The Sheikh’s Convenient Bride (Omirabad Sheikhs Book 1) Page 11

  “Say that again.”

  “I love you.”

  “Now don’t say anything else.”

  Rashid said nothing at all for a very long time.

  Epilogue

  A knock at his office door broke Rashid out of his concentration.

  It had been a productive morning, and at the sound of the knock, Rashid got the sense that an hour had passed, maybe two, since the last time he looked at the clock.

  Things were easier when you started your day with a wife who was as excited to see him as anyone had ever been.

  Three more weeks into her pregnancy, and Nora was starting to feel better. And, if it was possible, she wanted him even more. She’d sat up in bed when his alarm rang early for his morning workout, took his shirt in her fists, and tugged him back under the covers.

  It was a miracle that he’d had time to go to the gym and be in his office at a reasonable hour. He could still feel her on his skin. As sentimental as it may sound, he could feel her in his heart every moment, especially when they were apart. Not that Rashid was going to say that to whoever had come to talk to him. He’d set aside thoughts of the morning in bed with Nora and lost himself from work.

  He typed the last word of the email he’d been writing and looked up to find Samir in the doorway.

  “Do you have a moment?”

  “Of course. But only a moment, to be honest. I’m meeting Nora at the clinic so I can take her to lunch. I’ll have more time at dinner, if it’s a longer conversation.”

  Samir gave him a wry smile. “You don’t want to miss a single minute with her, do you?”

  “Do I really need to answer that question?”

  “No. You and father both can’t get enough of her.” Samir shook his head, bemused. “She’s captured both your hearts.”

  “Father does treat her like a daughter, doesn’t he?”

  “I think Aliyah will die of jealousy if he doesn’t clean up his act.”

  “Please.” Rashid waved this away. “Father is just as smitten with Matek, and Aliyah’s too busy with the baby to hold a grudge against Nora.”

  They both laughed. Their younger sister was perfectly capable of holding a grudge, but she didn’t seem to be interested. After Nora had saved her son’s life, the two women had a bond that wouldn’t easily be broken by petty jealousies.

  “Besides,” Rashid added. “I think father is planning to spend more time traveling.”

  “So you’ve been getting his hints, too?”

  Rashid looked his brother in the eye. “I don’t know if they’re hints so much as him letting me know to plan for his abdication.”

  “He’s not a very subtle man, our father,” agreed Samir. “Are you ready for that?”

  “Better to have his advice for the first few years than fly blind,” Rashid said, though the prospect of taking his father’s place as the head of the kingdom made his heart pound. He’d been preparing for it all his life, but now that his father had made the possibility more imminent than it had ever been, it seemed like a heavier weight to carry. It was one thing to watch from the outside and another to wear the crown. “But you didn’t come here to talk about that, did you? I’ve got to be going.”

  Samir chuckled. “It doesn’t strike you as strange that your wife works as much as she does? I’d have thought you’d step in, what with the pregnancy.”

  “Yet you were the one who told me to look at the issue from all perspectives.”

  “Yes,” said Samir. “I just thought you’d come down on the side of tradition.”

  “I’ve come down on the side of making my wife happy.” Rashid smiled. What could matter more, except being a fair and good ruler of Omirabad and making his wife happy? He could do both things at once.

  “I have a business meeting,” Samir said abruptly.

  “Yes?” What could possibly be out of the ordinary about that? Samir had business meetings all the time, in addition to going with Rashid when he went to meet with the leaders of the desert tribes. When Rashid became King, Samir would step into his role as liaison. In all the time they’d served their kingdom, Rashid had never seen Samir express an ounce of nervousness about any of those meetings. He prepared for them as seriously as anything else in his life.

  “A business meeting with the CEO of an international transport company.” Samir stood up straight, both hands in his pockets, brow furrowed.

  “Samir, I can’t come with you to the meeting,” Rashid joked. “If you’re having cold feet, you’ll have to find someone else to act as your assistant.”

  Samir didn’t laugh, but he did take a thoughtful moment before he spoke. “The thing is, he’s insisting on bringing his daughter to the meeting.”

  “And?”

  “And I’m not sure why she would need to come to a business meeting.”

  Rashid looked him square in the eye. “Are you telling me your business acumen would be somehow diminished by the presence of the CEO’s daughter?”

  “Of course not. I’m only…” His voice trailed off.

  “Do you have some longstanding feud? Is that what it is? I wouldn’t have expected that of you.”

  “A feud? No. I’ve never seen the girl. The woman.”

  “Then perhaps her father is matchmaking,” Rashid teased.

  Samir’s face was the picture of horror. “At a business meeting?”

  Rashid stifled a laugh. Samir liked a good time as much as anyone, but not during business deals. “I wouldn’t concern myself with it. Attend the meeting. Get the—what is the purpose of the meeting, again?”

  “They can distribute rare blooms from Omirabad all over the world,” Samir said. “It would be another avenue for export.”

  “I’m sure you’re capable of closing the deal.”

