The Sheik and the Pregnant Bride (13 page)

Simple dreams, she thought now as they rose in anticipation of Kayleen walking down the rose-petal-covered aisle. Dreams that had been altered by so many unexpected turns. The loss of her father. The ending of her relationship with Jon and now falling in love with Qadir.

She might be foolish enough to fall for him, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think anything would come of it. The prince and the mechanic? Who thought that was possible?

She looked down at the dress she wore. It was beautiful and expensive. Nothing she would have picked for herself. It was part of the role she played, as Qadir’s girlfriend. But it wasn’t who she was. She was Maggie Collins, who wore jeans and didn’t bother with makeup and expected an ordinary life.

But what happened when a regular woman fell in love with an extraordinary man? How could she find happiness?

Under different circumstances she might have tried to talk herself into making things real with Qadir. But he was in line to the El Deharian throne and she was pregnant with another man’s child. What was the point in telling him the truth? He would only pity her.

The first of the three girls Kayleen and As’ad had adopted stepped into view. The girls were pretty and obviously thrilled to be a part of the ceremony. They walked slowly, one after the other. Then the bride entered the church. A veil covered her face, but it was sheer enough for Maggie to see the love shining in her eyes. A radiant bride, she thought. Love made everyone beautiful.

Kayleen continued down the aisle, where an equally smitten As’ad waited.

Maggie’s heart ached. She wanted this for herself. Not the fancy wedding, but the love. She wanted someone to love her forever, to hold her and never let her go.

She glanced at Qadir. She couldn’t find that with him, but was it possible with someone else? The congregation sat. Qadir reached over and took her hand in his.

It was just for show, she told herself, even as she desperately wanted it to be real. Just a game. A game that was going to break her heart into so many pieces, she was unlikely to ever find a way to make herself whole again.

Maggie sanded the fender with a piece of fine sandpaper. She wanted the finish perfect, which meant doing the details herself. The work was tedious, but she didn’t mind. Focusing on the car was a kind of mental vacation from the weirdness of her life these days.

She adjusted the mask she wore, wishing it weren’t so hot. But she didn’t want to risk breathing in any of the particles. Not while she was pregnant.

The things I do for you, kid,
she thought with a smile.

Someone tapped her arm. She jumped and turned, then jerked off the mask as she recognized King Mukhtar.

“Your Highness,” she said in surprise, setting down the sandpaper and wiping her hands on her coveralls. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

What was she supposed to do? Bow? Curtsy? Offer to shake hands?

“Stealth is important for a monarch,” he said without smiling. “Might I have a moment of your time, Ms. Collins?”

That didn’t sound good, she thought grimly. “Yes, of course. My office is through here.”

She led the way and motioned to a seat. But the king remained standing so she did, as well.

“I will get right to the point,” he said, gazing directly into her eyes. “It is time for you to leave El Deharia. You are far too pretty a distraction for my son.”

Maggie didn’t know what to say. The king’s attitude wasn’t a surprise, but she didn’t think he would be so blunt.

Mukhtar continued before she could think of how to respond.

“I didn’t object to the relationship initially,” he told her. “Times are changing and fresh blood is always a good thing. It is not as if there are an excess of princesses or duchesses around for my sons to marry. While your circumstances are modest, so are Kayleen’s and she is an excellent match for As’ad. However, recent changes in your circumstances have convinced me you are not suitable for Qadir.”

Maggie stiffened, but didn’t back down. He was talking about her pregnancy. She doubted anyone expected a virgin bride, but she’d gone a little to far over the line.

“Qadir needs to be available to find someone suitable. He will not look as long as you are around. Perhaps this sounds harsh to you. Unfortunately I have more to consider than most fathers. I have a country and a responsibility to my people. As does Qadir.”

She’d been willing to offer a protest right up until that last bit. But how was she supposed to ignore the needs of an entire country? The king was right—she didn’t belong.

“I will not ask you to pack your bags immediately,” he told her. “But I would like you to begin making arrangements.”

Maggie found her voice. “I have another three weeks’ worth of work on the car,” she said. “I don’t need to stay to see it finished, but I have a few more things I must do. I’ll stay through the end of the week.”

