The Sheikh's Must-Have Baby

by Holly Rayner

  “Okay,” Ahmad agreed.

  Her mother was waiting on the porch, and Joanna wished, for a moment, that she had worn bulkier clothes. The difference in her body was going to be apparent as soon as she got out of the car.

  There was nothing to be done about it now. She opened the door and stood up.

  Walking up to the house, she could see the moment when her mother registered that something was different. Her merry smile faltered, and after a moment’s pause, she came hurrying down the steps toward Joanna.

  “Stay here,” Joanna said to Ahmad, and he nodded and leaned against the car.

  “Joanna,” her mother said faintly.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  Joanna embraced her mother, knowing that her mother would be taking advantage of the opportunity to feel the changing shape of her body.

  “Tell me this isn’t what it looks like,” her mother said.

  It wasn’t the response Joanna had hoped for. Far from it. She steeled herself against the disappointment and nodded.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “And it’s… his?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who is this man? I’ve never even met him before. Now he’s going to be the father of your child?” Her mother’s face showed her dismay. “Joanna, we agreed that you weren’t going to make any rash decisions, didn’t we? Didn’t you say that you didn’t want to rush into anything just because of your health problems?”

  “Yes, I remember,” Joanna said. “But then, an opportunity presented itself. Mom. I made the right decision for me. I’m really excited about this, and I really want you to try to be happy for me.”

  Her mother looked doubtful.

  Joanna turned. “Ahmad?” she said.

  Ahmad came over and joined them.

  “Hello, Mrs. Perkins,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  “Who are you?” Joanna’s mother asked abruptly. “What’s your relationship with my daughter?”

  “Mom!” Joanna was appalled. “Be polite.”

  “It’s all right,” Ahmad said. “Of course you’d want that question answered. I don’t blame you at all. Perhaps we could go inside and sit down, and I’ll tell you how Joanna and I met, and how we decided to embark on this journey together?”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Joanna agreed.

  Her mother turned and went inside without another word.

  “Don’t let her upset you,” Joanna said, taking Ahmad’s arm. “She’s just been caught by surprise.”

  “I’m not upset,” Ahmad said. “You forget that I’m used to dealing with angry heads of state. I can make my case to your mother, never fear.”

  Joanna nodded. “Come on in, then,” she said.

  They made their way into the living room, Joanna feeling very much like a teenager bringing a boy home for the first time. Her mother was seated in her armchair, waiting, a small frown on her face.

  “Sit down,” she said, gesturing to the sofa.

  Joanna and Ahmad took seats.

  As anxiety-inducing as this was, Joanna had to admit that there was something pleasant about finding herself and Ahmad on the same side of a problem. It boded well for the future that they were so well able to tackle this together.

  “Now,” Joanna’s mother said. “When did the two of you meet?”

  “We met a few weeks after I was sick,” Joanna said. “We actually met in Ahmad’s home country of Al-Yara. I was there on a layover, and I’d decided to go to the beach, and Ahmad was there, too.”

  “And the two of you have been dating since then?” her mother asked.

  “We’re not in a romantic relationship,” Joanna said.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” her mother admitted.

  Ahmad sat forward. “Mrs. Perkins, I’m a member of the royal family of Al-Yara. My uncle currently sits on the throne there.”

  Her jaw dropped.

  “I don’t say this to make you feel less at ease,” Ahmad said. “But I think it’s crucial to understanding the fact that I was under a higher than normal amount of pressure from my family to produce an heir. And when I met Joanna and learned that she, too, was feeling an uncommon amount of pressure to have a child, it seemed only natural that the two of us ought to work together.”

  It was a slightly skewed version of the story that omitted some of the most relevant facts, but Joanna knew that it was probably the best thing they could have told her mother.

  “And when the child is born?” her mother asked. “Are you planning to take it and be out of her life?”

  “No,” Ahmad said. “The two of us have agreed to share parenting responsibilities. And because I have fairly extensive financial resources, I’ll provide for the baby, so Joanna will never have to worry about money.”

  Joanna’s mother folded her arms across her chest and said nothing.

  “Mrs. Perkins,” Ahmad said, leaning forward. “I want you to know that I care for Joanna. She and I have become very close, and I’m not using her as a tool to get what I want. There’s no one I would rather be doing this with. And I know that my child, and your grandchild, couldn’t possibly ask for a better mother.”

  There was a moment in which nothing happened, in which Joanna held her breath, waiting to see how her mother would respond. There was no better argument for their decision than the one Ahmad had just given. If her mother didn’t accept it, Joanna didn’t know what she would say.

  Then, her mother broke into a broad grin.

  “Well,” she said, “I admit it’s not what I was expecting, not in the least. But I suppose I can’t be anything but happy about it, seeing how happy the two of you appear to be. And, of course, anyone who cares for my daughter is all right in my book.”

  And to Joanna’s shock and amazement, she got up, crossed the room, pulled Ahmad to his feet, and embraced him heartily.

  Ahmad laughed. “I’m glad to have your approval, Mrs. Perkins,” he said.

