The Sheikh's Stolen Lover - A Second Chance Sweet Romance (The Sheikh's New Bride Book 5)

by Holly Rayner

  She hesitated before pushing open the doors to the room. Nicole had mentioned speakers. What if she’d misestimated the timing? What if someone was still speaking and Ellie walked in? Everyone would notice her right away. That was the last thing she wanted.

  Be brave, she told herself. She pushed open the door.

  Nicole had been right. No one was giving a speech. Instead, a DJ was playing dance music and the room was abuzz with cheery conversation. As Ellie edged into the room, she could see several people dancing in a cleared area. Others were grouped around the bar, leaning in close to hear each other. Everyone looked happy and excited to be there. Well, it’s no wonder. If anyone was nervous, they’ve had an hour and a half to get over it at this point. Not to mention a drink.

  She wished she could have a drink. It would have made this a little easier.

  She scanned the room, looking for familiar faces. There were several that stood out. There was the guy who had always picked fights in politics classes, and over there was a member of the basketball team who she remembered seeing around campus several times in his jersey. She saw a blond woman who she thought had had jet-black hair in college, but she couldn’t be sure it was the same person.

  I don’t know any of these people’s names, she realized. None of them would know me.

  “Ellie? Oh my God. Ellie!”

  Ellie turned. “Claire!”

  Claire embraced her, then held her at arm’s length to inspect her. “Unbelievable. You look exactly the same.”

  “You look amazing.”

  The years had been good to Claire. Her skin was clearer than it had ever been, her makeup was perfectly polished, and she looked fit and happy. “What in the world is your secret?”

  “I’m pregnant!”

  “You’re what?” Ellie took in Claire’s flat stomach.

  “Only three months; we’ve only just started telling people.” Claire waved at someone across the room. “Honey! Come here!”

  A tall man came ambling toward them. He was slender, attractive in an arty way, Ellie thought. Claire caught him by the arm. “Neil, you remember Ellie, right?”

  “Of course! How are you?”

  Ellie couldn’t help herself now. She was openly staring.

  “Neil?”

  “Aged like a fine wine, didn’t he?” Claire laughed.

  “You two got married?”

  “Sure did! Three years now.”

  “Wow.” Ellie shook her head. “That’s incredible.”

  Neil signaled the bartender. A moment later, three glasses of champagne appeared. Ellie hesitated, remembering that she had promised not to partake, and then shrugged. It was already poured. She might as well drink it now.

  Claire led them over to an unoccupied table. “So tell us everything, Ellie. I haven’t seen you since… Gosh, since the night we graduated!”

  “I remember,” Ellie said, somewhat wryly.

  “You aren’t mad that I went with Neil that night, are you?” Claire bit her lip.

  “No, no. Clearly it was for the best.”

  Claire let out a dramatic sigh of relief. “Good. Because I did worry, when you never called me!”

  “Yeah, I know.” Ellie sipped her champagne. “I got offered this internship; it transitioned into a paid thing really quickly, and it kept me incredibly busy. I basically haven’t stopped working for the last five years.” It was a sobering thought.

  “What do you do?” Neil asked.

  “App development. But I’m probably fired. I gave my boss attitude in a meeting today.”

  “That’s not like you,” Claire said, looking worried.

  “He had it coming.”

  “Well, good for you, then! What else is going on? Are you seeing anybody?”

  The dreaded question. Ellie steeled herself and shook her head. “Not at the moment.”

  “Well, maybe we can find you someone here!” Claire looked around. “What about David from the soccer team?”

  “I don’t think I remember him.”

  “Really cute.” She pointed. “He’s the one with the red shirt.”

  Ellie checked him out. Claire was right, he was cute, and just the type she usually liked—medium height, medium build, curly hair that looked like it would be fun to toy with while watching a movie together, huge smile. He was surrounded by friends, telling a story that had everyone laughing.

  In short, he was probably perfect.

  And she felt nothing. Not even a stirring of interest.

  She shook her head, turning back to Claire. “I’m not really looking right now.”

  “Aw, come on! At least talk to him.”

  “I’m kind of…just out of a relationship.”

  She was stretching the truth a bit, but it was how she felt. Her heart still belonged to someone else, someone half a world away, so how could she expect to be distracted by David the soccer player? It didn’t matter how cute and funny he was. He wasn’t Mahmoud.

  She would never see Mahmoud again.

  “If you’re newly single, you definitely need a new guy,” Claire said decisively. “It’s just the thing to help you get over a heartbreak. Go on over there and introduce yourself. Worst-case scenario, you’ll have a conversation with a nice guy.”

  “Claire, I don’t know.”

  “Do it,” Neil urged. “Carpe diem.”

  “If you don’t, I’m going to go get him and bring him here,” Claire said.

  Ellie groaned. “You’re as impossible as you ever were, do you know that?”

  “It’s why you love me.”

  Ellie drained her drink and stood. She would have to start moving on eventually, she supposed. No time like the present.

