“It was so awesome! He’s an amazing dancer. Who would have guessed?”
“I don’t remember hearing you come in, so you must have done more than dance.”
Shira blushed. “Yeah! He invited me back to his hotel room. They had the entire floor to themselves. And everywhere he goes, there are at least two bodyguards that go with him. It’s kinda creepy, but cool at the same time.”
Erin nodded. “Yeah. I noticed that Kam had his own entourage of guards with him last night. They seem to know to stay out of sight, though. I saw them only once or twice.”
“So, did you and Kam have a good time? What did you guys do after I left?”
Erin turned with the pretense of refilling her coffee cup. “Well, we talked for the longest time. I’m not sure what he does in Jawhara, but—”
“Wait! He didn’t tell you!” Shira exclaimed.
“Tell me what?” Erin asked, turning to face her cousin.
Shira gestured towards an open chair. “Come sit with me.”
Erin watched her cousin for a moment before walking over and sitting down. “What don’t I know?”
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell you,” Shira murmured, almost as if she was talking to herself. Sensing Erin’s attention focused on her, she looked up and said, “Kam is short for Kamal.”
Erin scrunched her eyebrows together. “That’s it? The big secret is his name?”
Shira shook her head. “His name is Kamal Mehalel El-Jawhara.”
Erin let the words sink into her foggy brain, but they still didn’t register. Shaking her head, she asked her cousin, “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
Shira grimaced. “Erin, Kam is the Sheikh of Jawhara. He runs the entire country.”
Erin opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Kam is in charge of a country? I slept with a world leader? Why hadn’t he said anything?
Erin was normally even-tempered, but she took exception to being deceived—even if it was unintentional. Shira reached out to put her hand on her arm.
“Maybe he wasn’t aware that you didn’t know who he was?”
“Maybe. But we talked about so many things.” Erin looked at her cousin before asking, “Did you know who he was?”
Shira shook her head. “Not until we were already back at their hotel. Early this morning, Kale got a phone call. When he hung up, he said he had to return to Jawhara immediately, but he was looking forward to seeing me in a couple of weeks.”
“A couple weeks? Are they coming back?” Erin asked, feeling hopeful that maybe Kam would return with him.
Shira shook her head, bouncing in her chair with excitement. “No! I’m going to Jawhara. Rick and Damon are taking a group of us over there to see everything firsthand. Kam thinks it will help our firm with the advertising campaign.”
Erin tried to hide her disappointment. Does that mean that Kam isn’t coming back to the States anytime soon? “When do you leave?”
“Two weeks. I’m so excited. Kale promised to teach me to ride a camel.”
Erin smiled. “A camel, huh? Have you ever even been on a horse?”
Shira laughed. “Well, no, but, he said he would make sure I didn’t fall off.”
“I just bet he did. So I guess you really like him.”
Shira nodded, a dreamy look in her eyes. “I don’t know what it is about him, but he’s not like any other guy I’ve ever met.”
“I’m happy for you.”