She stopped jiggling her straw to fix him with a glare. ‘No. You deserve more respect than that. And so do I.’
Her gaze slid away. Again. She had a lock of hair that always fell forward onto her face. She’d push it back behind her ear, but it would always work its way free again. Majed held his breath and waited... He didn’t release it until it had fallen forward to brush across her cheek. That silly, defiant, joyful lock of hair could always make him smile.
Stop it!
He continued to gaze at her. She didn’t look like other women. At least, not to him. Which made no sense at all because, of course, she looked like a woman. And while she wasn’t stunningly beautiful, she drew his gaze again and again. He found her...lovely.
Her hair was neither gold nor brown, her skin was neither fair nor olive, and it had taken him a while before he’d realised her eyes were a clear brilliant blue, but once he had he couldn’t forget them. Her features were regular, though some might claim her mouth was too wide, but nothing about Sarah immediately stood out. Not physically. Except... She exuded warmth, as if she housed her own internal sun, and everything about her made his fingers ache to reach out and touch her. He had to fight the urge now, and the effort made his muscles burn.
But... There was something in the set of her shoulders.
It hit him then, why she was here, and his hands slammed to his hips. Her eyes caught the movement...followed it... The pink of her tongue snaked out to moisten her full bottom lip and he went hot all over. He cleared his throat. ‘You’ve lost another job.’
His rasped accusation had her gaze spearing back to his but the heat continued to circle in his blood. Her cheeks went pink but, whether at the accuracy of his accusation or the fact he’d caught her staring, he didn’t know.
‘Well, yes.’ One shoulder lifted. ‘But that’s not what I came to talk about either.’
No?
She stared down her nose at him. ‘Mike told you to keep an eye on me, didn’t he? He told you to give me a job if I needed one.’
He had, but Majed had no intention of admitting as much.
‘Don’t worry, Majed, I haven’t come to beg you for a job.’
He gave thanks for that mercy. If he had to work with her day in and day out, he didn’t know how he’d manage to keep from touching her.
‘Mike asked me to look out for you too, you know?’
He jerked upright. ‘I don’t need looking out for.’
A smile hovered at the corners of her lips. ‘Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You’re an island unto yourself.’
That was exactly what he had to become if he was to ever return to Keddah Jaleel, and the fact she found the idea so nonsensical irked him. Sarah was more than happy to tell anyone who’d listen that she was a complete flake, but she had a perspicacity that was remarkable in its accuracy.
‘I don’t need looking after either, despite appearances to the contrary. I might be a flake...’
There she went, putting herself down.
‘But I’m an independent flake.’
‘I don’t consider you a flake at all.’
She gave a short laugh. ‘I’m going to ask you to hold that thought in the forefront of your mind when we have our conversation.’
What on earth had she come here to discuss?
He stiffened. Was she leaving Melbourne? Had he somehow left her feeling that she had to leave?
Damn it all to hell!
He strode into the middle of the room and clapped his hands together. ‘Excuse me, everyone, but something has come up and I need to close early. Can I ask you all to finish your drinks and leave?’
When he’d locked the door behind the last customer he spun to face Sarah. ‘What did you want to talk to me about?’
She stood and wiped her hands down the sides of her trousers. ‘I think you should come and take a seat and—’
‘Stop fudging! Don’t delay any longer, Sarah. Out with it.’
‘Fine!’ She folded her arms and stuck out a hip. She swallowed but lifted her chin. ‘I’m pregnant.’
For a moment her words made no sense. He even momentarily revelled in the relief that she wasn’t planning to leave Melbourne. ‘You’re—’ he rubbed his nape ‘—pregnant?’
She nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘And...?’
She flopped down to her stool. She lifted her arms and then let them drop back into her lap. Her mouth trembled and her eyes were full of fear, sadness, tears and, strangely, some laughter. Her eyes contained the entire world. ‘And the baby is yours, Majed.’
Copyright © 2017 by Michelle Douglas
ISBN-13: 9781488015052
A Proposal from the Crown Prince
First North American Publication 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Jessica Gilmore
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
A Proposal from the Crown Prince Page 18