Sheikh's Contract Bride

SINCE she was headed for the seventh level of hell, now would be a good time to sunscreen her soul. Alina Bethia Farrah knew truth was the best way to avoid the burning issues of the afterlife. And she'd admit to not always valuing honesty as much as she should have. But, as much as she hated pretending, she'd made a promise to switch places with her identical twin and stand up to the man her sister couldn'tHis Royal Highness, Malik Hourani, the Crown Prince of Bha'Khar. Beth had only ever had her sister to count on, and Adina was the only person who had ever loved her. Her request was the emotional equivalent of bleeding or being on fire. Saying no wasn't an option. But now that Beth was here in the palace, waiting to meet the Prince, the reckless spirit that had convinced her she could pull this off completely wimped out. As she stared at her suitcases lined up on the exquisite marble floor of the entryway, the deception that in her L.A. apartment had felt noblewrong thing, right reasonnow just seemed wrong. She was pretending to be the woman who was going to marry the sheikh because her sister wanted out of the marriage agreement. As the firstborn by two minutes, Addie had been betrothed by their father, the Bha'Kharian ambassador to the United States, to the royal heir. Now, Addie was torn between being disowned by the father she adored or marrying a man she'd never met. Neither alternative was appealing, especially after she'd begun dating a manpossiblytheman. It had been several years since she'd come of age, and she'd begun to hope the sheikh had forgotten their arrangement. But only a few weeks ago he'd begun the process of finalizing their betrothal with wedding vowsand he wanted to do it sooner rather than later. That was when Addie had come up with the idea of switching places. Outspoken Beth had often run interference for introspective Addie when they were children, and had assumed her identity. But this wasn't about which twin had broken the lamp or hadn't eaten her brussels sprouts. This secret could have international repercussions. Beth didn't like secrets. But she liked her sister's situation even less. Beth had once fallen for a guy like the sheikh, a man from a politically connected family who believed it was perfectly all right to be married and have a mistress. He felt entitled to play by different rules because he was a powerful man. Now her sister was engaged to one of the world's most powerful men, and Beth could only imagine what ruleshelived by. This arranged marriage was just wrong, and somehow Beth would get Addie out of it. Now she waited for the Crown Prince in the apartment where the royal intended, or in this case her facsimile, would stay until the wedding. Nervous, Beth paced and checked out the place. The living room was spacious and bright, and filled with expensive artpaintings, blown glass, and figurines. French doors opened onto a balcony overlooking the Arabian Sea, and when she pulled the doors wide the breeze blowing off the ocean cooled her hot cheeks. She could do this. She and her twin were interchangeable; no one could tell them apart, not even their father. This should be as easy as falling off a log, especially with a guy who'd never met either of them. The knock on the apartment door startled her, even though she'd been expecting itmaybebecauseshe'd been expecting it. Letting out a long breath, she walked through the apartment, then opened the doorand stared like a fool. The man standing there was tall and dark andWow. Handsome was an understatement. Pulling herself together, she said, "Hi." "I am Malik Hourani." With the barest movement of his shoulders and head, he executed a respectful bow. "The Prince?" "Indeed," he said. "How do you do?" "I do very well." HiSouthwick, Teresa is the author of 'Sheikh's Contract Bride ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373039579 and ISBN 0373039573.