Sheikh's Stand In by Sophia Lynn Read Free Book Online Page B

after it's done, but right now, there's just so much going on."
    "Yes, that was my thought as well. All right, so let's go over some of the appearances that we'll be making in the next few days …"
    They compared phones, got on each other's calendars, and even as they talked, Viviana knew that something was changing. She was a woman who took risks, jumping in as soon as she got a good feeling about things. It was an instinct that had served her quite well in the past, even though it had also gotten her into her fair share of trouble.
    Right now, she couldn't tell if she was jumping into a good thing or not. All she knew was that it was a new thing and one that might change everything.
    It'll be fine, she told herself. I'm a smart girl who always lands on her feet. This is going to be fun, and at the very least, hopefully, I will be able to do some good in this world.
     She looked at Mikal, who looked so very handsome peering down at something on his phone, and without thinking, she reached over to touch his cheek.
    This time, there was no sensuous kiss. Instead, he merely smiled at her warmly before continuing on with his task. For some reason, that warmed her as well, that little brush of normality in what was a very abnormal situation.
    What in the world am I getting in to? Viviana wondered, and for once, she had no smart answer for herself.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Viviana had been smiling so long that she thought that her face was going to crack. The scarf that she had pinned so carefully to her hair in the morning was slipping, and if she had to listen to one more pompous blowhard talk about how women were naturally more inclined to stay at home than work, she thought that she was going to throw up.
    She was dressed to the nines, though not in a style that she was used to. That morning Mikal had sent her two women who brought with them a wide variety of robes and wraps and set about garbing her as soon as she opened the door. She felt a little like a doll as they tried different fabrics and colors on, but there was no denying that they were effective at what they did. 
    In the end, she had been dressed in a lovely white linen set, and over that was thrown a beautifully embroidered green wrap of the sheerest silk. Pins and tucks held it in place, and then, much to her relief, they had shown her how to move in it.
    Her inexperienced eye had been quite impressed with their work, but more than that, it was impressive to the people who were hosting the luncheon. This was the first of Mikal's events leading up to the vote on his legislation, and she was impressed by how effectively he was working it.
    Right now, she could see him earnestly expounding his case to a pair of older men who watched him with increasing interest. She knew that just ten minutes ago, they had been wary and scornful of his work, so that was impressive progress.
    Of course, that left her alone with the big man with the florid face, the one who was stepping too close to her, who had had too much to drink, and who had not stopped making insinuations about her since the beginning of the evening.
    "But what does he expect?" the man was saying. "Women aren't going to welcome his liberties. Why even my own wife says that they are foolish. I take good care of her, and my children as well. Why do they need his protection and the protection of the law, eh?"
    There were a dozen arguments that she wanted to fling at his head, but instead, she took a deep breath and smiled. She knew about the power of her smile, and she knew that it was working.
    "Well, unfortunately, not all men are as good or as kind as you," she said looking up at him. "We sometimes make the mistake of saying that the law is for all people, when the truth is it is for the ones who need it the most. I mean, you are a man of wealth and power, but you surely understand that there are those who are cruel or unkind? They might take it out on women as helpless as your wife or your daughters. This is what this