by Sarah Morgan
‘No. I’ll be hopeless, especially at all those meet and greet things you do. Parties.’ She shuddered. ‘The very worst of me would be on display.’
Giving up on Mal, Avery intervened again. ‘Did your father tell you that? Because honestly, it’s nonsense. You have a lovely personality. Stop putting yourself down! You have plenty to talk about. And anyway, all you have to do at these meet and greet gatherings is get people to talk about themselves. That’s what I do all the time at my parties. I barely have to say a word. It’s stopping people talking about themselves that’s usually the problem, not starting them.’
‘I’m nothing like you.’
‘I know! And that’s what makes you perfect for Mal. And you are perfect for him.’ Avery beamed at her, hoping that her body language would reinforce the positive message.
‘The moment I saw the two of you together, I knew you were a match made in heaven.’
Kalila’s startled glance made her realise she might have been a bit too enthusiastic. Afraid that her response might have a counter-effect, she moderated her tone. ‘There is no “right” personality for being a Sultan’s bride. You’ll be friendly and approachable and a real hit.’
‘But I’ll hate it. I will dread every moment.’
‘It will get easier with time, I’m sure. I have some girls working for me who were pretty shy when they started and now I can’t shut them up. Honestly, Kalila, you’re going to be a huge success and very popular. I wish you’d just talked to someone about this instead of running away.’
‘I did. I talked to you! You were my inspiration.’
Avery gulped. Heat rushed into her cheeks as she remembered Mal saying something similar. ‘Me?’
‘Yes. You told me to face my fears and that’s what I did. I can’t thank you enough.’
Avery made a vow never to give another person advice again as long as she lived. ‘I was speaking metaphorically. I didn’t actually mean for you to run off into the desert just because you’re afraid of it.’
‘That wasn’t the fear I was facing.’ Kalila lifted her chin, surprisingly stubborn. ‘The fear I was facing—am still facing—is my father. All my life he’s used fear to control me. I’ve never been allowed to do what I wanted to do. I’m not even allowed to express an opinion.’
Sympathy was eclipsed by her own feelings of panic as Avery watched the situation unravel. ‘Your father doesn’t even know you’re gone yet. Everyone has been covering for you. You haven’t actually faced him. You’ve avoided him.’
‘I’ve faced the fear of him. For the first time in my life, I’ve done something I know will incur his disapproval. I know there will be consequences and I’m willing to take them. I knew that if I ran off he would never forgive me. He will not have me back in his house, under his roof. I will no longer be his daughter.’ Kalila clasped her hands together nervously. ‘And that’s what I want.’
‘Well then, that’s perfect, because soon you can be Mal’s wife. This doesn’t mean you can’t marry the Prince. I’m sure there’s a way round this that is going to be fine for everyone—’ Her voice tailed off because Kalila was staring at her in disbelief and Avery realised how crazy she must sound. Apart from admitting that the last thing in the world she wanted was to be the Sultan’s wife, the woman was clearly obsessed with her bodyguard. There was no way on this planet Mal would marry her now. How could he? And truly, she wouldn’t want that for him, would she? She, who knew how badly so many marriages ended, would never want one to start in such inauspicious circumstances.
Avery’s shoulders slumped. She stole a glance at Mal but he seemed maddeningly calm about the whole thing.
‘So this is what you want, Kalila?’ His blunt question brought colour pouring into Kalila’s cheeks.
‘Yes. I’m in love with Karim. I just want to live with him quietly.’ She gave her shrinking beau a trembling smile. ‘For ever. Happily ever after. I feel so happy.’
‘I feel so sick,’ Avery muttered but Mal ignored her.
‘Fine. If you’re sure that’s what you want, then I’ll make that happen. If your father won’t approve the match then you can live in Zubran under my protection. You can have your happy ever after, Kalila, with my compliments.’
