by Leah Leonard
For now, he wondered what she heard, if anything. He did not wish to cause trouble if she was merely making trivial small talk. Perhaps she was simply interested in his life and work, he told himself, while he tried to keep his internal fury at his staff buried within.
“Well? Who was that?” Her harsh tone put him on edge. “It sounded like you were talking about a dig.” She gazed deep into his eyes, waiting for him to answer. “You know, like my dig. The one in Ephesus.”
In his many business dealings, the Sheikh never offered anyone explanations for why he did anything. Today was different. He truly loved Kelley and understood that as an American, she had different ideas about husband and wife confidentiality. He had imagined the two of them married and him sharing all with her, but this moment proved a prime example of dealings he would never share with a wife. He did not wish to have this conversation with her at all, however if he lied now or tried to cover his actions, his Kelley would surely discover the truth. She was indeed a clever girl. His employees caused a terrible situation that threatened his future plans and put his eventual marriage in greater jeopardy than if he simply chose to come clean. Either way, he was in a predicament he would not wish on his worst enemy. He ran the possibilities over in his mind one more time before opening his mouth. Should he tell her his plans and expect she would still love him, or should he lie, and pray she would never find the truth?
“Well?” she crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Come to my study.” He turned and began walking, hoping she would actually follow him. Knowing her temperament, she might try to flee.
He listened to her close the door behind her and heard her heels on the marble floor. This was good. He had to at least get her to hear him out.
He led her to his private library off of his main office. Inside, several shelves were stacked with books from floor to ceiling. “Sit.”
She sat amidst the piles of paperwork. “Okay, so what do you want to tell me?”
Khalil slid behind his desk. “I hope you know I would do anything for you.”
Kelley stared at him, rolled her eyes, but made no comment.
Khalil cleared his throat. “I love you and I was deeply troubled by Josh’s actions, so I decided to help.”
“You call that help?” she shouted. “Paying people? I heard you Khalil! I know you paid someone to plant a relic for me.”
“Please hear me out!” he said, pleased to see she remained seated. “I hope you know that while my actions may be perceived as not entirely honest, I did this out of respect for you.”
“Are you kidding me?” Anger flashed in her eyes, but she remained seated.
Pleased to see Kelley didn’t cry or run, he continued, struggling with every word. “I was aware of your digging site, and I wanted to have…”
“Oh stop it, Khalil! Okay? Cut the garbage! I am an intelligent woman, and I know you’re not used to dealing with people like me…”
“I have always honored and valued your skills,” he protested.
“You basically hired someone to bury that pot in the ground, didn’t you?” Her icy blue-eyed stare bore a hole in his heart.
Khalil sat frozen. She knew what was going on now and there was no use trying to insult her intelligence by softening his actions. “Yes.”
“And would you like to tell me why you thought that was an okay thing to do to me?” Fury flashed in her eyes.
“Because I love you,” he said without hesitation. “Because I want you to stay with me. I want you to be happy.”
“Happy?” She shouted and laughed.
“I thought if I could assist you in finding a discovery, you would look favorably upon my homeland, and ultimately upon me. I wanted you to have more incentive to stay.”
Silence filled the space. Kelley sat quietly, apparently in deep thought. The tense quiet was difficult for Khalil to endure. The quiet continued until Khalil did not think he could bear not knowing her thoughts any longer. He tried to think of what else he could say to make her know the depth of his feelings. The truth was, there were no words for how he felt about her, yet before he could apologize or try and make more excuses about why he did such a terrible and deceitful thing, Kelley’s face burst into what was perhaps the widest smile he had ever seen.
She walked around the desk, and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. To his great surprise, she kissed him. “This is exactly why I love you.”
Fifty-Nine
“What?” Khalil looked like he might literally have a heart attack.
Kelley absolutely loved knowing she was driving him mad and scaring him half to death. The truth was that she was infuriated with him at first, but when she saw him and listened to what he said, she realized how she reacted to this situation was entirely up to her. Did she want the happily ever after dream of him, or did she want to toss it all away? He loved her, she could see that, and it wasn’t him, but Josh, who lied to her. There was never any artifact to find. How could Khalil be to blame for that?
While she sat and worked through all of this in her mind, she finally told him, “The fact you would go through all that trouble for me is…well, it’s staggering. And I love you for it!” She hugged him, and would not let go. “But don’t ever do it again.”
“You are not displeased?”
Shaking her head, she kissed him again. “No.”
A deep crease wrinkled Khalil’s forehead. “I do not understand.”
“Well, let me preface this by saying in the future, I want to actually make my own discoveries, but in this case, I thought it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“You did?”
“Uh huh.”
“And you forgive me?”
“I do. I realized that Josh is the cause of all of this, not you, and the artifact was never there to begin with. How can I blame that on you? Especially because I know you’re right. We were meant to meet.”
“You understand why I value your happiness above my own?”
Hearing those words brought fresh wave of emotions to the surface. Quiet tears streamed down her face. She nodded. “I’m never expected to find anything when we went anyhow.”
“No?”
