Читать книгу Woman in a Sheikh's World - Sarah Morgan - Страница 8

‘YOU said what? OK, now I know for sure you’re mad. You’re going into the desert to find a wimpy princess who doesn’t have the courage to speak her own mind so that she can marry the man you were in love with?’ Jenny lay sprawled on the bed in Avery’s apartment, watching as her friend packed. ‘It’s like something out of a really bad soap opera. Scratch that—no one could make this stuff up. It is going to end in tears. And those are going to be your tears, by the way.’

‘I’ve never cried over a man in my life. And stop saying I was in love with him.’ A skilled packer, Avery rolled a couple of shirts to prevent them creasing. ‘And Kalila isn’t wimpy. It’s not her fault if she’s been bullied into submission all her life by her father. I feel sorry for her. Better not to have a father around than have a bad one.’

‘Let’s leave your father issues out of this. There’s enough going on without that.’

‘I do not have father issues.’

Jenny rearranged the pillows and cushions on the bed and slumped against them. ‘What I don’t understand is why the Prince would even ask you to do this. That must have taken some nerve.’

‘He didn’t ask. I offered. Without a bride he can’t get married and I want him married.’

‘You want him married?’

‘Of course.’ Avery added two pairs of trousers to her packing. Once he was married there would be no going back. If nothing else could kill her feelings for Mal, then surely marriage would. It would bring the finality she’d been looking for. ‘And I want the party to go ahead. It’s bad for business if a party is cancelled.’

‘So you’re doing this for the business?’

‘I’m doing it because I’m worried about Kalila. You should have seen the way he looked at me when I told him what I’d said to her. As if I’d pushed her into the lion’s cage and locked the door from the outside. I like her.’

‘Really? She sounds like a wimp to me.’

‘I think she’s a victim of her circumstances. She’s sweet. And yes, I feel responsible.’ Avery sorted through her make-up, picking out the bare minimum she needed in order to not look like a train wreck. ‘And guilty. That is the last time I ever tell anyone to face their fears.’

Jenny picked up a lipgloss and tried it on the back of her hand. ‘You’re not responsible for the fact she clearly has appalling judgement and did something rash and stupid. Nice colour, by the way.’

‘Maybe I am responsible.’ Avery rescued the lipgloss and added it to her bag. ‘I was the one who put the idea in her head. Without me, she wouldn’t even have thought of doing something so radical.’ She packed carefully, referring to the list on her phone, knowing that the right clothing might be all that stood between her and an unpleasant experience in the desert. She picked items designed to cover her, not just because of concessions towards modesty or even protection against the sun, but because she wanted to do nothing that might be remotely described as provocative. The last thing she needed was Mal thinking she was trying to attract his attention.

‘This is ridiculous. You’re running a business, Avery. You don’t have time to gallivant off after some woman you barely know with a guy you used to date. You should have—what are those—?’ Jenny stared in alarm as Avery packed her sturdy hiking boots.

‘“Those” are going to save me from snake bites and scorpion stings.’

Jenny recoiled. ‘OK, forget my last sentence. No wonder the Princess ran away. She isn’t wimpy, she’s sensible. She’s thinking long-term. Better a brief stint in the desert now than a lifetime of the place. If I had to wear boots like that I wouldn’t marry the Prince either. It was meant to be a glass slipper, honey, not a hiking boot.’

‘The desert is beautiful. Wild and stunning.’

‘This from a woman who never likes to be more than ten minutes from a spa?’

‘Actually I did stay in a spa while I was there, but I also stayed in a Bedouin camp and I enjoyed that as much. It’s a really romantic place.’