Page 19 of Sheikh's Pregnant Fiancée

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Aubrey wasn’t surprised to wake up to an empty suite that first morning, but at least Jarah had left a note letting her know he’d be joining her for lunch.

No time mentioned. So either he expected her to be in their suite all day or he expected her to know when lunch was.

Sighing, she had some fruit for breakfast and changed out of her sweats. One of the things that Jarah had done without telling her was buy her a whole new wardrobe. She understood that she was expected to dress a certain way as a member of the royal family, but she would have liked to be consulted.

He’d even bought her new bras, for Pete’s sake. He hadn’t asked for sizes or looked in her closet or dresser, so he’d done it by memory and guesstimates.

Her closet now was full of lovely and elegant clothes. In her first act of defiance, she discarded them all for jeans and a T-shirt. If she wasn’t going to leave the suite, why should she dress for anyone but herself?

That attitude wouldn’t fly for too much longer. Despite everything, Aubrey was determined to be a good wife and a good princess for Rihamel, but today, for one more day, she wanted to be Aubrey Bennet.

A knock on the door had her stepping quietly out of her room to stare at the door. It was his suite, but it was still in the middle of a royal palace. Jarah hadn’t given her any instructions about her new home. Did housekeeping staff come daily? Did other people have a key? Was the door always supposed to be open? What was the protocol? What if it was Jarah’s mother, and she wanted to sweep her away for the day? She was so not ready for that.

“Aubrey, it’s me,” Gwen said through the closed door. “There are guards with me, and they’re gonna kick me out if you don’t let me in!”

Hurriedly, Aubrey unlocked the door and swung it open. With a squeal, she hugged her friend.

One of the men behind her cleared his throat. “Sheikha,” he said as he bowed, “Gwen Sterling is on the list of approved guests, but she is still to have an escort when on property.”

“All right.”

“You are always welcome to greet her at the entrance when she is scheduled to arrive.”

Aubrey frowned. Was this his way of telling her that he didn’t want to keep escorting her friends everywhere?

“Good to know. Thank you.” Then she pulled Gwen into the suite and shut the door.

“Man, he really has a problem,” Gwen grumbled. “But then, most men here do when it comes to American women. Now that they have an American princess, I wonder if it will be better or worse.”

“I guess only time will tell. What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. Callista mentioned that your husband would likely ignore you while the other leaders are here, and she suggested that I should come keep you company. I brought my study material. I’m actually kind of excited to study on your balcony. I’ve been to Callista’s house but never the big palace. It is amazing here!”

Grateful for the company, Aubrey led Gwen through the suite. “You’re welcome here any time, even if Jarah is here. I already feel isolated and disoriented. I didn’t think I’d sleep all that well, being in a new place and all, but the bed was like a cloud. I even slept late.”

“You didn’t hear Jarah wake up? Normally you’re such a light sleeper.”

“I didn’t sleep with him. I’m in the guest room.”

Gwen’s eyes widened. “Are you serious? You told me the sex was amazing. Now you get to have sex with him every night. That’s a perk I would take advantage of!”

“No,” Aubrey laughed. “You wouldn’t. And we’ll get there. It’s just…it’s different now. He was a stranger before, and now he’s Jarah, crown prince of Rihamel. Hard to have sex with someone who’s going to be king. Plus, he lied to me. He has me right where he wants me. I’m stuck here, as his wife. Everything just happened so fast! I feel like we need some space, now, or he’s going to walk all over me.”

Gwen sighed. “You’re regretting marrying him. I knew you would. Honey, I think the royal family looks down on divorces.”

“I’m not regretting the marriage. I just want to make sure we hit all the milestones, even if we’re hitting them out of order.”

Her friend smiled. “Your grandmother used to say it didn’t matter how you did the journey as long as you reached the end point. Of course, here the end point is marriage, so you’re kind of already there.”

“Successful marriage. Happy marriage,” Aubrey corrected. “And that needs work.”

It was something that her grandmother would say, and that made her sad. Gwen noticed. “You didn’t tell her.”

“I called her, but she didn’t pick up. I think, after the things I said to her, she may never talk to me again.”

“What did you say to her?”

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