The Sheik's Arranged Marriage (7 page)

If this was animal passion, then it wasn’t quite as frightening as she’d thought. It was nothing like the groping from those two boys in college.

But how exactly was she supposed to share her revelation with Jamal? The thought of discussing this with him was too humiliating to imagine.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to, she thought as she headed toward her small work area at the opposite side of the palace. If she gave him a little time, he just might come around on his own.

Okay, she’d been wrong, Heidi thought glumly ten days later. So far Jamal was showing no signs of coming around. If anything, he was as stiff and cold as ever.

She walked quietly next to him as they moved through the palace hallways, heading back to their own suite. Dinner tonight had been a command performance with the king and Fatima. The family generally shared an evening meal once or twice a week. In the past Heidi had always enjoyed those meals. The combination of clever conversation and family love had given her a sense of belonging. But since marrying Jamal, she’d only felt even more on the outside. While everyone else made an effort to include her, her own husband could barely stand to look at her.

When they reached their suite, he held open the door,
then
followed her inside.

“It’s late,” he said, loosening his tie. He was already halfway across the room and moving toward his bedroom. “Good night.”

She couldn’t stand it anymore. She gathered all her courage and spoke his name.
“Jamal, wait.”

Her husband, the tall, handsome man who was as much a stranger to her as anyone she might meet in the souk, turned to look at her. His dark eyes were empty—which was worse than their being cold because the blankness meant no emotion at all. He didn’t even care enough to hate her.

He’d paused while unbuttoning his shirt. Now he continued with the job, freeing the top two buttons, then pulling his tie through the collar and draping it over his shoulder. His simple act had the oddest effect on her stomach. She felt her insides clench a little. And there was an interesting kind of humming heat in her thighs.

He stared at her expectantly. She cleared her throat and wondered what on earth she was going to say. Then she blurted out the first thing that occurred to her.

“Why does Malik act so strangely around me?” she asked.

Jamal’s expression relaxed for the first time in days. Humor curved his mouth and crinkled the corners of his eyes. He gave a lazy shrug,
then
shifted until he was half perched on the back of the sofa.

“You scare him,” he said. “He assumes you hate all men and are always thinking the worst of him.”

“But that’s not true. I greatly respect him. He’s going to be an excellent king. In fact I find him a little intimidating.”

Jamal’s smile turned into a grin. The transformation caused a definite weakness in her knees. She had barely started getting to know Jamal before he withdrew from her. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how much she’d come to like him and look forward to talking to him. She’d missed him dreadfully these past ten days.

“He thinks you imagine him to be little more than a worm,” he said. “I suspect you’re shy around him, and he misunderstands that as haughtiness.”

“A worm,” she repeated in disbelief. “The future king of El Bahar thinks I consider him a worm?” She couldn’t believe it. “Besides, I’m never haughty. I don’t know how to be.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’ll come around.”

Heidi was still reeling from the revelation of Malik’s opinion, but she also saw the opening she’d been hoping for. “Will you come around, Jamal?” she asked. “I remember when we were first talking about being married. You said you wanted us to be friends. I want that as well, but we’re not. Is there anything I can do to change that?”

The humor fled his face, leaving behind the stony stranger she’d seen so much of lately. His posture stiffened, and he got to his feet, as if being relaxed wasn’t allowed anymore.

“I’m doing my best to honor your request for a mental and spiritual union,” he said, his voice low and formal.
“And to keep my messy animal passions in control.
I wouldn’t want to offend your delicate sensibilities.”

“My sensibilities aren’t as delicate as you think,” she murmured, sensing she’d hurt him or offended him or something, but completely clueless as to when or how.

“On the contrary.
Your image of the perfect husband was vivid in every aspect. I suspect I’m destined to fall short.”

She took a step toward him,
then
stopped. He didn’t look the least bit welcoming. “I think I might have overstated my case,” she said. “I didn’t mean for us to have a mental and spiritual union only.”

“You said you hoped for us to rise above the physical.”

