As Laurel had left the plane Nasser had said, “It has been a great honor to know you, Your Highness.”
She’d kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Nasser, for being a friend.”
He’d nodded and she’d gone down the steps, leaving what little remained of Zentar behind her forever.
* * *
Just as she had done all those years before, she turned to her sister for a shoulder to cry on. She stayed on through the night. Laurel told her about how Tariq had tricked her into taking the job and about their pretend marriage.
“You married him?” Sharon squealed. “You are a princess. I can’t believe that my sister is a princess.”
“I won’t be for long. He will send the divorce papers soon.” That thought made Laurel even sadder.
“Did you live in the palace?”
“Yes.”
Sharon leaned toward her. “Was it fabulous?”
Laurel had been happy there. Far more than she had been in her apartment. “It was.”
“What are you not telling me?” Her sister put her hand over hers.
“Nothing.”
“I know you too well to believe that. Give.”
“I fell in love.” It made it much more painful to admit it out loud.
Sharon brought her into a hug. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”
Laurel returned the embrace.
“Did you tell him?”
“No.” Laurel sniffled.
“Then it was his loss. He isn’t a good guy anyway.” Sharon patted Laurel’s back.
She pulled away. “Yes, he is! He loves his country and family. Because of him I rode a horse, slept in a tent. I took time off to discover a market, swim in the sea. I learned to live, not just exist.”
“It sounds like you changed a lot in a few weeks.”
“Being with Tariq changed me,” Laurel said softly. Far more than she had realized or imagined possible.
Sharon shook her. “But he still didn’t treat you right.”
“No, but he did that for unselfish reasons. To help others.”
“You do realize you have been defending the man you ran away from, don’t you?”
Her sister was right, but it didn’t matter. What had been between Tariq and her wouldn’t have lasted. It would have had to end sooner or later anyway. It was just as well that it had happened when it had.
* * *
Over the next few weeks Laurel worked to stay busy. The less time she had to think about Tariq the better. When her mother called and invited her to an impromptu family dinner, she readily agreed, not wanting to spend any more time alone than necessary.
As she arrived at her parents’ house she saw none of the vehicles of other members of her family. There was one unknown car sitting across the street. A shiny red sports car that made her think of Tariq. She refused to let her sadness ruin her time with her family.
Putting a smile on her face, she stepped up on her parents’ porch. There was laughter coming from inside. She knocked on the door then entered. “Hey, I’m here. Who robbed a bank and bought that nice car?”
All went quiet. There was no one in the living room so she continued toward the dining room.
Tariq stepped into the doorway. Heat flashed through Laurel and her heart did a tap dance. He was dressed in a collared shirt, jeans and loafers and he had never looked better. Her mouth went dry and her heart raced. She grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself. “It’s your car. What’re you doing here?”
“Actually, it is your car, if you want it.” Tariq’s eyes didn’t leave her.
“You came all this way to give me a car?”
“And I needed to speak to your parents, but more than that I missed you.”
Did she dare get her hopes up? Could she live through heartache like that again? “You do? I’m surprised that a Prince of Zentar would stoop to making house calls.” Her words were harsher than she’d intended, especially when all she really wanted to do was run into his arms. “I’m sorry, Tariq. That was just plain mean.”
He winced. “I deserved it. And more.”
Her mother appeared behind Tariq. He stepped out of the way and she came to Laurel, giving her a hug.
Her father joined them and did the same thing. “Hi, sweetheart.”
She watched Tariq. His gaze didn’t waver. What was he thinking?
“Why don’t you two go out back and talk?” her mother suggested.
Her father nodded.
She looked from one parent to the other. Seeing no help there, she resigned herself to spend time alone with Tariq.
“Please, Laurel?” Tariq was asking. That was a rare occurrence.
“Come this way.” Laurel led the way through the dining room into the kitchen and out the back door. She stopped in the center of the fenced yard and turned to face him. “Why are you here, Tariq? And involving my parents?”
“I did not think you would let me come to your apartment so I asked your parents to help me talk to you.”
“What do you want to say that hasn’t already been said?”
“That I apologize for the way I treated you, manipulated you. It was wrong. I will never do that to you or anyone else ever again. You were right. I have let guilt rule my life and actions. It turns out that my brothers never blamed me. It was only me blaming myself. I will continue to make finding a cure for hemophilia a priority but not over living my own life. I am even considering children.”
What a wonderful father he would make. This strong, self-assured man had humbled himself, admitted his weakness. “I’m glad to hear that and I forgive you. I owe you an apology as well.”
“There is a great deal of that going around today.”
