Acting Royal #Wattys2017

Chapter 20

Jenny sat in her room shaking. She couldn't stop thinking about the conversation she'd just had with Amir. There was something about it that had been so threatening, a guised threat hidden somewhere in the subtext of his words. In the way he'd looked at her with his back eyes. The way he had circled her while talking.

She also had a horrendous thought; one she wasn't sure she should even entertain. There was something so desperately insincere about they way he'd spoken about those deaths, the plane crash and about Rana's accident...

Had he..? Was it possible... she needed to keep that thought to herself. That was not something she should ever say out loud. Ever. She also couldn't let it distract her right now, because since that conversation with him, she'd also realized that he didn't believe them.

She would have to start giving the performance of her life whenever Amir was around. She needed to play the loving, attentive, doting fiancé with such conviction that no one in that room would ever suspect that... and now that would be very, very easy.

She smiled. Her face flushed just thinking about him. She didn't need to pretend with him anymore. In fact, somewhere along the way the lines between reality and fantasy had blurred so badly that she hardly knew where one ended and the other began.

And now she was sitting here counting the seconds until she saw him again.

ZAYN

Zayn had something very special planned for tonight. It involved getting out of the palace and showing Jenny was his country was really all about. Beyond the palace, the glitzy skyline and tropical beaches lay something much, much more.

The desert. It was the essence of his people. Their history and their heritage. The sand was in their blood, it was who they were and it was where they all came from. Only a few hundred years ago, while most civilizations were living in cities and towns, many of his people were still living like nomadic Bedouins in temporary tented camps. And although his people much preferred good air-conditioning, high-rise living and modern conveniences now, the desert still held a special place in their hearts and in the winter months most families spent many happy weekends camping in it.

He'd camped a lot as a boy, and had loved it. The vast endless, emptiness of the desert and the eerie, mysterious noises of the dunes singing in the desert winds. The stars that came out to greet you at night and the beauty of the moon, casting a silver glow on the sands. Unfortunately, camping had come to an abrupt stop when his family had taken over the crown. The royal tented camp that they'd visited often as a child, became infrequently used, until it had stopped all together. It was still there though and he'd called one of the butlers ahead of time to make the necessary arrangements to go out there with Jenny.

He'd told Jenny nothing of where they were going, only to pack a small overnight bag and he was looking forward to showing her this part of his country- more than he even imagined he would.

"So, where're we going?" she asked when they finally rendezvoused downstairs.

"Ahhh, but if I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise." He said marveling at how she looked. He'd told her to dress casually, and she had. Her hair was loose and her curls bounced as she moved. She hardly had a scrap of make-up on, she was wearing a simple summer dress that was loose fitting and nondescript in everyway possible- but she looked amazing. She smiled at him and for the first time, he noticed a tiny dimple in her left cheek. He walked up to her reached out and touched it with his finger.

"You have a dimple." He smiled down at her. "I can't believe I've only noticed it now." He leaned down and put his lips to her ear, getting a faint hint of her jasmine scent "Makes me wonder what other parts of your body I haven't discovered yet."