Salim looked at Rosanna’s tender smile and the glow in her eyes. It was a shame but he couldn’t let her weave romantic imaginings. It was too dangerous.
‘I missed the romantic tradition. My parents’ marriage was an arranged one. My mother was a princess from a nearby kingdom and brought a lot of valuable resources with her. Fuad and I were raised to expect something similar. To choose brides who would benefit our nation, not someone we fell for.’
‘You don’t believe in love?’
Her tone wasn’t wistful. In fact, he couldn’t catch any inflection there, yet Salim sensed there was more to her question than simple curiosity.
Which wouldn’t do. It was too dangerous.
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. ‘I believe romantic love exists because there are people who swear they’ve experienced it.’
Actually, watching his cousin, Tara, Salimknewit existed. She and Raif were head over heels in love. But she came from a different background.
‘No one in my immediate biological family has experienced it. Not me or my brother. Not my parents or my parents’ parents. I suspect susceptibility to love might be something you inherit or acquire from your family. But in my family...’ He paused and shook his head emphatically, watching Rosanna closely to be sure she got the message. ‘No. Definitely not.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ROSANNALOOKEDUPfrom the book she was trying to read and shut it with a sigh.
She couldn’t concentrate. Salim’s revelations about this place and his family kept circling in her head.
The tale of a long-ago king, consumed with love for his proud bride who wasn’t easily won. The romantic in Rosanna responded to the idea of him planning a dynastic marriage and instead succumbing to love. And all his descendants too. She didn’t know much Dhalkuri history but even she had heard that its leaders were famed as fierce and indomitable.
Yet it wasn’t the long-ago past that occupied her thoughts. It was Salim. The sharp, assessing look he’d given her when he carefully explained he wasnotdescended from the same stock. That his family didn’t marry for love.
Rosanna understood.
It was a reminder that Salim would marry sensibly. He’d choose a partner who met his exacting criteria, to satisfy him and the needs of his country. There was no question of him falling in love.
No question of him falling forher.
Which was a good thing.
Neither of them wanted that sort of complication.
After Phil she wasn’t ready for a long-term relationship. The thought of falling in love scared her. It would take a lot for her to give her trust to another man.
Plus she didn’t need Salim to warn her of all the reasons why she wouldn’t make a suitable match for him. She spoke only English and a few phrases of schoolgirl German. She had no diplomatic experience. She didn’t feel at home mixing with royalty or national leaders. As for being tall, blonde and free from scandal in her past...
Rosanna shifted abruptly and the book slid from her lap to the ruby-coloured cushions of the window seat where she was curled up. She reached out and pulled the carved wooden screen further open so she had a clear view across to the next mountain peak.
The sun was setting, bathing the world in an apricot glow. Light caught the spray from a tiny mountain stream, creating a hazy rainbow that turned the nearby ravine into a magical place.
A weight pressed down on her lungs.
She didn’t believe in magic.
Since Phil she barely believed in romance, despite her fondness for stories with happy endings. Which was why she’d been able to accept Salim’s proposition. It was the only way forward. The only way to survive her all-encompassing fascination with this man.
She had to believe that by sating this hunger she could conquer it and move on. Having this honest relationship, where she and Salim shared the truth unvarnished by the trappings of romance, made her stronger. She was taking control of her pleasure and her life choices.
When it was over she could return to getting her life back on track after the disaster she’d left behind in Australia. She could focus on her career and eventually, maybe one day when her soul had healed, she’d meet a man she could trust and care for.
It all made eminent sense. Why then had she felt hurt when Salim excused himself to visit the family of caretakers here? He’d explained that he’d known them since childhood and it would be rude not to see them.
Rosanna had watched him leave for the house tucked into the walls on the outside of the palace and felt...desolate.
Didn’t he believe her good enough to meet his friends? Was he ashamed of her?