by Leslie North
“Step this way, please,” he said, guiding her through a doorway and into what looked like the back area of the restaurant. Here, at least, she found signs of life: soft gauzy lighting and the faint aroma of cooking. A table at the back, closest to some low-hanging lamps, stood against a wall made of lightly trickling water and some form of hydroponic plant system. Jagged ferns and spider plants jutted out from planters nestled into the waterfall. The man guided her to one of the two chairs at the table, and she sat down in wonder, trying to take it all in. Then she heard the music.
It played softly, almost unnoticeable over the tumult of her thoughts, but it sounded familiar. She smiled as she thought—yes, she knew where she’d heard that tune. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” precisely the song the band had played at the wedding where she’d met Nasir. Except this time, it was played by a string quartet, exactly as she’d joked it should be.
“Thank you,” she said to her guide as he pushed in her chair.
He bowed slightly and hurried off. She shook her head, clucking her tongue in wonderment. This guy. This place. This whole fucking thing. It couldn’t be real.
But where is he?
Her belly flopped with excitement as she looked around, taking in more details. The vases full of white roses, bowls bursting with cut lilies. As she craned her neck to look around, she spotted someone in the shadows. She straightened, gasping as Nasir emerged.
He came toward her, hands buried in his pockets, face more earnest and soulful than she’d ever seen it, not even in the throes of orgasm. She couldn’t fight the grin that spread across her face. She crossed her arms over her chest, feigning displeasure, because it was the only reaction she had, the only thing she could do in the face of such thoughtfulness, such sweetness.
A small grin crept over his face as he came over to her. Nasir looked more gorgeous than ever, like their three months apart had refined him into an ideal version of his own self. He wore a tailored navy suit, a gleaming black watch, and black leather shoes shined to perfection. She sighed a little as she looked him up and down, shaking her head. He’d probably had to throw this together last-minute, since her dinner suggestion came so fast, and he must have worked like hell.
“Hi, Cassandra.” He got down on one knee, smoothing a hand over the top of her leg. “I wanted you to meet the lady I’ve chosen.”
She couldn’t fight the grin now. “Well, here I am.”
Nasir smiled from ear to ear, so wide that it hurt. When Cassandra covered his hand with her own, it felt like a victory, like they didn’t even need to say anything more.
Even though there was a lot more to be said, a whole world of things to catch up on, discuss, and plan. But for now, he simply wanted to relish this sweet moment—the first time he beheld his family: Cassandra and the small bump that would be his son or daughter.
Most men had time to prepare for a family, either planned it alongside a partner or had time to settle into the news. But for him, it was the opposite. He’d woken up with a start, like coming out of a nightmare, and realized his life had a head start, and he’d been asleep for far too long.
“I love you.” The words burst out of him. He hadn’t meant to say it so soon, but it was the only damn thing in his head. Her eyes went shimmery, and she squeezed his hand. After a few moments, a teardrop hit the top of his hand.
She sniffed, voice coming out shaky. “I love you, too.”
His mouth parted, searching her face as the words cycled through him, sparks of disbelief in their wake. He swallowed a knot in his throat, moving his hand from her leg up to the swell of her belly. He cupped it reverently, struggling to find the right words.
“You’re pregnant.”
She nodded, eyes still shimmering.
He squeezed his eyes shut, questions clouding his mind. “Why…” But nothing followed it. Of all the questions that jumped up and down inside him, begging to be acknowledged—Is it mine? Can we be together? Why haven’t you let me in?—the only thing that rose above the cacophony was the simple, grounding love for her. No matter any of the reasons, no matter the why.
“My parents were miserable together,” she said in a shaky voice, her hand smoothing over his on her belly. “They got married only because my mom got pregnant with me. By the time I was fourteen, they divorced. They hated each other so much, and they’d only ever been together because of me.” She paused, her breath hitching. “I don’t want to wear a mask for my children. I can’t do that. I won’t do it.”
“I would never ask you to.” He saw the heartbreak in her eyes, the pain of past trauma. “And I would never force my child to live through that.”
She pursed her lips, nodding, her gaze falling to her belly. If she’d had any doubt that he would welcome the role of father, he’d erased it with that subtle admission. Maybe she hadn’t even realized it.
“Relationships are what we make them,” he continued, voice softer, reaching to take her hands in his. “I don’t have the best experience, and it seems neither do you. But we have each other, and we’re in control of it. There may be a child, yes, but whatever we decide to do as a couple doesn’t have to affect the love or stability we can offer them.”
She laughed a little, nodding. “Man, you know just what to say to win a girl over.”
He grinned. “And if you’ll be with me, we don’t have to stop at one. I’ll give you all the kids you’ve ever wanted.”
She blinked out a few tears, her eyes widening. “Well…you’ve started out with a bang.”
Nasir lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”
More tears spilled from her eyes as she beamed at him. “I’m pregnant with twins, Nasir.”