Trapped by
her own
words. She really hated when that happened. “Okay, but I didn’t mean that exactly.” How was she supposed to say that seeing Dora and Khalil together had changed things for her? She might not understand exactly what went on when two people made love, but she was more open to the idea than she had been.

“I want to be clear,” she told him. “I really don’t object to the whole animal-passion business. It’s fine.”

He gave her a sardonic look.
“How generous of you, my dear.
But you see
,
I’m not interested in a wife who is only willing to do her duty.”

What? Heidi stared at him. “I don’t understand. I thought this was all about doing my duty. I thought that’s why you were mad at me. What else is there?”

He looked at her for a long time. “My point exactly,” he said, turned on his heel, and left.

She stood there, alone. No more enlightened than she’d been when the conversation began. Apparently she’d messed up worse than she thought. There was only one way to fix the situation. She was going to have
get
some expert help.

“You told him what?” Dora asked, obviously dumbfounded.

It was the following afternoon. Heidi sat with Fatima and Dora, having tea in the harem. Heidi pushed around a cucumber sandwich on her plate, but couldn’t imagine actually ever eating again. She’d given up trying to convince herself that she didn’t blush and accepted the heat flaring on her cheeks as a physical manifestation of her abject humiliation.

Fatima
had frozen in the act of bringing her teacup to her mouth. She now set the delicate china back on her saucer and stared at Heidi.

“You actually said you hoped you two would overcome the need for animal passion?” the queen repeated. “Then you offered to do your duty?” She and Dora exchanged a glance.

Heidi felt small, insignificant and very stupid. She hunched down in the corner of the sofa and stared at her plate. “I told you I didn’t want to get married, and this was one of the reasons. I’m not good with men. I don’t understand them, and I always say the wrong thing. I’m really smart about some things, but I’m hideously relationship-impaired. I don’t need him to fall madly in love with me, but I would like him to at least stay in the same room for a couple of hours.”

“Heidi, it’s not so bad,” Dora said. “You’ve punctured his ego, but men have recovered from worse.”

Heidi risked a glance at her sister-in-law. “You think?”

“Sure. All we have to do is figure out a way to bring him around.”

Heidi wanted that to be true, but she had her doubts. “He hates me. Or at the very least, he’s not interested. When we talked last night, I just made it all worse. The thing is
,
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“Offering to do your duty was a start, child.”
Fatima
’s wise brown eyes seemed to bore into Heidi’s soul. “You didn’t read those books I left for you, did you?”

Heidi ducked her head again.
“Not exactly.
I mean I looked through them, but they had pictures, and I knew they couldn’t possibly be right. Do people really do that sort of thing?”

Silence filled the room. Heidi swallowed. She hadn’t thought it was possible to feel more miserable than she did, but apparently it was. She wanted to bolt, but there was nowhere else to go. Dora and Fatima were her last hope.

The low sofas in the main room of the harem formed a loose circle around a glass-topped coffee table. Dora sat next to her, while
Fatima
was on the couch next to theirs. Her sister-in-law touched her arm.

“We can fix this,” Dora said. “The thing is
,
you’re going to have to get more comfortable with the idea of making love with your husband. Do you think you can do that?”

Heidi remembered the scene she’d witnessed over a week ago. Dora and
Khalil,
locked in a passionate embrace. She recalled her own feelings of longing and her desire that she and Jamal experience the same kind of relationship.

“I’m not a prude,” she said at last. “I’m ignorant and scared. There’s a difference.”

Dora grinned. “Good for you. Get angry. That will give you energy.”

Heidi was doubtful. “I don’t need energy. What I need is to be beautiful, sexy and confident.” She sighed. “I’ve seen the kind of women Jamal gets involved with. They are models, actresses or stunning daughters from wealthy families. They all dress perfectly, know exactly what to say in every situation, and they scream sex appeal.” She glanced down at the light blue dress billowing around her knees. “I, on the other hand, am a troll.”

