He was still scratching his head and laughing at her when she added more hints. Breath was sucked from his lungs when she placed two additional items on the table—a baby bottle and a bib. With a shaking hand, he reached over to turn up the volume while she smiled into the camera.
“Very good, Matthew. Since you’re a smart man, I’m sure you now know my secret. We are having a baby! That’s why I wanted to make our time here in Barcelona so special.”
“Oh my God!” he groaned. Carmen had been pregnant? Then what happened?
“Hey, Matthew, I was beginning to think you got lost up here. What’s going—”
Carmen entered the room and stopped talking in mid-sentence when she saw herself on the screen. Her gaze immediately sought out Matthew, and the pain she saw on his face tore at her heart.
“Is that true, Carmen? Had you planned to tell me that night in Barcelona that you were pregnant?”
She swallowed as she nodded. “Yes. I…I wanted to tell you in a fun way so…” Her words trailed off.
He nodded slowly and then asked the question she had been dreading. “What happened, Carmen?”
She lowered her head as she relived that night. The stomach pains that kept getting worse. Her not being able to reach him on his cell when she’d awakened that night, bleeding. Everything became a blur after that. Except the part about waking up and being told by a doctor that she’d lost the baby. “Carmen?”
She lifted her head and met his gaze as her eyes filled with tears. And then she began speaking, recounting every single detail of that night. As she talked, she watched his expression. The shattered look on his face and the pain that clouded his eyes nearly broke her heart, and she felt his agony. A part of her was relieved to tell him the truth and no longer have the burden of keeping a secret on her shoulders.
“And you never told me,” he said in a broken tone. “You never told me.”
She pulled in a deep breath as tears threatened to spill down her face. “I couldn’t. I wanted that baby so much. Losing it, and then not having you there with me to share my pain, made me bitter, unreasonable. I tried contacting you first and when I didn’t get you, all I could think about was that I needed you and you were at work, away from me. In my emotional state, I blamed you.”
He bent his head and when he raised his eyes to her again, the pain in them had deepened. “And I blame myself, as well,” he said in a hoarse tone. “I blame myself because I should have been there with you. I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for not being there.”
She saw the sheen of tears in his eyes and quickly crossed the room to him. As they clung to each other, tears she had held back since that night flowed down her face. She had cried then but it hadn’t been like this. Her shoulders jerked with sobs she hadn’t been able to let go of until now, until she was with him.
“I’m so sorry, Carmen. Now I understand. I had let you down by letting you go through that alone. I know I won’t ever be able to forgive myself for that.”
She leaned away from him, wiping her eyes. “You can, Matthew, and you must. It took me a while to see it wasn’t your fault, nor was it mine. The same thing would have happened if you’d been there. And being here with you this past week made me realize I can’t be angry at you for something you didn’t know about, something that was not in your control. I had tried telling you several times over the past week, but you kept wanting us to wait. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
She wiped more tears from her eyes. “The woman who owned the villa called her doctor and made arrangements for him to take care of me there, figuring that I would want to keep it from the media. With her help, I was able to avoid the circus that could have taken place. The doctor said I can try again,” she said, leaning up against him, holding tight. “But I so wanted that one,” she whispered brokenly, burying her face in his chest.
Matthew swept her off her feet and carried her over to the settee. He sat down with her cradled in his lap. He bent his head, and felt his wet cheek against hers.
“It wasn’t your fault, Matthew. It wasn’t my fault. It was just something that happened. We have to believe that so we can move beyond it. There will be other babies.”
He lifted his head to meet her gaze. “But will there be other babies…for us, Carmen? For you and me?”
Carmen knew what he was asking. He’d once told her that he didn’t want any other woman to have his child but her. And from the look in his eyes he still wanted that. He wanted to know if their relationship would ever get back to the way it was, when he was her whole world and she was his.
She shifted slightly in his embrace to wrap her arms around his neck. She wanted to make sure he heard what she was about to say. “I never stopped loving you, Matthew. The reason I wanted that baby so much was because it was a part of you, and a part of me. And the reason I hurt so much afterward was because I thought I had lost that connection. I thought the baby would bring us back together.” She paused a second and then said, “But I’ve discovered that all it takes to bring us back together is us. Being with you here this past week has shown me there is still an us, and I want that back so badly. I was never involved with Bruno. It was all a publicity stunt. The only man I ever wanted to belong to was you. Can you forgive me for shutting you out of my life when I needed you most? Can you forgive me for running away? I will never leave you again.”
“Oh, Carmen. I need you to forgive me, as well. I love you so much. I was so driven to give you the things you were used to having that I lost focus, I forgot about those things that truly mattered. You, and truly making you happy. I’ve been so lonely without you. And Candy, too, was just a publicity stunt. Hell, I was looking forward to spending time without her here. But when I arrived and discovered you, I wanted you to stay. At first I wanted revenge, to hurt you the way I was hurting, but I soon discovered it couldn’t be that way with us.”
