The Sheikh's Virgin Bride(65)

Taking a deep breath, she decided to try to get some sleep. Instead, she spent the rest of the flight thinking of every possible scenario in which things could go wrong. Needless to say, it was not the most pleasant traveling experience she had ever had.

Somewhere in the middle of it, she did fall asleep, because when the plane touched ground in Indiana, she jumped, her hair plastered to the side of her head on the area she’d been sleeping on. She quickly brushed the strands away, collecting herself as she stared out the window.

They were taxiing down the runway, passing other planes as they parked at the terminal, the flight attendants coming onto the speaker to announce their arrival. When it was finally her turn, Kaye stood and stretched her sore muscles. She glanced up to see Amir making his way toward the exit, and followed suit, meeting up with the rest of the crew as they found a series of rental cars that had been reserved for them.

A hand landed on Kaye’s shoulder, and she started.

“Whoa, easy there, Kaye. We need directions to your parents’ house.”

She looked up at Amir, her stomach still churning with nerves.

“Maybe we could just do some filming in Indiana, and then talk about my parents. They don’t have to be involved in this.”

Amir frowned.

“Kaye, you agreed to this process. Why haven’t you told your parents? We shouldn’t be in a situation where things don’t work out for filming because you were too scared to talk to them. I thought we’d figured this out.”

He was speaking to her like a chastising manager, and Kaye crossed her arms, glaring up at him.

“Sorry, I forgot this was all about the show.”

“This kind of is the show, Kaye,” he reminded her.

She saw, in that moment, that Amir certainly had two sides. On one hand, he could be so kind and charming and funny. On the other, he was adamant about promoting his own business. That side, at least, helped her keep things professional.

She gave him the address, and he wrote it down. When he had the information, she walked away, needing to have some distance from him. Her emotions were on a roller-coaster ride, and she needed to find a way to disembark before she got really hurt.

Getting in one of the cars, she sat next to Jesse as they took off in the direction of her parents’ house—a good two-hour drive away.

“This is going to be terrific. We really have the ‘two different worlds’ vibe going here. Chris, can you film that farm over there?”

The cameraman in the back pointed his lens at the local farm as they drove by, the long rows of vegetation a lush green color, even on a cloudy day.

Kaye stared up at the gray sky, her mood mirrored in its reflection. Her mind drifted to the blue palace of Al Rayyan, and she found herself wishing that she could be homesick for Amir’s homeland. In so many ways, it had felt much more comfortable than her current situation.

She sat in silence until Jesse directed his crew to film certain shots, including an interview with Kaye about going home to see her parents again. She kept it as honest as possible.

“I’m a little scared,” she said into the small camera which had been set on the dashboard in front of her. “My parents are very, very traditional people. They’re all about the process, and I’m sure they’ll be upset that Amir didn’t meet them or get their permission first.”

Jesse urged her to continue, and she voiced her nerves the rest of the way there, until the two-storied square buildings of Main Street popped up along the side of the road. Kaye stared out at them, very aware that the cameras were watching her reaction. She thought about all the times she’d walked from their farmhouse to Main Street to grab a fifty-cent ice cream cone, taking her time on the walk back to finish it before they knew what she’d bought.

There were so many memories planted in that town. So many that she had left to die, while she went on to pursue her dream. The cars all drove through the small town center with its one stop sign before turning right and heading in the direction of a large, red farmhouse. When they pulled up into the dirt driveway, they parked side by side in a grassy area just off the house.

Kaye saw her parents step onto the front porch. Her dad’s hair was a little thinner, her mom’s hips a little wider. Otherwise, they looked exactly the same. She took a breath, exiting the car so she could give them some warning first.

“Mom, Dad, everything’s okay,” she said, jogging up the white-painted porch steps.

Her mother’s brown eyes were wide as she took in her daughter, her father staring at her in total disbelief.

“Kaye? What on earth is going on here?”

“I can explain,” Kaye said.

“You darn well better. We don’t need a parking lot full of strangers on our property, Kaye,” her father chimed in, his tone grouchy.

The crew was disembarking, chatting happily as they began putting their equipment together. Amir stepped out of his car and eyed Kaye warily from a distance, waiting until it was okay to step forward. She looked back at her parents with a beseeching gaze.

“I managed to get work on a project, but it requires a little filming of my family.”

Her father’s eyes narrowed.

“Why would you need to do that? You’re the actress, Kaye, not us.”

“I know, it’s just for a TV show that I’m filming. Here’s one of the producers, now,” Kaye said, waving Amir over.