Noel finds Ana endlessly fascinating and incredibly sexy. With a bit of charming persuasion from him, the two begin what they both know is a short-term affair. No rules, no heartache, just great sex and a bit of fun. So when he believes Ana has betrayed his family’s trust, he’s glad his heart wasn’t involved. Glad she’s gone. Glad he’ll never see her again. Until he realizes a couple terrible truths too late: Ana was actually the one who was betrayed, and somehow he’s fallen hard for her. Now he needs a bit of Christmas magic to prove he’s worthy of her love.
Grab your copy of The Sheikh’s Christmas Fling (Christmas with the Yard Sheikhs Book One) from www.LeslieNorthBooks.com
EXCERPT
Chapter One
Ana hiked her daughter higher up on her hip, wiping away a few strands of chocolate brown hair that had slipped out from her headband. This was their first full day in the palace, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to navigate without a full color map.
“This place,” she hissed as a palace servant led her and Charlie, her best friend and sous chef, from their wing toward the kitchen, “is bigger than the state of Montana.”
Charlie snorted. They’d been friends for over ten years, practically long-lost siblings. And if she was going to take anyone on this crazy trip halfway around the world to start a new job as head chef at a palace in a tiny Christian country just a month and a half before Christmas, it was him.
Linh kicked her legs, clocking the back of Ana’s thighs. She inhaled sharply. “Linh, baby. Not now. Mommy is trying to navigate.”
“This is kitchen,” the servant said, pushing open a swinging door. A gust of cool air billowed out. Ana grinned, catching sight of the interior.
“Well look what we have here.” She breezed inside, hiking Linh higher on her hip one more time. The three-year-old was heavier by the week and liked to be held more than Ana’s body could always physically manage. But she couldn’t blame the girl—Ana worked a lot. And with all the recent travel and upheaval in living situations, she wasn’t sure her daughter would detach herself anytime soon from her hip.
Inside the kitchen, everything gleamed stainless steel and spacious. This was the type of kitchen she’d only ever fantasized about. Enough deep sinks to wash a thousand pounds of potatoes. Wide aisles between work stations, so no hips or butts would knock together.
And the pans. Oh heavens, the pans. Skillets and sauté pans hung from steel hooks above a center marble island. She ran a finger over the cool edge of a skillet. Charlie whistled low.
“Looks like we stepped into paradise,” he murmured.
“You got that right.” Ana smiled at the servant. “Thank you for your help. We’ll be in here for a while. Can you make sure nobody bothers us?” This was part of her process. Isolation in her work space. Enough time to get acquainted with the nooks and crannies of the space that would become her colleague. The palace had a smaller kitchen for prepping daily meals. This one was for the occasions: the banquets and feasts and state dinners. And it was all hers.
The servant bowed slightly and took his leave. Once the kitchen door clanged shut, Ana and Charlie grinned at each other.
“Can you believe this?” Ana drew a deep breath as Linh wriggled in her arms to be let down. She slid to the ground and headed toward a cabinet nearby. “Even Linh likes it.”
“And that’s the deciding factor, isn’t it?” Charlie smiled, ruffling Linh’s jet-black hair. Linh grunted as she tugged at the cabinet door, revealing an entire stock of rubber spatulas. She plopped down on the ground and began pulling them out, one by one.
“I think this was the right choice.” Ana’s words rang hollow to her ears, even though she’d tried to insert all the conviction she wished she felt. Truth was, she didn’t know what the right choice was anymore. “I’ve been looking for a challenge, you know?”
Charlie lifted a brow as he strolled down the line of work stations. “A challenge? Or an escape after He Who Will Not Be Named?”
Ana fought to keep her face neutral. Of course Charlie was right. After her ex, Reggie, drove their joint restaurant into the ground in LA, a spectacle worthy of newspaper editorials and even a brief stint as a trending hashtag, Ana had been struggling to find her balance again.
“What better way to disconnect than four thousand miles of distance?” She forced a smile. “Even better if it’s with an all-consuming job that might very well make me go gray at age thirty.”
“That would happen anyway, with the type of kitchens you tend to create,” Charlie cracked.
Ana rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue with him. She was an exacting professional. Beyond that, she was a trained chef, and she wanted to own her own restaurant again. But before the latter could occur, she needed financial stability.
Maatkare was her ticket to debt freedom and investment money toward her next business endeavor. All she had to do was make it through to the other side. Forty-three days of elaborate vegan meals in the name of Christmas.
Piece of vegan cake.
Except vegan cake usually sucked.
“Well this needs to be good, Charlie.” Ana sent him a warning look. “I can’t handle another failure. Not after what happened with the restaurant.” She drew a shaky breath, trying to imagine this expansive kitchen filled with waitstaff and cooks. “I need this to go off without a hitch.”
“Trust me, it will.” Charlie paused to peer underneath a cutting board embedded in a stainless-steel countertop. “You’ve worked in New York. Tokyo. Seoul. Los Angeles. Your restaurant earned a Michelin star before Jerkwad started stealing cash. You’ll pick up the pieces and build something even better.”
Ana let his words percolate inside her for a few moments until a crash echoed through the kitchen. She rushed toward Linh. Her dark eyes were wide with a toppled jar beside her. Enough spatulas to fill a flea market surrounded her.
“Oh, honey.” Ana laughed, getting down on her knees. “I forgot. It’s sleepy time for you.”
Charlie tutted, his voice distant from across the kitchen. “That’s right. It’s almost nine p.m. back home.”
“This time difference is killer.” Ana returned all the spatulas, then shut the cabinet door. “I’ll put her down for a quick nap. She’ll adjust sooner or later, right?”
“I hope so, for your sake,” Charlie said.
Ana scooped Linh into her arms, heading out of the kitchen and back toward their rooms. Scents of gardenia and jasmine reached her as she curved through the hallways. Columns spiraled upward, supporting arching ceilings that were lined with ivy.
This whole place was a paradise, not just the kitchen. So why couldn’t she get more into it? Linh kicked and fussed at her side, starting a wailing chant of “Nooo, nooo.” Her daughter had no idea how far from home they’d gone; nor could she understand why Daddy didn’t come around anymore, nor would he.
Reggie had bolted from the restaurant—and from his daughter’s life. Even though they’d spent fifty thousand dollars and a full year of their married life together working to bring Linh from Vietnam, it wasn’t enough to make him commit.