Sheikh's Stand In Read Free Page B

party," Aladdin teased. "Viviana, I expect my brother to have his head stuck in a book, but I thought that you at least would be prompt."
    "Blame the vagaries of ancient Khutal architecture," Viviana said as Mikal pulled out her chair for her. "I was completely lost, and I might still be wandering your gardens if Mikal hadn't managed to lead me to safety."
    "Did you two renew your acquaintance?" asked Charlotte innocently. "I was wondering if you would remember each other at all."
    As Viviana shot her sister an exaggeratedly dire look, Mikal smiled.
    "It's is quite difficult to forget the reigning queen of the local all-girls school," he said, and something about the way he said it made Aladdin look up.
    "You mean she's—" Aladdin cleared his throat, suddenly focusing on his daughter again. "Well, it's nice that you two went to school together …"
    "It is," said Viviana. "Do you think it's something that you might do with Annika?"
    The two fond parents looked so shocked that Viviana burst out laughing.
    "All right, all right, I can tell it is way too early for that…"
    "I don't think I could bear it, having her so far away," mused Aladdin. "The thought makes me more than a little ill."  
    Charlotte reached over to touch her daughter's dark hair.
    "No, I don't think I want to. Maybe the family can spend a year or so in the United States or somewhere in Europe, just to give her a fresh perspective on the world, but I want her with us."
    Viviana was oddly touched by that. She and her sister had always been looked after, but Annika was going to grow up being loved every day of her life. When she glanced over at Mikal, she was shocked to see that he had a wistful look on his face as well. He had been at boarding school also, and she wondered if he had ever been as fiercely homesick as she had been.
    "Switzerland is lovely," she suggested. "That would be a fine place to spend some time."
    "There's time to think about that yet," said Aladdin. "After all, before anything else happens, we need to get ourselves married in two days."
    The food started being served, rich and fragrant bowls of meat and vegetables that were served with small plates of rice and platters of flat bread. Suddenly, Viviana realized that she was starving after all of her travel, and she tucked in with a will, listening to Charlotte and Aladdin discuss the wedding details. Fortunately for her, it sounded as if it was already all hammered into place, and anything that wasn't was going to be ironed out in the rehearsals over the next few days.
    "You two are going to be fairly integral to the ceremony," Aladdin said. "It looks like we're doing it old-school."
    Mikal looked amused. "Does that mean that I need to brandish a sword and be ready to fight off people who might object to your joining?"
    "Not that old-school," Aladdin said drily. "You'll also note that we didn't ask you to marry Viviana and to bed her before the ceremony."
    Charlotte laughed at that, and Viviana did too, but not before she had a vision of Mikal with a sword in his hand, storming into her bedroom and …
    The image faded because Charlotte was talking, but she knew that it was one that she would be returning to at some point soon.
    "That's a very old tradition," she explained to Viviana. "Once upon a time, when the first son got married, it was expected for his younger brother and the bride's younger sister to marry in a small ceremony privately. Then, um, they would consummate their union on the marriage bed the night before, taking away any bad luck with them."
    "Well, I'm glad that we're not doing that version," said Viviana, a little startled to realize that there was a faint blush on her cheeks.
    "I'm not," Mikal said, but he said it so smoothly and so blandly that she had to think about what he meant. Charlotte and Aladdin, who seemed not to have heard, were already continuing.
    "As a matter of fact, though you'll be standing up with us throughout the ceremony, your role is largely