“You’re not a troll,” Dora said. “You’re a lovely bud about to blossom. What you need is a makeover. Trust me on this. I know what happens with the right clothes and makeup. The transformation can be amazing.”

Heidi didn’t want to disagree with Dora, but the woman didn’t know what she was talking about. Her sister-in-law was as well dressed as
Fatima
and just as elegant. Heidi doubted she’d ever felt ugly, even one day of her life.

“I need more than a makeover,” Heidi insisted. “I need a personality transplant. I want to be someone else.
Someone witty and charming and confident.
Someone who knows how to attract her own husband.
In other words, someone who isn’t me.”

Dora sighed. “That’s a tall order.”

“Yes, but also very possible,”
Fatima
said slowly. “If you want to be someone else, I know just the person.”

Had the queen slipped over the edge into madness? Heidi wondered. Be someone else? “Who did you have in mind?” she asked.

Fatima
smiled. “Not the wife. She’s never interesting anyway. No, you must change yourself and become Jamal’s mistress.”

“Mistress?”
Heidi repeated. “Did you say mistress?”

As always,
Fatima
was beautifully dressed in a silk dress by Chanel. Soft pink pearls encircled her neck. Their lovely color made her skin glow. “Don’t act so shocked. Men have had mistresses since the beginning of time.”

“That’s not my point,” Heidi said. “I can’t even be a wife. What makes you think I can be a mistress?”

“It’s all a matter of training,”
Fatima
assured her.
“Training and confidence.”

“We’ve already discussed my lack of that.” Heidi put her plate on the table and sighed. “It’s all so pointless. Jamal is never going to notice me, we’re going to have a terrible marriage and I’ll never have children and—”

“Stop it,”
Fatima
instructed. “Listen to what I’m saying before you dismiss the idea out of hand.”

“Please,” Dora said with a laugh. “I know it’s crazy, but what do you have to lose?”

Heidi opened her mouth,
then
closed it. “Good point.” She turned to
Fatima
. “You were saying?”

The king’s mother smiled. “When I was first married, the harem was not as you see it today. In my time it was filled with lovely, exotic women from all over the world. I was an arranged marriage from the neighboring kingdom. Not exotic and not lovely.”

Heidi stared at her as she spoke. “You’re so beautiful,” she blurted out. “How could you think you weren’t?”

Fatima
smiled. “You are a wonderful child, and I appreciate the compliment. But back then I didn’t know how to dress to complement my features. I was innocent and relatively unschooled in the ways of the world. But I adored my husband, and I was determined to win him. To that end, I decided to become the most exotic and charming female in the harem.”

She picked up her cup and took a delicate sip. “I studied the ancient arts of the harem. I couldn’t change who I was inside, but I could create an air of mystery about myself. I had a friend tell my husband about an intriguing woman who might be available for the harem. I, as that woman, met my husband in secret. I disguised myself as best I could, and I seduced him. In time, he became enchanted. After I won his heart, I revealed my true identity. He was so entranced he sent all the women in the harem away.”

Heidi couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “Your life is like an ancient folk story. How wonderful. And you were happy?”

“Yes. Until he breathed his last breath, we loved only each other.”
Fatima
sighed. “That is what I want for you, Heidi. That is what I hoped you would find with Jamal.”

Heidi wasn’t so sure about the love part, but she would gladly accept a truce and maybe some pleasant conversation. “So you think I should do the same thing? Become a mysterious woman and win him?”

“It’s perfect,” Dora said, clapping her hands together. “If you’re pretending to be someone else, you can pretend to have confidence and be sexy and all the things you feel you lack as yourself. What’s the expression? Fake it until you make it.”

“It’s a great theory,” Heidi hedged. “But I’m not sure about the reality of it all working.” But as Dora had said earlier, what did she have to lose?

“There are details to be worked out,”
Fatima
admitted. “Things were simpler in my time.” She paused while she thought.

