“It’s broken!”
“Hush, hush.” She pulled him to her chest and hugged him, knowing that his sadness was about Brent and not their construction. “It’s okay.”
She was able to repair the roof using a skewer, some very gloopy icing and by hiding the patch lines with a generous dusting of icing sugar.
“It looks like snow,” Jordan marvelled when he came out of his bedroom. He’d chosen to wear his best outfit – a pair of skinny jeans and a black button up shirt that Melinda knew he felt very smart in. He’d done the buttons up right to his neck and used water to smooth his hair to the side.
He was trying to impress Ra’if and the certainty sat inside of her like a just warmed cup of cocoa.
“You look great,” she said.
“I know.”
She laughed. “Okay, little chef. Ra’if will be waiting for us. You ready?”
“Uh huh.”
She wondered, on the cab ride to his apartment building, how it had got here so quickly. Despite her best efforts, she had not been able to keep Ra’if at arm’s length, and nor had she been able to stop Jordan from becoming involved.
Wasn’t this the kind of parenting she judged? Wasn’t she doing everything wrong? She didn’t want Jordan to know a succession of mummy’s ‘friends’. She didn’t want him to grow up seeing a revolving door of men in Melinda’s life.
But she was twenty three. Surely she was allowed to date?
And Ra’if was not one in a succession of men.
It would not work out for them.
How could it?
But she would never know anyone like him.
That much was certain.
She carried the gingerbread house into the building, but once the lift had been called, she past it to Jordan to hold carefully. His little fingers glowed white, he held the backing board so tight.
The lift soared upwards, opening up into his penthouse, and Ra’if was standing there to greet them.
He smiled, but it was constrained.
“Jordan, Melinda. How nice to see you.” He crouched down in front of Jordan. “And what’s this?”
“A present for you,” Jordan said importantly.
Ra’if winked at Melinda. “It’s incredible. Where did you buy it?”
“Buy it? No way. We made it. Even the dough.”
“I can’t believe it. It looks too good to have been made by people. Surely it was elves …”
“Nope. It was mummy and me.” He pushed it up to Ra’if. “And mummy doesn’t love you because she loves me.”
Ra’if burst out laughing, his eyes lifting to Melinda. “Right. I see.” He straightened, and she detected an air of tension in his frame.
“Tara’s kids have been educating Jordan on the ways of the world,” she murmured by way of explanation.
“I see.” He nodded. “I had intended to call before you arrived.”
“Oh. Is everything okay?”
“Yes. It’s just …”
“Did you say it’s in your bedroom?” A woman emerged, at that moment, from the corridor. She was, quite simply, the most beautiful woman Melinda had ever seen in real life. With long hair, so fair it was like gold and gossamer threads, eyes that were enormous and the colour of the ocean, pouting lips and a figure that would have made Jessica Rabbit jealous.
Melinda stared, her heart groaning under the weight of confusion.
“Oh! I didn’t know we had company.”
We.
“We didn’t know we’d be intruding,” Melinda heard herself respond, a little too sharply.
The woman frowned and moved quickly, her smile – stunning – intended to disarm.
“You must be Melinda,” she said. “Marook’s told me all about you.” The other woman shot a withering glance at Ra’if and shouldered him aside to stand in front of Melinda and Jordan.
“I’m Olivia. Ra’if’s sister-in-law.”
“Oh.” The relief was exquisite. For a fraction of a second, she’d actually thought she’d caught Ra’if in a compromising situation with another woman. But it was his brother’s wife. Melinda found her own smile bubbling from her lips. “You’re Olivia.”
She held out a hand but Olivia ignored it and went in for a hug, kissing Melinda on both cheeks then smiling down at Jordan. “Hello, young man.”
“Hello,” he said curiously.
“I’m sorry to surprise you guys. I’m afraid my husband dispatched me to do some last minute Christmas shopping.” She winked at Melinda. “Such a hardship.”
