Free The Oil Tycoon and Her Sexy Sheikh by Ros Clarke Page B

then.
    He took her back by the sea road. There was hardly anyone else around and he was in a better mood than he’d been since she arrived in Saqat. If she was going to talk to him, this was her opportunity.
    “So you decided that we could be friends after all?” She nudged him with her elbow.
    His brow creased. “It seems so.”
    “I’m glad. I’ve enjoyed the afternoon.”
    “There will be gossip.” His voice was tired, and for the first time she noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
    “Will that matter?
    He sighed. “Yes. Probably. I shouldn’t have done it.”
    “We were in a public place, Khaled. There wasn’t anything indecent about it.”
    “I know. But here, there is a different expectation. Men and women are not normally friends.” He spread his hands in a gesture of frustration.
    “You are the sheikh. Can’t you make the rules?” She wanted to help. He oughtn’t to feel this guilty.
    He shook his head, but he smiled slightly. “I wish that were the case, but even if it were so, there is something else I must tell you. There will be a formal dinner at the palace tonight. Several members of the Saqati Council will be present and will wish to meet you.”
    “Of course.” She had been expecting something of the sort.
    “The Treasury Minister will be present with his daughter, Aliya.”
    She nodded, though she still wasn’t sure why he felt the need to explain.
    “She is the woman my father would like me to marry. Our betrothal is due to be announced later this week.”
    The air left Olivia’s lungs. She stumbled a little, but put out her hand to stop Khaled when he would have helped her. It was ridiculous to feel like this. Their affair—it barely deserved the name of an affair, it would have been more accurate to call it a one-night stand—was over. They both knew that. And now that Khaled had been called home, it was natural that he should begin to consider his marriage.
    He would be the emir. He would need his own family. His own heirs. He would need a wife who would support him, because Khaled would always shoulder too many burdens for one man. He needed someone he could trust to share his burdens in private.
    They turned off the road toward the palace. Khaled led her away from the formal steps at the grand entrance, to a discreet door in the garden walls. The guard nodded at the sheikh and let them pass. Every step he took, every place he went, he was under scrutiny.
    Presumably, it would be the same for his wife. She, too, would be accompanied by bodyguards if she wanted to browse the stalls in the souk, or to visit a friend. Would she be permitted to pursue a career?
    Olivia made herself take a deep, calming breath. It was none of her business what the life of the sheikha would be.
    Belatedly she realized she had yet to respond to Khaled’s announcement. “Congratulations.”
    He grimaced. “Thank you.”
    “You are unhappy with your father’s choice?”
    “No.” He shook his head and she thought he was trying to persuade himself. “No, my father knows Saqati society better than I do. I have no doubt that he has chosen well.”
    No doubt he had chosen the suitable wife Khaled had described to her. A woman from the right sort of family. A woman the Saqati people would welcome and approve. A woman who was not Olivia.
    “It sounds so impersonal. So unromantic.”
    “It is not supposed to be romantic. It is my duty.”

Chapter Six
    Olivia dressed carefully for dinner. She needed to look suitably formal while remaining businesslike in her appearance. It was important that the Saqati Council members look at her as an oil executive first, and a woman a distant second. She didn’t want to risk the possibility of a comparison with Aliya, especially if the gossip had already begun after their excursion to the souk. She selected a little black dress and matched it with a short sparkly cardigan in the same color. Her makeup was discreet, and she limited her jewelry to a pair of