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watched her face burn, felt the hammer of her radial pulse beneath his fingers in response to his touch, and in that moment he could almost have forgiven her for rejecting him. He considered pulling her down onto his lap. ‘Join me.’ It wasn’t a request, Georgie knew that—it was a challenge.
    ‘I’m here to spend time with my sister and niece.’ He dropped her wrist and without another word she left the room and walked through the maze of the palace to join Felicity in the nursery where she had settled down to feed.
    ‘What kept you?’ Felicity asked as Georgie closed the door.
    ‘I was just talking to Ibrahim.’ Georgie kept her voice light.
    ‘Why?’ And there was challenge too in Felicity’s question, just a teeny call to arms, and Georgie refused to go there, choosing to tease instead.
    ‘Why wouldn’t I? It was either chat to a beautiful man or watch my sister breastfeed.’
    To her credit, Felicity smiled.
    ‘He asked about my flight. I just said goodnight.’
    ‘Stay away from him,’ Felicity warned. ‘He’s trouble. I’ve seen how he treats women—he’d eat you alive and then spit out the pips.’
    ‘We were just saying goodnight!’ Georgie laughed, but Felicity would not relent.
    ‘He’s so arrogant. Strolls back unannounced and expects everyone to jump to his whims, swans around the palace without a care in the world.’ Georgie opened her mouth to interrupt because Ibrahim had looked far from carefree on the plane, but she decided against it, intuitively knowing Ibrahim wouldn’t want that information shared. ‘He’s completely spoilt!’ Felicity moaned on. ‘Way too used to getting his own way, though not for much longer.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ Georgie asked, but Felicity shook her head.
    ‘I’ve said too much.’
    ‘It’s me!’ Georgie pointed out. ‘And given what I told you earlier …’
    ‘Okay,’ Felicity relented, but, paranoid as ever, she had Georgie check and double-check that the intercom was turned off, then still spoke in a whisper. ‘The king’s had enough. Karim told me he’s going to be talking to Ibrahim tomorrow. He wants him back in Zaraq, he’s tired of his youngest son’s ways. Ibrahim was supposed to go to London to study engineering and then come back, but he’s finished his master’s now and there’s still no sign of him returning. Ibrahim’s working mainly from there and saying that he wants to continue with his studies, but the king wants him here.’
    ‘So, is he closing the open cheque book?’ Georgie struggled to keep her voice light.
    ‘He tried that a couple of years ago apparently.’ Felicity sighed. ‘And Ibrahim promptly went into business with one of Zaraq’s leading architects. A lot of that dazzling skyline is thanks to my brother-in-law’s brilliant brain. Ibrahim doesn’t actually need royal financial support.’
    ‘So how can he stop him?’ Georgie asked. ‘If Ibrahim doesn’t want to be here, how can his father force him?’
    ‘His father’s king,’ Felicity pointed out. ‘And Ibrahim, at the end of the day, is a royal prince and privilege comes with responsibility.’
    ‘You’re starting to sound like them!’ Georgie attempted a joke, but Felicity shook her head.
    ‘Look at all the work Karim does for the people. He’s out there now in the middle of the desert, working with sick people, while Ibrahim’s working his way along the bar at the casino like a tourist. Well, Ibrahim’s a prince and the king’s tired of waiting for him to act like one.’ Even though she was whispering, she still dropped her voice. ‘He’s going to be choosing a bride for him, whether he wants it or not. Soon Ibrahim’s going to be coming home for good.’

CHAPTER FIVE
    S HE’D slept too much on the plane and Georgie woke before sunrise, pulled the shutters open and properly surveyed her gorgeous room then climbed back into bed. After a moment’s deliberation, she did what Felicity had told her to if she wanted