“Thank you for understanding. It is most unfortunate. Under other circumstances…” He cleared his throat. “I wish you well, child.”

The king left.

Maggie stared after him. Her nature was to stand up for herself, to fight for what she wanted. But how could she? The king had told the truth. She wasn’t right for Qadir and she didn’t belong here. It was time for her to leave.

“H
e is an impossible old man,” Qadir said as he paced the length of his living room. “Impossible.”

“Agreed.” Kateb lounged on one of the sofas, smoking a cigar. “Unfortunately he is the king.”

“Perhaps, but he has no right to interfere.”

“You are his son.”

“A matter of no consequence,” Qadir muttered.

Kateb merely raised his eyebrows.

“It is not his place to say who is to be in my life,” Qadir continued.

“You have much energy over a matter that is very small,” his brother pointed out. “Maggie was merely a convenience. You hired her to act as your girlfriend, Qadir. You were not actually with her. Why are you so angry at our father’s interference?”

Qadir couldn’t answer. “It is the principle of the matter,” he said at last.

“Ah, well then. You must do as you see fit. But to me, the simpler solution is to let her go and find another woman to hire. What do you care who plays your pretend lover? Isn’t one woman as good as the next?”

Qadir turned on his brother. The need to strike out, to punish, was as powerful as it was unexpected. Kateb studied him through a cloud of smoke, his dark gaze deceptively lazy.

“I do not want another woman,” Qadir said. “Maggie suits me.” She understood him. She was easy to talk to. Why would he want to start over with someone else? “She is the only one I want.”

Kateb nodded slowly. “That is more of a problem.”

“You will not leave,” Qadir said imperiously.

Maggie was more than ready to stop being dictated to by men. First Jon, then the king and now Qadir. Of all of them, only the king made her nervous, probably because she didn’t actually know how much power he had. There were still rumors of a dungeon downstairs—a place she didn’t ever want to see.

“Your father wants me gone,” she said as she sat on the edge of the sofa and resisted the need to bury her face in her hands. “What does it matter? Someone else can finish the car.”

“You care so little for your work?”

“No, but in the scheme of things it matters a whole lot less than it did before. I’ve done most of the hard stuff. I’m staying through the end of the week, then I need to go.” She drew in a breath. “Qadir, I know you had your plan all worked out, but it isn’t going to work. Not with me.” She hated saying that, but it was true.

“The reality is, you can hire someone else,” she continued. “Someone who isn’t pregnant.” Maybe someone who would be smart enough not to fall in love with him.

She couldn’t think about that, she reminded herself. That was her vow. That she wouldn’t allow herself to get into her feelings until she was safely on a plane back to Aspen. Then she would have a small but tasteful breakdown and really feel the pain. It would probably frighten the other people on the flight, but they would have to deal with that.

“I do not want someone else. I want you.”

His words settled on her like a warm, cozy blanket. She held them close, hardly able to believe that he was actually—

“You are easy to talk to. We share a sense of humor and excellent chemistry. I am unlikely to find that again and it will not be convenient for me to look.”

She leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes. Not only did he know where to slide in the knife, he knew exactly how to twist it for maximum effect.

Not that she should blame him. Qadir had no clue as to her real feelings so he couldn’t know how he was hurting her.

“Qadir, I really think that I—”

“I have decided there is only one solution,” he said, interrupting her. “We will be married.”

Maggie sat up. “Excuse me?”

“We will be married. My father wants me to be married and I have no interest in someone he will thrust upon me. As I have stated, you and I get along well. I understand this match will have many advantages for you, which is also a good thing. It will be more difficult for Jon to see his child regularly, but you mentioned he could have the child for summers and I would not object to that.”

“I…You…” She stared at him, too stunned to form sentences.

“It is a great honor,” Qadir said kindly. “You are surprised at my generosity. I am confident we will both be happy in this marriage. While my father may take a while to convince, he will be pleased that you are a known breeder.”

Her brain was blank. Totally blank. Which was probably a good thing because if she had actual use of her functions, she would be forced to hit him over the head with a lamp.