‘“You can have your happy ever after”! What sort of romantic claptrap is that? Have you gone totally mad?’ Exasperated and upset for him, Avery followed Mal as he strode from the tent towards the desert. Her head was in a spin. ‘You didn’t even bother trying to talk her out of it. If anything you made it easy for her by offering her sanctuary. Why didn’t you just offer to conduct the ceremony while you were at it?’
Not only did she not understand it, but Mal seemed in no hurry to explain himself.
‘Drop it, Avery.’
‘Drop it?’ She virtually had to run to keep pace with him. ‘Sorry, but did we or did we not just spend two days roughing it in the desert in order to find Kalila and persuade her not to run away?’
‘Certainly the intention was to find her. And we did that. Thank you for your assistance.’
Avery gave a murmur of frustration. She opened her mouth to ask him if the sun had gone to his head but he was already several strides ahead of her and she could see that he was angry.
Well, of course he was angry.
He’d found Kalila with another man.
Perhaps that explained his reaction, or lack of it. He was too gutted to respond. And too hurt to discuss it with her now.
She tried to imagine how he must feel, but as someone who had never seen marriage as an attractive option she honestly didn’t have a clue. In his position she would have been rejoicing at the narrow escape, but of course he wasn’t going to feel that way. He’d wanted this marriage. And as for the business with Richard—
And everything Kalila had said about Mal being in love with her—
Avery stared after him, Kalila’s words in her head.
He hadn’t been in love with her. She’d presented him with a challenge, that was all. They’d had fun together.
How could he have been in love? The moment they’d broken up he’d become engaged to another woman. He’d started planning his wedding. Those weren’t the actions of a man in love.
She glanced towards the car and then back towards his rapidly vanishing figure.
‘Damn and blast.’ How could she leave him on his own? When he hurt, she hurt. It was like being physically connected and it was a bond she’d been trying to break for longer than she cared to remember.
Muttering under her breath, Avery strode after him, tugging the brim of her hat down over her eyes to shield herself from the blaze of the desert sun and the scrutiny of curious tourists. Relationships, she thought. Why did anyone bother? Her mother was right. They were nothing but trouble.
As she approached him, she tried to work out what to say.
Better now than in ten years’ time …
Lucky escape, my friend …
One in three marriages end in divorce and that’s without counting the number that carry on in faithless misery …
Truthfully, she wasn’t good at broken relationship counselling.
When friends’ relationships broke down her standard support offering was a girls’ night in. Or out. Either evening featured copious volumes of good wine combined with a boosting talk about the benefits of being single. By the time the evening was over they were generally talking about lucky escapes and exciting futures. If the malaise continued she dragged them shoe shopping, used her connections to get them a discount on a dreamy hotel in an exotic location and pointed out all the things they could do single that they couldn’t do as a couple. Unfortunately she had nothing in her armoury to prepare her for consoling a Prince who had lost his bride.
Normally she considered herself a competent person but right now she felt anything but competent. As she strolled up to his side, his shoulders stiffened but he didn’t turn.
Avery stood awkwardly, trying to imagine what he was thinkin
g so that she could say the right thing. She knew how important this marriage had been to him. And now he had to unravel what could only be described as a mess. Despite that, he’d treated Kalila with patience and kindness—probably more kindness than she’d been shown in her life before.
The girl was a fool, Avery thought savagely, tilting her head back and staring up at the perfect blue of the desert sky. For someone dreaming of happy endings as Kalila clearly was, she couldn’t have done better than Mal.
Slowly, she turned her head to look at him, her gaze resting on the strong, proud lines of his handsome face. Not knowing what to do, she lifted her hand, hesitated, and then placed it on his shoulder, feeling the tension in the muscle under her fingers. ‘I’m sorry. I know how upset you are. And I’m sorry I couldn’t fix it.’
‘But you had to keep trying.’ His voice was harsh and she blinked, taken aback by his tone.
‘Er … yes. Obviously I was trying to persuade her to change her mind.’
‘Then let’s just be grateful you didn’t succeed.’
