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

“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.”

Jane heaved a theatrical sigh. “Are you sure there’s no way this marriage can’t be permanent? Because I have to tell you, Emily, living in the palace has definite perks, not to mention the fact that Prince Lazhar is absolutely gorgeous.”

Emily smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not. But for the moment—” she lifted a cookie from the plate and saluted Jane with it “—we can indulge in all the perks we want.” She popped the dainty cookie in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “Or as many as we can fit in between the endless list of things to accomplish before the wedding day.”

Jane rolled her eyes, set her cup aside and dusted off her fingers. “Where’s the list? And do you really think we can pull off a royal wedding in less than two weeks? I thought you originally said that six months was going to be an extremely tight schedule.”

“Six months would have been difficult, and two weeks would be impossible if the family hadn’t agreed to an abbreviated version of the traditional royal wedding.” She slipped off the bed, walked into the sitting room to collect her notebook from the table where she’d left it late the night before, and returned to rejoin Jane. “Here’s the schedule for today,” she handed Jane the sheet prepared by the queen’s secretary.

Jane silently scanned the schedule before looking back up at Emily. “You’re booked in fifteen-minute increments, Emily.” She glanced at her watch. “Starting in forty minutes. What can I take care of on this list for you today?”

“I thought you could take my notes and check in with the palace protocol officer—he’s coordinating the church and reception invitations and seating. Then the palace florist needs some personal attention—I’m confident that they know exactly what I want, but I don’t want to ignore them. It’s important that everyone feels they’re a vital part of the team.”

“Of course.” Jane glanced at her watch again. “You’d better finish getting dressed. You only have thirty-eight minutes left before your first appointment.”

“Right.” Emily slipped off the bed and moved quickly to the bathroom. She paused at the door to look back. “Jane, I’m so glad you’re here to help me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your flying in at such short notice.”

“Are you kidding? I’d have been furious if you hadn’t called me.” Jane’s face lit with a grin and she winked at Emily. “This is going to be great fun. Now get dressed.”

Feeling immeasurably relieved and cheered by Jane’s practical approach, Emily disappeared into the bathroom.

Chapter Eight

The wedding was spectacular.

The hot Mediterranean sun poured golden light over Lazhar and Emily as they exited the church, pausing at the top of the stone steps to wave at the crowds filling the streets around St. Catherine’s. The people of Daniz cheered and tossed flowers in the air, covering the church steps with roses. They were clearly delighted with their prince’s choice of a bride.

“They love you,” Lazhar whispered in Emily’s ear as they waved to the noisy crowd.