Susan Mallery - The Sheik And The Pregnant Bride

“His heart better win.”

Victoria slipped into the hallway. “I’m going to find Elaine a room. Apparently she’s staying, at least for now.”

Maggie winced. “Here? That can’t be okay. We should all move to a hotel.”

“The palace has many rooms,” Qadir told her. “Your friends are welcome.”

They weren’t her friends, but there was no point in getting into that. And she sure didn’t want to think what the staff must be thinking about her.

“This is all my fault.”

Qadir touched her cheek. “It is not.”

Elaine came out of the room and looked at Maggie. “He wants to talk to you.”

Maggie nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want any of this to happen.”

“I believe you. I wish things were different.”

Victoria led the other woman away. Maggie stared at the half-open door. “I guess I need to go back inside.”

“I will come with you,” Qadir said.

“No, that’s okay. I can handle Jon.”

Qadir hesitated, as if he wasn’t going to give her a choice. Then he nodded. “If there is any trouble, you will get in touch with me.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I promise,” she told him.

He bent his head and brushed his mouth against hers, then walked away. Maggie braced herself and walked into Jon’s room.

He stood by the window, looking out onto the garden. His body was stiff, but his shoulders seemed bowed, as if they carried too heavy a weight.

“I didn’t know Elaine would follow me,” he said without turning around. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I’m impressed. She obviously loves you very much and isn’t willing to let you get away.”

“She doesn’t understand.”

“She understands perfectly.” Maggie waited until he turned to face her before continuing. “She understands that you’re willing to throw away everything important to you for no good reason. She understands that while no one would have chosen this situation, it’s here now and we have to deal with it. But what she doesn’t understand-and I have to say I’m with her on that-is why you think there’s only one option.”

“Because there is. There’s the right thing to do and there’s everything else.”

Had he always been this stubborn? “Is it because I suggested you give up the child altogether?” she asked. “Did that make you feel like I was cutting you out and pushing you away? Is that why you’re so insistent?”

He didn’t say anything and she couldn’t read him anymore. Their intimate connection had been broken.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have gone there. Maybe it is the right thing for both of us, but it was wrong of me to assume anything. We need to come to a decision together. Maybe the three of us should talk.”

“This doesn’t involve Elaine.”

“Of course it does. It’s her future, too. Her life. Chances are, she’s going to be a stepmother.”

“You and I are the ones getting married.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Listen to me very, very carefully. I will not marry you and you can’t make me. I don’t love you. You don’t love me. In fact, you’re in love with someone else. Now quit being an idiot and start looking at other alternatives.”

“No.”

“Then rot in this room. I’m done talking to you. When you’re ready to be rational and reasonable, come find me. Otherwise, I don’t want to see you again.”

By seven that night, Maggie had a pounding headache and a deep desire to ride into the desert and never be heard from again. She sat alone in her room wondering how on earth she was supposed to fix the disaster that was her life.

She heard a light tapping on her French door. When she stood, she saw Victoria standing there with a pint of ice cream in each hand. Maggie hurried to let her in.

“I’m sneaking around,” her friend admitted, holding out the cartons. “I don’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone. Except you, I guess. Which one do you want?”

Maggie grabbed one of the cartons without checking the flavor, then frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Victoria’s blue eyes were swollen and red, her mouth puffy. “I’ve been crying. Me and Elaine. It’s our day. Neither of us seem to be pretty criers. I’m hoping you won’t be judgmental.”

“Of course not. But what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Everything. It’s so stupid. It’s not like I really care. It’s just I had this plan, you know. Then I tell myself I never thought it would happen, so what’s the big deal? I mean, who am I kidding? A prince? Marry me?”

Maggie led her to the sofa and urged her to sit. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Victoria scooped out some ice cream and licked the spoon. “I hope you appreciate that my escape of choice would be margaritas. But I hate to drink by myself and you’re pregnant, so I’m stuck with ice cream.”

“Still confused.”

She sniffed again. “Nadim is engaged. His father found him a perfectly nice young woman. She comes from a respectable family with little in the way of financial success, but the lineage is impressive enough on its own. They apparently met last week, spent the weekend away to determine if they were compatible. All went well and now they’re engaged.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I know it’s ridiculous. Who wants to be with a man who is that emotionally disconnected? He can’t know if he likes her or not after a damn weekend. It’s just I had this silly dream, you know? One where I could be financially secure and not have to worry, like I did when I was growing up. But who am I kidding? Stuff like that doesn’t happen to women like me.”

Maggie didn’t know enough about Victoria’s past to know what she was talking about. She only knew that her friend was in pain.

“Nadim is really engaged?”

“They’re going to make the announcement in a couple of weeks, after As’ad and Kayleen’s wedding. They don’t want to take away from the happy event.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “He didn’t even tell me directly. I found out because he gave me some letters to type and they mentioned his engagement. He doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

“Then he’s not worth even one of your tears,” Maggie said. “Come on. You didn’t love him. I’m not even sure you liked him.”

“It wasn’t about liking. It was about being safe.”

“You are safe. You have a great job, you live in a palace.”

“Until I get fired.”

“Why would Nadim fire you? Don’t you do a good job?”

“Yes.”

“You have savings?”

“Uh-huh. I’m a big saver.”

“So you’re okay. Nadim was never the man for you. Maybe it’s time to go out and live life.”

“No, thanks. Life hurts.” She jabbed at her ice cream. “I suppose the bright side is at least you got a proposal today.”

“From someone I don’t want to marry.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” Victoria said, then started to laugh.

Maggie joined in. The two of them leaned back on the sofa and laughed until they started crying, then they tuned the TV to a shopping channel, leaned back and ate their ice cream.

Jon showed up in the garage the next morning. Maggie put down her tools, knowing whatever he had to say, she had to listen, then convince him why he was wrong.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said.

“Under the circumstances, it seemed the smart thing to do.”

“You don’t want to marry me.”

She wasn’t ready for relief. She couldn’t tell if he’d really gotten it or was just testing her. “I don’t want to marry you.”

Jon shoved his hands into his pockets and walked around the car. “I talked to Elaine last night. All night. She pointed out I can’t force you to. Even if I could, it would only lead to disaster.”