Mila opened her door and got out as Anton worked his way out of the car. “Hello, Matt,” Anton called out. “He’s a Kentucky state trooper assigned to our area. We’re so small he’s the only one. He’s a good kid.”
“Hello, sir. Who is your guest today?” His deep voice called out as he looked down at a tablet in his hand. Kid was not how Mila would describe him. There definitely had to be something in the water here.
“This is Mila,” Anton said as he ran through the introductions. “Is Zain around?”
“Yes. He’s in his office. Last I heard he was in a meeting with Kareem. But it should be over now. Veronica is showing the rest of the interpreters around, but I don’t know where they are. You can ask inside or I can call and find out if you’d like?” This question was directed to Mila who was about to agree when Anton answered for her.
“Non, that’s quite all right. I’ll show her around. Follow me, dear,” Anton said as he slowly headed inside. “Phew. It is too hot for this old man.” Anton took a seat in the grand entranceway. “Dani!” he called out, and Mila spun around to face the smiling princess. Mila bobbed a curtsy and Dani shook her head.
“I thought we agreed to no curtsies, Mila. It’s good to see you again.” Dani smiled. “What can I do for you, Anton?”
“Mila needs a tour of the place but the heat has really gotten to me. Can you see if Zain is available?”
“No!” Mila said quickly. First, he was a prince. Second, she didn’t want to be alone with him after the lecture of how deadly his girlfriend was.
“Don’t be silly,” Dani said as she pulled out her phone. “Zain, can you come to the entrance, please? Thank you.”
Dani took a seat next to Anton and patted the cushion next to her for Mila. “Now tell me, how have you enjoyed Keeneston so far?”
Mila took a seat and turned to the woman who was the most relaxed princess she’d ever seen. She was in a tea-length, flowing skirt, a boatneck shirt, and flip-flops. “It’s lovely. Everyone has been beyond nice.”
“I’m so glad. Ah, and here he is.” Mila looked up and saw Zain staring daggers at his mother.
“Zain,” Anton said, drawing Zain’s attention away from his mother. “I asked your mom to call you. I brought Mila for a tour, but the heat has gotten to me. I was hoping you would show her around.”
“Veronica . . .” Zain started before Anton cut him off.
“. . . is already halfway through her tour. I guess I can do it.” Anton hefted himself up and made such a groan that Mila jumped up to help him.
“Don’t be silly, Anton. It’s okay. You need to rest.” Mila turned and gave an apologetic look to Zain. “Maybe you can call Dylan? He did tell me he was here and if I needed anything to call him. I don’t want to interrupt you while you prepare for the summit.”
Zain’s jaw clenched. Dylan. She wanted him to call Dylan. That wasn’t what he was expecting when he came down to meet his mother and saw her smiling at Mila, the woman who had found a way into his dreams the night before.
His mother stood as she beamed at him. “There, a perfect solution. Let’s call Dylan. I’m just sorry I can’t do it myself, but I really have to have a talk with your father. Mila, it was so nice seeing you again.”
And then his mom was gone. She walked off without a backward glance. Anton pulled out his phone. “I’ll call him,” Anton said as he turned his phone on.
Flashes of the dreams he’d had about Mila ran through his head. It sure as hell wasn’t Dylan who was running his hands over her skin. “No,” Zain ground out. There was no way it would be Dylan now either. “I have a few extra minutes.”
Anton smiled victoriously, and Zain narrowed his eyes at him as he slid his hand to the small of Mila’s back and guided her forward. “Don’t forget the secret rooms,” Anton called out. Zain stiffened. No one but family and some trusted staff knew about those rooms.
Mila fiddled with her hands next to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to be forced into showing me around.”
“It’s all right. There are forces at work much stronger than you or I.” Zain dropped his hand from her back and opened a door. He didn’t know why he had his hand there in the first place, but it had felt natural. “This is the large conference room for when we are all meeting together.” He pointed out the circular table and showed her where each party was sitting. “When in this room, you will be translating from the back there through equipment we are providing. This was last minute. We had thought not to use it, but then I saw how smoothly it worked at my uncle’s.”
Zain watched as Mila walked around to the seat with the German place card. Then she picked up the chancellor’s earpiece and examined the equipment while nodding. “I’ve used this equipment before,” she said as she headed back to where the interpreters would sit. She found her seat and tested out the equipment. “This is a great setup for such a small conference.”
“Thank you. There are many important things I want to accomplish, and I don’t want a bad setup hindering our talks. We’ll only be in here a couple of times, but I want everything to run smoothly,” Zain said as he watched her take notes of where everyone was sitting. He wondered if she realized she was nibbling on her bottom lip as she sketched the room. He had thought about those cupid-bowed lips last night as well, although her lips were otherwise engaged in his dreams. Zain shook his head and came back to the present.
Mila had finished her drawing and was walking to the door. “Where to now?”
“The smaller meeting rooms.” Zain held the door open for her and placed his hand on the small of her back once again. Mila glanced up at him questioningly but didn’t pull away. When Zain gave her a quick smile, her confusion only grew. Was he doing something wrong? Wasn’t this how flirting went?
Being who he was, Zain didn’t play by the same dating rules as others. Normally he didn’t have to do a thing and women flocked to him. But Mila was giving him a complex. It didn’t matter that the timing was wrong. Or that he had a million things on his plate to accomplish by the end of the day. He wanted to be here. With her. And he wanted to know if she wanted that, too. But so far, it didn’t seem like it.
“If you can tell me, what areas are you most looking to focus on? I would like to organize my notes and review terminology tonight,” Mila explained as she kept making notes about locations of the rooms Zain pointed out along the way.
“Nanotechnology. It was going to be a footnote, but I’m moving it up to the top spot. I’m hoping to receive participation from every country attending. Hopefully they will join a partnership with the new Rahmi International Nanotechnology Laboratories,” Zain told her before leaning forward and opening a door. “This is one of the smaller meeting rooms I have reserved for Rahmi. It’s where I will be doing one-on-one meetings. Each country will have its own sitting room that is attached to the bedchambers for their leader. Let me show you where they all are.”
Twenty minutes later, Mila had pages full of the house layout and everywhere the German chancellor would need to go. Zain had tons of work to get back to but found himself lingering. As they walked, they talked about the summit and Keeneston. She nearly had him in tears of laughter as she told him of her car trip with Anton.
“So, want to show me the secret rooms?” Mila asked with a shy smile.