“I guess there is. When you can’t face who you have become, that’s what happens. You were right. I’ve spent years hiding behind, first, books, then what happened in college, then my work in the lab. Because of you and going to Zentar I have started really living. I have set work hours and found a clinic that needs my help. If it hadn’t been for your highhandedness, that would probably never have happened. I will always be grateful to you for that.”
“Thank you for telling me. I was afraid you would hate me forever.”
“I could never hate you.” If she wasn’t careful she’d be telling him things she should keep to herself. “I still don’t understand why we’re having this conversation in my parents’ backyard.”
“I wished to meet them. To explain what happened and mostly to apologize for my dishonesty. They deserve to know why you came to Zentar and that you marrying me behind their backs was my doing, not yours.”
She stepped toward him. How could he? “You told them we married?”
“I had to if I wanted to ask for their blessing.”
Laurel looked at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
He took her hand. “That I love you and want you to be my wife, habibti. Always.”
Surely this was a dream. “Tariq, are you sure you’re not just doing this to be honorable?”
He chuckled. “How like you to question someone telling you that they love you.” Tariq pulled something out of his pocket and went down on one knee.
Her breath caught. The ring was beautiful.
“It was my mother’s. I failed to give this to you when you agreed to marry me, but I want you to have it now. Laurel, will you remain my Princess?”
She threw herself into his open arms. “Forever.”
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Susan Carlisle
Nurse to Forever Mom
A Daddy Sent by Santa
The Brooding Surgeon’s Baby Bombshell
Redeeming the Rebel Doc
All available now!
Keep reading for an exc
erpt from The Surgeon’s Convenient Husband by Amy Ruttan.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
Did you know that Harlequin My Rewards members earn FREE books and more?
Join
www.HarlequinMyRewards.com
today to start earning your FREE books!
* * *
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards and reward the book lover in you!
Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever and whenever you shop.
Turn your points into FREE BOOKS of your choice
OR
EXCLUSIVE GIFTS from your favorite authors or series.
Click here to join for FREE
Or visit us online to register at
www.HarlequinMyRewards.com
Harlequin My Rewards is a free program (no fees) without any commitments or obligations.
The Surgeon’s Convenient Husband
by Amy Ruttan
CHAPTER ONE
Anchorage, Alaska
SLEEP. I NEED SLEEP.
Ruby was exhausted. She’d just flown to a bush camp at the DEW Line and then back again because of an injured tourist who had been mauled by a bear. They had managed to get the tourist out of the bush camp and to Wainwright, but there had been no surgeon there at the time.
So Ruby had done the surgery. She had stabilized the man and then, with a couple members of her team, she’d brought him back down after the surgery. The Air Ambulance wouldn’t have been able to handle it. The man had needed surgery before he could travel. He would have died on the trip in the Medevac.
This was why Ruby loved her job so much. This is what she lived for. Saving lives on the frontier.
Still, she was beat tired, and very thankful for the midnight sun of the summer. Her internal clock was a bit off, and all she wanted to do now was go home and have a rest. She thought it was morning, but she couldn’t be quite certain. And she was pretty sure there was something that she was supposed to do today.
Only she couldn’t remember what.
“Dr. Cloutier. I was just looking for you!”
Ruby groaned inwardly and turned around to see Jessica Atkinson, the hospital director at Seward Memorial, and her voice screeching through the fog of her exhaustion reminded her of what she’d forgotten.
Oh. Right.
It was not that she didn’t like her, but she was just so exhausted, and she’d completely forgotten about today. Today was the day her husband Aran, Jessica’s son, was coming to Anchorage after his honorable discharge.
How could I forget?
She hated herself for forgetting that piece of information. So she plastered on the best, most energetic smile that she could.
She and Aran had been residents together, and when Ruby had had to return to Canada, which had meant giving up all her plans to implement a wilderness trauma team based out of Anchorage, it had been a huge blow. That was when Aran had suggested they get married—so she could stay and finish her work while he enlisted in the Army.
At first Ruby had been against a fake marriage. She hadn’t wanted to endanger her plans or Aran’s career, but Aran had insisted.
So five years ago they’d got married, and a month ago she’d received word that he’d been injured while on a tour of duty and, after a period of recovery in Germany, would be honorably discharged to his home in San Diego.
She hadn’t gone down there because she’d been so busy with her rounds here up north, and she regretted not going. And, judging by the stern look on Jessica’s face now, she should really be regretting her choice. It had been five years since she’d seen Aran. He’d been her friend, or the closest thing she’d had to a friend, and he’d done her a huge favor.