Melinda nodded. “We really just came to drop this off.” She took the gingerbread house and passed it to Ra’if, not quite meeting his eyes. “We’ll head off.”
“You said we were spending the day,” Jordan complained loudly.
Melinda stared at him with consternation and shook her head.
“There is no need to go. Stay. Please,” Ra’if said quietly.
“Yes, yes, do.” Olivia smiled. “I’m only here for the day and I’d so love to get to know you.”
Melinda was torn. A desire to discover more about Olivia was at war with pique that the day she’d been looking forward to was being invaded. But she felt herself nod, curiosity apparently winning out.
“Good,” Ra’if’s smile encompassed them all. “Come on in.” He stepped back and they moved into the apartment. Jordan went from room to room, his exclamations getting louder and louder until finally his shouts of happiness could be heard from the kitchen.
“What is it?” Melinda murmured, moving quickly through the apartment. Ra’if followed, and curiously, Olivia came behind them.
Jordan was standing in the middle of a bedroom that could only be described as child’s paradise. The walls were painted in murals that showed a variety of Pokémon – the latest kids’ craze. There were boxes of Lego, magnetics, a table that had play dough, a sofa that had an iPad resting on it and a TV on the wall. Not to mention the bar fridge that was stocked with small water bottles and fruit juice boxes.
“Ra’if,” Melinda said, shaking her head, her eyes huge. “This room … wasn’t like this last time I was here.”
He shrugged. “I had it done when I knew you were coming.”
“You had it done for us? For today?”
Olivia watched the hushed conversation with great interest.
“It’s way too much. It’s going to make him want to be here all the time.”
Ra’if dropped his voice lower so that Olivia was just able to catch it. “And what’s wrong with that?”
Melinda looked stunned. As stunned as Olivia felt.
“Well,” Olivia interrupted brightly. “It looks like Jordan has enough to keep himself busy. Why don’t we have some lunch while he plays? I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Melinda.”
Melinda wasn’t at all hungry but she nodded. “Jordie?” She paused at the door, not sure exactly what she wanted to say to her son. “Just … be careful. Don’t … break anything.”
Ra’if sent her a smile that clearly asked her to relax. Once they’d left the room, and the door was shut, he put an arm around Melinda’s waist and pulled her closer. Olivia walked a little ahead, her mind ticking over.
“Your son is very sweet,” she said, reaching into the fridge and pulling a platter of sushi out.
“He is. I got lucky.”
“I doubt luck has anything to do with it. I’m sure you and his father are excellent parents.”
Melinda looked to Ra’if and then flicked her gaze back to Olivia. “His … father … isn’t in the picture. But thank you. I would love to think I can take at least a little of the credit for what a sweet boy he is.”
“Raising him on your own must be hard. My sister Ava was in a similar situation. She brought my niece Millie up on her own in the beginning and I know it was a struggle at times. You have my admiration.”
“Thank you,” Melinda smiled, taking the compliment. “It’s not easy,” she said thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t recommend
it, and it wouldn’t have been my first preference.” Her eyes strayed distractedly towards the hallway. “But at the same time, I have loved it. I have loved not having to share him. That probably sounds silly.”
“No,” Olivia shook her head, a smile on her features. “I understand that. Are you amicable with the father?”
“Umm,” she said, toying with her fingers.
At one time, Olivia might have apologised for obviously making Melinda a little uncomfortable. But she’d been Sheikha for two years, and had become used to a degree of authority. “Does he ever see Jordan?”
Ra’if, from the edge of the kitchen, had been watching the byplay between the two women with a degree of fascination. He loved Olivia dearly, but he was in love with Melinda, and he was not content to see her upset. “You are interrogating her,” he said with gentle admonishment to his sister-in-law.
“Oh, Melinda!” Olivia clapped a hand to her lips and shook her head. “I was. I know I was. I didn’t mean to. I seem to have forgotten all my manners.”
“It’s fine,” Melinda said quietly, instantly warming to the blonde. “The situation is just complicated.”
“And you just met me. Forgive me.” She smiled at Ra’if and he returned it.
