Her Desert Knight
Page 17
They’d decided to drive into Cambridge and cruise around MIT in a limo blasting the stereo instead.
“You should see the campus. It’s awesome.” Khalid’s eyes shone with excitement.
“I have seen it.” She grinned. “And if you don’t want to stay in one of the MIT dorms you could come live with us while you’re studying there.”
“Now, now.” Her dad smiled sheepishly. “Khalid has to get in first. An application to MIT is no laughing matter.”
“We all know Khalid is a genius.” Quasar ruffled Khalid’s hair. “And MIT will be lucky to get him.”
White flowers ornamented almost every surface in the elegant brownstone. It was wonderful to see the place filled with life, even with noise and too many people trying to use the bathrooms at the same time. What a difference from the hushed and somber atmosphere at her first wedding, which her friends had warned her against and her cousins were forbidden to attend.
All the ladies had their hands hennaed the night before, another Omani tradition she’d skipped over last time. She expressed her admiration for the women, and Quasar came up behind her and gave her a kiss. “You look stunning.”
It was the first time he’d seen her long white gown—even Omani brides usually wore white these days—with pearl beads sewn into swirling patterns on the skirt. Strapless and cut low in the back, it made her feel daring and sexy as well as beautiful.
She’d been so sure she’d never feel that way again, until she found Quasar reading the one book she wanted in her favorite bookstore. “It’s so strange that I had to go back to Oman to find you.”
“And that I had to go back to Oman to find you.” He kissed her softly on the lips, then led her through the house and out into the decorated garden. The leafy canopy of old oak and maple trees filtered the bright afternoon sunshine. A white pavilion, decked with flowers, was set up for the imam to perform the brief marriage ceremony.
She couldn’t believe how involved Quasar had been in planning the wedding. He really seemed to want to discuss every detail, even though he was in the middle of a deal big enough to make the front page of the Financial Times.
Salim, always one to take charge, moved through the gathered crowd, ushering them out into the garden. Celia and Sara organized the children around the pavilion with baskets of flower petals to toss at the moment the marriage became official.
“Where’s my shawl? I don’t think the imam wants to see my bare shoulders.” Dani bit her lip and grinned mischievously.
“I put it under the pavilion so you’d have it when you needed it,” answered Quasar. “Let me get it for you.”
“What have you done to my brother?” asked Salim. “I don’t remember him being thoughtful.”
“He seems determined to prove to me that I’m making the right choice by marrying him.”
“Determination is a core Al Mansur trait.” Elan walked up, carrying little Hannah, whose eyes glittered with freshly dried tears. Fortunately her face also glowed with a dazzling smile. “It’s particularly exasperating during the toddler years. But it’s one of the things that makes us so loveable.”
Quasar returned and draped the silky white chiffon carefully over her shoulders and hair. “See, you can be both traditional and modern at the same time.”
“And American and Omani.” She winked. They’d found a live band composed of Harvard students who swore they could play both traditional Omani music and classic rock. Just watching them try promised to be fun.
“The Al Mansur family is officially global,” Sara chimed in.
“Speaking of the Al Mansur family, when do you plan to add to the lineage?” Celia moved next to Dani. “I think it’s quite miraculous that Dani managed to get all the way to her wedding vows without getting pregnant.”
“Or did she?” Sara raised a brow.
Dani laughed. “No plus signs on the pregnancy test for me. I’ve just started my job at the Harvard Art Museum Research Center and I’m hoping to travel to their ongoing excavation in Sardis next year. Besides, Quasar and I intend to enjoy each other for a while before we add to our family.” She loved that he hadn’t put any pressure on her at all to have children yet. They had plenty of time for that.
Quasar took her hand and they walked together along the stone path toward the pavilion where they’d be joined in marriage. Tears welled inside her, but this time they were tears of happiness.
* * * * *
If you liked Dani and Quasar’s story, don’t miss how his brothers met and fell in love with their soul mates in these novels from USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Lewis:
THE BOSS’S DEMAND
THE DESERT PRINCE
All available now from Harlequin Desire!
Keep reading for a special excerpt from THE SECRET AFFAIR by Brenda Jackson.
Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.
Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!
Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy,
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Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)
Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)
Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)
And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
Here’s a sneak peek of
THE SECRET AFFAIR
by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
Brenda Jackson
Dr. Aidan Westmoreland entered his apartment and removed his lab coat. After running a hand down his face, he glanced at his watch, frustrated. He’d hoped he would have heard something by now. What if…
The ringing of his cell phone made him pause. It was the call he’d been waiting for. “Paige?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Is Jillian still going?” he asked, not wasting time with chitchat.
There was a slight pause on the other end, and in that short space of time knots formed in his stomach. “Yes, she’s still going on the cruise, Aidan.”
He released the breath he’d been holding as Paige continued, “Jill still has no idea I’m aware that the two of you had an affair.”
Aidan hadn’t known Paige knew the truth either, until she’d paid him a surprise visit last month. According to her, she’d figured things out the year Jillian had entered medical school. She’d become suspicious when he’d come home for his cousin Riley’s wedding and she’d overheard him call Jillian Jilly in an intimate tone. Paige had been concerned this past year when she’d noticed Jillian seeme
d troubled by something that she wouldn’t share with Paige.
Paige had talked to Ivy, Jillian’s best friend, who’d also been concerned about Jillian. Ivy had shared everything about the situation with Paige. Which had prompted Paige to fly to Charlotte and confront him. Until then, Aidan had been clueless as to the real reason behind his and Jillian’s breakup.
When Paige had told him about the cruise she and
Jillian had planned and she’d suggested an idea for getting Jillian on the cruise alone, he’d readily embraced it.
“I’ve done my part and the rest is up to you, Aidan. I hope you can convince Jill of the truth.”
Moments later he ended the call and continued to the kitchen, where he grabbed a beer. Two weeks on the open seas with Jillian would be interesting. But he intended to make it more than just interesting. He aimed to make it productive.
A determined smile spread across his lips. By the time the cruise ended there would be no doubt in Jillian’s mind that he was the only man for her.
Find out how this secret affair began—and how Aidan plans to claim his woman in THE SECRET AFFAIR by New York Times and
USA TODAY bestselling author Brenda Jackson.
Available December 2014, wherever Harlequin® Desire books and ebooks are sold!
Copyright 2014 © by Brenda Streater Jackson
ISBN-13: 9781460342640
Her Desert Knight
Copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Lewis
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