The Park's Empire: Handsome Strangers...: The Prince's Bride. GINA WILKINS
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kiss against her soft mouth. “It will be fine, Emily,” he promised. He pulled open the door. “Have you talked to your family? Are they coming to Daniz for the wedding?”
“I called Brenda—she’s very excited and says she wouldn’t miss it. I couldn’t reach my father but I left a message with his secretary, and I’m waiting to hear from my sister and brothers.”
He nodded, silently acknowledging her comment, mentally making a note to make sure that as many of her family members as possible were present for the occasion.
“By the way,” he said as he opened the door. “The family jet is picking up your friend Jane in San Francisco. She’ll be here late tomorrow evening.”
Her eyes widened, her fingers tightening on his. “Thank you so much.” Delight mixed with relief in her voice.
“No problem. I know you want her help with the wedding details. If there’s anything you need, Emily, you only have to ask.”
They crossed the threshold, entering the dining room to join his family for dinner.
Emily kept reminding herself that her engagement to Lazhar was a sham and their marriage would be solely because of the king’s ill health and Lazhar’s love for him. Nevertheless, with each considerate, thoughtful thing Lazhar did, and with each additional hour spent in his company, she fell more deeply in love with him. Providing his jet to fly Jane to Daniz was such a sweet thing to do, she thought as she donned her pajamas later that evening.
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