Page 63 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

‘He had been looking to build an enormous investment—a series of hotels and five-star retail precincts—in the capital of Savisia. What if his plans changed, and instead, he built them here, in Ras Sarat?’

Her lips parted. ‘But why would he do that?’

‘Your country is beautiful,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Investment from someone like him will employ tens of thousands of people and generate billions of dollars in revenue. Most importantly, it will begin a rejuvenation, bringing renewed investment, tourism and attention. You will need to turn your attention to overhauling your country’s financial regulation system, to be sure political operatives don’t siphon off the profits—’

‘That’s already underway,’ she said with a nod. ‘Eloise, my friend—I believe you’ve met her?—she has been working with the parliament for the last two years on legislative reforms to prevent the corruption of the past.’

Ofcourseshe had been. A smile touched his lips as he imagined her wading through the laws, tweaking them, scrapping them completely where necessary, her unquestionable sense of rightness leading her to fight for what was right. And her loyalty to Elana.

‘There are other ways my country can help yours,’ he said gently. ‘I regret that it’s taken me so long to realise your plight. You shouldn’t have to shoulder this worry alone. Savisia and Ras Sarat were always friends, and we can be again.’

She sat down, looking overwhelmed by the offer.

He continued, needing to reassure her, perhaps to salve his guilt. ‘For example, we currently only get ten per cent of our imports from Ras Sarat. That could be made higher, closer to twenty-five per cent.’

‘We’d need to scale up to that over the next two years, and I’d need a firm commitment from your government in order to begin that process.’

‘Consider it done.’

She nodded, but slowly, her eyes roaming his face. ‘What’s happened, Your Highness?’

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her, but nor did he rush into explanations. He wasn’t sure if it was his place.

‘Eloise gave me the distinct impression that you and your people were determined for this marriage to happen. That it was best for everyone. The last thing I expected was to see you, only a few days later, urging the opposite.’

‘Eloise was instrumental in bringing me to this point,’ he said quietly. That was indeed the truth. ‘Is she available to discuss some of these details?’ He cursed how weak he sounded, but he’d been wrong to think he could come here and not see her. It was a marvel he’d made it through the last ten minutes.

‘I’m sorry, no. But someone else from my delegation can step in, of course.’

He was trapped there. He stared at Elana, totally lost, caught between a rock and a hard place, wondering how to broach this without hurting the Princess’s feelings, but needing to see Eloise more than anything else in the world.

‘Your Highness.’ She moved even closer, eyes scanning his face in a way that was unnervingly similar to Eloise. ‘Something happened in Savisia, didn’t it?’

He was very still, and utterly silent.

‘Eloise came back ahead of the delegation. And sheflew, which is shocking in and of itself, but then, she left almost immediately, once again,flyingback to England. You have no idea how long it took her to get here originally because she refused to board anything that lifted off the ground.’

He would have smiled if he weren’t battling the revelation that Eloise was no longer on the same continent as him.

‘She values your friendship above all else,’ he said, quietly, thinking, searching for the right words. ‘She wanted you to marry me because she thought, as I did at the time, that it was the best way to serve your kingdom, and also meet my needs.’

‘The marriage had some practical points in its favour, but I’m glad you suggested an alternative. I’m...not sure I could have lived with myself for making such a practical marriage.’

He lifted his brows. ‘I didn’t realise you were reluctant.’

‘You weren’t supposed to. Even Eloise didn’t know the depth of my misgivings. If she had, she would have found a way to put a stop to it,’ Elana said, and Tariq smiled, because her loyalty was fierce and strong.

‘I spent a lot of time with Eloise while she was in Savisia. I determined early that she would be the person whose advice you would listen to, therefore, she was the only one I had to convince.’

‘A wise interpretation of the situation.’

He dipped his head. ‘However, there was a problem.’

She waited, silently encouraging him to continue.

‘In spending time with Eloise, I found it impossible not to—’ He stared at the princess, hating himself for having to have this conversation, worried he was doing something Eloise would never forgive him for. But everything he’d manoeuvred in the last few days had been to bring him to this point. ‘I came to feel—’ How could he explain it? What words would do justice to what Eloise had come to mean to him? ‘I came to realise that I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it. I fell in love with her.’

Elana stared at him and then, broke out into a smile. ‘You love Eloise!’ she said, clicking her fingers. ‘Ofcourseyou do. How could you not? And she loves you! Why else would she have scampered away like that?’

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