The Sheikh's Amulet (Sheikh's Wedding Bet Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

I’d spend the night with him?” she hissed as she pulled out of his grasp. “I’m going to change, and then I will be back to discuss the evening with you. Is that okay?”
    “That’s fine,” he said gruffly.
    He retreated to his room, and she closed her eyes. She shouldn’t have snapped at her father like that. It was just a job, and all the jobs were the same. There was no reason that she’d treat this job or him any differently. Frustrated, she tried to gain control of herself. Closing her door gently, she quickly stripped out of the dress and pulled on a pair of yoga pants and an over-sized t-shirt. Leaving the dress and her heels on the floor, she went back to her father’s room and knocked on the door.
    “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “That was rude, and I shouldn’t have said that to you.”
    He stepped back, and she moved past him. Unlike her room, her father’s room was pristine, but it wasn’t because he was neat. It was simply because he didn’t have much with him. His role was not as visible as hers. He’d made a few appearances with the sheikhs, but it was his job to control things from the back.
    “The night went well,” she said with a sigh. “We were all business in the beginning, but he was attracted to me. It made him easy to read, and I was able to get him to relax. We wined and dined and danced, and I got him to kiss me goodnight. Overall, I would call it successful.”
    “Did he ask to see you again?” Sean demanded.
    “See me again? He doesn’t have to. He’s going to involve me in the investigation. It’s a given that he’ll be seeing me again,” she muttered.
    Her father shook his head. “That’s not good enough. We need to move this faster,” he muttered as he began to pace. “What’s your next step?”
    “Don’t worry, I have this. You taught me well, so just relax. Everything is working like it should. His catering staff admitted to seeing a black-haired woman they can’t later account for, but that’s all they have. Once they realize the investigation can’t go any farther, we’ll have what we want.”
    Sean stopped and stared at her. “Tamrin, are you sure this is going to work?”
    “This is my plan, and it’s a good one. Relax. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go to the palace and ask for a tour. I’ll tell them that I need to look around and try to jog my memories about this mysterious black-haired woman. I’ll change tactics, and we’ll reevaluate his reactions and figure out step two. We’re doing this by the book. You know that. We don’t have time for mistakes.”
    His shoulders slumped. “I know. I’m sorry. You did well, and tomorrow will be great.” Crossing the room, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. “I love you, baby girl. You know that, right?”
    Closing her eyes, she hugged him back and buried her face in his shoulder. She loved him, too. That was the only reason she was doing this. To save him. Pulling away, she gave him a reassuring smile. “Get some sleep, Dad. Tomorrow will go perfectly.”
    Stretched up on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before easing out of his room. Alone, she fell back on her bed and blew out her breath. She’d been raised her whole life to do this, but there was so much at stake now. Her whole life she’d been told not to make things personal, only this time, it was personal.
    This time, her father was at risk if things didn’t go according to plan and they didn’t have time to come up with a new idea.
    Closing her eyes, she willed sleep to claim her, but it eluded her. She tossed and turned the remainder of the night.

    * * *
    T he taxi sped down the road toward the palace, and Tamrin tugged at her lace top and frowned. She could feel how tense her father was. Clearly, a night of sleep hadn’t done him any good either.
    “This is a friendly meeting, Dad. Get it together.”
    “Tamrin,” her dad muttered warningly as he nodded his head toward the driver.
    She