  “Right. Yes.” Samir nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Right. I’ll see you at dinner.” Then he turned on his heel and left.

  Rashid watched him go. As far as he knew, his brother had never fallen for a woman the way he’d fallen for Nora. Even in their school days, he’d never mentioned someone having that effect. Not that Samir would admit it.

  He frowned. Samir deserved every happiness in life. He was a good man. He worked hard and carried out his duties as a member of the royal family with honor. Surely someone out there would appreciate that.

  Who knew? Maybe some matchmaking was in order. After all, Rashid knew better than anyone how love would find a way even when you thought you were locked into something else entirely.

  Well, if there was matchmaking to be done, it would have to wait.

  Rashid had a lunch date with the love of his life.

  End of The Shiekh’s Convenient Bride

  The Sheikh’s Convenient Bride, November 7 2019

  The Sheikh’s Accidental Wife, November 14 2019

  The Sheikh’s unexpected Fiancée, November 21 2019

  Do you love passionate Sheikhs? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Sheikh’s Accidental Wife and The Sheikh’s Wife Arrangement.

  Thank You!

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  About Leslie

  Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.

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  BLURB

  What happens in Vegas…apparently can follow you forever.
At least that’s Clementine Llewellyn’s experience who, after a night of drinking and partying, ends up married to a sheikh, of all people. A night of passionate romance? Sure. Marriage? Not so much. Clementine wants an immediate divorce, but Samir bin Salam’s tiny country’s divorce laws require them to stay married. For three months. Samir may be the hottest guy she’s ever seen—never mind spent time under the sheets with—but still. He’s a sheikh and she’s a nobody. But as the two of them spend more time together it doesn’t take long before Clem’s feelings for Samir go from lust to love. However, she’s sure Samir doesn’t feel the same. Best to cut her losses when she can.

  Samir isn’t looking for a wife, but when he wakes up with one, he’s willing to do what’s needed until the two can go their separate ways. He may not have a single thing in common with his quirky, flighty, sexy new wife, but all that is quickly forgotten when they’re in bed. That side of their marriage is perfection. In fact, most of the time he spends with her—the talks, the laughter, the way she completely embraces his people—is bliss. Even so, it’s shocking when he realizes he’s in love with her, a revelation that Samir may have made too late. Because by the time he knows he can’t live without her, she’s already gone…

  The odds may be against them, but all bets are off when Clem and Samir take a gamble on love.

  Grab your copy of The Sheikh’s Accidental Wife

  Available November 14, 2019

  www.LeslieNorthBooks.com

  EXCERPT

  “Clem, he’s looking at you.”

  Clementine’s best friend, Heather Newell, leaned close, dark eyes twinkling. She was clearly focused on someone sitting—or standing—behind Clem, and she didn’t bother to turn her head.

  “Who?”

  “No, no. Don’t turn around. He’ll know I told you.”

  “I wasn’t going to turn around!” Clem sipped her drink, smiling around the straw. Heather had been up to these kinds of shenanigans from the moment they’d arrived in Las Vegas for the convention.

  “You were. I can sense it,” Heather said. “He’s very easy on the eyes.”

  Clem raised her eyebrows. “Most of the men here are your dad’s age.”

  “I know. That’s why I’ve got my eye on this one.”

  “Go talk to him, then.”

  Her best friend’s eyes narrowed. “Mmm…no, I don’t think so.”

  If Clem could say one thing about Heather, it was that she was very discerning when it came to the men she dated. She’d always been that way, ever since college. If she could say a second thing, it was that Heather was insanely loyal, and that combination was making this particular convention a never-ending ranking game. Heather would rank all the men, and Clem would tell her, once again, that she wasn’t interested in dating right now.

  Not now, and not here. The convention, being hosted at the Cosmopolitan hotel on the Vegas Strip, was supposed to be about business.

  Clem laughed to herself. Of course it was about business. But it was about money, too—and if this bar was any indication, it was about showing off exactly how much you had. If it weren’t for Heather, Clem would stand out at this bar—and not in a good way. Since she’d started her own business, she’d found plenty of opportunities to wear clothes that were more…flowing. Less skintight. Unlike the minidress Heather had picked out for her.

  “I’m really okay,” Clem insisted, though Heather was still scouting the space behind her. “I need to focus on networking.”

  Heather shot her a look. “This is networking. Mr. Handsome is at this bar, which means he’s probably attending the convention. And even if he’s not, he must have a business of his own.”

  “You can tell by the suit, can’t you?”

  “I can tell by the suit,” Heather confirmed. “All right. You can turn around now, and it won’t look so unnatural.”

  “I’m not turning around.” Not a single attractive man had walked past the two women unnoticed, and none of them had made Clementine’s pulse race. If she got distracted now, she’d lose her chance at rustling up clients for her new enterprise. It hadn’t been easy to balance conference attendance with Heather’s insistence on lounging by the pool, though Clem had to admit that she did pick up two business cards while they sipped fruity drinks and people watched. It hadn’t been an altogether horrible strategy.

