Free The Sheik's Arranged Marriage by Susan Mallery Page B

simmering hostility had been a painful contrast to the gentle teasing of the evening before. Once in the palace, he grabbed her arm, hustled her into their suite and pointed out the spare bedroom.
    “You’ll be happier in here,” he’d told her, and then had left.
    Heidi stood in the center of that room now, looking at the lace-covered bed. The mattress was full-sized but still much smaller than the one in the main bedroom of the suite. There wasn’t a balcony, but she did have a lovely view of the gardens, and the private bathroom was more than adequate. To be honest, the room was nicer than any she’d had while at school. She should be very happy here.
    Except…
    Heidi walked back into the living room. Rihana and the other servants had finished moving her clothes. In truth, that hadn’t taken very long—she didn’t have many things and as Jamal’s new wife, she would be expected to upgrade her wardrobe, as befitted a new princess. Which meant a shopping trip to Paris and London . But the thought of shopping didn’t thrill her. She didn’t have much in the way of fashion sense. For a while she’d thought Jamal might come with her and help. After all, he’d had all those lovely women in his life, and most of them had dressed beautifully. However, she doubted that he would be willing to accompany her anywhere now.
    Heidi looked at the long, light green sofa, the comfortable club chairs and the low coffee table. There were colorful paintings on the wall by the small dining alcove and a mural of a forest against the back wall. Opposite the sofa were the French doors leading out to the main balcony and beyond them a view of the sea.
    This was her new home. Here was where she would come after working on her precious texts. She would grow old within these walls—ignored and loathed by a husband who already hated being married to her. It’s not that she’d planned on finding true love, but she had hoped she and her new husband could at least be friends.
    Heidi sank onto the sofa and buried her face in her hands. Everything had gone wrong. Probably because she’d done everything wrong. What good was it being book smart when she made such a mess of her personal life? She felt so stupid. Her husband of twenty-four hours was already regretting his decision. To be honest, so was she. So far marriage was the pits.
    She straightened and decided that she had to get out of these rooms. If she could distract herself, she might feel better. Maybe she would go see Dora and talk to her. Khalil’s wife was a sensible person, and she’d already indicated she would like to be friends. That decided , Heidi hurried out of the suite.
    The palace hallways were cool, despite the raging temperature outside. She moved easily through the maze of passages. As a child she’d always adored exploring the beautiful, old structure. She loved how each twist and turn could lead to something wonderful—a small grotto in a wall, a fountain, a mosaic depicting a story. The pillars and arched doorways had always seemed so exotic, yet familiar. She’d longed to belong here. Now she did, but not in the way she’d hoped.
    Her new sister-in-law was a deputy minister in the El Baharian government. She had her own office in the business wing of the palace. Heidi nodded to the employees she saw as she followed the signs leading her toward Dora’s suite of rooms.
    During the two weeks Heidi had stayed in the harem, Fatima had talked much of Dora’s accomplishments. In the past two years, Khalil’s wife had expanded her staff to include researchers, fund-raisers and several college interns. Apparently Khalil often grumbled that his wife had not-so-secret plans to allow women to take over the kingdom. But Fatima had said that her grandson was very proud of his wife. Heidi wondered what it would be like to have a relationship like that with a man. To share work and dreams, and to have him be proud of her.
    Jamal was a prince and therefore very