The Park's Empire: Handsome Strangers...: The Prince's Bride

“Emily, I’d like you to meet my father, King Abbar.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Emily wasn’t sure if she should curtsy but before she could decide, the king gestured at the wrought-iron cushioned chairs next to his lounge.

“Please, join me.”

Emily felt the king’s shrewd gaze assessing her as Lazhar seated her next to his father and took the chair beside her.

“I’m pleased you find my country interesting,” the king continued.

“What I’ve seen so far has been fascinating,” Emily confided, charmed by the friendly warmth in the king’s dark eyes. Despite the sun, his skin had the pallor of ill health and his thin body seemed fragile; nevertheless the family connection between father and son was readily apparent. This is what Lazhar will look like when he’s older, she thought, taking in the bone structure and keen nearly black eyes, the boyish grin that curved his mouth as he nodded with approval at her comment, his assessing gaze developing a distinct twinkle. Like his son, he had an air of masculine elegance, though his white jacket, shirt and pale-gray slacks were much more casual than Lazhar’s gray suit.

“You must take her to the Jewel Market, Lazhar.” King Abbar’s gaze turned thoughtful as he glanced from his son to Emily. “Or perhaps you have already seen the Market, Emily? I understand that your father has been involved in gem trading for many years.”

“Since before I was born,” Emily confirmed. “He and my brother have visited the Market here in Daniz, but I haven’t had the pleasure.”

“Your father didn’t take the family with him on business trips?” the king asked, waving a servant closer to pour coffee for his guests.

“No. He doesn’t believe in mixing business with family matters.” Emily smiled her thanks as she took a delicate cup and saucer from the young man serving her. She didn’t see the questioning glance King Abbar gave Lazhar, nor the slight shake of his son’s head in response. “We didn’t travel with him at all. In fact, I’ve never been out of the States until last night.”

“Never?” Lazhar’s surprise was evident.

“Never—except for short trips across the U.S. border into Mexico and Canada and I don’t count those since they’re our neighboring countries.” She sipped her coffee, the sweet, strong brew foreign to her tongue. “Not that I didn’t want to travel,” she said hastily as she glanced up to find the king’s dark gaze assessing her. “I planned to take a year off and tour Europe after college, but then I had the opportunity to start Creative Weddings and I decided to postpone a European tour until later. Since then, I’ve focused on building the business and any traveling I managed to squeeze in has been to visit clients in the U.S. I can’t seem to get away from the office for longer than a day or two.”

“Then we’re fortunate that you’ve taken this time to spend with us,” the king said. “I understand that you’ve agreed to plan Lazhar’s wedding.”

“I’m very interested in the possibility,” Emily said carefully. “As I told your son, however, I won’t be able to put together a comprehensive proposal until I’ve seen the facilities, talked to your staff, and have a bit more input from him, his fiancée, and your family.”

The king waved away her concerns. “I’m certain that your proposal will be acceptable. My son has chosen you and I have complete confidence in his judgment in this matter. Even more so now that I’ve met you.” His eyes twinkled.

“Thank you, Father,” Lazhar said wryly.

This is how it should be between a father and son, Emily thought, as the two exchanged a look of complete understanding. Seeing Lazhar with his father made Emily realize why he had spirited her out of San Francisco and what made him willing to do whatever it took to make his father’s wish a reality. He clearly loved his father and even Emily, who had never felt that mutual affection between herself and her father, couldn’t help but recognize the depth of the connection between the two.

“I told Emily that she needs to tour the country and meet our people in order to understand more about Danizian culture before creating a wedding plan,” Lazhar continued.

“An excellent idea.” The king nodded in agreement. “And you’ll be her guide, of course—where will you begin?”

“I thought we’d dine at the palace this evening, with mother and Jenna. Emily can sample traditional Daniz recipes and the work of the chef who will be preparing the food for the reception and wedding banquet. After dinner, we’ll tour the casino.” He looked at Emily. “Unless there’s something else you’d prefer to do this evening?”

Emily shook her head. “Not at all, it sounds like an excellent plan.”

The king glanced at his watch. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy both our chef’s dinner and the casino, Emily. And now, I’m afraid I must say good afternoon. I have another appointment that I must keep.”

Emily rose, waiting while Lazhar helped his father to his feet before the king took the arm of a burly manservant. The white clad servant had appeared so silently that Emily was unaware he was near until he stepped forward to hold out his arm for the king to lean on.

“Good afternoon, Emily.” The king held out his free hand. “I’m very glad you’ve come to stay with us.”