His mouth fell open, and then he whooped with laughter. He cupped her belly with both hands and planted a kiss there, looking up at her as if it might be a joke. “You’re serious?”
She nodded. “I saw the ultrasound earlier this week. They’re in there. Two of them.”
He laughed again, the knowledge settling into him like the long-lost missing piece of the puzzle. He grabbed her hands, pressing a kiss to each.
“Wait until my brother Asim hears this,” he said. “We’re in first place again, habibi.”
Cassandra laughed, and he grabbed her face in his hands and pressed a kiss to her lips, coaxing one kiss and then another from her salty, plump lips. When he broke for air, he swore, getting back on one knee.
“I forgot something,” he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the tiny ring box, the one he’d picked up from the jeweler only two days prior. “Cassandra, will you please be my wife, the mother of our twins, my partner, my friend, and anything else that you’d like to be or do in life?”
She held a hand over her mouth, her body shaking with soundless laughter or maybe crying or maybe both. She nodded, tears spilling out onto her cheeks, and then she threw her arms around his neck and wept into his shoulder.
“Yes, Nasir,” she choked out. “Because it’s the only thing I want to do.”
Epilogue
Cassandra groaned as Safiya zipped up the off-white wedding dress. It had been altered only that morning, but with just two weeks left until her due date, she was pretty sure her belly grew inches per hour at this point. Sometimes at night, in the quiet of Nasir’s bedroom, she thought she could even hear it growing.
Safiya’s tongue poked out of her mouth as she struggled to clasp the top of the zipper. “Almost…got it.”
Cassandra wheezed dramatically once it was fastened, then grinned over her shoulder at her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Her own mother, Cathryn, beamed at her from the corner of the elegant bedroom where they’d all been getting ready, snapping a few pictures on her telephone. Out the window, she could see just the corner of the wedding site on the grounds of the villa, where chairs and an altar had been set up amid the sprawling green grass. The villa rental in northern California couldn’t have been cheap, but as both bride to Nasir and a late-term pregnant lady, she had double the re
ason not to give a damn.
“You look so beautiful, my baby girl,” Cathryn cooed, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“I feel like a whale,” Cassandra said, smoothing her hands over her huge lacy belly.
“Well, dear, you’re having twins,” her mother reminded her.
She’d chosen to wait until a bit later in the pregnancy to get married, mostly to coincide with the maternity leave she’d taken from her new agency, Cassandra’s Coupling, the endeavor she’d started after resigning from her previous agency. She and Nasir both thought it was the best step—a graceful exit that allowed her to take an entrepreneurial route with full creative control over her work. And though it started out small, her bursting list of happy client reviews meant that her business grew by the day. Laura had moved with her and would cover for her for the next few months.
Safiya laughed throatily. “It’s a new Azhar tradition, didn’t you know? All the brides must be incredibly pregnant prior to the marriage. My sons apparently won’t have it any other way.” She cast a sharp glance over to Elena, Asim’s wife, who stood off to the side holding her fifteen-month-old daughter Eleanor in her arms.
“I’m all about starting new traditions,” Elena quipped, which made Cassandra laugh, and then tear up. This day was a perfect cocktail of emotions and hormones, one she barely knew how to process. If she wasn’t bowled over by love, it was gratitude or adoration or relief or excitement. It wouldn’t be long before she was a shivering mess on the altar, clinging to Nasir to help her stand.
“And it’s my job to uphold them,” she said, smiling over at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. She and Elena had hit it off quickly, and though they’d only seen each other a few times throughout the months of her pregnancy, she felt more like a long-lost best friend than some distant relative. Nasir even admitted to her recently that he’d known they would hit it off, something he wore a bit like a badge of honor.
“Which means Basri will no doubt be following in his elder brother’s footsteps,” Safiya mused, eyes narrowing at no one in particular.
“I’m sure we can count on it,” Elena sighed.
“You’ll get more grandkids out of the mix, that’s for sure,” Cassandra said, rubbing her belly. “Maybe he’ll get triplets.”
“That would be the perfect conclusion,” Elena added.
Safiya laughed. “Come, ladies. We must go down now. I just got the signal.”
Cassandra waited for her mother to lift her heavy silk-lined train, pressing at the white netting that covered half her face, pinned to a trendy small hat that sat low at the back of her head. Her blonde tresses were pinned and curled up beneath the hat in a vaguely twenties style, while her lipstick was bright red and shocking. She and her mother made their way slowly down the wide staircase, steps creaking under her weight. At the bottom of the stairs, she sighed, lifting the bottom of her belly, wondering when these two babes would make their way out into the world.
“Almost there,” Cathryn murmured as they neared the elegant French doors leading outside. Beyond the brick-laid patio, the intimate group of friends and family gathered, all of them standing by folding wooden chairs. In the distance, off to the side of the white podium, a four-piece string quartet played.