  Chapter 42

  Ellie

  David was exactly what Ellie had imagined. Charming, funny, pleasant to be around. And yet, he was doing absolutely nothing for her.

  She felt bad. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying on his part. After she’d explained her situation with regard to food and beverages, he’d made sure she always had a snack or a drink in her hand. He’d been inquisitive, asking her about what she’d done at Noralli, and in describing it to him, she had remembered why she’d once loved working there. He had told her funny, self-deprecating stories about his time at Stanford, somehow managing to mock his collegiate exploits and express fondness for the school at the same time. He was, in short, a lovely person, and Ellie wished she could summon an interest in him as a potential boyfriend.

  But she simply couldn’t.

  David seemed to sense her reservations and was kind about it, steering her toward a larger group of people so that they could be part of a crowd instead of alone together. He introduced his friends. He had a lot of friends. She could tell he’d kept in touch with people after college in a way she hadn’t. Ellie listened as they reminisced about the parties they’d attended, the professors they’d liked and disliked, and the adventures they’d all had together. Occasionally she tried to chime in, but she hadn’t been a part of this group. She wasn’t a part of their stories.

  She wasn’t a part of anyone’s stories.

  Then a hand came to rest on her back. “Ellie?”

  I know that voice.

  She didn’t dare to turn around. She didn’t think she could stand the disappointment if she was wrong. And she had to be wrong. He couldn’t be here. This couldn’t be real.

  “Hey!” David said. “Bahir! I didn’t know you were coming!”

  Bahir.

  The others welcomed “Bahir.” They clearly knew him, although it was equally clear that he wasn’t part of their inner circle any more than Ellie was. He had to be reminded of a couple of names, but he greeted them smoothly. Meanwhile, Ellie sat still as a statue, hardly able to breathe, acutely conscious of his hand on her shoulder. His skin was as soft as she’d remembered.

  He’s really here.

  She managed to turn her head enough to see his arm. She felt she would have known that arm anywhere.
r />   “May I borrow Ellie for a moment?” Mahmoud asked smoothly.

  “Sure,” David agreed.

  And now Mahmoud was taking her by the hand, pulling her from her seat, and she was going with him without a second thought.

  What about everything in your past? What about all the reasons you left him in the first place?

  Her body wasn’t listening. He was magnetic, and she was pulled to him. He was the sun, and she was his satellite.

  He led her to the wall, where things were comparatively quiet. “Ellie,” he said, his voice quiet, urgent, his eyes searching hers. “Are you all right?”

  “Of course I am.”

  She wasn’t, though. Her insides were a mess at the sight of him, the touch of his hand. Moving on from him suddenly seemed like an impossible proposition. Of course she hadn’t been able to fake an interest in David. Of course she couldn’t get this man out of her mind.

  “What are you doing here?” She could have bitten her tongue off. It sounded like she was unhappy to see him. That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

  “It’s my reunion too,” Mahmoud said, smiling a little.

  Ellie closed her eyes. Of course it was.

  “I can’t believe you came all the way to California for the reunion.”

  He chuckled. “Ellie. I didn’t come for the reunion.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “What, fly fifteen hours to eat potato chips and talk to people I never knew that well? No, I didn’t.”

  “Then why?” Her heart was pounding.

  “It isn’t obvious?”

  She shook her head.

  “I wanted to see you.”

  All of Ellie’s breath left her in a rush.

  “I know I stood you up at a party when we were young,” Mahmoud said. “I hoped surprising you at one might make up for that.”

  “It… It doesn’t hurt,” Ellie said shakily.

  He took her hands in his. “Ellie, I wanted to jump in a plane and follow you the moment I woke up and saw your note. I’ve been thinking about coming to find you for days. My best friend even told me that was what I should do. But I couldn’t. Not without knowing if you truly wanted to leave me behind. It would have been…an abuse of my power, following you just because I could.”

  She closed the distance between them, feeling as if she might cry. The warmth of his body against hers, his arms around her, felt like the first breath of air after being underwater. She shivered against him and he tightened his embrace.

  “Was I wrong?” he asked. “Should I have come after you?”

  “I don’t know. I think your reasons for not doing it were the right ones.”

  “But you did want me to come,” he said sadly.

  “I did,” she admitted.

  “Why did you leave?”

  “I’ve never felt like this about anyone, Mahmoud.”

  “Neither have I.”

  “Well, doesn’t that scare you?”

  “Not as much as the idea of living my life without you scares me,” he said. “Ellie, I’ve been more unhappy this week than I ever have in my life. Being with you changed me.”

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  “And I know it’s not fair to ask you to walk away from your life. I know that. You have a job here, friends here. I would come to you if I could, Ellie. If there was any way at all. But Al Fahad needs me. I can’t walk away from that. All I can do is ask you to come home with me and hope you’ll say yes.”

  “Mahmoud…”

  “I came here to dance with you in the place our relationship began,” he said, taking her in his arms and leading her into a gentle waltz that didn’t suit the music the DJ was playing at all. “But, Ellie, I want to dance with you for the rest of my life. Come back to Al Fahad with me. Make me the happiest man alive.”

