GINA WILKINS - The Park's Empire - Handsome Strangers... - The Prince's Bride

Jane arrived late the next evening and knocked on Emily’s door before eight the next morning. Still in her pajamas, Emily was so glad to see her familiar face beneath her blond curls that she could have cried.

When they were seated comfortably on Emily’s bed, steaming teacups in hand and a plate of the queen’s favorite almond cookies between them, Jane fixed her with a commanding stare.

“All right, tell me everything.”

“Oh, Jane…where should I start…” Emily pushed her tousled hair back from her face.

“Start at the beginning,” Jane said promptly.

“Very well. As you know, the original plan was to spend a week or so here in Daniz, gathering information to put together a proposal for Creative Weddings to handle Lazhar’s wedding.”

Jane nodded, her eyes gleaming with interest behind her wire-frame glasses.

“Somehow, the king misunderstood. Instead of seeing me as a consultant who perhaps might be hired to plan his son’s wedding, he decided that I was the woman Lazhar had chosen for a bride. And before I could untangle the confusion and explain to him who I really was, Lazhar convinced me to go through with the wedding.”

“Did he seduce you? Threaten you?” Jane bristled.

“No, of course not,” Emily said hastily. “The media reports about the king being ill and wanting to see Lazhar married before he dies are true, Jane. He’s very, very ill. He’s also one of the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful men I’ve ever met.” She stared into her teacup without really seeing the amber liquid. “I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve grown so attached to him in the short time I’ve been here that I couldn’t bring myself to hurt him by telling him I wasn’t marrying Lazhar.”

Jane’s face was troubled, her brown eyes filled with concern. “But Emily, how can you marry the prince just to make his father happy? What chance will your marriage have if you start out on such shaky ground?”

Emily trusted Jane completely and she badly needed to tell someone the truth. She leaned forward so her whispered words would only reach Jane’s ears. “It isn’t a real marriage, Jane. His physicians have told the family the king has very little time left and after he’s gone, the marriage will be annulled.”

Shocked, Jane’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding?”

“No, I’m absolutely serious.”

“So, your marriage to the gorgeous prince is a complete fake? The big wedding, the title of princess—it’s all only for a few days, or weeks, and then it’s over?”

“Yes.”

“And when it’s over, what then? Do you come back to San Francisco and go back to running Creative Weddings as if nothing happened?”

“That’s the plan.” Except I doubt that my life will ever be the same again, Emily thought.

“Wow.” Jane shook her head in astonishment, visibly trying to absorb the impact of what Emily had just confided to her. “This is wild.” Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t let the press know,” she said firmly. “They’d rip you to shreds. Heaven knows what kind of spin they’d put on your story, but it wouldn’t be kind.”

“I know,” Emily agreed. “You’re the only person, besides Lazhar and myself, who knows this isn’t a real engagement. He won’t even let me tell his mother and sister, because he swears they can’t keep anything from his father and we don’t want him to know the truth, of course.”

“What are you getting out of this, Emily? I mean—” Jane shook her head, her gaze shrewd “—it’s easy to see what Lazhar gets, but what about you?”

“I get exactly what I hoped to get when I came here—I’ll plan a royal wedding. The cachet of that connection for Creative Weddings will be invaluable and my business will expand from the States to Europe.”

“But if you’re divorced shortly after you marry, you’ll be notorious. The tabloids will go crazy.”

“True.” Emily shrugged. “But I doubt that will harm the business. In fact, the attraction of having an ex-princess as their wedding planner might pull in more clients.”

“You’re probably right,” Jane said dryly. “Americans love celebrities. What about your fee for all this?”

“You mean for planning the wedding?”

“Yes.” Jane nodded. “And for posing as the bride. Is he doubling the usual fee for your services?”

“No. In fact, I insisted that Lazhar have his attorneys draw up a prenup agreement that dealt with all the financial issues. I’m sure the palace would have done it anyway, but I wanted to be sure it covered our particular circumstances. He assured me he would find a way to word the agreement so no one knows we plan to separate quickly.”

Jane’s eyes darkened, her expression worried, a tiny frown veeing her eyebrows as her lips pursed.

“What?” Emily waited, sure that Jane had something important to say.

“Are you sure you can do this and survive with your heart in one piece, Emily?”

Emily had never managed to conceal her emotions from her best friend. She couldn’t lie to her. It was so like Jane to cut to the heart of the matter. “No, I’m not sure. But I’m sure I want to do this.” Jane looked unconvinced and Emily knew she couldn’t explain the connection she felt to King Abbar. “I know this probably doesn’t make sense to you, but I’m positive that I want to do it. I’ve only known the king a very short time but I felt an instant affinity with him—almost as if he were the father I always wanted.”

“And never had,” Jane put in, her tone leaving Emily in no doubt of the dislike she felt for Walter Parks.

“No, my father isn’t anyone’s idea of the perfect parent,” Emily conceded. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a man who’s clearly adored by his family. If taking a few weeks of my life to play the role of princess will make him die happy, then I’m willing to do so.” She waved a hand at the room where they sat. “And it’s not as if I’m enduring any hardships to do it, Jane. Not only is my business gaining stature, but I’m living in a palace, visiting exotic locales, meeting fascinating people. All very good stuff.”

Jane shook her head, her blond hair brushing her shoulders. “I can’t argue with any of the benefits of this arrangement you’ve agreed to. But, you’re the last person in the world I’d expect to be involved in something like this, Emily.”

“What do you mean?”

Jane spread her hands, tea sloshing dangerously close to the rim of the delicate cup in her hand as she gestured. “You never lie. I don’t think I’ve even heard you utter a half-truth to anyone. Oh, sure, you’re diplomatic and sometimes you don’t tell the stark truth. Like the time Mrs. DiAngelo asked you if an avocado-green dress was perfect for her as mother-of-the-bride, and you managed to convince her that the pale pink evening suit was more flattering to her complexion. If you’d told her the real truth,” Jane said darkly, “you would have told her that she has excruciatingly bad taste in clothes and the green dress was unspeakably ugly. Which is exactly what I wanted to tell her.”

Laughter surprised Emily, lightening her mood. “Thank goodness you didn’t tell her that, Jane.”

“I wanted to.” Jane sipped her tea and lifted an eyebrow, surprised. “Yum, this is wonderful.”

“The queen has it mixed specially for her. It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I know you love tea, Emily, but it’s never been my favorite. However, I could be convinced to drink this every morning. And these cookies are incredible.” She took one from the plate and ate it in two small bites.

“Those are the queen’s favorites, too. The palace chef makes them specially for her and since she knows I love them, she asked him to always serve them with my tea tray, just as he does for her.”