The Sheikh and the Christmas Bride. Susan Mallery

and loving—something he had appreciated after the death of his own mother. But now, he found the trait inconvenient.

      “Tahir is powerful. To offend him over this makes no sense,” he said.

      Lina surprised him by saying, “I agree.”

      Kayleen shrieked. “Princess Lina, no! You know these girls. They deserve more.”

      Lina touched her arm. “They shall have more. As’ad is right. Tahir should not leave feeling as if his generous offer has been snubbed. Kayleen, you may not agree with what he’s trying to do, but believe me, his motives are pure.”

      Kayleen looked anything but convinced, yet she nodded slowly.

      Lina turned to As’ad. “The only way Tahir can save face in this is to have the children taken by someone more powerful who is willing to raise them and honor the memory of their father.”

      “Agreed,” As’ad said absently. “But who would—”

      “You.”

      He stared at his aunt. “You would have me take three orphan girls as my own?” It was unbelievable. It was impossible. It was just like Lina.

      “As’ad, the palace has hundreds of rooms. What would it matter if three girls occupied a suite? You wouldn’t have to deal with them. They would have your protection as they grew. If nothing else, the king might be momentarily distracted by the presence of three almost-grandchildren.”

      The idea had merit, As’ad thought. His father’s attempts to marry off his sons had become unbearable. There were constant parades of eligible young women. An excuse to avoid the events was worth much.

      As’ad knew it was his duty to marry and produce heirs, yet he had always resisted any emotional involvement. Perhaps because he knew emotion made a man weak. His father had told him as much the night the queen had died. When As’ad had asked why the king did not cry, his father explained that to give in to feelings was to be less of a man.

      As’ad had tried to learn the lesson as well as he could. As a marriage of convenience had never appealed to him, he was left with the annoyance of dealing with an angry monarch who wanted heirs.

      “But who would care for the girls?” he asked. “The children can’t raise themselves.”

      “Hire a nanny. Hire Kayleen.” Lina shrugged. “She already has a relationship with the girls. They care for her and she cares for them.”

      “Wait a minute,” Kayleen said. “I have a job. I’m a teacher here.”

      Lina looked at her. “Did you or did you not give the girls your word that their life would get better? What are you willing to do to keep your word? You would still be a teacher, but on a smaller scale. With three students. Perhaps there would even be time for you to teach a few classes here.”

      The last thing As’ad wanted was to adopt three children he knew nothing about. While he’d always planned on a family, the idea was vague, in the future, and it included sons. Still, it was a solution. Tahir would not stand in the way of a prince taking the children. And as Lina had pointed out, it would buy time with his father. He could not be expected to find a bride while adjusting to a new family.

      He looked at Kayleen. “You would have to be solely responsible for the girls. You would be given all the resources you require, but I have no interest in their day-today lives.”

      “I haven’t even agreed to this,” she told him.

      “Yet you were the one willing to do anything to keep the sisters together.”

      “It would be a wonderful arrangement,” Lina told Kayleen. “Just think. The girls would be raised in a palace. There would be so many opportunities for them. Dana could go to the best university. Nadine would have access to wonderful dance teachers. And little Pepper wouldn’t have to cry herself to sleep every night.”

      Kayleen bit her lower lip. “It sounds good.” She turned to As’ad. “You’d have to give your word that they would never be turned out or made into servants or married off for political gain.”

      “You insult me with your mistrust.” The audacity of her statements was right in keeping with what he’d seen of her personality, but it was important to establish control before things began.

      “I don’t know you,” she said.

      “I am Prince As’ad of El Deharia. That is all you need to know.”

      Lina smiled at her. “As’ad is a good man, Kayleen.”

      As’ad resented that his aunt felt the need to speak for his character. Women, he thought with mild annoyance. They were nothing but trouble.

      Kayleen looked him in the eye. “You have to give your word that you’ll be a good father, caring more for their welfare than your own. You’ll love them and listen to them and not marry them off to anyone they don’t love.”

      What was it with women and love? he wondered. They worried too much about a fleeting emotion that had no value.

      “I will be a good father,” he said. “I will care for them and see that they are raised with all the privileges that go with being the daughter of a prince.”

      Kayleen frowned. “That wasn’t what I asked.”

      “It is what I offer.”

      Kayleen hesitated. “You have to promise not to marry them off to someone they don’t care about.”

      Such foolish worries, he thought, then nodded. “They may pick their own husbands.”

      “And go to college and not be servants.”

      “I have said they will be as my daughters, Ms. James. You test my patience.”

      She stared at him. “I’m not afraid of you.” She considered for a second.

      “I can see that. You will be responsible for them. Do as you see fit with them.” He glanced at his aunt. “Are we finished here?”

      She smiled, her eyes twinkling in a way that made him wonder what else she had planned for him. “I’m not sure, As’ad,” she told him. “In a way I think we’re just beginning.”

      Chapter Two

      Kayleen wouldn’t have thought it was possible for her life to change so quickly. That morning she’d awakened in her narrow bed in a small room at the orphanage. If she stood in the right place and leaned all the way over, she could see a bit of garden out of her tiny window, but mostly the view was a stone wall. Now she followed Princess Lina into an impossibly large suite in a palace that overlooked the Arabian Sea.

      “This can’t be right,” Kayleen murmured as she turned in a slow circle, taking in the three sofas, the carved dining table, the ornate decorations, the wide French doors leading out to a balcony and the view of the water beyond. “These rooms are too nice.”

      Lina smiled. “It’s a palace, my dear. Did you think we had ugly rooms?”

      “Obviously not.” Kayleen glanced at the three girls huddled together. “But this stuff is really nice. Kids can be hard on furniture.”

      “I assure you, these pieces have seen far more than you can imagine. All will be well. Come this way. I have a delightful surprise.”

      Kayleen doubted any surprise could beat a return address sticker that said El Deharian Royal Palace but she was willing to be wrong. She gently pushed the girls in front of her as they moved down the hallway.

      Lina paused in front of a massive door, then pushed it open. “I didn’t have much time to get things in order, so it’s not complete just yet. But it’s a start.”

      The “start” was a room the size of a small airport, with soaring ceilings and big windows that let in the light. Three double beds didn’t begin to fill the space. There were armoires and