“Thank you.” Emily took his hand in hers, surprised by the strength in the thin fingers. Although he was as tall as his son, King Abbar seemed almost frail in comparison to Lazhar and the stocky servant. An indomitable spirit and will blazed from his eyes but it was clear that the king was ill.

“We will talk again tomorrow.”

“I look forward to it.”

The king smiled with approval and turned to his son. “Come to my rooms before you go down to dinner, Lazhar. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

“Of course, Father.”

Emily stood silently beside Lazhar, watching the king’s labored steps as he left the garden with his aide and disappeared through a door at the far end of the patio.

“Your father is a very charming man,” Emily commented as Lazhar walked beside her to reenter the high-ceilinged living room. “The two of you seem very close.”

“We’re father and son,” Lazhar said simply, opening the door to the hall. Again, the guards snapped to attention.

“So are Cade and my father, but I’ve never thought of their relationship as anything but…distant.” “Difficult,” or even “adversarial” might better describe the association between her brother and Walter, she thought, but years of listening to her father’s commands forbidding any discussions about the family with outsiders made her choose a milder word.

“That’s unfortunate.” Lazhar paused outside a door and Emily realized that he’d returned her to her suite. “My father and I have grown closer since I became an adult and took over our national security. But even when I was a child and he was busy with the grueling job of running the country, with a thousand daily demands on his time, he always insisted that we share meals together as a family and each evening, he and mother tucked us in bed.” A fond smile quirked his mouth. “They’re both very hands-on parents. How about you, Emily?” he asked softly, his gaze focused intently on hers. “Do you want children? Do you see yourself as a mother who insists on tucking them in each night? Or would you leave them to nannies and governesses?”

“No governesses.” Emily shook her head. “And no nannies.”

“You say that with great conviction,” he commented.

“I was raised by my father’s housekeeper. Brenda is a wonderful woman and we were very lucky to have her, but children should have their parents involved in their lives.” Realizing that she may have revealed more than she intended, Emily shrugged and tried for a careless tone. “But I probably won’t have children, so it’s a nonissue for me.”

He lifted an eyebrow, folded his arms across his chest and leaned his shoulder against the wall. “You don’t plan to have children? You don’t look forward to marrying?”

He looked as if he had all the time in the world to discuss her marital status, or lack of one. Emily almost groaned out loud. Why had she been so adamant about methods of parenting children? Granted, she felt very strongly about the issue, but she needed to keep Lazhar at arm’s length. His affection and care for his father had already melted some of the barriers she’d erected around her emotions. She didn’t want to discuss her feelings about children with him. What if he were understanding and kind? Excellent qualities if I were his fiancée because they would make me love him more, she thought, but since I’m only the wedding planner and a business associate, not so good for me to know.

“I have a company to run,” she said lightly. “I don’t have time to think about children, certainly not for the foreseeable future.”

“But someday, you plan to marry and have children,” he prodded.

“I doubt it.” Something about him compelled her to be truthful when she’d planned to be evasive. She couldn’t bring herself to lie outright to him.

“That would be a terrible waste,” he said quietly. His gaze left hers and stroked over her face, lightly grazing her lips with an almost tangible touch. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “You’ll have beautiful children, Emily, and you’ll make a wonderful mother. You have a soft heart and good instincts.”

His deep voice thrummed along Emily’s veins, making her blood move more swiftly. His dark gaze held hers and Emily felt her bones melting, her body swaying toward his where he leaned against the wall.

The murmur of voices, growing louder as they moved nearer down the hall, snapped Emily back to awareness. She flushed. Lazhar’s fingers trailed across her hot cheek before his hand fell away and he pushed away from the wall to open the door behind her.

“Dinner’s at eight. I’ll be back to take you to the dining room. I wouldn’t want you getting lost.”

Emily murmured a thank-you and stepped inside, closing the door and sagging against it for support because her legs felt like rubber.

Lazhar Eban is a dangerous man. She moved away from the door. I bet every woman he meets falls in love with him. But not me—Ican’t afford to care about him. I’m only here to plan his wedding. She shook her head at her reflection in the wall-to-wall mirror over the bathroom vanity. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dark, and to her dismay, her nipples were clearly visible, pushing against the white silk blouse she wore under the jacket of her yellow linen suit.

Damn. She groaned and turned away from the woman in the mirror. Lazhar would have noticed, he’d been standing too close, his attention too focused on her, and he was too male to have missed the obvious signs of arousal.

She stripped off her clothes and turned the shower jets on, determined to have a better grip on her emotions during dinner and the planned visit to the Daniz Casino.