She nodded. “I was going to make you want me and then leave again. Instead I ended up wanting you so badly I didn’t know what to do.”
“We’re going to handle our business differently from here on out,” he declared. “I’ve learned this week that I can balance my work and the rest of my life. Will you give me another chance to prove it?”
Carmen smiled up at him as he pushed back a strand of hair from her face. “I want that, too, Matthew.”
“And will you marry me, Carmen?”
She felt more tears come to her eyes. “Yes, yes, I will marry you, and this time will be forever.”
“Forever,” he said, bending down to kiss her. And the kiss they shared was full of promise for a brighter and happier future. Together, knowing what they now knew about each other, they would be able to do anything.
Moments later he broke off the kiss and stood with her in his arms. She recognized the look he was giving her. “What about the polo match?” she asked.
He chuckled as he crossed the room to the bed. “There will be others.”
Carmen knew he was right. Being in his arms and making love to him was what she needed. They were being given another chance at happiness and were taking it.
“It will be me and you together, Carmen, for the rest of our lives.”
She reached up and caressed the side of his face. “Yes, Matthew, for the rest of our lives.”
Epilogue
Ardella rushed over to them the moment Matthew and Carmen entered the tent, and from the anxious look on her face it was evident she was looking for a scoop. This time Matthew and Carmen didn’t mind giving her one.
“So you two, what are you smiling about?”
Matthew pulled Carmen closer to his side. “It’s a beautiful day and we believe it will be a good polo match.”
The woman gave them a sly look. “I think there’s something else.”
Carmen decided to take Ardella out of her inquisitive misery. “There is something else and you can say you heard it right from us. Matthew and I have decided to remarry.”
T
he smile on the woman’s face appeared genuine. “I am truly happy for you two, but you know everyone will want details and facts.”
Carmen threw her head back. “Sorry, but some things we plan to keep secret and sacred.” She refused to spill the beans about their plan to have a private ceremony on the beach here in the Hamptons this weekend. The first person she’d called was Rachel who had been supremely ecstatic.
“Matthew, will Carmen star in any future Birmingham movies?”
Matthew glanced down at Carmen and chuckled. “Ardella, Carmen can do anything Carmen wants.”
Ardella beamed. “I will take that as a yes.”
“You do that,” Matthew said. And, knowing that Ardella probably had her secret camera ready, with the profound tenderness of a man who was in love, he pulled Carmen into his arms and kissed her.
No one would understand the emotions flowing through him at that that moment. They were the heartfelt emotions of a man meant to cherish the woman he loved. A man who’d recently realized that he really was husband material.
Carmen’s heart was just as full and later, as she and Matthew sat beside each other watching the polo match, she couldn’t help but wipe a tear from her eye. They had talked and together had promised not to let anything or anyone come between them again.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
Carmen glanced up at Matthew and nodded. “I couldn’t be better.” She paused and, still holding his gaze, whispered, “I love you.”
A smile touched his lips. “And I love you.”
She leaned closer to him when he tightened his arms around her shoulders. She was happy about the future that lay before them. He wanted to try again for a baby and so did she. But right now she looked forward to being Carmen Aiken Birmingham again.
She smiled, liking the sound of that and deciding to show him just how much when they returned home later. Life was good but being with the man you love, she decided, was even better.
THE SHEIKH’S BARGAINED BRIDE
OLIVIA GATES
To the many fabulous ladies who made this novella and this exciting miniseries come to life.
My senior editor, Krista Stroever, for the wonderful premise and the unstinting guidance, and authors Brenda Jackson, Yvonne Lindsay, Catherine Mann, Katherine Garbera and Emily McKay for all the fun and helpful collaboration.
It was a great experience working with you all.
I can’t wait to do it again!
One
Three weeks ago, Sabrina Grant married the man of her dreams.
Sheikh Adham ben Khaleel ben Haamed Aal Ferjani was a prince—literally—who’d charmed and captivated her from the moment she’d set eyes on him. He was everything a woman couldn’t be creative enough to hope for. She loved him with every fiber of her being.
And she’d never thought she could be so miserable.
How had she ended up like this? Alone, discarded? This was the last thing she’d imagined when she’d said “I do.”
But then, she couldn’t have imagined anything that had happened in the six weeks since her father’s heart attack.
It had been late May, less than a week after she’d finished her postgraduate courses, and she’d been about to go home with two master’s degrees in hand, when she’d been hit with the terrible news. She’d hurtled to his bedside, struggling with her anxiety as well as his, while fielding those who’d come to pay tribute to her father, Thomas Grant, multimillionaire vineyard and winery owner. The stress had almost wrecked her…until his best friend had come to visit, accompanied by the most incredible man she’d ever seen. Adham.
