The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) Read Free

“I was actually considering various options,” she started to say and looked over at her brother, trying to gauge his reaction. “Now that I have my degree,” she said carefully, “I think the best way to be an asset to my future husband is to get some experience in the business world.” She saw Rashid open his mouth and knew he was going to reject the idea for the more traditional marriage route so she spoke quickly. “I know that, whoever I marry, will have many business interests. It would be much better if I could speak intelligently with my husband and help him through the multi-faceted issues he will probably be facing.”
    She couldn’t believe she was speaking such ridiculous tripe! Helping her husband? Good grief, let the man figure out his own problems. She intended to have several of her own to work through so the old coot would be on his own. Nor could she imagine even wanting to hear about some old man’s problems, much less caring and hoping to advise him.
    But she had to play to the audience and Rashid wanted her safely married off to someone who could ‘protect her’. She didn’t even want to contemplate what that might mean in terms of men. Old and fat with a protective detail surrounding him, and her, came to mind. She hated the idea. All of her freedom to come and go and explore the world would be eliminated simply because some disgusting old man wanted to protect his property, namely his wife and children.
    “I don’t think…” Rashid started to say but Zarah interrupted him again.
    “I’d like to be able to converse intelligently at meals with his guests. Right now, I have business theories in my mind but no practical knowledge. Could you imagine me spouting off about some random economic theory to a world leader when they’ve already dismissed that idea for their country?” She added a forced shiver of ‘revulsion’ for affect and kept her eyes on Rashid. She’d glanced at Sidra during her little speech and saw the amusement. Sidra knew exactly what was going on. But did she approve? Being an American, maybe Sidra could add her influence to her brother’s decision.
    “Enough!” Rashid commanded. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was adamant. “Zarah, you know…”
    Sidra laid a hand on his arm and he stopped instantly. Looking at her, he shook his head and sighed heavily. “Let’s have a relaxing dinner and discuss your future another time.”
    Zarah glanced at Sidra to thank her, but her heart was sinking in her chest because she knew it was only a matter of time before Rashid laid down the law and denied her the opportunity to find a job. All she could do was take the time to come up with another argument for delaying what was probably the inevitable. But the longer she delayed, the stronger the possibility that she’d find someone that would suit her better. And she’d be stronger as well. The more she learned, the better off she would be in her marriage. She didn’t want to be a doormat. She wanted to be respected and needed.
    Just as any other woman wanted.
    The meal was uneventful but delicious. Zarah hadn’t forgotten that one of the perks of being Rashid’s sister was the delicious food. He had a fabulous chef in the palace and, since she’d never needed to learn to cook, she relied on salads a great deal of the time while at school. It was hard to mess up raw vegetables, she knew. At least they were healthy if not creative or interesting. Besides, there were so many other things she wanted to do and cooking was way down on the list so bland food was acceptable most of the time.
    As Rashid dropped her off, walking her up to her apartment, he looked down at her with concern in his eyes. “We still need to talk about your marriage, Zarah.”
    Zarah looked away, her heart sinking even further and she had to fight back the tears that formed in her eyes. “I know.”
    “I’ll meet you for breakfast tomorrow at my hotel. Sidra won’t be able to stop the