‘Grateful?’ Avery let her hand fall from his shoulder. ‘But you wanted this marriage! I know you wanted this marriage.’
He turned his head and the look in his eyes made her heart stutter in her chest. His mouth twisted into a cynical smile as he observed her reaction. ‘You consider yourself an expert on what I want, habibti?’
The look in his eyes confused her. Were they still talking about Kalila? ‘You have a wedding planned. We’ve just chased across a desert to find your bride. It seems reasonable to assume this is what you wanted and yet now that she’s broken it off you’re not putting up a fight and you don’t seem remotely heartbroken.’
There was a strange light in his eyes. ‘Heartbroken?’
Exasperated and confused by his lack of emotion, Avery held back her temper. ‘OK, so obviously you’re not heartbroken because you don’t have a heart. Silly me.’
‘You think I don’t have a heart?’ Under the sweep of thick dark lashes, something dangerous lurked in his eyes and Avery felt as if she’d just jumped into the ocean and found herself way out of her depth.
How had she ever become trapped in this conversation? They were supposed to be talking about Kalila.
‘All I know is that you don’t seem to be fighting to keep her. Is it pride?’ And she knew all about that, didn’t she? ‘Because honestly I think you should try and get over that. She’s perfect for you in so many ways. Go back in there now, give that muscle-bound wimp his marching orders—and by the way, she needs a new bodyguard because that one definitely isn’t fit for purpose—and talk some sense into her.’
Her words were greeted by a prolonged silence.
Just when it was becoming awkward, he breathed deeply. ‘Are you really that desperate to see me married to someone else?’
‘Yes—’ Her heart was bumping and she trod through the conversation like someone walking on quicksand. ‘Yes, I am.’
There was a hard, humourless slant to his smile. ‘Would that make it easier?’
It would have been a waste of time to pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about. Their eyes locked for a brief moment but it was long enough for her to know that she was in trouble. ‘Let’s not do this, Mal.’
But of course he didn’t listen. His hand slid beneath her chin and he forced her to look at him. ‘We’re doing this.’ This time his tone was harsh. ‘We’ve wasted enough time and taken enough wrong turnings. Just because we made a mistake once doesn’t mean we have to do it again.’
‘For crying out loud—’ the words were shaky ‘—five minutes ago you were engaged to marry another woman.’
‘That wasn’t my choice. This is.’
That didn’t make sense to her. Despite duty and responsibility, he was a man who chose his own path.
‘What the hell are you saying? Mal—’
‘Tell me why you were so determined that I marry Kalila. Tell me, Avery. Spell it out.’
‘Because you’re the marrying type and because she’s perfect for you and because—’ she choked on the confession ‘—and because I thought it would make it easier if you were married.’
Emotion flared in his eyes. ‘And did it?’
‘No.’ The words came out as a whisper. ‘No. It didn’t. Nothing does. But that doesn’t stop me hoping and trying.’
‘You don’t have to do either.’
Yes, she did. ‘Nothing has changed, Mal—’
That clearly wasn’t the answer he wanted and he looked away for a moment, jaw tense. ‘No? If that’s true then it’s just because you are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. But I can be stubborn too.’ Without giving her a chance to respond, he closed his hand over hers and pulled his phone out of his pocket. After a brief one-way conversation during which he delivered what sounded like a volley of instructions in his own language, he hung up. ‘Is there anything in your bag that you need? Because if there is, tell me now.’
‘Need for what? Who were you phoning?’
‘Rafiq. You remember my Chief Adviser?’
‘Of course. I love him. I would have offered him a job on my team if I’d thought there was any chance that he’d leave you. So what completely unreasonable request have you placed in the poor man’s lap this time?’ As the words left her mouth she heard the sound of a helicopter approach and looked up, her brows lifting as she saw the Sultan’s insignia. ‘I see you and discretion have parted company.’
‘There is no longer a need for discretion. There is, however, a need to get the next part of the journey over as fast as possible.’