She was bowled over. And to her stunned delight, he seemed as taken with her. The best part was that she was sure his interest had nothing to do with her father’s fortune. Beyond being second in line to the throne of the staggeringly rich desert kingdom of Khumayrah, he was the owner of the largest horse farm in the States, with a fortune that made her father’s look like change.
Adham started coming every day, enthralling her more each time. He kept her company in her vigil at her father’s bedside, took her for meals and walks. His companionship bolstered her while each touch inflamed her. By the time she begged for him and he took her, it was only three weeks into their relationship, but she’d already stumbled head over heels in love with him.
Then the next day, her father told her that he was being discharged, and that Adham had asked for her hand in marriage. She was overwhelmed by relief and happiness. Her father was going to be okay, and Adham loved her as much as she loved him.
But she crashed down to earth when she talked to her father’s doctors. They said they were releasing him only because he’d asked to die at home. There was no use performing open-heart surgery, or even a heart transplant, since his other systems had been severely damaged, and he had only a few days to live.
Both her father and Adham agreed on an immediate wedding so that her father could witness it. She wanted to give him whatever happiness she could in his last days, but it was heart wrenching to know he wouldn’t live to see her building a family with the man of her dreams.
Hours after the wedding, her father slipped into a coma. He died twenty-four hours later.
After such a tragic start to their marriage, it was the last thing she expected to have Adham whisk her away from her family home in Long Island, to deposit her in a mansion of his in New England and return to his obligations and duties. He came home only fleetingly, but certainly not to her.
She at first thought he was giving her time and space to mourn, so she tried to show him that she wanted nothing but to lose herself in his arms, that his intimacy would be the best salve for her grief.
When that didn’t work, she looked everywhere for a reason for his withdrawal. She got a possible explanation when Jameel, his right-hand man who also supervised her hashyah—her entourage as a princess—told her there was a forty-day mourning period in Khumayrah, where normal life was interrupted to observe bereavement.
Now it was three weeks later, and she could no longer buy this. It was understandable to cancel their honeymoon in their situation, but to not come near her at all? To treat her like a stranger and not the bride she’d thought he hadn’t been able to wait to possess again? That, she couldn’t understand.
Just this morning, she’d again tried to speak to him. And again, he hadn’t given her a chance.
He whisked her to the Hamptons for the start of the polo season, informing her of his many interests there. He was a player on one of the teams, as well as a patron who provided their horses, and a friend and associate to many of the pivotal people in the Bridgehampton Polo Club.
And here she was, in another one of his mansions, this one even more impressive than the last—a spectacular estate on a dozen acres in a prime Bridgehampton South location, with a stunning floor plan, top-of-the-line building materials and masterful finishes. Its three floors covered thirty-six thousand square feet, and the grounds included a unique recreation pavilion. He’d said he liked to have his own residence when he came every year for the tournaments, and he needed all that space to accommodate his entourage and security.
He’d installed her in the master suite that boasted Bordeaux walnut floors, exquisite decor and an expansive en suite bathroom with gold fixtures and onyx walls and floors. The only thing it didn’t include was her groom. “Sabrina.”
She jerked out of her morbid musings. Adham.
His voice had come from the suite’s sitting-room door. Fathomless, irresistible, the exotic inflections of his native Khumayran that mixed with his upper-crust British accent turning her name into an invocation.
In spite of the crushed expectations and confusion of the past weeks, hope surged, making her dizzy with it.
Maybe he would come to her at last. Maybe he had withdrawn to give her time to mourn her father, and had postponed their wedding night until he was sure she was up to withstanding his passion.
If that was it, she’d thank him for his cons
ideration and adherence to his culture’s mourning rituals, then scold him for not understanding the last thing she needed was to feel cut off with her grief. She didn’t need space and time. She needed him.
Her breath caught in her lungs as she leaned back on the king-size, white-lace-covered bed. He’d walk in any second now.
Seconds stretched. Then she heard his receding footsteps.
She sat up, stunned. He’d called only so she’d come out, and walked away when she hadn’t, rather than be in a bedroom with her? Why?
Then you call him, you moron. Find out why. Once and for all.
“Adham.”
But she was too late. The door clicked closed behind him.
And she couldn’t take it anymore. She exploded from the bed, running after him.
She called out again as she pursued him. But even though he must have heard her, he strode ahead undeterred.
This time, so would she. She had to get to the bottom of this or lose her mind.
She ran after him through the maze of a dazzling parterre, her heels grinding the gravel paths. She caught up with him before he lowered himself into the driver’s seat of a gleaming black Jaguar that seemed like an extension of him, of his power and potency.
He turned to her, his eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses, his face blank. God. She missed his smile.
“Sabrina.” That revving R, underlining his exotic origins, shuddered through her again. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I’d be narcoleptic if I were asleep every time you think I am.”
He didn’t smile. Probably because of the bitterness that had stained her tone.
In Too Deep Page 8