The Sheikh’s Convenient Bride (Omirabad Sheikhs Book 1) Page 5

  “Honestly…” Nora laughed. “I wasn’t expecting it to go so well. I hardly believed my eyes. A dinner with my own dad…” She shook her head. “It wouldn’t have been nearly so pleasant.”

  They reached the door to her suite, and Rashid opened it for her, then followed her inside. Her heart picked up the pace as he stepped closer.

  “It was very pleasant,” he said. “It was just what I expected. With the wedding in three days, it couldn’t have gone better.”

  “Three days,” she echoed. The time was flying, and though Nora wished she could slow it down, there was no way to grab it with both hands and make it keep still. She wasn’t totally certain the wedding was the right decision, but after that time with Rashid’s family…

  What was their marriage going to be like? What kind of marriage did he want, deep down? He’d talked about having feelings for her, but what did he truly mean by it? If it was only that Rashid wanted to be married to satisfy the laws, then…

  Nora turned to ask him. “What kind of—” She collided with him. He’d been standing much closer than she thought, and his hands were instantly on her elbows to steady her, drawing her in.

  One touch lit her nerves on fire, and Nora felt herself leaning in, felt herself pushing in, and then she was fully in his arms. Rashid let out a little groan, a hand sliding up to cup the back of her head, and he kissed her.

  It was deep and hot, his tongue dancing at the entrance to her lips. Oh, how she wanted to give herself over to this. Would it be so awful to fall into bed—or onto the floor—with Rashid right now?

  His phone rang in his pocket, the sound splitting the moment in two. He made a sound of frustration at the back of his throat and pulled away, irritation shining in his eyes as he dug in his pocket for his phone.

  “I wanted to do that all night,” he said, peering at the screen. “I have to go.” He leaned in and kissed her again, too fleetingly. “Good night, Nora.”

  She stood there for a long time after he left, pressing her fingertips against her lips, missing him.

  7

  “I’m relieved to hear it.” Rashid was telling the truth—the relief that washed through him was pure and strong. Once again, his man in London had delivered. His father’s administration had people all over the world, but Hashim was one of Rashid’s favorites. He got information quickly, he was discreet, and best of all, he’d found nothing to indicate that Carlton Williams or Barron Rochester were causing any kind of trouble. “Meetings, then, and that’s all?”

  “Meetings,” confirmed Hashim as Rashid paced around the desk in his royal office. “They met for a late lunch and, as far as I can tell, haven’t set any plans in motion to interfere with the wedding.

  “Keep your ear to the ground,” he told Hashim. “Any signs—”

  “Any signs and you’ll be the first to know. Anything else, Sheikh Rashid?”

  “Not right now. Thank you.”

  He ended the call, his thoughts wandering back to the kiss he’d shared with Nora the night before. Rashid still wasn’t sure exactly how it had escalated so quickly, but he couldn’t say he minded. It had been his plan to keep things at a very slow burn while they found their footing in the marriage, but the way she’d kissed him last night…

  Rashid hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.

  He’d never allowed himself to become consumed with something like a woman’s kiss. It wasn’t right, to have so much responsibility and focus all of one’s attention on a woman. But what happened when his feelings ran deeper than admiration? And longer than the moment?

  It had been much longer than the kiss, in fact. From the moment Nora had stepped onto his private jet in London, she—and their relationship—had been on his mind. In the thick of things at the Corinthia, marrying her had seemed like an obvious solution to everyone’s problems—a marriage born of necessity, like his engagement to Jazmin, only with an added layer of affection.

  But it was more than that, wasn’t it? It wasn’t a casual affection he felt for Nora. He had never felt a casual affection for Nora, even when he was doing his best to pretend that his feelings only extended to friendship.

  Every passing moment since he’d seen her in the courtyard had only made him want to know more about her. The way her face lit up when she talked about her work as a midwife—it had called to something in his own heart. And she was brave. He didn’t know many other women who would walk away from a wedding that was practically about to begin to start a new life with an old friend.

  His skin ached with the need to be next to her, something he never thought he’d say about anyone. Before he could decide otherwise, Rashid pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the number for her suite phone. Maybe it was too early to wake her, but what was the worst-case scenario? That he might get to hear her sleepy voice answer the phone and light up when she knew it was him?

  The anticipation died as the phone rang once, twice, then three times. And another three.

  No answer.

  He hung up, imagining her scrambling for the phone in a sleep shirt that barely covered her curves. “Calm down, Rashid,” he said to himself, then placed another call to one of the palace maids. He’d have her knock on the door and invite Nora to his rooms for coffee and breakfast. This way, she’d have a bit more time. He could go up by himself…but if he did that, and she answered the door sleep-rumpled and pink-cheeked, they’d end up in bed together.

  That wasn’t entirely a bad thing, but it was still so new between them that Rashid didn’t want to risk it.

  No, that wasn’t entirely true—he did want to risk it. But wanting wasn’t enough to justify action. Not with something like his relationship with Nora. Not when he’d been granted a second chance with her.

  He forced himself to sit down at his desk and answer some communiques from the desert tribes. Nothing seemed to be amiss at the moment, but Rashid prided himself on being in touch with the tribal communities. He’d decided long ago that a hands-on approach would be best.