“Come.” Ra’if led the way into the dining room. The Christmas tree stood, enormous and magical, instantly lifting Melinda’s mood.
“Oh, Ra’if. Look at it,” Olivia laughed. “You really went over the top, huh?”
“I’m afraid that might have been my influence,” Melinda grinned. “I’m a bit of a lost cause when it comes to Christmas.”
“Hey, me too!” Olivia laughed. “My sisters and I are all the same. Our mum was a Christmas tragic and I guess she passed it on.”
“What do you do for Christmas?” Melinda asked, settling herself opposite Olivia.
“It’s changed since I got married, of course,” Olivia said thoughtfully. “Zami and I have obligations now. But the private moments are my favourite. We have a rule that the gifts we buy for one another will not be valuable.”
“It’s the thought that counts?” Melinda prompted curiously.
“Exactly.” Olivia nodded enthusiastically, dislodging a tendril of her fair hair. It shimmered like it had been sprayed with glitter. “I don’t want him wasting money on me. God, what do we need? We are so fortunate and blessed with what we have.” Her smile was kindness and goodness. “Last year he got me a puppy,” she grinned. “And this year I’m giving him hand soap.”
“Hand soap?” Melinda repeated, a small frown playing about her lips.
“It’s from the hotel we were staying at when we met,” she explained further. “In Vegas.”
Was Melinda imagining the way Ra’if stiffened beside her? The way his body suddenly seemed to radiate tension?
Curious, she prompted, “Vegas? What were you doing there?”
Olivia shifted a little in her seat, misunderstanding. Of course, she assumed Melinda knew the truth of Ra’if’s treatment there. “I was a celebrity concierge. Basically that’s where you get hired to do whatever a celebrity or person of high profile needs. In this case, it was to keep Zami and Ra’if out of the press.”
“What an incredible job.”
“Yes, for the most part. I met some real creeps though.” She pulled a face.
“And now you live in Dashan?”
Ra’if seemed to relax visibly, reaching for a piece of sushi, effortlessly wielding chopsticks as though he’d been using them all his life.
“Yes. I’ve been there almost two years.”
“Do you like it?”
Olivia nodded. “Melinda, it is the most beautiful place on earth. And I’m from Australia, so you know, I grew up spoiled for beautiful places.” She grinned. “I’m sure you’ll see it for yourself one day.”
“Perhaps,” Melinda was noncommittal. Intentionally so. Their future was about as clear as mud.
“How did you two meet?” Olivia prompted, reclining in her chair, her blue eyes wide and obviously full of questions.
Melinda smiled at Ra’if, pleased to be back on safer ground. “He was my knight in shining armour.”
“More like lycra and sweat,” he grimaced. “Hardly Prince Charming material.”
Melinda rolled her eyes. “Yet that’s exactly what you are.” She reached for a small avocado sushi roll and put it on her plate.
“I don’t understand…”
“I was walking home from work,”
“Alone, late at night, through a darkened alley,” he pointed out with a stern look of disapproval.
“Yes, I should have known better,” she rolled her eyes. “I was mugged, which has never happened to me before.”
Olivia gasped.
“And I heard her scream.”
“And he came running and saved me.”
Olivia looked from one to the other, and she felt it; what they’d been feeling since that night. “It was fate.”
“Well, it was also an indictment of London’s safe streets programs,” Melinda said, trying hard to imbue the words with a cynicism she didn’t feel.
“And then what?” Olivia prompted, ignoring the dose of reality. She was captivated by this version of events.
“Then Ra’if saw me home, like the gentleman he is.”
Ra’if reached for Melinda’s hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss on her open palm before closing her fingers over it. “I was entranced,” he murmured, his eyes locked with hers. “All the more so because I realised that she’d lost her way from the north pole at some point.”
Olivia frowned.
Ra’if continued, “Even you, Liv, would think the Christmas decorations in Melinda’s flat are … I do not want to use the term ‘overkill’, but … some people certainly would.”