‘You’re leaving in style, Mal, I have to hand you that.’
‘We’re leaving in style.’ His grip on her hand tightened. ‘You’re coming with me.’
It was a command, not a question.
Avery’s heart stumbled but whether that was because of his unexpected words or the feel of his fingers locked with hers, she wasn’t sure. ‘What about Kalila?’
‘Can we stop talking about Kalila?’ His tone was raw. ‘She has my protection and I will do my best for her, but right now I don’t want to waste any more time thinking about it.’
‘I really ought to get back to London. I have the Senator’s party to run and I can’t just take time off.’
‘Of course you can. You’re the boss. You can do whatever you like. Call Jenny and put her in charge for a few days.’
‘I couldn’t possibly do that.’ Her mouth was dry and her heart was pounding. ‘It’s out of the question.’
‘Really? The advice you give others is to face your fears—’ ebony eyes glittered dark with mockery ‘—and yet I don’t see you facing yours.’
‘There’s nothing to face. I’m not afraid.’
‘Yes, you are. You’re terrified. So terrified that your hands are shaking.’
‘You’re wrong.’ She stuffed her hands in her pockets. ‘So if you’re such an expert you’d better tell me what it is I’m supposedly afraid of.’
‘Me,’ he said softly. ‘You’re afraid to be alone with me.’
CHAPTER SIX
MAL was braced for her to throw a million arguments why she couldn’t do this but she simply lifted her chin in the air and walked briskly by his side to the helicopter and he allowed himself a smile because although she would have hated to admit it, she was totally predictable. Because he’d challenged her, she just had to prove him wrong.
As the ever loyal Rafiq appeared, Mal delivered a series of succinct instructions, threw him the keys to the vehicle and followed Avery into the helicopter.
There were a million things that demanded his attention, but only one that he cared about right at that moment.
And suddenly he was grateful for her pride and stubbornness because it was only those two things that had her stepping into his helicopter without an argument. It was pride that kept that back straight as she settled into her seat, pride that had her greeting his pilot with her usual warm smile and no visibl
e evidence of tension.
As the doors closed, she turned to him, her gaze cool. ‘So here I am. By your side and unafraid. Sorry to disappoint you. You’ve lost.’
‘I’m not disappointed.’ And he certainly hadn’t lost.
‘So where are we going?’
‘Somewhere we can be sure of privacy.’ He watched as her shoulders shifted defensively and her mouth tightened as she instinctively recoiled from the threat of intimacy.
‘I’m surprised you don’t just want to return to the palace. Your wedding plans have fallen apart. Shouldn’t you be talking to your father?’
‘I’ve already spoken to him. I told him I will be back in a few days and we can discuss it further then.’
‘I would have thought the cancellation of your marriage would have taken precedence over everything else.’
‘Not everything.’ Not this. The most important thing of all.
He realised now how badly he’d got it wrong. He, who prided himself on his negotiation skills, had made so many fundamental errors with this woman who was so unlike any other woman.
He’d been complacent. Sure of himself. Sure of her.
It wasn’t a mistake he was going to make again.
The helicopter rose into the air and neither of them spoke again during the forty-minute journey. And then he saw the change in her as she finally realised their destination. ‘The Zubran Desert Spa?’
She’d used it as a venue for an event a while back. It had been the place they’d moved from friends to something more. It had significance, marking an important milestone in their relationship.
He’d chosen it for that reason. He’d wanted significance. He wanted to tear down every barrier she erected between them and when she turned to face him he knew he’d succeeded.
‘Why here?’
‘Why not?’
Blame mingled with vulnerability. ‘You’re not playing fair.’
Could he be accused of dirty tactics? Possibly, but he felt no guilt. When the stakes were this high, all tactics were justified. He was going to use everything at his disposal to get her to open up. He was going to fight for their relationship, fight her if necessary, and he’d keep fighting until he had the outcome he wanted. He hadn’t expected to get a second chance but now he had, he wasn’t going to waste it.