“Of course not. I told you that it was a hoax from the start.” She took his hands. “Thank you, Khalil. Thank you for helping me at least go back out there and get on the horse again. Even though we didn’t find anything real, it’s actually given me hope.”
“In your career? In your field of study?”
Kelley chuckled. “No, in something far more important, you.”
Khalil swept her in his arms, kissing her passionately. “Then you shall meet my family tonight?”
“Absolutely!”
Wrapping her in his arms, Khalil kissed her again. “There is nothing in this life more important to me than you.”
“I feel the same.”
“I am anxious to introduce my future wife to my family and I know they will love you as much as I do.”
Entwined in each other’s arms, Kelley and Khalil shared one of many beautiful moments together that she hoped would never, ever have to end.
Sixty
Late that afternoon, Kelley went back to her room to rest and get ready for the evening while Khalil prepared for the meeting tonight with his father and brother.
She was excited to meet the family, and prayed they would accept her, especially since today, Kelley believed her and Khalil belonged together, and his family would play a huge part in making her feel welcome and at home.
The gifts Khalil left her were getting to be almost routine, yet Kelley refused to ever take anything he gave her for granted.
After her bath, she went to her dressing area, and found an enormous gold gift box on the bed.
She lifted the lid and found yet another stunning gown. This one as gold as the foil it was wrapped in. When she pulled it out, she found some sexy high heeled gold and rh
inestone sandals with long straps that wrapped around her calves.
Wasn’t this a bit ornate for the evening? Perhaps not, since she noticed it had a traditional cut and covered everything.
She sat on a chair, eager to try on the shoes. Oh they were incredible! And they fit perfectly! How did he do it? Khalil paid great attention to every little detail about her and she was amazed at how well he knew her. He asked her casually a few days ago if she preferred gold or silver. She hadn’t thought much of it until now. Clearly he listened and responded appropriately.
A light knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.
Her heart jumped a little. She hoped it was Khalil because she couldn’t wait to thank him. She wouldn’t model for him now though. She wanted tonight to be a surprise.
She swung her door open and found a tiny woman with a tray of hairbrushes and accessories. “Madam? Sheikh Khalil has asked me to assist you before dinner. May I?”
“Of course, come in.”
She entered the room, placing the hair accessories on the dressing table. “I am here to prepare your hair and make up if you would like.”
“Of course, thank you! What a treat!”
“Yes, ma’am,” the woman bowed.
For the next two hours, the woman worked tirelessly on what Kelley believed to be the single best day of pampering she had ever experienced in her life. Together they twisted her hair, braided it, knotted it, wove in beads, unraveled it and added a few curls, trying all the possibilities to see which would work best for this evening.
Kelley finally decided that since Khalil’s father, the Sheikh and his brother and family would be at dinner, an elegant yet conservative up do would work best. She wanted the family to like her and she hoped to fit in, but with her bright blonde hair and blue eyes, it might be best to have her hair up for a change.
The servant created an amazing style that blended a sense of the unusual with the conservative look Kelley wanted.
First, she wove strings of tiny rhinestones through her hair, twisting it in some places, braiding it in others, then winding it all atop the crown of Kelley’s head.
She helped Kelley into her gown, and pinned the hooded part just behind the twisted upsweep of twisted bright blonde hair, so
that while her neck was covered, her hair was still visible as the work of art she created.
Next, she helped Kelley with her makeup, again careful to perfectly match her skin tone, highlight her gorgeous blue eyes without being too ornate or disrespectful. She chose earth-toned colors for her eye shadow, accented by a faint line of blue to bring out her eyes, lined her lips with a golden lipstick, and patted on just enough rouge, and carefully pinned a sheer veil across her mouth. Her lips were still visible through the cloth, perfectly lined and colored.
Kelley simply didn’t recognize herself. She looked like she belonged in a film. She turned to the woman. “Thank you so much. This is wonderful. I feel like I am in a fairy tale.”
The woman smiled faintly, a deep kindness in her eyes. “The Sheikh will be pleased.”
“I believe he will, yes, thanks to you. I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you so much!”
The woman lowered her gaze, bowed and slipped out the door after reminding her, “The Sheikh expects you in five minutes, madam.”
“Of course,” Kelley said. “Thank you.”
“When you are ready, simply come and join the family in the formal dining area at the front of the palace.”
Kelley knew that place well. Her mind flashed back to the day she arrived and sat with Safina, and saw Oma for the first time. Oh how things had changed since then!
After all this preparation, Kelley couldn’t believe how nervous she felt. Then again, she never loved anyone the way she loved Khalil. He was the one, she was sure of that.
She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She only hoped tonight went well. Despite the hardships of the recent past, Khalil was right about one thing – meeting each other made it all worth it. Now only if his family could see they belonged together, things could work out for the two of them. She gazed at her ring and thought about the bright future they had to look forward to, and it all began tonight. This dinner meant everything to her and their future together.
