Page 2 of The Sheikh's Fake Fiancée

“It’s hot out here,” Kain added softly. “Why don’t you get out of the sun and join me for lunch? I’ve ordered room service with enough food for two.”

Her stomach growled fitfully even as she lied and said, “I’m not really hungry.”

“You need to eat, shortcake. You’ll fade away if you’re not careful.”

She sighed heavily. He was right. At five foot two and already on the slender side she couldn’t afford to starve herself. “Just a quick bite.”

She clapped a hand to her mouth when she walked into his suite of rooms a few minutes later and saw the hamburgers sitting on plates, a bowl of hot fries to share on the side. There were even two different milkshakes, one a frothy caramel the other a strawberry flavor. “How did you know?” she breathed.

He winked. “That hamburgers were your favorite meal ever?” When she nodded, he explained, “I heard you went overseas to Australia as a teenager and adored the food over there, most especially the hamburgers. I thought you might appreciate them here, too.”

Why did his finding out that about her and acting on it make her feel so much better? She hurried over to the table and took the top off one of the burgers. “No way! They even have beetroot and pineapple on them.”

He grinned, his eyes sparkling. “They do.”

She put the top back on then sat and picked up the burger, leaning over the plate while she took a big bite. “Oh!” she closed her eyes. “Delicious!”

He joined her at the table with a low chuckle. “I was going to be a gentleman and pull out a chair for you, but watching you eat is even more satisfying.”

She smiled. Impossible as it seemed, being here with him in his suite of rooms while eating delicious hamburgers really was lifting her spirits. He might be a sheikh but he was incredibly easy to talk to. Perhaps because she’d been brought up around sheikhs and sheikhas all her life and saw them as everyday people.

Just don’t do anything to wrong them or shame and humiliate them in any way and you’ll be okay.

A pity it was too late to take back what she’d done to Sheikha Aisha. Zania just hoped her best friend would eventually forgive her and realize not only did it take two to tango, but that Zania had been stupidly susceptible and blinded by Tabari’s flattery and persuasive charm.

She placed her half-eaten hamburger back onto the plate. “That was delicious. Thank you.”

Kain picked up the bowl of fries and proffered them to her. “I hope you’ve saved room for a few of these.”

She selected two and ate them delicately. Despite loving fries with her burgers, after eating very little these last few days it was an effort to eat more than a few mouthfuls of anything.

It wasn’t until Kain had finished his burger and he’d wiped his mouth and hands on a napkin that he leaned back and said, “I’m glad we finally caught up.”

She took a sip of the caramel shake, her lashes fluttering at the rich, creamy taste. “Oh?”

He picked up the strawberry shake with a grin, then sucked some down through a straw. “I wanted you to know I’m leaving Holly Island tomorrow.”

The milk suddenly soured in her stomach and she pressed a hand there and asked weakly, “You are?”

He nodded. “I’ve been fobbing off some important matters for long enough already.”

That he’d stayed here for an entire month while she’d licked her wounds had been beyond gallant. Yet she’d wanted so desperately for him to leave her alone, until the moment he said he was leaving. Now her whole body was shutting down in denial. She lifted her chin. “Then of course you must go.”

He leaned forward, his big hand moving to rest on her thigh. She shivered in awareness. The thin fabric of her cherry-pink abaya was no match for the powerful magnetism he exuded. He was nothing short of a big cat stalking its prey. She swallowed hard. If he was a tiger in the jungle then Tabari had been a mewling kitten dumped in an alley.

“You should come with me,” he murmured huskily. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

She bit her bottom lip, weighing up the dread of being isolated from everyone she knew or taking one last leap of faith. “I honestly don’t know what I should do anymore.”

“What have you got to lose? Accept my offer.” He leaned closer, his other hand reaching out to cup her jaw and keep her gaze locked onto his. “Do you even have a home to return to?”

She stared.Holy shit.She hadn’t really thought about that.HadAisha kicked her out of the palace? She had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. Even her mother, who’d been one of Aisha’s many nannies when she’d been a child, was now in an aged care facility and barely knew her own name anymore.

She closed her eyes. At least her mother would never learn about the shameful behavior of her daughter.

His hand tightened its grip, and her eyes flicked back open to find his intent, brilliant dark stare on hers. “All I ask is that you act the part of being my fiancée and pretend you’re totally in love with me.”

She tried not to breathe in his smoky cypress and amber scent, but she adored men’s fragrances and his was clearly unique and no doubt hideously expensive. Her nostrils flared as she secretly indulged her craving. That his request could be fulfilled by any other number of beautiful women didn’t seem to matter to him. He wanted her to act the role and no one else would do.

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