  Rashid worked diligently until the indicator light on his desk phone flashed. Good—that would be his secretary, calling to let him know it was time to meet Nora.

  “I’ll be right there,” he said into the phone, hitting send on a final email.

  “Sheikh Rashid, there’s been—oh. Did someone else get the message to you?”

  “What message, Ms. Nazari? Is Ms. Williams waiting for me?”

  “No, I’m passing along a message from Tavi. She’s gone out for a tour of the city. It’s on her schedule with the security team.”

  “Ah. That’s right.” Nora had been in back-to-back meetings with Daima, the palace event planner, since they’d landed. He’d completely forgotten about the city tour. Rashid had meant to rearrange his schedule, but with the wedding planning and the business of fulfilling his duties as sheikh, it had slipped his mind. “Get Tavi on the line for me, would you?” It was nothing to want to check in on how her tour was going. The city was sprawling and ancient, and he wanted to make plans to meet her for lunch.

  “Of course,” answered Ms. Nazari, and hung up.

  Rashid sat back in his chair and stared at the computer screen until his phone rang again.

  “Tavi,” he said into the handset. “How is the tour going?”

  “I was about to call in.” At Tavi’s grim tone, Rashid’s heart sank. “We have a bit of a situation, but my team is already on it and it’ll be resolved in a matter of moments.”

  “What’s the situation?” he said tightly.

  “Well, sir, she’s…run ahead, according to my man on the ground.”

  “Run ahead where? And who’s supposed to be with her?” Rashid’s heart thundered like a loosed stallion, and he struggled to get it under control.

  “Abdel,” answered Tavi in a clipped tone. “Nora insisted on seeing some of the less-traveled areas of the city. She had a specific address in mind, it seems, and when they were stopped at an intersection, she abruptly got out of
the vehicle to go inside. Abdel is inside the building with her.”

  “What building?” Where could Nora have needed to visit today, during what was supposed to be a short tour? It’s not as if she had abundant time in the midst of all the planning.

  “A women’s health clinic.” Tavi sounded bewildered. “I’m heading there now to provide backup.” He rattled off the address to Rashid. “The neighborhood isn’t one we would usually consider suitable for royal visits.”

  “It’s not suitable for royal visits.”

  Rashid wanted to call Nora that moment and tell her to get back into the SUV. What was she thinking? Clearly she’d had a plan, and she’d neglected to bring it up to the right people. That wasn’t something a member of the royal family should do under the best of circumstances, and from what Tavi had said, this was not the best of circumstance.

  “Wait,” he said. “I’m coming with you. Meet me at the back exit.”

  Tavi sat at the wheel of the SUV pulled up to the palace’s back exit. “We’ve got the situation under control,” he told Rashid. “There’s no reason to put yourself at risk.”

  “I’m not at risk in my own capital city,” Rashid snapped irritably. “But Nora might be. If nobody was able to vet the clinic before she went in—”

  “They weren’t. It was apparently a situation that developed quite quickly. But they’re inside with her now.”

  Another SUV pulled up behind the first—Rashid’s personal guards. He fought back the emotions threatening to rule him. As crown prince, he was supposed to put Omirabad ahead of everything. Duty before everything. But from the moment he’d seen Nora, all of that had flown out the window.

  Rashid knew the capital city like the back of his hand, but as they trundled out of the palace gates and into the first neighborhood, the network of streets that had been so familiar moments before seemed disturbingly vast.

  Tavi navigated the city effortlessly, but his shoulders were tense enough that Rashid could tell—an unusual state of affairs.

  “Sheikh Rashid…” Tavi said. Then the man’s cell beeped. He answered it in one smooth motion. “This is Tavi.” A short pause. “All right.” To Rashid he said, “Everything’s fine. I had Abdel try to convince her to return to the palace, but she’s…busy.”

  He had nothing to say to that. It was best to see for himself.

  How could he not have her phone number? An incredulous guilt bloomed in his chest. They’d had a long flight together before all the wedding planning started, and somehow he hadn’t thought to put her number into his cell. Had he seriously expected to be by her side every moment once they touched down in Omirabad?

  Some part of him had.

  Rashid forced himself to sit still as Tavi accelerated through the city, pulling up several minutes later in front of, as his guard had said, a women’s clinic.

  It made perfect sense…and yet it made no sense at all.

  He climbed out of the car before he could dwell on it and rushed into the clinic, followed closely by Tavi. The receptionist sitting behind the desk in a set of pink scrubs stood up to greet him, eyes wide.

  “Sheikh Rashid, I—”

  “Hello.” He gave her a quick smile. “My fiancée is here—can you tell me where she is?”

  “Right this way.”

  The receptionist led him back into the clinic, moving quickly past several exam rooms to a large desk where the medical staff congregated.

  Nora stood there, head bent over a clipboard, wearing her own set of pink scrubs. Scrubs. As if she had time to work today.

  “Nora.” The relief was so powerful it nearly brought him to his knees. Three long strides took him to her side.