  “Oh, stop it. Call me Nancy,” she said. “Joanna, go into the kitchen and make some tea for our guest, will you?”

  Joanna nodded. Her nerves were twanging, and the idea of stepping out of the room was a relief. Ahmad seemed to have charmed her mother completely, so there was no need for her to stay in there and monitor the situation.

  She reached the kitchen, grabbed the kettle, and set it to boil. Then, she leaned against the counter and rested her hands on her belly.

  “I think we did all right in there,” she said quietly.

  She had developed a habit of talking to her bump when she was alone, preparing for the day when it would be the two of them against the world.

  More and more, she found herself looking forward to that time.

  The kettle whistled. She pulled down three mugs, arranged tea bags in them, and poured the hot water over. Then, she got a TV tray from the cupboard and set the mugs on that. She got some crackers and a block of cheese, in case anyone was hungry, and then she picked it all up and headed back toward the living room.

  She paused in the hallway.

  Her mother and Ahmad were talking.

  Joanna knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help herself. She lingered, listening.

  “And is that something the two of you have discussed?” her mother was saying in a low voice.”

  “Not yet,” Ahmad said. “I hope to surprise—ah, and here she is now!”

  Joanna entered the room and set the tray down. Ahmad exclaimed over this delightful new example of “American cuisine,” making both women laugh, and before long Joanna had forgotten all about the partial conversation she had overheard.

  Chapter 14

  Ahmad

  Ahmad clicked open the latest email he had received from Joanna.

  Hey!

  I’m in Vancouver today. Definitely one of my favorite cities of all time. Have you ever been to Canada? I was up here once a few years ago and went on a really great hike through the mountains, but I won’t be
doing that this time, for obvious reasons.

  My mother keeps asking about you. I think she’s really starstruck by the fact that you’re royalty. Not that I can really blame her! Sometimes, when I take a step back from thinking about the Ahmad I know and just consider the fact that I met a sheikh and now I’m giving birth to his child, it seems so incredible that I can hardly believe it’s real.

  Then again, sometimes I can hardly believe any of this is real.

  Anyway, I’m sending you a picture of my progress, like you requested. I feel like I’m as big as a house already. I can’t believe I still have another three whole months to go. Can this really be what six months pregnant looks like? I think I’ve grown more in the last two weeks than at any time yet.

  I hope you’re doing well, and that things with your family aren’t too stressful.

  Write back soon,

  Joanna

  There was an attachment at the bottom of the email, and he opened it.

  It was a photo of Joanna. She had taken it herself, in front of a mirror, turned sideways so that he could see her in profile. She was wearing a fitted tank top and stretchy pants, revealing every curve and line of her body in minute detail.

  His heart beat faster.

  He hadn’t been prepared for the effect it would have on him to see her pregnancy progressing like this. It was as though her body was a ripening peach.

  He stared at the picture for several moments, aware in the back of his mind that he was feeling some of the same attraction to her that had gotten them into this situation in the first place.

  He shook it off. They had spent the last six months developing their friendship, learning how to be in each other’s lives without letting things slip into that place. He considered Joanna one of his best friends, now, in addition to a valuable partner in this business enterprise they’d undertaken together. It was to nobody’s benefit for him to be looking at her that way.

  He looked up at the text of her email instead. Vancouver. That was a long way from Missouri. Of course, he knew that she traveled constantly, but how long did she mean to keep that up?

  He hit reply.

  Joanna,

  You’re looking very well. Pregnancy suits you—I see now what ‘the glow’ means. I hope you’re feeling well, also.

  I’m sure Vancouver is a lovely place, but I must ask, how long do you intend to keep flying? I’m sure I’ve heard that it’s not a good idea for pregnant women to be in the air, nor should you be on your feet all day.

  I think it’s time you went on maternity leave. You and I both know that money is no object. Would you please speak to your boss when you return home from Vancouver and try to make the arrangements?

  All’s well here, thank you.

  Ahmad

  He didn’t expect to hear back from her for a while, given that she was even farther west than she ordinarily was, but the phone rang after just a few minutes.

  He picked it up. “Thank you for calling so quickly,” he said.

  “Of course.” Joanna hesitated. “Do you really want me to stop working?”

  “I would prefer it.”

  “Are you insisting?”

  “Would that work?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “That wasn’t in the contract. You can’t tell me not to work.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Then I’m not insisting. I’m asking nicely.”

  He heard her chuckle. “You really know how to play your cards, don’t you?”

  “You don’t need the work,” he pointed out. “If it’s a matter of money—”

  “You know it isn’t. You said as much in your last email.”

  “But you shouldn’t have to use that money before the baby’s even born. I said I would help pay for things. I’ll pay for the two of you while you’re on maternity leave. Whatever you need, I’ll cover it. Any food you want, massages, entertainment—it’ll be like you’re on a three-month vacation while you wait for the baby to arrive.”

