He’d come in on a wave of palace employees, mostly families with children, who would join the party for another hour of fun and presents for everyone.
“I was just thinking that,” she said finally, remembering herself. “It might have been less intense.”
“It would, yes.” He nodded and waved to someone out of her line of sight.
”You weren’t supposed to fly back until tomorrow morning.” Jake struggled to get down from Lise’s arms. He’d been up and down all afternoon. “Mom,” she said, remembering the video call, “this is Raed.” Her arm ached from holding up the phone.
“Hello, Raed.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Raed said smoothly, nodding at the screen.
“I’ll have to call you back. I love you. Talk very soon.” Her mother’s face blinked out.
Lise hung up the call, face heating. “It’s a nice surprise, having you here early.”
“A coincidence, mostly. One of the presenters at the meeting canceled, and we touched down a few minutes go.” That’s not a coincidence. The thought melted on her tongue. “I only wish I could stay. I have a pitch later, one I should have given in person, so I have to go prepare for it.” He put his hand down, and she followed the movement to find Jake leaning against his leg. “I’ll see you soon, all right?”
Jake looked up at him and nodded solemnly. “Cake,” he told Raed.
“Cake,” Raed answered. She could see the struggle in his face, then the twitch of a smile. “I could stay for cake.”
“Thank you,” said Lise, a strange mix of gratitude and sadness tightening her throat. If he wished he could stay longer than cake, why didn’t he? But then again: royal duties. They would always come first for Raed. “For coming.”
“Should we sing, Jake?” Raed smiled down at his son.
A tug on her leg made Lise bend down and pick up Jake, who had somehow become covered in frosting despite not having had the dessert reveal yet. Hadn’t he been at her side for this whole conversation?
“Sing,” insisted Jake.
“You’re so persistent,” she told him, wiping off his cheeks. They might as well bring the rest of the cupcakes out.
There was singing and too much sugar, Raed holding out a cupcake for Jake. He stood close by as his son blew out the candle and watched Jake cover himself in more sugar. It felt right, having him there. But then the moment dissolved like so much sugar. Raed had to go, and people started to drift away, leaving a stack of gifts on a table for Jake to take with him. She felt a pang about that—he was too young to know about all the things he supposedly owned, and what was she going to do, ship them back to the UK with her? Some of them would have to stay here. Maybe he could play with them when he visited Raed.
That was more than a pang. When he visited Raed? What was she thinking? She wasn’t going to send her very small son to visit his father. They’d have to work something else out. All these thoughts—maybe she was dehydrated. Lise took a bottle of water from one of the catering tables and drank it down.
“That was a lovely party,” Jana said, coming back over from where she’d been tidying up the favors they’d given out in pastel bags tied with ribbon. She held her hands out for Jake, and he leaned toward her. “I think you might need a rest.” In answer Jake put his head down on Jana’s shoulder.
“I’ll see you soon.” Lise leaned in and kissed his cheek, and the two of them went off toward the cottage.
And Lise, without thinking, went toward the palace. She didn’t have any classes scheduled on account of the party, but something Raed had said—a presentation—drew her to him even though things were still off-balance. Maybe they would always be off-balance.
She knocked on his office door a moment later, and he looked up from his computer screen, dark eyes wary. The wariness disappeared in a blink, before Lise could be sure it had been there at all, and he smiled at her.
“Nothing better to do?”
“The party’s over.” She took his greeting as an invitation and came into the office, dropping down in a chair across from his desk. “I thought you might like a second set of eyes for your presentation.”
He hesitated, and for a moment Lise was sure that Raed would tell her to go away, to find something else to do. But a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
“You know, I would like that.”
He turned the monitor to face her, and Lise looked at the documents covering the screen—a speech on one side, and a PowerPoint on the other. It focused on Qasha’s contributions to the global economy and used Raed’s foundation as an example of their plans.
“I like it,” she told him. “There are just a few things I’d tweak. Some of your English idioms are a little off. And there’s so much about the world, and not so much about Qasha, don’t you think?”
The curve of his smile heated her from the inside out, and he beckoned her around behind his desk. Sitting so close to him felt thrilling, almost forbidden, and Raed didn’t pull away when she leaned in to point something out on the screen.
No. He leaned closer, shifting his body so there was even less space between them.
Her suggestions led into a bigger conversation about the presentation and reworking some of the sections, and with a start Lise realized it was Jake’s bedtime. She stood up in a hurry. “I’ll put Jake to bed and be right back.”
Raed didn’t look up from the screen. “Fast as you can.”
It made her heart beat faster to think he wanted her back here, as silly as it was.
She and Jana worked together to get Jake down for the night, and she asked Jana for a little more of her time. The other woman smiled broadly. “No plans tonight, thank goodness. I’ll be here when you get back.”
And then Lise was rushing back to Raed’s office. He was still sitting at his computer, frowning at the screen. “We’re on in fifteen. Will you stay?”
“Of course.” She slid into her seat. “I won’t be on camera, will I?”
“No. Just hand me the papers when I need to refer to them. You can keep an eye on the PowerPoint, too.”
Lise wanted to stay more than she’d wanted most things in life. It felt right, being near Raed, as much as their interaction at the door of her classroom had felt fraught. She settled into her spot beside him as he ran through his checks for the presentation. His audio worked. His camera was pointed in the right direction.
The skin on her face warmed. Maybe it was from blushing, or maybe it was from being out in the sun at the garden party. That warmth settled over her, and Lise relaxed into it. She fit into this office, into this moment. Raed’s attention on the monitor gave her the cover to want to fit into his life, too. No more awkward moments in doorways. No more heavy silences when they couldn’t figure out what to say to each other.
It was another few minutes before the conference was slated to start, and then it was delayed half an hour, and fatigue crept into her bones. The chair by Raed’s desk was surprisingly comfortable. Lise sat up as straight as she could and refused to give in.
She blinked, and he connected the call. Raed was different when he was working on palace business. Some of his warmth gave way to sharpness. He was never rude, no—he wouldn’t be. Not when he was representing the royal family. But he was direct. A focused energy came off him in waves, and Lise was a support person, pushing papers across the desk to his hands.