“Do you want me to tell her to leave the country?” Lina asked. “I will. I can be very imperious. We can ship her back on the next plane.”

Kayleen was tempted. Very tempted. “I can’t tell you how much I want to say yes. It’s just…she’s my mother. Shouldn’t I try to have a relationship with her? Don’t I owe her?”

“Only you can answer that. Although I must ask what you owe her for. Giving birth? You didn’t ask to be born. That was her choice. And with having a child, comes responsibility. If she didn’t want to be bothered, she should have given you up for adoption.”

“I wonder why she didn’t,” Kayleen said. What would her life have been like if she’d been raised by a couple who wanted a child? She couldn’t begin to imagine.

“Who knows. Perhaps the paperwork was too complicated for her tiny brain.”

Kayleen grinned. “I like that. But it still leaves me with the issue of what to do with her. While I appreciate your offer to get rid of her, that doesn’t feel right to me. I think I have to try and make a real connection with her, no matter how different we are. I’ll deal with her for another week. If we can’t find some common ground and she’s still acting awful, then I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“You’re giving her more chances than I would, but you have a kinder heart.”

“Or more guilt.” She sighed. “You don’t suppose As’ad thinks I’m anything like her, do you?”

“Of course not. We can’t pick our relatives. Don’t worry-he doesn’t blame you for your mother.”

“I hope not.” She rose. “All right. I need to go make good on my word and try to spend time with Darlene.”

“Let me know how it goes.”

“I will.”

Kayleen walked down a flight of stairs to her suite. She paused at the door, then moved to the next one and knocked.

“Come in.”

She walked into her mother’s suite and found her at the dining room table, sipping coffee. There was a plate of toast and some fruit in a bowl.

Breakfast, she thought, trying not to judge. It was after eleven.

“Oh, there you are,” Darlene said by way of greeting. “I just received the most delightful note from the king. I’m invited to a formal party. Something diplomatic. It sounds fabulous. I’ll need something to wear. Can you take care of that?”

Kayleen sat across from her at the table. “Sure. One of the boutiques is sending over some dresses. If you give me your size information, I’ll have them send over some for you.”

Darlene smiled. “I like the service here.”

Despite the fact that she hadn’t been up very long, Darlene was perfectly made-up, with her hair styled. She wore a silk robe that clung to her curves. She looked beautiful, in a brittle sort of way.

“I thought maybe we could spend some time together,” Kayleen told her. “Get to know each other. Catch up.”

Darlene raised her eyebrows. “What do you want to know? I got pregnant at sixteen, left you with my mother and took off for Hollywood. I landed a few guest spots on soaps and a few prime-time shows, which paid the bills. Then I met a guy who took me to Las Vegas. You can make a lot more money there. Which I did. But time isn’t a woman’s friend. I need to secure my future. I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen, when I heard from your king. Now I’m here.”

Kayleen leaned toward her. “I’m your daughter. Don’t you want to at least be friends?”

Darlene studied her for a long time. “You have a very soft heart, don’t you?”

“I’ve never thought about it.”

“You took in those girls. Now you’re adopting them. You’re going to be exactly the kind of wife As’ad wants.”

“I love him. I want him to be happy.”

Darlene nodded slowly. “You like it here? In El Deharia?”

“Of course. It’s beautiful. Not just the city, but out in the desert. I’m learning the language, the customs. I want to fit in.”

Darlene lit a cigarette. Her gaze was sharp, as if she were trying to figure something out. “The king is nice.”

“He’s very kind and understanding.”

“Interesting. Those aren’t the words I would have used.” Her mother sipped her coffee. “Yes, Kayleen, I would like us to be friends. I just showed up here, which had to have been a shock. I’ve only been thinking of myself. I’m sorry for that.”

“Really?” Kayleen was surprised, but pleased to hear the words. “That’s okay. You’ve had a difficult life.”

“So have you. But a better one than you would have had if you’d gotten stuck with my family. I know you probably don’t believe that, but it’s true.” She rose. “Let me shower and get dressed. Then, if you have time, you can take me on a tour of the palace. It’s a beautiful building.”

“It is. I’ve been studying the history. I want to know everything about As’ad and his people.”

Darlene’s expression tightened. “I’m sure he appreciates that.”

As’ad took Kayleen’s hand in his and kissed her fingers. “What troubles you?”

They were having lunch together in his office. She smiled at him. “Nothing. I’m just thinking.”

“Obviously not about how you consider yourself blessed above all women for being engaged to me.”

She laughed. “No. Not that. I’m thinking about my mother.”

“I see.”

She looked at him. “You don’t approve of her?”

“I do not know her. What matters to me is your feelings.”

“I’m not sure of anything,” she admitted, wondering when everything had gotten so complicated. “I told her I thought we should get to know each other and try to be friends.”

“And?”

“It’s better,” she said slowly. “I just don’t know if I believe her. Then I feel horrible for saying that. I asked, she agreed and now I’m questioning that? Shouldn’t I trust her?”

“Trust must be earned. You have a biological connection, but you don’t know this woman.”

“You’re right. I’m so uncomfortable about everything.” Especially Darlene’s statements that she was in El Deharia to find a rich man to secure her future. Kayleen was torn between keeping her emotional distance and wanting to have family.

She’d always been taught to see the best in people, to believe they would come through in the end. So thinking her mother was using her violated what she knew to be right and what she felt in her heart. But assuming all was well violated her common sense.

She glanced at him. “You know I’m not like her, right?”

He smiled. “Yes, I know.”

“Good.”

