Tamara rolled her eyes. A giant frog? Good grief! Her mind was glitching because of that man!
Suddenly, Lana kissed her…husband? When had that happened? Hadn’t the ceremony just started?
Obviously not, since the judge was standing in front of the couple looking proud of himself, Christoph had a triumphant gaze, and Lana…poor Lana looked a bit dazed.
“She’s going to be fine,” Willow whispered, linking her arm through Tamara’s. “I think they are more affected by each other than Lana wants to believe.”
Tamara sighed, leaning her shoulder against Willow’s. “There certainly are sparks happening between those two.”
Willow laughed softly. “Were there a few sparks lighting up the air between you and your handsome fiancé as well?” she asked softly.
Tamara ripped her eyes away from Jurid and glanced at Willow, startled by her friend’s perceptiveness. “No. Not at all,” she lied. “Why would you ask something like that?”
Willow was a beautiful woman with a cascade of shiny, red hair that tumbled over her shoulders. Her light, blue eyes and pale skin made her a typical Texas beauty. But deep down underneath all of that loveliness was a mind sharper than most and an ambition that sometimes awed Tamara. Willow was a creative genius who owned her own crafting business. The things Willow could do with a bit of glue and ribbon was nothing short of amazing. Give the woman an old, worn out chair from the dump and Willow could make it over into a collector’s item worth thousands.
But Willow was a bit on the conservative side when it came to men. She dated, but…not really. So far, Tamara knew that Willow had dated several nice men but none had sparked even a small bit of interest in her.
Not that Tamara would blame her! Good grief, after her friend’s childhood, it was no wonder that Willow didn’t date seriously! Why would she? In Willow’s mind, crafts and her ability to control her world, was a much safer route. Safer and much less brutal on one’s self-esteem. Willow’s father and numerous step mothers had taught her to avoid emotional entanglements.
Tamara glanced over at the man who seemed to be looming larger and larger, and knew that Willow might have the right approach. Find something or someone she could predict and control, and life might be a bit safer.
Sheik Jurid caught her glance and pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against, moving towards her. Tamara quickly looked around, trying to find an escape.
When she accepted that there wasn’t one, she sighed and lifted her chin. She wasn’t going to stand for it this time, she vowed fervently.
“Your Highness,” she offered in greeting, dipping slightly into a mocking curtsy.
“Nice,” he chuckled.
Tamara refrained from rolling her eyes. “So you’re friends with the groom. How do you know him? You’d mentioned school but…what school? And why now?”
“I went to Harvard with Christoph. We’re old friends and, after graduating, we kept in touch over the years. We’ve entered into several business ventures together.”
Darn it! She hadn’t anticipated that!
“So…you’re leaving after the ceremony?” she asked hopefully.
He tilted his head, as if contemplating her question. “I don’t have any firm plans after the ceremony. Perhaps you could show me around the city?”
Tamara wanted to scream! “I don’t think I’ll have time to show you around. Besides, I’m guessing that you’ve been here many times before.”
“You’re right, but I’ve never seen it through your eyes before.”
Tamara ground her teeth in frustration, then spotted Willow standing awkwardly off to the side. She looked so…lost! She watched Lana and Christoph wistfully as they spoke quietly to the judge, thanking him for performing the ceremony.
For the first time, Tamara wondered if Willow wasn’t as immune to the idea of love as she professed. Perhaps her friend wanted that emotional connection, someone she could love, but because of her past, couldn’t trust that emotion.
Turning back to Jurid, she looked up into his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness, but my friend and I already have plans.” She walked over to Willow’s side and reached out to loop her arm through Willow’s. “Perhaps another time.”
Jurid watched as his lovely fiancée walked away from him. He should be angry that the beautiful princess had rejected him, but there was a tenderness in the way she’d looked at her friend. And yes, he’d seen the awkwardness in the red-head’s eyes as well. But Tamara had known exactly what to do. As the two beauties walked away, their pretty heads tilted towards each other as they whispered together, he admired the sexy sway of Tamara’s hips, the round, firm derriere underneath the lavender dress.
For the first time, he wasn’t dreading his wedding. The chemistry was there, hotter than he could have hoped. But even more, his future bride was compassionate and intelligent. Perhaps it was time to discover the real person behind the pictures his security team sent to him, and the tedious descriptions from her father.
There were depths to her that he wanted to understand. It was time, he thought. Time to get to know his fiancée and move forward with his wedding. Tamara was…stunning. And no other woman had ever tempted him as she had. He didn’t know all of her secrets, but Jurid looked forward to discovering them.
Tamara watched with a heavy heart as Lana stepped into the long, elegant limousine.
“She’s going to be okay, right?” Willow whispered.
Tamara squeezed her hand and they hugged each other as the limousine drove away, carrying their friend away. “I hope so,” she replied. “Why does it feel as if…?”
“Everything has changed?” Willow finished when Tamara paused.
“Yeah,” Tamara replied. “It hasn’t, right? We’ll still call and talk and…”
“Yes,” Willow sniffed, then wiped away an errant tear. “But before today, when we had problems, it was just the three of us.”
Tamara looked at the trailing brake lights in the distance. “I know. She’s going to fall in love with him, isn’t she?”
Willow leaned her head against Tamara’s. “He’s a nice guy.”
With a sigh, the two ladies turned and headed back into the hotel. “I’m going to take a nice long bath,” Willow announced.
Tamara thought that was a good plan. But she needed to do one thing first. “Want to meet me down here for breakfast tomorrow morning?” she asked.
Willow nodded. “That sounds great. I don’t have a flight booked yet, but I think I’ll look online and see if I can fly home tomorrow. What are your plans?”
Tamera sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I wasn’t sure how long Lana would need us to be here for her, so I hadn’t booked a flight home. But I think you’re right. Tomorrow sounds like the right time.”
“Not much else to do here,” Willow added, looking a bit sad.
“Are you okay?”
Willow smiled weakly. “I’m fine. Just…I guess I’m a bit sad that things are changing. It was inevitable, but, well, you know what it’s like. Things seemed so idyllic when we were all in school together.”