  “Seriously. He is looking at you, and you should look back.”

  Clementine turned in a different direction, scanning the crowd. “I should strike up a conversation with someone. I’m running short on time.”

  “You’re running short on time to talk to the hottest person here.”

  Clem gave her a skeptical look. “The hottest person here? You should lead with that next time.” Still, she didn’t have time to be interested, not really. She was certain the idea behind her business was a solid one, especially with so many companies implementing green practices. This conference was more about imports and exports—the kind of high-end merchandise that took special care to transport around the world. Heather’s father was there to make deals for his import business, and he’d asked Heather to tag along. Heather had asked Clem, and she knew by now not to pass up these kinds of chances. How else was she going to afford a conference in Vegas?

  There was no other way.

  But it had been four days…

  She was torn. She could spend the rest of the evening—and they were firmly into the night at this point—looking for one last connection. Or she could turn around and see who Heather was talking about. Clem took another sip of her drink, a pleasant buzz spreading through her veins.

  “Just look,” said Heather, leaning in to be heard over the chatter in the bar. So many men in dark suits. So many women in gorgeous clothes. Even if she did turn around, and even if he was the hottest person in the bar… “I’m a hundred percent certain it’s you he’s looking at. Quick. Right now.”

  Clem had resisted Heather for as long as she could. She turned, her heart beating faster. Heather loved this kind of thing, but the bar scene wasn’t Clem’s game. A little curiosity wasn’t out of line, was it? And anyway—

  Oh. Oh.

  “Him?” she said out of the corner of her mouth, grinning at the sight of him.

  “That’s him,” Heather whispered. “See?”

  She did see.

  The man at the bar was the most beautiful man Clementine had ever seen. If there were an entry for tall, dark, and handsome in Clem’s favorite online encyclopedia, his picture would be next to it. His eyes picked up the mood lighting from the bar as he lifted his drink and gave her a subdued nod. He was a far cry from the men Clem usually saw at the bar, who stood too close and talked too loudly. Everything about this man spoke of restraint.

  Except—what was that flashing in his eyes?

  She raised her hand and waved back.

  “I told you,” said Heather.

  “Wait.” Clem tore herself away from memorizing the curve of his lips. “Is he talking to your dad?” Heather’s father Howard, silver hair meticulously arranged, stood close to Mr. Handsome, still talking. Howard’s eyes were bright, and his smile reminded Clem of nothing so much as a shark. He hadn’t spent the evening rubbing elbows for nothing. He’d be here making deals.

  “Yes. Looks like Daddy’s got him cornered.”

  “Do you know who he is?”

  “I’m guessing it’s the sheikh Dad’s been talking about. We haven’t been introduced, though.”

  “A sheikh?” Clementine had heard of sheikhs, but only vaguely, and she’d never counted on any of them looking like they’d walked out of a men’s fashion magazine. She didn’t know what she wanted to focus on—the beautiful, long lines of his body underneath his suit, or the cut angles of his face, or those dark eyes. “From where?”

  “Omirabad.” Heather laughed. “Dad’s been trying to set up a meeting with them for a year. He wants to make a deal.”

  “What kind of deal?”

  Mr. Handsome was
still looking at her. Was it getting hotter in the bar, or were Clem’s own cheeks on fire? She resisted the urge to press the back of her hand to her forehead. Heather had only been half-right. He was not the most attractive man in the bar. He was the most attractive man in the world.

  “He wants to import some flower they have in Omirabad. The original meeting got canceled for some reason. If I’m right about who it is, he’s one of the biggest fish at the conference.”

  Clem elbowed her. “So why aren’t you over there right now?”

  “Not my type.”

  She snorted. “You are so picky. I don’t even know what your type is.”

  “Someone who’s not in my dad’s pocket, for one.”

  “I don’t think he could be in anyone’s pocket.” Down the bar, Howard put a hand on Mr. Handsome’s elbow, and he looked away from her. Clem cleared her throat, turning back toward Heather. “So, what are your plans for after the convention’s over?”

  Heather grinned at her over her glass.

  Clem took another pointed sip of her drink. “Stop it.”

  “You’re blushing.”

  “I’m not blushing.”

  “You are totally blushing.”

  Clem shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage. “It’s warm in here.”

  “Don’t play games with me, Clem. I’ve known you for a long time.”

  “I’ve known you for a long time, and you know better than to toy with my emotions by showing me a man who—”

  “Could sweep you off your feet?” Heather shook her head. “You haven’t taken me up on approaching anybody here all week.”

  “That’s because I have to build my business.” Heather was unlikely to fully understand Clem’s focus on work, no matter how many years they’d been friends. Clementine had met Heather their freshman year at Brown. Clem had been there on a scholarship, and that was the only reason she’d been able to attend at all. It had been a long shot for a foster kid from Pennsylvania, and it had been the most natural thing in the world for Heather. Now the two women were out in the world on their own, but Heather would always have a trust fund—and Clem would always work her ass off, knowing that the only safe bet in life was to depend on herself.