Darlene hummed as she flipped through the dresses on the rack. “I could so get used to this,” she murmured as she picked out a low-cut black gown that glittered with scattered beads. “The work is incredible. The details are hand-done. Have you looked at these prices? Twenty-three thousand dollars. Just like that.” She put the black dress in front of her and turned to the full-length mirror set up in Kayleen’s living room. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.” Kayleen thought the dress lacked subtlety, but what did she know about fashion?

Darlene laughed. “Not your thing?”

“Not exactly.”

“You’re young. You’ll grow into black.” She carried the dress over to the tray of jewelry on the dining room table. “I’m thinking the sapphire-and-diamond-drop earrings and that matching pendant. Or the bracelet. As much as I want to wear both, less is more. Are you wearing that?”

Kayleen held up a strapless emerald-colored dress. The style was simple, yet elegant. It wasn’t especially low-cut, but it was more daring than anything she’d ever worn. Still, she wanted to be beautiful for As’ad.

“I love it,” she admitted. “But it makes me nervous.”

“It’s all in the boning. That dress is couture. It should have the support built right in. Don’t worry-you’ll stay covered.” Darlene put her dress back on the rack, then returned to the jewelry tray. “Something surprising. Young, but sophisticated. Let’s see.”

She picked up an earring, then put it down. She handed another to Kayleen. “Here.”

Kayleen took the piece and studied the curving shape. The free-form design was open and sparkled with white and champagne diamonds.

“Really? Not the emeralds?”

“Too expected with the dress,” Darlene told her. “And just the earrings. No necklace or bracelet. You’re young and beautiful. Go with it. When you start to fade, you can add the sparkle. Someone’s going to do your hair, right? You’ll want it up, with long curls down your back. And you don’t wear enough makeup. It’s a party. Use eyeliner.”

Kayleen put in the earring, then held her hair away from her face. “You’re right.”

“Thanks. I’ve been around a long time and I know what men like. Now let’s see how I look in this black dress.”

She stripped down to her lingerie and then stepped into the black gown. Kayleen helped with the zipper.

“Perfect,” Darlene said as she stared at herself in the mirror. “I’ve already met the Spanish ambassador earlier in the garden. He’s very charming. A little older, but that’s good. I can be his prize.”

Kayleen didn’t know what to say to that. “Have you ever been married?”

Darlene held her hair up, as if considering the right style. “Once, years ago. I was eighteen. He was nobody. But I was in love and I told myself money didn’t matter. Then the marriage ended and I had nothing. I learned my lesson. Something you should learn.”

“What are you talking about?”

“As’ad. You get starry-eyed when he’s around. It’s embarrassing for all of us.”

Kayleen flushed. “We’re engaged.”

“I don’t see how that matters.” Darlene stepped out of the dress and put it back on the hanger, then reached for her own clothes. “I know this sounds harsh, but believe me, I have your best interests in mind. Men like As’ad don’t have to bother with love. You’re setting yourself up for heartache. Take what you can get and move on.”

“So no one matters. No one touches your heart.”

“Life is easier that way,” her mother told her.

“You’re wrong,” Kayleen said. “Life is emptier that way. We are more than the sum of our experiences. We are defined by our relationships. The people we love and those who love us in return. In the end, that matters more than money.”

“So speaks the girl who has never been hungry and without a home.”

Kayleen stiffened. “I have been without a home. My grandmother dumped me at an orphanage because she couldn’t be bothered. But then why should she when my own mother walked out on me?”

Darlene pulled on her shirt and buttoned it. “Here we go,” she said, sounding bored. “Poor you. Nobody loves you. Get over it. Life is hard, so make the best of it.”

“You mean use other people to get what you want.”

“If necessary.” Darlene seemed untouched by the comment. “Maybe it seems cruel to be tossed aside, but sometimes it’s worse to be kept. Your grandmother wasn’t exactly a loving parent. There’s a reason I left.”

“I was your daughter. You should have taken me with you.”

“You would have only dragged me down.”

“So you left me to the same fate?”

Darlene shrugged. “You got lucky. She didn’t bother with you. Trust me, if she had, it would have been a whole lot worse.”

Kayleen didn’t want to believe the words, but it was impossible not to. “You don’t care about me at all.”

“I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“Catching a rich man?”

“Every woman’s dream.”

“Not mine,” Kayleen told her. “I only wanted to belong.”

“Then consider the irony. You have what I want and I’ve turned down a thousand of what you want. Life sure has a sense of humor.”

The battle between Kayleen’s head and her heart ended. She walked over to the tray of jewelry and shook it. “This is why you’re here. This is why you’re pretending we can be friends. Let me guess-if you land the Spanish ambassador, you’ll be gone and I’ll never hear from you again. Until you need something.”

Darlene shrugged. “I didn’t come looking for you, honey. I was living my life, minding my own business. You’re the one who set all this in motion. I’m just taking advantage of the ride.”

Kayleen had always tried to hate her mother. It had been easier than being disappointed and heartbroken over being thrown away. But it was impossible to hate someone so flawed and unhappy.

“It won’t matter if you end up with the Spanish ambassador,” Kayleen told her mother. “You’ll never feel like you have enough. There’s not enough money in the world to fill that hole inside of you. It’s going to take more. It’s going to take giving your heart.”

“Spare me.” Darlene waved her hand dismissively.

“I can’t. You can only spare yourself. But you won’t listen to me because you think you already know everything you need to. You can’t use me anymore. You can stay for the party, but then you have to leave.”

Her mother glared at her. “Who the hell are you to tell me whether or not I can stay?”