Rosanna’s eyebrows rose. ‘Anything else?’
She looked like a long-suffering teacher, barely restraining impatience with a slow pupil.
‘Some height. I don’t want a permanent kink in my neck from bending down to kiss her.’
Though at the moment, he seriously doubted this scheme would produce a woman he’d want to kiss at every opportunity. This would be a marriage of convenience. He didn’t expect romance, or set-the-world-alight passion. Yet Rosanna was right, for his own sake he needed to find someone he could live with, permanently. He wanted mutual respect, affection and, yes, attraction.
She raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s it? Blonde and not short? It’s not much to work with.’
Salim bit back the urge to tell her the truth. That at the moment what he wanted was a woman with dark, cloud-soft hair and eyes that glittered first dark pewter then silver as her mood changed. A woman whose kisses were fiery and demanding, but who felt almost vulnerable in his arms.
Arms that ached, not, he assured himself, with emptiness, but with tension at being put through this undignified trial.
‘I’m not used to choosing women like they’re items on a menu.’
That startled her. Salim watched her eyes darken and her mouth soften as if he’d surprised and pleased her. Was that understanding he read on her face?
For a moment he felt again the sense of communion that he’d experienced in Scotland. It eased the edginess in his belly.
‘Fair enough. Are you sure there are no negatives you want to specify?’
‘A high-pitched giggle,’ he found himself saying. ‘It grates. I once spent an evening at an official dinner next to a woman who kept tittering at me.’
He’d ended up with a sore jaw from grinding his teeth.
‘Maybe she was nervous. You can be rather daunting.’ At his stare she hurried on. ‘Being royal and so on.’
Except he’d been incognito and the girlish giggle had been an unsuccessful attempt to appear cute and helpless. Personally he preferred a woman who didn’t feel the need for a protector. He liked a woman with spirit.
Rosanna sat straighter, rolling her shoulders as if they’d grown tight. ‘Okay, Your Majesty. Can you tell me anything youdowant, if you can’t specify physical attributes?’
‘Ideally?’ Salim muffled a laugh. ‘The aim is to find someone acceptable to me and suitable as my queen. That’s a long list.’
Anticipation sparkled in her eyes. ‘Try me.’
He shrugged. ‘She must be someone who won’t be overwhelmed by life as a royal. Someone either born to such a position or who already lives a high-profile life. She must cope with the stresses of life at court and being in the public eye.’
Rosanna’s eyes narrowed. ‘So she must be royal or aristocratic.’
Her tone gave nothing away but Salim suspected she thought him elitist. He felt a tiny burr of discomfort under his skin.
‘Yes. Or from a humble background, as long as she’s now used to moving in privileged circles. Not someone who’s going to be overawed by the pomp and ceremony of life as my queen.’
He didn’t care about her pedigree, but he didn’t have time to hold his wife’s hand if she felt overwhelmed. This would be no love match. He didn’t believe in love, not for himself. Heneededsomeone who could adapt effortlessly and hit the ground running.
‘Not someone self-absorbed,’ he continued. ‘I need someone who thinks about what others want and need.’
Did he imagine her mouth pinched at the corners as she typed? ‘Someone attentive to your needs then.’
‘I’m not looking for a servant, Ms MacIain.’ Her head jerked up as if pulled on a string and he saw that’s precisely what she’d thought. ‘I have a palace full of people to cater to my needs. I was thinking of someone interested in my people’s needs.’
‘Of course. I understand.’
Rosanna ducked her head again, making another note, but not before Salim caught a flush of colour on her cheeks.
‘But yes, since you mention it,’ he relented. ‘Someone interested and willing to listen to my needs, as I hope to take an interest in hers. I want a partner, Ms MacIain, as far as that’s possible.’
Salim hadn’t thought about it in those terms before, but that was exactly what he needed. He’d spent his life training to serve his country but he was no fool. Things would be easier with someone to share his burdens.