“There’s food in the kitchen and your room is the first door on the right at the top of the stairs,” Zain called out as he hurried from his house.
“Zain!” Veronica called as she came running toward him in five-inch stilettos and a tight pencil skirt that caused her to take a lot of tiny steps.
He wanted to yell “not now,” but Veronica never ran. She was never discomposed. She was always calm and efficient. Now her hair was falling from her updo and there was actually a bead of sweat on her forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“I made room in the schedule to meet with Surman and Tahjad tomorrow morning. Since you appointed Kareem your go-to for those two countries, I asked him to convey our wishes to them. Well, Kareem just gave me his report. Tahjad agreed to meet, but Surman refuses.”
Zain raised one eyebrow. “Surman refuses to meet one-on-one with me? Whom did Kareem talk to?”
“The queen’s secretary.”
Zain looked at the car and sighed. He wasn’t going anywhere right now. “Get me the queen directly.”
Veronica pulled out her cell phone and made the call. “No, ma’am, His Royal Highness insists on speaking to Her Majesty directly. Thank you.” Veronica handed him the phone. “She’s on the plane flying here. Tread carefully. We don’t want her to turn around.”
Zain nodded and took the phone. “Queen Suri, thank you for taking my call. I’ll make it quick. I’m very excited about a new technological advancement Rahmi is making, and we want Surman to be partners with us. It will be a great success for our region. I hope you will decide to meet with me tomorrow morning at eight before the conference." Zain paused to listen to the other end of the line. "Wonderful, thank you.”
Zain hung up the phone. “Crisis averted. Instruct Kareem on sweet-talking that secretary. I think she says no to everything as a default. Now, if there are no other crises, I need to get to the café and see a certain girl.”
Veronica smiled. “Finally! Abby is the perfect choice . . .”
“Abby? No, Mila. This is the last chance I have to give her all my attention before the summit.”
“Mila? The interpreter? Well, I’d better find a reason to occupy the German chancellor so Mila can slip away during the conference.” Veronica winked as Zain slid into the car.
“I’ll give you a raise if you manage that,” Zain called out, starting the car and flooring it all the way into Keeneston.
Mila had turned away from him not because she didn’t like him, but because she thought he was dating Abby. He almost chuckled. The whole town thought those two would end up together, but he and their friends knew it would never happen. The thought of Mila drunk and at a tableful of women who wanted to help him was worrisome. They could push too hard and Mila could run scared. She seemed the skittish sort who had trust issues.
Of course, with some of the men Mila dealt with on a daily basis, he could understand that. Politicians tended to think they had a right to everything, even the women working for them. He had to prove he could be trusted.
Zain pulled to a stop in front of the café. The smell of chocolate and fried chicken wafted around on the summer air. The warm, yellow glow of the lights spilled out of the large windows and onto the sidewalk. The sounds of laughter and voices met his ears as he hurried to open the screen door. But that was just Keeneston—home.
The screen door hadn’t even slammed shut when Zain found her with his eyes. He could only see the back of her head as she faced the others. Sienna was facedown in a pie. Abby was struggling to keep her head up. Layne looked green. Riley and Reagan leaned on each other as they giggled.
“What’s going on?” Zain demanded in his most princely tone. He was going to kill whoever did this to her.
Abby hiccupped. Riley and Reagan giggled again. Layne burped. Sienna snored and Mila turned with a pleased look on her face. “Zain! What are you doing here? Want to challenge me, too?”
Zain marched to the table as Matt and Father Ben stood up from their table and walked to meet him.
“I think I can shed some light on this,” Father Ben said with amusement. He was Zain’s age, a little shorter with light-brown hair. He certainly didn’t look like a priest in his jeans and a T-shirt advertising a local rock band. “They tried to get Mila drunk. Mila declared the Rose sisters’ tea as weak. Then they challenged her to shots. Mila won.”
Mila snorted. “Sure did. I can still touch my nose, too,” Mila said as she held out her hand and slowly brought her finger to her nose.
Zain looked down at her smug grin and tried not to laugh. Tomorrow was going to be very interesting indeed with Mila interpreting and Abby patrolling while suffering from hangovers.
“I’ll take Riley and Reagan home,” Matt offered. Zain raised an eye and Matt didn’t blink. “As if you aren’t going to take Mila back to the bed and breakfast.”
Okay, Matt had him there.
“I’ll take Layne,” Father Ben offered.
The door to the café opened and Ryan hurried in. “Sienna?” he asked softly as he looked at her face pillowed by the apple pie. “Well, this wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“What were you expecting?” Zain asked.
Mila snickered. “Oh, I know what he was expecting.”
Ryan stepped closer and lowered his voice. “She said she wanted to make a baby.”
“Twenty dollars on forty weeks from now!” Miss Lily called from the other side of the room.
“Twenty on thirty-nine weeks from now,” Miss Daisy countered.
“Dang, these new hearing aids are worth every penny,” Miss Violet said as her sisters all agreed.
Zain looked back to Ryan whose back was to the Rose sisters as Ryan sent Zain a wink. It took everything Zain had not to laugh. Ryan took great pleasure in taunting the gossips about when he and Sienna would have a baby.
“Come on, honey,” Ryan cooed as he slipped his hand around her shoulder and under her knees. He stood up with her in his arms and placed a kiss on her whipped-cream-covered forehead and carried her from the café.
“Okay, ladies. Let’s go.” Matt stepped between the giggling sisters and held an arm out to each.
“I don’t think that’s what Riley wants to hold on to,” Reagan snorted as Matt’s lips curved into a satisfied grin.
“One more word, ReRe, and I’m spilling your dirty little secret,” Riley threatened as Matt started to maneuver them from the room.
Dylan opened the door and then stepped into the café. He took one look around and could only shake his head as he saw Father Ben trying to escort Layne from the table, Zain with his arm around Mila, and Abby alternately giggling and hiccupping.
“I guess this means no dinner? Come on, Abs. I’ll give you a ride home on my bike.”
Poppy looked nervous. “She’s pretty drunk. I don’t think she can hold on to you on a motorcycle.”
Dylan sent Poppy a wink and she tittered. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t fall off.”
Abby stood up and swayed. “Next time I need to interrogate someone, I’m bringing you with me,” she said to Mila before hiccupping again. Dylan wrapped his muscled arm around her waist and helped her from the café.
Father Ben managed to get Layne to her feet. With a grim smile and a shake of his head, he helped her outside. Zain turned to Mila and looked down at her face covered in a goofy grin. “Ready?”
“Sure am. I’ll have you know, I’m only tipsy.”
Zain walked out of the café with his arm around her. He didn’t care if she was or wasn’t drunk. He just wanted to feel her pressed to his side. “How much did you have?”
Mila started counting on her fingers and when she reached seven, she shrugged. “I lost count. But it was fun. I don’t normally have a night out with other girls. I’m usually too busy traveling or going to boring dinners for work.”
“Do you think this week is going to be boring?” Zain asked as they stopped to cross the street.
“Nothing you do is boring,” Mila whispered before slapping her hand over her mouth. “Did I say that out loud?”