“Uh-oh, I recognize that look,” Dora said. She stood up and moved to a desk in the foyer. There she rummaged through drawers until she found a large pad of paper and a pen.
“All right.
I’ll be in charge of the lists. Where do we start?”

Fatima
pursed her lips,
then
motioned to Heidi. “Stand up, child, and walk to the French doors.”

Feeling incredibly self-conscious, she did as
Fatima
requested. The harem was at the rear of the palace and the wide glass doors faced a walled garden. She tried to gather comfort from the familiar view, but it didn’t help. She was already blushing when she turned and walked back to the cluster of sofas.

Fatima
shook her head. “Those clothes have to go. The bland colors are unflattering, and the shapeless style does nothing for you.”

Heidi fingered the thick cotton of her dress. “They’re easy.”

“Beauty is not,”
Fatima
said flatly. “It takes time and commitment.” She tilted her head. “Do you even have a figure under there?”

“Um, sure.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “I guess I’m about a size eight or ten. I’m a little bigger on top than on the bottom.”

Dora groaned. “We should all be so lucky.”

“Then why do you dress like a frump?”
Fatima
asked. “Why don’t you at least flatter your figure?”

“I don’t know.” Heidi shifted uncomfortably. “At school I wore a uniform until college. When I spent summers with Grandfather, I was more interested in comfort and ease of packing than anything else. At college, the crowd I was involved with didn’t care about clothes.” She unfolded her arms,
then
crossed them again. “I never know what to do. I look in the magazines and see pretty things, but when I get to the store I don’t know what’s going to look good on me.”

“Clothes,” Dora murmured as she wrote on the pad.

“Lots of them,”
Fatima
added. “We’ll worry about her regular wardrobe later. For now,
it’s
mistress fashions only.”

Heidi didn’t ask what mistress fashions were. She had a feeling she didn’t want to know. She tried to relax, again dropping her arms to her sides. “Clothes will help,” she said, “but how are we going to keep Jamal from knowing it’s me.” She pushed up her glasses. “I don’t think he’s going to be easily fooled.”

“Contacts for starters,” Dora said. “Have you ever tried them?”

Contacts?
“You want me to put little pieces of plastic in my eyes? Are you insane?”

Dora looked at
Fatima
. “That would be a no.”

“Absolutely.
Make a note of it. I know a good optician here in the city. She does wonderful work.”
Fatima
tilted her head. “Her eyes are hazel now, but green would be very lovely with her complexion.”

“Nixola on the contact lenses,” Heidi insisted. “I can’t wear them.”

“Have you tried?” Dora asked.

“No, but—”

“What about her hair?”
Fatima
asked, cutting her off. “Unpin it, dear, so we can see what it looks like down. When you were dressing for the wedding, I remember thinking it was quite lovely.”

Heidi stared at them. “You two are taking over my life.”

“Someone has to,” the queen informed her. “After all, you came to us for help.”

Heidi pressed her lips together. So this was
her own
fault. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

She reached up and tugged at the pins securing her hair and shook her head. The long strands tumbled down around her shoulders, nearly to her waist.

“Fabulous,” Dora breathed. “But we’re going to have to change it somehow.”

Fatima
rose to her feet and walked around Heidi. She picked up a long strand and fingered it. “Yes, very lovely.
But what to do?”

Dora stood up and joined
Fatima
. “What about layering her hair?” she asked. “As Heidi she could still wear it up so Jamal wouldn’t know the difference. As the mystery woman she could curl it and wear it loose.”

Fatima
glanced at Heidi. “What do you think?”

“That seems fine. My hair holds curl pretty well.”

“Maybe one of those washout colors,” Dora was saying.
“Something to make it look different.”

She looked at Fatima who raised her eyebrows.

“Red,” they said at the same time.

“Definitely red,” Dora added. “It’ll be perfect with the green contacts. Jamal won’t know what hit him.” She returned to the sofa and scribbled some notes. “Don’t forget to use a loofah on your hands and feet. We need the henna gone as quickly as possible.”

