leaned forward. “I think the issue that you’re missing is that your woman, Andi, right?” At Laith’s nod ofconfirmation, his uncle continued. “I suspect that the issue she’s most concerned about is her career. You are her boss and have a great deal of power over her career. Somehow, you either need to leave her alone, or let her know what you’re really feeling.”
That was exactly what Laith had been trying to do the first two weeks in Singapore. It hadn’t worked out. “You’re right, but I’m not exactly sure how I feel about her. When we were together last night, things just…happened. Everything got out of control.” Laith sighed and stood up. “I’m trying to be careful. But I can’t…keep my hands off of her. It’s bad enough that someone is going to find out.”
“Then you’d better get a ring on her finger. Fast,” Uncle Raj replied, grinning as he sipped his scotch.
Laith stared at the three men who had carefully and wisely guided him throughout his life. He toyed with those words in his head, testing them, poking at his feelings towards Andi. He’d known her for just over three weeks now. That was too soon to know if a person was a life mate. Wasn’t it? But everything about her seemed…right.
Laith thought about his cousin Angela. The story between his cousin and Sheik Tiro, who she married, was that they’d known each other for only seven days before they knew that they were right for each other.
Marriage? To Andi? The though sent a thrill throughout his body to finally land in the region of his chest. Marriage to Andi would be…perfect!
“Thanks!” he replied, then downed the rest of his scotch, eager to speak with his brother and tell him the news. He was about to be engaged!
Chapter 15
Andi pulled her luggage behind her, exhaustion hitting her hard. Lawrence, Jennifer, and Tom had been assigned first class seats for the flight. They’d been catered to and had the space to stretch out and sleep during the twenty-hour flight home.
She hadn’t been given that luxury. Jonas hadn’t said anything when he’d emailed their boarding passes on Friday and Andi had been too overwhelmed about her interactions with Laith to think clearly. So, it had been a surprise when her colleagues were allowed to board the flight home first and get settled into their seats with the first group of passengers. Andi, on the other hand, was one of the last passengers to board. She’d been assigned to the last row of seats on the plane. The row where the seats didn’t even recline because they were against the bathroom wall.
Andi hadn’t realized just how potent some people’s…uh…bathroom visits could be until she’d spent too many hours experiencing nothing else.
So here she was, dragging her luggage behind her as she made her way through the airport checkpoints to get back into the country. She hadn’t slept, hadn’t been able to eat anything, and she was grouchy. It didn’t help that her teammates were at the front of the line to get through the passport check. They didn’t even bother to look for her as they smiled at the agents, got their passports stamped, then headed towards the baggage claim. Meanwhile, Andi was literally the last in line. She knew she looked messy and haggard.
Because this flight wasn’t bad enough, Andi had stupidly chosen a line for immigration where the guy in front of her caused a fuss. The idiot decided to argue with the agent about something. That caused the agent to examine the man’s passport more closely. Andi watched with annoyed fascination as the man then called the agent a whole litany of foul names as he was dragged to the ground by security and arrested. Andi had no idea what had upset the man in the first place, but the episode definitely was interesting enough to keep her awake until it was her turn.
When the agent finally waved her forward, she was the only passenger left waiting to be processed.
Thankfully, when she presented her passport, the agent was polite and efficient. It took only a few minutes for her passport to be approved. Andi hurried through the gate and headed for the baggage claim where she found her lone bag sitting in a line of unclaimed baggage.
It took Andi another thirty minutes to get home. It was a minor struggle to get her heavy suitcase up the stairs of her building, but soon she was closing the door to her apartment. Andi thought about simply falling into her bed, but instead, she showered first, then pulled on a soft tee-shirt before going to bed.
Andi woke eight hours later, feeling better, but still resentful of Jonas. Laith’s personal assistant had organized her seat assignment during the long flight home on purpose, she was sure. The jerk didn’t like Andi, so he’d ensured that she was as uncomfortable as possible.
“Bastard!” Andi mumbled as she made her way through her small apartment to the kitchen. She contemplated making some coffee, but decided against it. Because she was now off her sleep schedule, plus the time change, Andi wasn’t sure what time it was.
Before she could decide what to do, her cell phone pinged. Glancing at the text message, Andi had her first smile in more than forty-eight hours.