  She looked up at him, and her face brightened. “Oh, Rashid. I’m so glad you’re here. I need you to translate. I’m having trouble communicating with a patient. I want to help her, but first…”

  “Not now.”

  “What?”

  “It’s time to go.” He put an arm around her shoulders and walked her straight through the clinic to the SUV parked at the curb.

  “Rashid, what—”

  “We need to go.” Combined with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the relief was almost too potent. He wanted her safe behind the palace walls, and he wanted it now.

  Incredulous, Nora searched his gaze, then pressed her lips into a thin line and climbed into the car.

  She didn’t speak until they were back at the palace, alone in Rashid’s office. He’d gone there out of habit, but as Nora faced him down across his desk, he thought his private suite might have been a better option.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” said Nora, jaw tight, arms crossed over her chest. “You dragged me out in front of everyone.”

  His own anger flared. “I can’t believe you ran ahead without a guard into an unknown building. You didn’t give your team any time to vet the site, and you didn’t let anyone know you planned to work.” Rashid shook his head. It was unbelievable. “You can’t do that, Nora. You’re about to be a member of the royal family.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” She cut a glance down to the floor, then glared at him again. “I’m also a midwife, and I thought I was clear that I wanted to keep practicing.”

  He took a deep breath. His heartbeat was coming back under control now that she was standing safely in front of him. “We can find…other ways for you to contribute. But given your status, you must take more care with your safety.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “That means giving your security team time to assess any possible risks before you commit to volunteer sessions.”

  “I didn’t commit to a session.” Her cheeks reddened. “I wanted to visit the clinic because I researched it on the way from London. I thought it would be a good way to get a head start on my life here. When I saw all the patients, I got swept away.” Nora’s face rushed through a series of emotions. “I thought—I don’t know what I thought. Someone was always keeping tabs on me in London.”

  She didn’t elaborate. It must have been her father or Barron. It gave Rashid pause, but London was another world. And she had been another person.

  “I’m glad you’re back,” said Rashid, going around the desk to her. He folded her into his arms. Nora tensed, relaxing only after a few long moments. Then she tilted her face to his and kissed him. Oh, there it was, that heat—but it was a little less intense than before.

  “I’m going to go and get changed,” said Nora, and he pressed another kiss to her temple before he let her go.

  “And that’s that,” he said to himself after she shut his office door. But he didn’t quite believe it.

  8

  The wedding day broke over Nora like an ocean wave, shocking her with how cold and clear and vibrant the day seemed. She’d known it was coming—it wasn’t a surprise, exactly—but it felt like being at the top of a roller coaster, waiting for the car to plunge down from a great height.

  As soon as she woke up, her suite at the palace was filled with women. Rashid’s cousin Hafiza stayed close as Nora was surrounded by the hair and makeup team, the palace photographers, and a never-ending parade of relatives and other members of Omirabad’s ruling class.

  “Thank you so much,” she murmured to Hafiza as the makeup artist touched her up for the last of the bridal portraits. “I’d have been lost without you.”

  “Anyone would be lost in all this,” Hafiza said with a smile. “You look gorgeous. Rashid will be beside himself.” She laughed, the sound musical and bright. “I probably shouldn’t say that about my cousin, but it’s true. If he hasn’t fallen head over heels for you yet, he will when he sees you in that dress.”

  Nora swallowed a strange tightness in her throat. It did feel like they were on the verge of falling, but Rashid hadn’t spoken of love. Not in that way. But here they were, poised to be married.

  Everything about today was beautiful, classy, top notch—it was a royal wedding, down to the last detail. In all her life, Nora had never imag
ined she’d marry a prince. She’d never imagined that it would be the best choice for both of them. Honestly, she’d never imagined her own wedding in great detail. It hurt to know that her mother wasn’t waiting in the very front row. Even if she and Rashid hadn’t worked out the exact terms of their relationship, Nora knew her mother would have liked him. She would have liked him a lot.

  Now the day was at hand, and Nora felt her mother’s absence as keenly as she ever had.

  It was no great loss that her father wouldn’t be attending. She’d heard from a few friends that he was furious about her aborted engagement to Barron, but she hadn’t wanted to talk about it—not in the last-minute flurry of invitations that went out to Nora’s own friends from school and university, and not now. It was barely enough to be thousands of miles from her father.

  Thank goodness for Hafiza and the rest of the aunts and cousins she was meeting. Nora might be getting married for a reason other than love, but that didn’t mean she wanted to feel any less joyful or welcome.

  Somehow, in the space of a week, it had all come together. Hafiza would stand by her side as a member of the wedding party, and a few of Nora’s friends had been able to fly in as guests.

  Though Nora couldn’t move very quickly in the unbelievably beautiful gown that had been whipped up for her by one of the premier fashion designers in Omirabad, she felt like she was sprinting through the day. Photos, photos, and more photos, and then suddenly she arrived at the entrance to the palace gardens, where the ceremony was to be held beneath a massive white tent that shaded the guests from the perfectly blue skies.

  Hafiza was the only bridesmaid in the procession. Just before it was her turn to walk down the aisle she turned and squeezed Nora’s hand. “All set?” She leaned in, eyes sparkling. “You can still call it off if you want to.”