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “I fell for you when we were at school. It happened so fast. It took me by surprise. But it happened, Mahmoud. I had feelings for you back then.”

  “I had them too,” he said softly. “I wish we’d been allowed to explore that.”

  “You broke my heart. I know it wasn’t your fault,” she said quickly. “But I don’t think I ever got over it. I don’t know if I can put my heart back in your hands now. I don’t want to get hurt again.”

  “Ellie, I swear, I will never hurt you.”

  “I can’t know that for sure.”

  He cupped her cheek. “Then take a chance. Take a chance with me. I think you and I are worth it. I think we could have something great together, if you’re willing to take the risk.”

  Before she could begin to doubt what her heart already knew, he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. His arm tightened around her back and she slid her hands up his chest to wrap her arms around his neck. Her fear, hesitation and anxiety disappeared into the kiss. There was only Mahmoud—the line of his bearded jaw, the strength of his hands, the press of his lips.

  And she couldn’t live without him.

  She pulled away just enough to breathe the word yes, just enough to see his eyes light up in that way that sent her heart into orbit, and then she sank back into his kiss.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  Mahmoud

  “The app is called WizMo,” Ellie said to the boardroom, tapping her tablet to close it and flipping on the lights. “Any questions?”

  A hand went up. “Didn’t I see this app on the convention circuit last year?”

  “You did,” Ellie confirmed. “I was pitching it then under the name ‘NorMo.’ I’ve since parted ways with the company I was employed by at the time, but as the app was my creation, I was able to bring it with me.”

  “I like the rebrand,” the board member said.

  “Thank you,” said Ellie. “I like it too.”

  Mahmoud sat quietly in the corner, beaming with pride as Ellie worked the room. He had already invested in WizMo as an independent patron, but there was no doubt that the money Kartar Industries could bring to the table would help her reach the next level. She would be able to afford to hire more support, including a developer who could come up with a second tent-pole project for her budding company. She had laid out the whole plan for him last night as they’d floated in the pool off the bedroom they now shared.

  The Sheikh had been stunned to learn that the app he and Saad had been so taken with last year had belonged to Ellie all along. It had seemed like a sign of something, an indication that they were fated to be together. He also couldn’t believe that her former employer had let the app get away from him. But the American’s loss was Mahmoud’s gain—and Ellie’s too. He had wasted no time investing a significant amount of his personal capital in her. Though she had protested at first, insisting that she didn’t want to mix business with pleasure, she’d eventually caved in and accepted the money when she realized it would allow her to give all of her employees salary increases.

  They worked together now, staying up late and talking about the future of the app. She listened to his ideas and brought them into work with her. Everything he’d missed about being part of Kartar Industries, he had found again in his support of Ellie’s burgeoning business.

  And, of course, he had Ellie.

  Really, Mahmoud could not have been happier.

  This past year had been like a dream. Before, when his mind had drifted to relationships or romance, his thoughts had been clouded with visions of red tape and political complications. With Ellie, there was none of that. She didn’t have to justify her choice to be with him to a country full of people. She didn’t need anyone’s approval for her choices. It was a kind of freedom he had never known, and she seemed to take it for granted.

  They spent every day together now. Ellie was running her company out of one of the palace’s many annexes. She had dismissed the servants from that part of the grounds, claiming it made her employees uncomfortable to be waited
on while they were at work. Instead, she’d installed a small kitchen where they could make coffee, and hired a custodian to clean up at night. Mahmoud also stayed out of the offices, at Ellie’s request. “They can’t focus on their work when they know you might walk in at any minute,” she said. “It’s too intimidating.”

  “I’m not intimidating.”

  “Yes you are,” she countered, kissing him.

  “You don’t seem very intimidated.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve gotten to know you. Other people better not get to know you the way I have.”

  “Never.” He kissed her back.

  They started every day together with breakfast that Ellie insisted they cook together. “You have to learn your way around a kitchen,” she insisted, deftly cracking an egg into a pan. “It’s not normal, Mahmoud.”

  “I’m not normal. I’m the Sheikh.”

  “That’s not as cute as you think it is. Here, beat the eggs. No, not like that!” She took the whisk from him. “Small movements. See?”

  He took the whisk back. “What are we making, anyway?”

  “Omelets. What do you want in yours?” She was looking through the refrigerator.

  “I get to choose what goes in it?”

  “Of course.”

  “They always just come to me premade.”

  Ellie laughed. “You’re like a little kid sometimes. Okay. What’s in them when they come to you?”

  “Cheese.”

  “And?”

  “Eggs?”

  “That’s it?”

  “I think so.”

  “Oh, man.” She started pulling out ingredients and setting them on the counter. “I’m about to change your life.”

  “You change my life every day.”

  In the evenings, they would often take a bottle of champagne out to the pool. Ellie liked to name the constellations. He was surprised by how many she knew. His education had included some advanced astronomy, and he hadn’t expected an American girl to be able to keep up with him. She constantly amazed him with her intellect.