“A known breeder?” she ground out.

He smiled. “That was meant to be humorous,” he told her. “What do you say, Maggie? It is an excellent solution for both of us.”

“Solution? To what problem? You’re the one who has to get married, not me. No one is pressuring me to take a husband.”

She hurt all over. She
loved
him. She could imagine nothing more amazing than having him say he cared about her and wanted to be with her always. But that was just a fantasy. The reality was Qadir wasn’t interested in being emotionally connected to anyone. He wanted a companion he liked and someone to have great sex with.

“Why are you angry?” he asked. Damn him, he actually looked confused. “I am doing you a great honor. I am Prince Qadir of El Deharia, Maggie. You would be my princess. A member of the royal family. Your children with me would be part of our history.”

“Not bad for a car mechanic from Colorado, right?” she said bitterly, then held up her hands. “Never mind answering. I know you don’t get it. Most of the time you’re almost a regular guy. I started to forget the whole prince thing. But that’s a part of you, too.”

His gaze narrowed. “Are you saying that is something you do not like?”

“It’s not my favorite characteristic.”

Too late she remembered his ex-fiancée, Whitney, who wouldn’t marry him because she didn’t want to deal with the restrictions of being a princess.

“It’s not just that,” she said quickly. “I’m not going to marry you to better my financial situation. That’s not who I am. And I’m not going to marry you because it’s convenient. I wouldn’t marry Jon and he thought he was doing the right thing.”

“Do not compare me to him.”

“Why not? You’re both interested in getting me to marry you for reasons that have nothing to do with me and everything to do with yourselves. That’s not what I want.”

She hurt all over. Her chest ached when she breathed and she just wanted to be alone.

She stood and walked to the door. After pulling it open, she shook her head. “Look. I know you think you’re doing me this big favor, but I don’t see it that way. I want something different. Something you can’t give me. And I’m not going to settle for anything less.” She opened the door a little wider. “You should go now.”

Maggie lay curled up on the bed, crying so hard, her whole body shook. She knew she should stop, that this much emotion couldn’t be good for the baby, but she didn’t know how.

“It’s all right,” Victoria said, stroking her back. “I’ll go online and find someone to beat the crap out of Qadir. That will help.”

“Not much.”

“But a little. Right?”

Maggie reached for another tissue and blew her nose. “I can’t believe he did that. I can’t believe he proposed that way. What was he thinking?”

“He wasn’t. I have no idea. Men can be really, really stupid. Even princes.”

“Especially princes. He told me it would be an honor for me to marry him.”

“What a jerk.”

Maggie nodded and looked at her friend. “I love him.”

Victoria gave her a sad smile. “I figured that out. Unfortunately he didn’t.”

“I don’t want him to know. Then he’d only pity me. It’s better that he doesn’t understand me. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.” More tears filled her eyes. “I just don’t know how to get through this.”

“One second at a time. You keep breathing, keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

“I want to go home. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I want to make sure it’s okay for me to fly with the baby and all, and then I’m gone.”

“I’ll miss you,” Victoria said.

“You’re leaving soon, too, aren’t you? Come to Aspen. It’s beautiful and there are lots of rich, powerful men hanging around the slopes.”

“I’m done with rich, powerful men but I will come visit you. I want to be there when the baby is born.”

“I’d like that.” Otherwise Maggie would be alone. She knew Jon would offer to be with her, but that would be too weird.

At least he could be talked out of it. Qadir would not. He would storm into the delivery room and demand to be a part of things. She started to cry again.

“I wish I didn’t love him,” she said. “I didn’t want it to be like this. I didn’t want to be one of those women crushed by a man.”

“You’re not.”

“Look at me.”

“You’ll get over this and be stronger for it.”

Maggie didn’t believe her. “Why couldn’t he love me?”

“Men like him don’t fall in love,” Victoria told her. “They take what’s offered and move on. They don’t have to give their hearts. It’s never required of them.”

Maggie wanted to disagree and say Qadir wasn’t like that, only he was. After all, he’d been the one to come up with the idea of them pretending to be involved. He was also willing to marry her even though he didn’t love her.

