Susanna Carr - Midnight in the Harem

The man was far more adept at hovering than she would ever have suspected.

He didn’t sound like a concerned husband-to-be right now, though; he sounded like a man who was brainstorming spin on the announcement of her pregnancy.

She surged to her feet, thankful the dizziness that had plagued her off and on for the past weeks was not showing itself. The need to pee, however, was. And no matter how urgently she wanted to speak with Zahir, it took precedence. She made a quick trip to the bathroom before going to find her stubborn fiancé.

His robes of office nowhere to be seen, his suit jacket and tie lying over the back of a nearby chair, Zahir sat on the sofa. An open laptop was on the coffee table in front of him, the screen showing a website dedicated to the care and feeding of pregnant women.

The indulgent smile that caused slipped right off her face as his words registered. He was still discussing how best to announce Angele’s pregnancy, but now she knew who he was talking to. His father.

He’d told his father. Which meant her parents would know soon, if they didn’t know already.

Her knees going weak, she stumbled to sit on the sofa.

Zahir jerked to face her, his expression going concerned in a moment. He hung up faster than she’d ever heard him end a conversation with the man who was both father and king.

“Are you well?” He leaned toward her, examining her with all the intent of doctor on a house call. “I thought you would be better after a rest, but you are looking peaked.”

“Thank you,” she said with pure sarcasm. “Every woman wants to hear she looks like death warmed over.”

“But I am concerned.”

“Not so worried you hesitated to tell your father about my pregnancy though you knew I didn’t want you to.”

“It is a blessed event. Naturally I told him.”

“That’s not the way you reacted in the car.” He hadn’t seemed even remotely blessed then.

“I saw the potential problems first. It is in my nature.” His tone was pure shrug even though his shoulders remained immobile.

She used to tease him about that trait. Right now, she found it more frustrating than funny. “We also agreed in the car that we would wait to announce my pregnancy.”

“Actually we were out of the limo when you expressed your opinion in that direction.”

She made a sound of pure frustration at his attempt to tease around the issue. “You didn’t argue with me.” She took a deep breath and released it slowly, praying her earlier nausea would not return. “Silence is an implication of agreement.”

“Clearly it is not.”

“You knew I would assume you would wait to tell our families until we had spoken further about it.” “I did not tell your family.”

“You think your father hesitated to share the news with King Malik and my father?”

Zahir shrugged, looking far from repentant. “It is good news worth sharing.”

“You are a manipulator.”

“I prefer master of circumstances.”

“Call it what you like, I won’t be tricked that way again.”

“I did not trick you. I avoided unnecessary conflict so as to prevent further upset.” “I am upset now.” “Why?”

“I wanted to wait to tell anyone.” She glared. “And I heard you—it’s not just your family. You want to tell the world.”

“I explained my viewpoint earlier.”

“And that’s it? We disagree and you do whatever you please?”

“Would it make you feel better if I claimed otherwise?”

“It would make me feel better if you said it and meant it.”

“It will not always be as I wish it.” “Oh, really?”

“You left Zohra, did you not?”

“You’re saying you would not have prevented me if you had been able to?” She made no attempt to temper her skepticism.

“You gave me no such opportunity.”

“So?”

“So, you are intelligent and resourceful. I will not always get my way.”

“I need to know that you won’t act without thought to my feelings. I don’t want a marriage based on a series of one-upmanship competitions.”

“We are not children.”

“Agreed.”

“I did consider your feelings.” “And yet you still called your father with the news.”

“Waiting to do so would only cause you further stress and upset. Prolonging a thing of this magnitude only invites more complications as it becomes more likely the opportunity to act on your own timetable will be taken away.”

“No one knew I was pregnant until I told you.”

“You have not been examined by a doctor?” he asked with clear censure.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course, I have and everything is normal and as it should be.”

“Good. I will expect the family physician to conduct his own exam however.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

“So, this doctor knows that you carry my child.”

“She knows I am pregnant, not who the father is and she is bound by laws of confidentiality.”

“And you claim you are not naive.”

“This isn’t Zohra, Zahir. Dr. Shirley has no reason to believe the father of my child is a person of interest to the media. I’m hardly one of the glitterati myself.”

“Perhaps that was once true, but things have changed since Amir’s wedding.”

That was putting it mildly. “You mean the very public courtship you were supposedly engaged in?”

“Supposedly?” he prompted, sounding none-too-pleased.

“I left Zohra six weeks ago. Today is the first time I have heard from you.”

“I sent daily gifts for the past few weeks.” “Without a single phone call.” “This did not please you.”

“Of course it didn’t, but it didn’t surprise me, either.”

“I cannot claim the same. Your actions after our single night together astounded me.” “I told you my plans.”

“I thought you were doubting the existence of passion between us.”

“And when you gave me proof it existed, you assumed I would go forward with the plans to marry?” she asked, unable to hide her disbelief at his assumptions.

“Yes.”

“You only hear what you want to hear.” “It is a failing.”

“But not one you are often accused of.”

“This is true.”

“Yet, you don’t deny it.”

“How can I? Clearly, in this instance, I did hear what I deemed probable and acceptable.”

“Lina walked away from the marriage arranged for her with your brother. What’s improbable about that?”

“You are not Lina.”

“No, I am not. She was raised with a much stricter sense of responsibility to her family’s position.”

“Lina was not in love with my brother.”

Angele could not argue that point. Lina and Amir had barely known each other, despite growing up in the same circles.

“I see you do not deny loving me.”

“What would be the point?”

“In the car, you intimated your feelings were not involved with your decision to marry me. It is only natural then to question if they have changed.”

“My feelings for you were not a deciding factor in my decision to marry you. Our child’s future was.”

“Do you still love me?” he asked bluntly.

“Does it matter?”

“I prefer to know.”

He’d been honest with her to this point, she could offer no less. “Yes, but I consider my love a detriment to this situation, if you must know.”

“But of course it is not. Surely our life together will be eased because of it.”

“You think I’ll let you have your way because I love you?” she asked suspiciously.

“I am not that foolish, but it is my hope you will be content in our marriage because of it.”

More likely it would cause her nothing but pain, but admitting that was just one step on the open and honest communication highway, her pride wasn’t about to let her take.