“Jessica, I haven’t seen you in a while. How was your trip to San Diego?” Ruby avoided asking about Aran. She was worried that he was more injured than the initial reports had let on.
“Good, but hot. I much prefer the north.” Jessica hesitated, then said, “I’m hoping you can come to my office. I have to talk to you about something.”
A shudder ran down Ruby’s spine when she saw how uneasy Jessica was. It must be something bad that Jessica wanted to tell her. She had always been pretty good at reading people—it helped when she was dealing with patients, because not everyone told the truth, and helped especially when she was having to deal with people who lived in the bush and didn’t have much trust for people who lived in the city.
Or tourists who got drunk and baited a bear.
And, even though Ruby wanted to tell Jessica no, she couldn’t. Ruby still felt so guilty about not going down to San Diego to see Aran, even though Aran had sent her an email and told her it was okay that she didn’t come. That he didn’t mind and knew her work was important.
She should have ignored that and gone anyway.
“Sure.” Ruby stifled a yawn and fell into step beside Jessica.
“I know you’re tired, Ruby,” Jessica said sympathetically. “I heard that you just got back from Wainwright and brought in a bear attack patient?”
Ruby nodded. “A drunk tourist who thought it would be great to get a close-up selfie with a bear, and a bear who thought, Oh, here’s an easy meal.”
Jessica shook her head and then opened the door to her office. “When will people learn?”
“Never!” Ruby said as she followed Jessica into her office.
“Have a seat.”
Jessica walked around and sat down on the opposite side of the desk and Ruby’s stomach twisted into a knot. The last time she had been in this situation she had learned that her work visa was ending and that she was going to be sent back to Canada.
As much as she loved her home in the Northwest Territories, the government there didn’t have the money or the manpower to fund Ruby’s big aspirations to bring more medical care to the north. Her hope was to one day go back and have the territorial and federal government see what she had done in Alaska. She was getting closer now, but five years ago she hadn’t been ready.
Ruby was having an extreme sense of déjà-vu and she didn’t like it too much. “Jessica, you’re making me a little nervous,” she admitted.
“It’s nothing bad. Well, I don’t think it’s bad...” Jessica trailed off.
“But I’ll think it’s bad?”
“You might not be happy about it. I know how particular you are about your team.”
That wasn’t a good start.
Ruby was particular about her team. Working in extreme weather under difficult circumstances and in difficult terrain took a very special kind of person and Ruby was picky about that.
She stiffened her spine and crossed her arms, bracing herself for the worst. “Okay...”
“As you must know, Aran has been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces after he suffered a leg injury.”
It was a dig at her and Ruby knew that. She deserved it. “Yes. I do know.”
“Aran is your husband,” Jessica reminded her gently.
“I know, Jessica, and I’m sorry I didn’t go down to see him. My work... I had a lot of rounds to finish and...”
Jessica raised her hand. “I get it. I respect it. And Aran understands too. It’s just...this whole fake marriage thing...”
“Has Aran found someone else?”
Ruby knew it was possible. Aran wa
s handsome and charming. If she was a different person she might have fallen for him. Every time he walked into a room she could see the dreamy expressions cross women’s faces.
She was pretty sure she’d had the same wide-eyed look a few times when she’d used to see him, but she’d kept him at a distance. They’d been work friends—nothing more.
And, since she’d been the only female resident he hadn’t slept with during their residency, she had often been paired up with him.
She’d thought his proposal for a fake marriage before he’d left a bad idea, but he’d convinced her it would be fine...
“You’re insane.” Ruby shook her head and tried to walk away from him.
Aran jogged up beside her and flashed her that bright smile that always melted so many hearts. Including hers, sometimes, but she’d never let him know that.
“So you’ve told me before,” he said. “I’m not wrong about this, though.”
Ruby stopped and crossed her arms. “A marriage of convenience? That’s something that’s only done in the movies or romantic fiction. In real life it’s fraud!”
“It’s not fraud.”
Aran took her hands in his and she tried to control the tremble of excitement he caused in her by his touch.
“We’re friends.”
“Work friends.”
He sighed. “We like each other, at least.”
“I’ll give you that.” She smiled. “What do you get out of doing me this huge favor right before you ship out?”
“I’m doing this for you. I believe in you and you’ll owe me one.”
“Okay. As long as you’re sure.”
“Positive. Will you marry me, Ruby Cloutier?”
Ruby shook the thoughts away. She had been attracted to him, but she didn’t want any kind of relationship. Her “marriage” to Aran had stopped a lot of friends from trying to set her up. Which had been great. Still, if Aran found someone else she couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t give him what he wanted.
The Sheikh Doc's Marriage Bargain Page 17