Heidi stared at the reddish-brown pattern on her hands. Her honeymoon was long over before it had ever begun.
How terribly sad.

“Clothes,”
Fatima
said, still circling her. “We decided she needs new ones but what kind?”

“Trashy,” Dora said flatly. “Skinny straps and short skirts.”

The queen frowned. “Are you sure? I thought maybe something elegant.”

“Elegant is good,” Heidi said quickly. “I don’t think I could wear a really short skirt.”

Dora shook her head.
“Nothing elegant,
Fatima
.
This isn’t a makeover for a princess, but for a mistress. Besides, she needs to be as different from her regular self as possible. Otherwise Jamal will see right through the disguise. I say show plenty of skin, wear makeup and high heels. He’ll be tempted and confused. Not a bad state for a man to be in.”

Heidi swallowed.
“About the high heels.
I’ve never been very good at walking in them. I don’t wear them much, and when I do, I always feel awkward. I think the elegant approach is better.”

“No, Dora is right,”
Fatima
said. “There are some boutiques on the waterfront. They cater more to the wealthy tourists. They should have what we need. All right, I’ll call the optician. Dora, you call the salon.
Ingrid’s.
You have the number.”

Dora grinned. “You’re going to love Ingrid,” she said. “She’ll transform you.”

Heidi was no longer sure she was transformation material. She felt like a cork bobbing along through river rapids. Every now and then she kept going under, and one of these times she wasn’t going to make it back to the surface.

“I need to sit down,” she said, moving to the sofa and plopping onto a cushion.

Dora continued to write. “Okay, I think the next thing is to figure out where the mystery woman is going to live.”

“We’ll set her up in one of the luxury hotels downtown,”
Fatima
murmured.
“Something expensive.
I’ll pay for it, of course. I don’t want you having to explain any expenses to Jamal. We can put a special phone line into your dressing room so that when he contacts the hotel the call is routed back to here. Not a problem. But I don’t know about a name. It should be something close to your own so you’ll remember it.”

“I have to change my name?” Heidi asked,
then
held up her hand to silence them. “Sorry.
Dumb question.
Of course I do.
But what?”

“Something fun,” Dora suggested.
“Maybe Bambi or Amber.”

Heidi wrinkled her nose. “No. Those are so not me.” Although the point of the exercise was to be someone other than herself, she thought. “I agree with
Fatima
. It has to be close. What about…” She thought for a moment,
then
was rewarded by a flash of divine inspiration.

“Honey Martin,” she said, and dropped her voice to a sultry tone.
“Hi there, Jamal.
I’m Honey.”

Dora didn’t look completely convinced, but she jotted down the name. “Honey Martin it is. You’ll have to think up a history.”

“I know exactly what it’s going to be,” Heidi said. “My college roommate for all four years was Ellie Calloway. Her family is from
Oklahoma
. They’re in a lot of different businesses, but they started in oil. Ellie has four brothers, one of whom handles the oil side of things. I could be here visiting with him.”

Fatima
pressed her hands together. “It’s perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Jamal will never put you together with Honey Martin of Oklahoma.” She leaned over Dora’s shoulder and studied the list. “Except for deciding how the two of you are going to meet, I believe we’ve covered all the important points. So let’s get started.”

In less than a week, she’d lost the ability to see, walk and speak. Heidi hobbled toward what she thought was the table. Unfortunately her eyes were watering so much that she didn’t notice the pile of cushions on the floor and stumbled into them. Her body weight shifted, her ankles flexed back and forth in a very unnatural way that sent pain shooting up her legs. Her feet went along for the ride, which was too much for the three-inch heels she was wearing. One shoe went east, the other west, and Heidi sprawled down the middle. Fortunately the cushions broke her fall.

“You need to practice,”
Fatima
said kindly from her place on the sofa. “The shoes need getting used to.”

That’s what she’d said about the contact lenses, Heidi thought grimly, blinking away the sensation of having a small car lodged under her eyelid. Soft lenses were supposed to be so easy to wear.
So comfortable.
Ha!