Cathryn and Safiya departed for their seats together. Cassandra’s father, who waited off to the side, approached her with tears in his eyes.
“My beautiful girl,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He offered his arm, and she took it, smiling up at him. “Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Once the mothers took their seats at the front of the gathering, it was time for Cassandra and her dad. They started a slow walk toward the altar, Nasir’s back still facing them. As she neared the gathering, the quartet started a new song: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Friends and family rose to their feet.
Cassandra grinned, taking it all in, loving the dry lick of the late fall air, the familiar faces, which were turning now to face her. She spotted Laura, who already had tears on her cheeks, and Veeda and Oscar, who beamed at her like she was an angel coming from the heavens. But the person who snagged her attention most of all was the tall, dark, handsome man next to the officiant.
Nasir turned slowly and his eyes swept over her, sending chills through her even from so far away. A grin spread across his face, the most vibrant she’d ever seen, and immediately the tears came. She shook with laughter and tears as she made her way down the aisle toward Nasir, her father clutching tight to her arm, the wafting notes of cello and violin mingling inside her, lifting her to bliss.
In front of Nasir and the officiant, her father kissed her forehead again and then retreated to his seat off to the side. In the front row, Laura wiped at her eyes already, which prompted another wave of emotion in Cassandra.
She turned to Nasir, laughing a little as she grabbed his hands and lined herself up to face him. His eyes watered, his grip warming, everything about this feeling precisely like the best path she could have ever chosen in life.
“I love you,” Nasir whispered, while the quartet finished their song. “I’ve loved you since I laid eyes on you.”
Cassandra wilted, feeling only seconds away from the inevitable shaking-and-clinging portion of the ceremony. In the months since they’d reconciled, it had been a non-stop upswing of love and attention, of getting to know each other, of plumbing the depths of emotion and communication while testing the limits of honesty and expectations.
There was no other man she wanted to do this with. And this could never be a sorry repeat of past mistakes. This was a confident step into the future, a future that she and Nasir created together, one that would be completely and entirely theirs.
“I’ve loved you since you said the eighties band inspired divorce,” Cassandra whispered, a bit more quietly.
“So it looks like I’ve loved you just a little bit longer,” he said, winking.
Cassandra swallowed a knot of emotion, clutched his hands like she might blow away, even though that was impossible with the twins. “But I loved you harder.” She grinned. “I loved you so much, I made you two babies.”
Nasir tossed his head back with laughter, and the officiant cleared his throat. Nasir straightened, squeezing her hands, but that smile didn’t leave his face. The smile that bloomed like a secret crafted especially for her, a smile Cassandra would do anything to see for the rest of her life.
End of The Sheikh’s Pregnant Fling
Azhar Sheikhs Book Two
PLUS: Do you like handsome playboys, exotic destinations and challenging tradition? Keep reading for an exclusive excerpt from Leslie North’s bestselling novel, The Sheikh’s Forced Bride, Sharjah Sheikhs Book Ones.
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BLURB
Sheikh Khalid Al-Qasimi’s playboy ways have finally caught up with him. After creating a scandal during a diplomatic visit to America, Khalid is given a choice by his father—marry or face banishment. Rather than lose his family, Khalid bows to his father’s wishes but an outspoken American interrupts Khalid’s would-be wedding. Now Khalid has a new plan that might please his father, secure his inheritance and leave Khalid still able to go on with his life …he’ll take the beautiful American as his bride—and then his father will hate her so much he’ll beg Khalid not to get married after all.
Journalist Casey Connolly has never been afraid to share her opinions. While researching
an article on arranged marriages, she lands in trouble when she crashes a royal wedding to get a quote from the attending American guests.. The sexy groom offers to set her free if she’ll step into the role of his fiancée—just for a short time. Seeing a chance to get the scoop she needs, Casey agrees.
Soon there’s no denying the chemistry they share. But Casey’s boss is pushing her to complete her piece and head back to the States, while Khalid’s father is still pushing for a hasty wedding. Will this pseudo-romance become the real thing or buckle under all the pressure being put on these two?
Get your copy of The Sheikh’s Forced Bride from www.LeslieNorthBooks.com
EXCERPT
Double doors to the left of the ballroom opened and Fadiyah stood framed in the entrance.
Khalid had to admit she was gorgeous. She looked a queen in her golden dress that glittered with crystals and gold embroidery. Slender as she was, the dress almost seemed to overwhelm her. A headpiece covered her black hair and a veil draped her shoulders to preserve her modesty. Curling designs had been tattooed onto her arms with red henna, and the swirls were almost lost under gold bracelets.
He knew he was lucky to have such a beautiful bride chosen for him, but the forced choice still rankled. He wondered if Fadiyah had been given much of a choice, or had she simply been told by her father that she was to marry and that was that?