Zara felt the floor move beneath her feet. It took her a second to realize that the building wasn’t swaying; instead she was having trouble catching her breath and staying upright. Was it her imagination or had the light in the room just dimmed?
Princess Zara? Oh, sure, she’d realized that if she was really the daughter of a king then she was likely to be a princess. She’d turned the concept over in her mind but had never been able to make it real. Nor had she actually thought of herself as “Princess Zara.” Did she really have a title?
Instinctively she glanced around at the people in her suite and was relieved when she saw that Rafe had slipped in…probably to see what was going on. She looked at him and took comfort from his wink. He was the only one who could make her feel safe. She couldn’t help wishing his arm was around her instead of the king’s.
“There is much to be done,” the king said.
“A press conference,” one of the princes said. Zara told herself that she was really going to have to learn to tell them apart. If only they weren’t all so tall, dark-haired and amazingly handsome.
A third prince entered her room. She recognized Prince Sadik. He walked up and took her hand in his.
“Welcome, my sister,” he said. “Do not be too afraid. We will not torment you as we did Sabrina, when she was young.”
“I appreciate that.”
The king motioned his assistant to step forward. “We will arrange for a press conference,” Hassan said. “The world must know of our joy.”
Zara didn’t think the princes looked especially joyful. None of this was a surprise to them and they’d all been very kind. She suspected her status as a woman made her practically invisible to them, which was far better than having them outwardly hostile. She wondered how Sabrina would take the news. Although she and her half sister had discussed starting over, they hadn’t spent very much time together.
Hassan was still talking about different arrangements. He smiled at her. “You will need a wardrobe fit for a princess. And lands, I think.”
Lands? She blinked. “That’s not necessary.”
Hassan dismissed her with a flick of his wrist. “Yes, lands. Perhaps with oil. Would you like that?” He continued without waiting for her to reply. “There are some lovely jewels that belonged to my mother. As you are named for her, they must be yours.”
She slipped free of his embrace. “Your Highness—”
“I would prefer you call me Father,” he said, his eyes misting over. “Perhaps not yet, as we are still getting to know each other. But in time. Yes?”
“I—” She swallowed. King Hassan was her father. As in that they shared blood and a gene pool. She had a father.
Her mind spun with the information. It shouldn’t be a shock, but it was because now it was real. The room seemed to shift again. Fortunately no one noticed.
“You don’t have to give me anything. That’s not why I came looking for you.”
“I know, my child.” He cupped her chin. “But it makes me happy, so you must indulge an old man’s simple requests. You are my daughter, and a member of the royal family. Anything less would be an insult to you, to me and to our people.”
Her stomach took an elevator ride for her toes. They had people? She was considered…were there people who—Dear God, what was happening?
The next few minutes passed in a blur. More staff members arrived. Phone calls were made, refreshments brought in, questions were asked and answered. The princes all slipped out, but Rafe remained in the background. Zara tried to keep track of everything. She was scheduled for a full wardrobe fitting and a makeover. Hassan called Sabrina to find out the name of her stylist. The wording of the press release was finalized, and all the while Zara had the sense of being trapped in an alternate universe.
Eventually the work was finished. Hassan hugged her one last time before leaving, taking all his people with him. Zara remained seated, too stunned to stand, barely able to breathe. Rafe joined her on the sofa.
“You don’t look so great,” he told her.
“That matches how I feel.” She stared at him. “It’s going to be much more than I’ve imagined, isn’t it?”