“Mama loves Christmas.” The little voice from the doorway drew their attention. Melinda instantly pulled her hand from Ra’if’s, guilt making her cheeks flush.
“What is it, darling?”
“I have to go wee.”
“Oh!” Melinda scraped her chair back, her movements jerky. “I’ll show you.”
She put a hand on Jordan’s shoulder, guiding him through the palatial apartment. “Are you having fun?”
“Yeah. This place is cool.”
“It is, I guess.” She stopped outside a powder room. “Here you go, sweetie.”
The second he’d pushed the door shut, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. That had been close.
Too close.
She needed to decide what she was doing.
For Jordan’s sake, she needed to be clear about the future. And she needed to speak to him about it, before he got the wrong idea.
Doubts and worries snagged at her mind. Her heart wanted her to let go. To enjoy the ride and admit how wildly in love with Ra’if she was. But her head, and the part of her heart that was purely reserved for Jordan, knew that she couldn’t.
It would be too selfish.
She deserved happiness, but she needed to derive that happiness from what she had, for the moment.
With a growing sense of panic, she realised how stupid it was to have let herself fall so hard for him. He was a foreign Prince, and he would one day return to his kingdom, to his family, and when that time came, she would need to be able to move on and forget about him. But how could she?
“Mama?”
She blinked, her eyes clouded as they dropped to her son. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Her smile felt tight on her lips. “Do you want to come and have some lunch?”
He looked at her for a minute. “Can I play in that room again?”
“Yeah, of course. You’re not hungry?”
“Nup.”
She pulled a face. “Probably because you ate your body weight in royal icing.”
But he didn’t hear; he was already scampering down the corridor, eager to return to whatever fun was absorbing him in the games room.
She
watched him disappear, then made her way slowly back to the dining room. How could she calmly accept that there was no future with Ra’if? She’d known him a little under a month and he was as essential to her now as air was.
It wasn’t only that she needed him; she breathed him.
Olivia was alone at the table.
“Phone call,” she said apologetically when Melinda returned. “You know what he’s like.”
A frown dragged the corner of her mouth downwards. “It’s funny, I don’t think I’ve seen him on the phone once,” she said truthfully.
Olivia practically had to scrape her chin off the table. She watched as Melinda returned to her seat and lifted a glass of water to her mouth.
“He must be serious about you,” she said finally, almost as if she were speaking to herself. “Ra’if’s so busy. I never get time with him that doesn’t involve repeated breaks so he can speak to someone or other.” She furrowed her brow lost in thought. “What’s less clear to me is how you feel.”
Melinda’s fingers tingled and she felt the water glass slipping from her hand. It dropped to the table, teetered on the edge, and then fell to the carpeted floor.
“Shoot,” she muttered, pushing her chair back and crouching down. The water had made a large puddle shape.
“Leave it,” Olivia said calmly, a hint of compassion flavouring the words. “I’ll have a servant attend to it shortly.”
Melinda swallowed. Servants. That was the world these people lived in. Servants!
“That’s okay.” She reached up and grabbed a napkin, laying it over the wet patch.
“I shocked you.”
Melinda stood, a little uneasily. “No. Yes.” She sent Olivia a dubious smile. “I don’t know how I feel about Ra’if. I can’t make sense of it. So it’s no surprise you can’t either.”
Olivia nodded. “I love him very much, you know.”
Melinda was quiet; she could tell Olivia was only halfway through expressing a thought.
“Perhaps because of the way we met,” she murmured, her eyes beseeching Melinda to understand.
“Of course,” she said, though she knew very little of that.
“He was at his lowest ebb.” Olivia shivered. “It’s impossible to reconcile this Ra’if, the one you know, with the man I first met.” She reached across, placing her hands over Melinda’s. “He’s come so far, but Zamir and I will never stop worrying. Serious relationships are one of the things we were warned about; one of the things that could lead to addicts regressing in their recovery.”
The Sheikh's Christmas Wish Page 12