  “It won’t be like a vacation,” Joanna countered. “If it was a vacation, I’d be able to get out and see new places, do new things. If I’m on maternity leave, I’ll be cooped up in my apartment in Pleasant Hill with nothing to occupy my time. I work because I want to, Ahmad, not because I need the money. I like my job.”

  “You will have to go on maternity leave eventually, you know,” he pointed out.

  “Sure, eventually,” she said. “But not this early.”

  “Isn’t it painful to be on your feet all the time?” Ahmad pressed. “I know flight attendants have to walk up and down the plane all the time, tending to the passengers.”

  “I’m in pretty good physical shape,” she said. “The shoes do hurt my feet more than usual these days, but that’s a small price to pay to be able to stay active.”

  “But you shouldn’t be flying at all, should you?” he went on. “I know I’ve heard that pregnant women aren’t supposed to, after a certain point in their pregnancies.”

  “I’m in contact with my doctor about that,” Joanna said. “She says I can continue working for now. You don’t need to worry, Ahmad. I’m being evaluated every week, and my doctor will tell me when I need to stop.”

  “And then you’ll go on maternity leave?”

  “I’ll probably see if the airline will allow me to work as a gate agent for a few weeks, first,” she said. “It won’t be as exciting as flying, but it will be better than staying home all the time.”

  Ahmad sighed. “I don’t like this at all,” he admitted.

  “But what are you so concerned about?” Joanna asked. “I told you my doctor’s approved what I’m doing. I suppose it’s only natural for you to worry a bit, as the father of the child. But don’t you trust the doctor’s word?”

  “It’s not that,” Ahmad said.

  “Then what is it?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe it’s just that I’m so far away. It’s strange for me that the last picture I have of you was taken two weeks ago. You seem so much more pregnant now than you did then, even though it was such a short time. I’ve been picturing you a certain way in my mind, and then I open an attachment in my email, and you look completely different. How will I know if there’s something you need, or something the baby needs?”

  “We’re fine, Ahmad,” she said gently. “Really. My doctor’s very happy with us both. She says we’re coming along really well. And I will go on maternity leave, I promise. I just want to keep working as long as I possibly can before I end up on house arrest.”

  “What if you went somewhere else?” he asked. “What if you didn’t have to be in your apartment in Pleasant Hill? I could send you to a nice resort or something.”

  “Ahmad, that’s ridiculous. You can’t pay for me to spend the next three months in a resort.”

  “I could,” he argued.

  “And then what? What would happen when it was time for the baby to be born? I’d be far away from home, and I really wouldn’t be able to fly at that point. I’d have to give birth in a strange place, with nobody I knew around me. That’s not a good idea.”

  He had to admit, she was right. If anything, that was worse than what she was already doing.

  “There must be something we can do,” he said. “Some way to make this easier.”

  “Not unless you want to come to a resort with me,” she joked.

  The answer hit him like a ton of bricks. How could he have overlooked so obvious a solution?

  “That’s it!”

  “What’s it?” Joanna asked. “I was kidding. We’re not going to spend three months at a resort together. That’s a ridiculous idea.”

  “Not that,” Ahmad said. “You should come here to Al-Yara!”

  She was silent for a moment. “What?”

  “You were thinking about moving here,” he pointed out. “Remember? We talked about buying a house locally for you and the baby.”

  “We talked about that one time, and it was weeks ago.”


  “But you said you were going to consider it,” he reminded her.

  “Well, I don’t have an answer for you right now,” she said. “I thought you meant we’d move in in a year or two, not before the baby was even born. I was considering it abstractly, for the future. I wasn’t thinking of doing it immediately.”

  “What if I asked you to think of doing it right now?”

  “I couldn’t,” she protested. “I would have to make arrangements.”

  “What arrangements?” he asked. “You can live anywhere and keep the job you have in the long term, right? It only affects what airport you return to.”

  “Well, yes. But my job isn’t the only thing, Ahmad.”

  “You don’t own your home,” he said. “You rent.”

  “And I would have to wait until my lease was up if I wanted to leave.”

  “Nonsense. Don’t let that be the reason. I would be more than happy to buy out your lease.”

  She made a noise of irritation.

  “You can’t just throw money at every problem, you know,” she said.

  “Okay,” he said. “What problem can’t I throw money at, then?”

  “How about my mother?” she said. “I’m her only family in the world. And she’s looking forward to the birth of the baby just as much as we are. How would it be if I suddenly told her, with only three months to go, that I had decided to leave for good? That she wouldn’t get to see her grandchild grow up, and she was going to be all alone in the world, instead?”

  “Your mother could move here, too,” Ahmad suggested.

  “Well, that’s definitely not something I’m prepared to discuss right now,” Joanna said.

  He sensed tension in her voice.

  “Are you angry?” he asked.

  “I think you think that because I’m not royalty, because I’m not required to live in my country, there’s nothing tying me to it,” she said. “I think you think I can just pick up and go anywhere I want at the drop of a hat.”

  “Well, in a way, isn’t that true?” Ahmad said.

  He was met with a cold silence.