Sixty-One
Kelley made her way out of her chamber, slowly walking down the hall toward the front end of the palace. Everything seemed quieter than normal today, she noticed, probably because the servants were all up front busily preparing for dinner. The only sound she heard was the clicking of her heels on the marble floor. God she loved these shoes! They clung to her calves perfectly, slimming her legs, making her feel sexy, even though nobody could see them under the conservative gown. Khalil had amazing taste. She couldn’t wait until later when they were alone. Her mind filled with fantasies of him slowly unbuckling them, and tossing them onto the floor, kissing his way up her thighs, slowly undressing her and ripping her robe off.
Once she neared the ballroom, the sound of voices pulled her back into reality. It sounded as though there were several people gathered. This was it, the moment of truth. She would go and face the family and prayed that they would welcome her as Khalil seemed to think they would. She held her breath, pushed the door open and was instantly stunned not only by what she saw, but what she heard.
Khalil stood front and center next to a ravaging beauty. He wore a black tux and bow tie and was laughing, carrying on and even flirting a bit as he took the woman’s hand and shook it. “Wonderful to see you again, indeed. It has been far too long.”
Kelley felt nauseous and froze in place, unable to believe her eyes. Thank God he didn’t kiss her fingers.
Tall and lean, with striking jet black hair woven similarly to Kelley’s, only with pearls instead of rhinestones, the woman looked like a goddess. Her head was uncovered. She wore no veil over her full lips. Wasn’t that against protocol? The fact she had not hidden herself under layers of head coverings only accentuated her otherworldly beauty. With teeth as white as the pearls in her hair, her perfect smile accentuated her gorgeous black eyes and stunning cocoa skin. She busied herself by giggling flirtatiously and acting as though everything Khalil said was the most brilliant insight in the world.
Also present and standing off to one side was another regal looking man who she assumed was Khalil’s brother, Ahmed. He also wore a tux and stood next to a conservatively veiled woman who Kelley presumed was his wife. They stood apart from everyone else and simply listened on to the other conversations while slowly sipping their tea.
Also off to the side was Khalil’s father who laughed and joked with a finely dressed older man who Kelley presumed must be the young girl’s father.
All the while, staff and servants hovered around the gathering serving several trays of hors d’oeuvres.
Kelley stood watching for a moment because thankfully nobody had seen her yet.
Who in the world was this woman, and why hadn’t Khalil mentioned her? She hoped the girl was a cousin or relative of some kind, but the body language between the two of them suggested otherwise. She turned around, thinking it might be best to skip the family dinner all together, but unfortunately, she didn’t make it far.
“Kelley!” Khalil called out to her and rushed across the ballroom to meet her. He took her hands, kissed her fingers. “You look beautiful tonight, darling.”
The lively conversation came to a dead halt and all eyes turned to her. Kelley felt a rush of heat rise from her center up through her cheeks. Her legs suddenly felt wobbly.
“Come.” He tugged her hand. “You must meet everyone.”
Lucky for her, Khalil still had that same lover’s glow in his eyes, but seriously, how long could that last with Miss Movie Star hanging around?
A million thoughts raced through Kelley’s mind, most of them not good. She needed to calm down, she tried telling herself. Maybe she was reading too much into the situation. The closer she got to the gathering, the more she co
uld see the girl more clearly, and soon realized she was quite young. Far too young for Khalil. Maybe she was a cousin only, or some other relation. She took a deep breath and realized she needed to trust Khalil. He hadn’t let her down so far, and she hoped he wouldn’t start now.
To her dismay, rather than welcoming her into the fold, Khalil’s father resumed speaking to the older man, ignoring her completely. They spoke to one another, laughing and carrying on like best friends who had a long shared history together. Clearly the dinner tonight was a family affair and she was an outsider. Deep down she knew she shouldn’t have come tonight. She wasn’t welcome. Even Ahmed and his wife failed to say anything to her. Why had Khalil put her in such a horrible predicament?
A servant handed her a cup of tea, which she eagerly accepted, if for no other reason than the fact it gave her something to hold on to so the gathering wouldn’t notice her hands trembling from nerves. She fought the urge to run kicking and screaming out of here, but she didn’t out of respect for Khalil. She couldn’t wait until this night was over, but for now, she held her breath, clutched her teacup and hoped she could endure this ordeal.
“Sultan Methuselah?” Khalil turned to the older gentleman. “May I present Miss Kelley Jones Smith?”
The Sultan turned to her with a faint smile and bowed slightly. He wore a white turban that hung over his black suit and was attached to his head by an ornamental tie of some kind. He had kind eyes and Kelley could see he was a good person and obviously possessed vast wealth.
She had no idea how to react around a man of high station. Instinctively, she bowed and said, “Hello.”
To her great dismay, just like before, Khalil’s family didn’t say a word to her. His father focused only on the Sultan.
“Father!” Khalil raised his voice in a tone probably not acceptable for such an occasion. “I shall appreciate your acknowledgement of our special guest.”
The elder Sheikh shot Khalil a glance that was far less than favorable, and turned to Kelley with a slight bow, then turned back to his old friend, as if Kelley were a horse or inanimate object.