“I want a man who loves me passionately,” she whispered. “I want to matter more than anything.”

“Not me,” Victoria told her. “Love is messy.”

Right now messy looked pretty good.

“Tell me the pain will get better,” she said.

“You know it will. You’re going to heal and move on. One day you’ll look back on all this and be grateful you got away when you did.”

Maggie hoped her friend was right, but she had her doubts.

The doctor’s office was in a modern building next to a hospital. Maggie showed up a few minutes early for her appointment to fill out paperwork.

Victoria had found the female doctor by asking around at the palace and then had even phoned to make the appointment. Maggie was going to miss her when she left.

After checking in for her appointment, she took the clipboard over to one of the comfortable seats and began filling in the information. She hesitated at the line that asked for her home address, then wrote in that of the palace.

In a few days that wouldn’t be true anymore. She already had her ticket home to Aspen. Once there, she would find an apartment to rent until she got her house back, then start looking for a job. She would have to put away as much money as possible before the baby came.

She answered all the health questions. She had no symptoms of anything unusual and so far, no problems with her pregnancy. Still, a part of her hoped to be told she couldn’t fly for a few more weeks. Which was just dumb. What did she think? That more time would make Qadir realize he was madly in love with her? Like that was ever going to happen.

With the paperwork completed and turned in, she flipped through a magazine before she was called in to the exam room.

Dr. Galloway was a friendly woman in her late forties. They discussed her due date, prenatal vitamins and Maggie’s new dietary needs.

“While everyone wants to eat for two,” Dr. Galloway told her, “you’re currently eating for yourself and something the size of a rice grain. It’s better for you and the baby if you can keep your weight down. The more you put on now, the more you’ll have to take off later.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maggie said, knowing lately she was too sad to eat. She would have to force herself to stay healthy for the sake of the baby. “Is it all right for me to fly?”

“Sure. There aren’t any problems in the first few months.”

“Thanks.” Maggie tried not to sound disappointed. It appeared there was nothing keeping her in El Deharia.

The doctor smiled at her. “It’s a little early, so I can’t promise, but would you like to try to hear the baby’s heartbeat?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“We’ll get set up in a—”

There was a commotion in the hall, the sound of footsteps followed by a woman saying, “You can’t go in there. Sir, you can’t.”

“I am Prince Qadir. I may go where I like.”

“Sir, there are
patients
.”

“Then tell me where she is.”

Dr. Galloway rose. “What on earth is that?”

Maggie sat up. “Um, he’s with me.”

The doctor stared at her. “He’s the—”

“No. Not the father. Just someone I know. He’s…” She shrugged, not sure how to explain about Qadir’s imperious proposal and impossible assumptions.

“You can let him in,” Maggie said. “It’s okay.”

Dr. Galloway left to get Qadir while Maggie tried to figure out what he was doing at the doctor’s office. How had he even known about her appointment? Then she remembered the date book on her desk. Had he looked there?

She knew better than to be happy about the invasion. Qadir was here for his own reasons, but they were unlikely to be overly thrilling to her.

The door to the exam room flew open and he stalked inside. “You did not tell me about your appointment.”

“I know.”

“I wish to be informed of these things.”

“Why?”

“Because it is not right for you to keep this information from me.”

She sat up on the examining table and did her best to look dignified while dressed in a thin cloth gown that tied in the back.

“This isn’t your child,” she reminded him, refusing to get lost in his dark eyes or remember how good his mouth felt against hers. “You have nothing to do with my pregnancy.”

“I want to marry you and be a father to your child. That makes me involved.”

“I didn’t accept your proposal. Weren’t you listening?”

“You weren’t saying anything I wanted to hear.” He reached for her hand. “Maggie, why are you being difficult?”

She snatched her fingers away before he could touch them. “This isn’t difficult, Qadir, it’s real. I’m not willing to be a convenience in your life. I want more.”

The door opened and a young woman wheeled in a monitor. She paused. “Should I come back?”

“Yes,” Qadir said impatiently.

“No,” Maggie told her as she scowled at him. “I want her to stay. I might be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat.”