Read The Prince and the Working Woman (Desert Prince Book 1) Online
Authors: Kat Attalla
The Prince and the Working Woman (Desert Prince Book 1) (14 page)
It was only a couple months ago that she had actually started dating him publicly. And while she hoped to be something more than a way he passed the time until something better came along this was never a conversation she had envisioned.
"Answer the question Mandy."
Which one did he want an answer to? "Yes and no."
"What does that mean?"
“It means yes I could see myself married to you. But no I can't see myself as princess. Why can’t I just be Mrs. Prince?"
Myrid emotions ran through her. Confusion, fear. Even surprise. But she sure as shit didn't understand his response.
He burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Well usually the title is the only reason a woman would say yes."
"Maybe you were dating the wrong kind of women," she muttered.
"That's obvious." He pinned her against the wall. Those dangerous hands of his roamed over the contours of her body. Damn he knew how to distract her. “What do you say? Will you marry me?”
Since they met, he’d had the worst sense of timing. Yes she wanted to marry again… someday. But not before she had a chance to prove to herself what she was capable of accomplishing. "I just started a great job. I got my first apartment that I'm actually proud to show off to people instead of refusing to give my address. I worked really hard for it and I wanted time to enjoy it. Is that completely selfish?"
"No, and if you want a long engagement that’s fine. If you don't ever want to take the title you don't have to. But if you can't ever see us getting married, tell me now."
"Your family wouldn’t have a problem that I have been married before?"
"My father will be so relieved if you agree to marry me he will probably make your birthday a national holiday."
She cupped her hands on his shoulders and wedged a breathable distance between them. "You see that's the kind of stuff that makes me nervous."
"It was a joke."
"Are you sure all of this isn't a joke, Hamid?"
"Is it so hard to believe that I love you?"
Considering that the last time a man said that to her he used her as a punching bag, she did find those words hard to believe."And you're not going to try to make me change once we get married?"
"Why the hell would I want to change you? It took me thirty-six years to find the right woman. A wannabe-princess I could have married years ago. And been divorced like the rest of my brothers."
“If I say yes can we go home and celebrate now?”
“As soon as the party is over.”
She huffed at not getting her way. “Can we stay in this room and celebrate?”
He looked as if he was about to happily agree when his phone rang. An annoyed scowl crossed his face. “What?” he shouted into the phone then cringed when the caller answered.
“I’m sorry. I’m busy… trying to get your ex roommate to agree to marry me if you must know .., I don’t know,” He looked away from the phone. “She wants to know if you said yes.”
“Tell her she’ll have to read about it in the paper tomorrow because we both know it is going to be there anyway.”
“Not sure, Princess. She still hasn’t said she loves me. That’s a deal breaker for me. ” He closed the phone. “This is not over. But right now there is someone waiting to see you.”
“Who?”
He didn’t answer as he led her toward the residential wing of the palace. Was he going to present her to another foreign dignitary or – heaven forbid—his grandmother? With her stomach churning and her emotions running on overdrive, a private meeting with anyone other than a therapist could prove to be an international disaster.
Breathe
He loved her. He wanted to marry her. She still couldn’t wrap her head around it. And he sprung it on her tonight of all nights. The trip through the maze of hallways ended at a salon where the family had gathered. The king and all the siblings in the same room. Was this supposed to be a baptism by fire? Before she had a full-blown panic attack she caught sight of her friend. She moved toward Mona.
"Did you say yes yet?"
"I haven't had a chance to say anything."
"Well, you're going to accept right?"
She decided to tease her friend. "Didn't we say we’d never get married unless we all approved?" One night after their homecoming disaster the three roommates, bonding over a gallon of Rocky Road ice cream and cursing their bad luck with men, swore they would never consider a serious relationship unless all three gave their thumbs up. "I will have to wait to get Angie’s approval."
"I knew you were going to say that. I even told Hamid you would."
She shot him a glance across the room where he was talking quietly with his brothers. "And what did he say?"
"He doesn't say. He acts."
"What do you mean?" A tap on the shoulder caught her attention. She spun around. Angie stood in front of her. Mandy opened her mouth to speak but could do little more than babble. "What... what are you doing here? How?"
Angie grabbed her in a bear hug. Quite a feat for the five foot nothing bundle of energy. "Your boyfriend said this was a big night for you in your career and that it would be really special for you if I was here."
"He told you that?"
"Yes. He even sent a plane for me.” She glanced around the room. Star-struck was the only way to describe her expression. “But I think he had a much more personal motive."
He’d always had personal motives for the things he did but she had to admit, they weren’t always selfish. Nothing ever touched her heart the way this gesture had. She motioned to him. He reached her side in seconds.
“I’d introduce you but you’ve already met. Excuse us a second, Ang.”
Her friend nodded but looked a bit nervous as she backed away. “Be nice, Mandy. I still need a ride home.”
“I am always nice to him.”
He pulled her into his arms. “You are not.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “I have a half a tin of peppermints that says otherwise.”
He backed her into a corner as far from the rest of the family as possible. She wound her arms around his neck. His body blanketed her in warmth. She could easily get lost in the feel of him. He whispered in her ear but the sudden silence deafened her. Peaking around him, she noticed the entire family staring at them. For all her work at trying to remain invisible, she definitely caught the attention of the room,
His warm hands cupped her face, and he gazed into her eyes. “Everyone’s watching. Just say it and they’ll ignore us.”
She shook her head, paused for a long moment and then smiled. “I love you.”
“Of course you do.” He sent a thumbs-up to the family. They went back to their conversations.
She laughed. Arrogant right to the end. She wouldn’t want him any other way.
The End
Also available from Kat Attalla
published by Books We Love Ltd.
Book 1 - Married to a Prince Series
Book 2 - Married to a Prince Series
Book 3 - Married to a Prince Series
Also from Kat Attalla
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About the Author
Like most authors, I didn't start out as a writer, but rather as a reader. My passion for romance novels began in my late teens and left me with an itch to discover the world.
After living in places as culturally diverse as Athens, Greece and Cairo, Egypt (where I met and married my own romantic hero), we returned to the States.
From a very young age, I showed an aptitude for telling stories. Of course my mother called me a pathological liar, but I prefer to think back on those days as an apprenticeship for my future craft.
