The Park's Empire: Handsome Strangers...: The Prince's Bride. GINA WILKINS
at Emily, a mischievous smile lighting her face. “I think that’s the real reason she never misses her time at the hospital.”
“Until you and your brother give me grandchildren, I have every intention of cooing at babies in the maternity ward every chance I get.”
Jenna rolled her eyes, Lazhar chuckled, and their mother serenely sipped her coffee, ignoring them both.
Just like an ordinary family, teasing each other over dinner, Emily thought. Only this family lives in a royal palace and their husband and father is the king. She found it amazing that they were so warm and approachable. Lazhar was relaxed and open, teasing his younger sister, affectionately attentive to his mother. The cool businessman she’d first met in her San Francisco office was absent, replaced in this private setting by a son and brother who clearly loved his family.
She was having trouble keeping her perspective. It was increasingly difficult to think of Lazhar as a client when everything about him seemed to have been tailor-made to fit her private dream of the perfect man.
He’s not perfect, she told herself firmly. This is the guy that tricked you into boarding a plane and then flew you to a foreign country without first asking your permission.
A small voice reminded her that Lazhar had an understandable reason for doing so, but she ignored it. She needed reasons to convince her foolish heart that Lazhar wasn’t a perfect prince. She’d take what she could get.
Emily was still contemplating the unwise attraction she felt for Lazhar when they left the palace for the Daniz casino. They’d said goodnight to Jenna and Caroline after dessert—Caroline leaving to look in on her husband and Jenna off to join friends at a small birthday party. Emily had hoped Lazhar’s sister would join them to provide a buffer between herself and the prince, but Jenna waved goodbye with a promise to see them the next morning.
Fortunately for Emily’s peace of mind, Lazhar seemed intent on playing tour guide as the black Mercedes limousine wound through the narrow streets. The city seemed even more exotic and foreign to Emily under cover of night, the narrow streets sometimes shadowed, sometimes brightly lit.
“The casino provides employment for many of our citizens as well as generating income for the monarchy,” Lazhar said as they turned a corner onto a wide avenue.
A short block away, the avenue ended in the circular driveway facing the casino.
“It looks like photos I’ve seen of the Opera House in Paris. Is there a connection?” Enchanted, Emily smiled with delight and looked at Lazhar for confirmation.
“The architect was Charles Garnier, who also designed the Paris Opera House and the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco.” Lazhar leaned closer and his fingertip brushed her cheek, just to the left of the corner of her mouth. “When you smile, you have dimples.” His voice was distracted, his gaze intent.
Emily forgot to breathe. Warmth lingered where the tip of his finger had touched her. “I know. You haven’t noticed them before?”
“I noticed. But they aren’t always there.”
A tiny frown of confusion pleated her brow. “They aren’t?”
“No. Only when you really smile, like you did just now, do they appear.” His voice was deeper, the smooth tones roughened and faintly uneven.
“I didn’t know,” she murmured, held by the heat in his eyes and the slow, repeated brush of his fingers against the spot near the corner of her mouth. He bent nearer, his big hand cupping her chin, his fingertips gently covering the frantically beating pulse in her throat. He was going to kiss her. Emily desperately wanted him to; her lashes lowered, her gaze fastened on his mouth as he drew closer.
The car stopped moving.
Despite the opaque glass that separated them from the driver and bodyguard in front, Lazhar heard the passenger door open and knew that he had only seconds. He forced his fingers to leave Emily’s silky, warm skin and eased away from her. Her lashes lifted and she stared at him, clearly disoriented.
“We’re at the casino,” he murmured, watching her. The bemusement cleared from her eyes and she glanced over his shoulder just as the door opened behind him.
“So we are.” Her cheeks were flushed but her voice was calm, composed.
Lazhar wished he were as cool but frustration tightened his muscles and he had to quell the urge to pull the door shut, take her in his arms and to hell with the crowd gathering outside. Instead, he slid out of the car and turned to hold out his hand to Emily.
The thigh-high slit in her gown’s skirt allowed a tantalizing glimpse of shapely leg, ankle and strappy heeled sandals as she took his hand and let him draw her out of the limo. The casino security staff stood in a semicircle, creating an oasis among the elegantly dressed crowd of onlookers.
Someone called to Lazhar and he lifted a hand, smiling with cool ease before tucking Emily’s hand through his arm and bending closer. “The security staff will escort us into the casino. Don’t worry, just keep walking and smile and wave.”
Lightbulbs flashed, excited Danizians and tourists called hellos as they moved quickly across the forecourt and through the wide bronze doors into the casino’s huge foyer.
The security staff, each holding a walkie-talkie in their hand and wearing headpieces that allowed them to hear, escorted them across the marble floor to a series of arched doorways.
Emily’s eyes widened as they paused at the top of the shallow stairs just past one of the rocococarved doorways. Before them stretched the main floor of the casino. Carpeted in plush red, with enormous Waterford crystal chandeliers suspended from the domed ceiling, the gaming tables a mix of turn-of-the-century mahogany and state-of-the-art machines, the Daniz Casino was awash in a glittering, shifting crowd of tuxedo-clad men and designer-gowned women.
The air hummed with excitement and tension.
“Oh, this is marvelous. What fun.” She turned to Lazhar, smiling with anticipation. “I love it.”
“I’m glad you approve.” He nearly groaned with frustration. He wondered how long she’d want to play? How long till they would once again be in the dark privacy of the limo and he could touch her again, taste her as he wanted to? “What do you prefer? Cards? Roulette? Dice?”
“I have no idea.” She smiled at him again before her fascinated gaze drifted over the scene before them. “I’ve only been to Las Vegas a couple of times and I tried my hand at blackjack, but only because the friend I was with played.”
“Friend?” The swift stab of dark jealousy took Lazhar by surprise.
Chapter Four
“Yes, my friend Jane and I were there for a wedding convention last year.” She looked up at him. “You remember Jane, don’t you.”
Relief washed over him. “Yes, I remember Jane.”
“Lazhar?”
The casino manager, his tall lean body elegant in a black tuxedo and a welcoming grin on his swarthy face, strode quickly up the steps from the gambling floor. The guards stepped aside, allowing him to enter the small oasis of space their circle created around the prince and Emily.
“Esteban.” Lazhar held out his hand. “How’s business this evening?”
The manager’s handshake was brief but firm. “The house is doing well, as usual.”
“Good to hear. Emily, this is Esteban Garcia, the man who controls the casino. Esteban, this is Emily Parks.” Emily was friendly but no more than polite as Esteban bowed over her hand and returned her smile with a glint of male appreciation. She glanced at Lazhar. When she lifted a brow in inquiry, he realized that his jaw was set, his fingers curled into fists and he had the distinct urge to punch Esteban for smiling at her and holding her hand for seconds longer