by Holly Rayner
“Ay, my feet are killing me!” said Joel, leaning against the wall in the gallery’s back room. He had removed one of his gorgeous brown leather shoes and was massaging his black-socked foot with one hand.
As I clicked by him in my own black high heels, I laughed and squished his cheek between my fingers gently. “Why don’t we trade shoes, then? I’ll take yours over mine any day.”
“Rafiq would never forgive me,” said Joel. “You see the way your ass looks in them? Whew!” He pretended to fan himself with a chuckle.
“You’re not wrong,” I said with a laugh. Rafiq had picked out my tiny black cocktail dress and matching black heels exactly for the way my curves looked in them. I’d taken myself to a salon to have my long black hair done up in a gorgeous bundle of curls that felt like a crown on top of my head. “I’m pretty sure your feet are just a little bit bigger than mine, anyway. Sorry dear, can’t help you.”
“It’s my fault for not breaking these in, but damn it, they looked so good in the store window on the way over here.” He looked regretfully at his other, shoed foot on the floor. “Why does it have to hurt to look so good?”
“Well, you look very handsome in them, so suck it up. The night’s almost done.” I leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before heading down the long hallway toward the gallery.
Even though it was late in the evening, the room was still buzzing with art lovers who had stayed all night, and the new arrivals who had most likely been out at nearby galleries all evening, and selected us for their final stop.
Looking around, I still couldn’t believe that this was my life. Tonight was the grand opening of the new gallery, bigger than anything I could ever have hoped to be a part of, and it was all thanks to my new life with Rafiq.
I spotted him in the crowd, not just because of his height, but because he was carrying himself like a king. Even among other powerful people, he stood out, shining like a jewel from the desert.
He always caught me staring at him, and tonight was no different. He looked up across the crowd and met my eyes with a smirk and a wink. I smiled back and blew him a kiss.
“Tonight has been perfect,” said Joel, coming up from behind me. “You must be so proud, mami.”
“I am,” I admitted with a nod. “And I’m proud of Rafiq. He’s come so far, he’s like a whole new man. He makes me so happy.”
“And they love his work!” said Joel with a gesture around. “Everyone has been gushing about it all evening! I think you might have a rival.”
I laughed as I gazed over the gallery walls. This place was ours, Rafiq’s and mine, and our work hung together, side by side. We had even completed a joint piece, the first piece visitors encountered when they entered the gallery. My wildest daydreams had never come close to the reality I was living now. I had a wonderful, passionate man to share not only my life with, but my work, too.
“I’m not sure I would want to be Rafiq’s rival, to be honest. I love his work more than my own most times.”
“That’s how I know you are in love,” said Joel, putting his arm around me for a sweet hug. “And it’s about damn time.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Rafiq was coming up to join us with a glass of champagne in his hand, and a handsome smile on his face. He gave Joel a friendly hug. “Thank you for all your help tonight, Joel, we couldn’t have done this without you.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying to her for years,” said Joel with a teasing glance at me. “But I get to tell everyone that my dearest friend is both a successful artist and a princess, so it works out.”
“A princess?” I laughed.
“Well, more or less,” said Joel with a wink. “Right, I’m going to go talk that gorgeous German gentleman into buying the painting he’s been staring at for ten minutes. Excuse me, you two.” He gave us both a pat on the shoulder before maneuvering his way through the crowd.
Rafiq pulled me into a close embrace. “This evening has been a dream come true for me, my love.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said, grateful that in these heels, I didn’t even have to get on my tip-toes to reach his soft lips for a gentle, sensual kiss. “I’m so lucky to have you, Rafiq. You’ve made so many of my dreams come true.”
“I intend to make them all come true,” he said. “Every last one.”
“Even the one where I have a pet dinosaur that I ride to work?”
Rafiq laughed and nodded. “I already have my top scientists working on the cloning technology.”
I giggled and shook my head at him as he pulled me in for another kiss.
“There’s one more dream I want to make come true tonight,” he said. “A dream of mine… and hopefully, a dream of yours too.” There was a secret sparkle in his eyes.
“Oh?” I said, raising an eyebrow, a playful smirk on my painted lips. “And what dream is that, darling?”
Rafiq stepped away from me, holding my hand, and began to speak loudly—not to me, but to the art lovers perusing the gallery. “May I have your attention, please?”
After a few more seconds of excited buzz, the crowd quieted down, several coming from across the large space to get closer. The group was a well-dressed mass of beautiful people holding glasses of champagne, eyes bright from laughter and cheeks warmed from the alcohol.
Rafiq caressed my hand in his as he spoke. “I want to thank all of you for coming tonight, on the opening night of our gallery. It means the world to us that you would spend your evening in our company, taking in the work—both artistic and otherwise—that we have been pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into for over a year.”
Rafiq was an incredible orator, and ever since the day he had stood up to his father, his confidence had only grown. He was brimming with so much charisma that he had the entire crowd eating every word. When he spoke with passion, there was no ignoring him.
“As many of you will be aware, the work on these walls belongs to myself, and my beautiful partner, the love of my life, Miss Evangeline Pryce.” He held up my hand to make sure everyone could see me, and some of the crowd applauded.
He was speaking to them, but he only looked at me. “Evangeline is the real reason we are all here tonight. Without her love and beauty in my life, I could never have found the courage to live my life honestly and fully, as she does. She has never let the world stop her from being who she is. Even when it threatened her with loneliness and insecurity, she held fast to her vision. She is braver than any single person I’ve ever met, and without her, my life would be in a much different and darker place right now. The truth is, Evie saved me.”
Rafiq’s words melted my heart. Tears ran down my cheeks, and the smile on my face was so big, it hurt.
“She saved me from myself,” said Rafiq, his voice cracking with emotion. “I was numb, and directionless. But then she came and made me feel again, and helped me become a better man. Of all the works in this gallery tonight, or any other night, Evangeline is the most beautiful work of all.”
My heart seized and I gasped when Rafiq dropped to one knee on the hardwood floor. He opened his right hand to show a tiny, velvet box.
He opened the box; inside it was a beautiful, glittering diamond ring. It wasn’t the ring he had used to fool his father during our fake engagement. This one was new, and I could tell immediately from the design of the gems that Rafiq had had this made just for me. Tears filled my eyes.
“Evangeline,” he said. His hand grasped mine tighter, and he held the box up to me. “I had no life, no love, before you came to me. I never want to be without you again. Will you marry me?”
My heart soared. “Yes!” I cried right away, throwing my arms around his neck. “Yes, of course Rafiq. I love you so much.”
Rafiq wrapped his arms around me tightly and held me against him as he stood up, burying his face in my hair. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
“I love you, Evangeline,” he whi
spered against my ear. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Holly Rayner
And now, as promised, enjoy the first few chapters of my novel, The Sheikh’s First Christmas!
ONE