Sheikhs of Hamari: The Complete Series

by Leslie North

  Matek ushered Nina to her suite in the family area of the palace. With every step, her shoulders dropped away from her ears a little more. He helped her out of her high heels, out of her dress.

  Nina looked at him with pink cheeks as he slipped a nightshirt over her head. “I’m exhausted,” she whispered. “Maybe it was the sushi.”

  He laughed at her joke. This was far earlier than they’d ever gone to sleep when she stayed over with him, but that didn’t matter. Every time she blinked, her eyes stayed closed longer than the last time. He helped her into bed and pulled up the covers snug around her shoulders.

  “Just rest.” Matek leaned close and brushed a kiss to her temple. He wanted to stay here all night, just to make sure nothing happened to her. But he wouldn’t. He had packing to do. “We’ll talk it over in the morning.”

  2

  The featherlight feeling of Matek’s kiss on her temple lingered. There. Things were going to turn out. Nina pulled the covers close and nestled into the pillow. It was way too early to go to sleep, but she was so tired. The anxiety thrumming through her veins all day had been exhausting. It still beat against her mind in endless waves.

  Pregnancy meant that her job was at risk. Yes, the royal family was brimming with good people, but they had their own lives that needed to run smoothly. They needed her to be available around the clock. If Chakir didn’t want to keep her employed as nanny for his young son, Ryan, she’d have to job hunt. And someone hiring her while she was pregnant was...unlikely, to say the least.

  Nina rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut tight. A lifetime had gone by since she’d seen the two pink lines on that pregnancy test, but it had only been a few hours.

  “You don’t have to figure everything out right now,” she told herself in the quiet of her room. Matek had said it, too. They could talk things over in the morning. Before he left the country.

  The thought made her heart pound, and not in the sexy way that seeing his lean, muscled frame did. She’d talked a big game about co-parenting and summers with his family, but how was she supposed to pull that off?

  How was she supposed to pull any of it off? Nina had spent a good part of her adult life caring for other people’s children. She’d never thought about what it would be like to have her own baby. Would she find it overwhelming? She’d known about the pregnancy for less than a day, and already her life had changed forever.

  Her eyes burned. Why wouldn’t her brain turn off and let her go to sleep? All of this had made her so tired, and she had had so many plans for the evening. Like her final date with Matek. Afterward they were supposed to go to his send-off reception with Kishon’s family.

  Nina bolted upright, sleepiness falling to the floor like a rock. The reception. There was no way she could miss that. Oh, crap. She leapt out of bed and ran for her closet. Something more demure than the dress she’d worn to dinner with Matek—there. She yanked a sheath dress over her head, slipped her feet back into her heels, and swept her hands over her hair.

  She moved through the palace halls as quickly as she could. She turned the corner before the private dining room and heard Kishon’s voice floating out into the hall. The toast. She picked up the pace and skidded into the dining room.

  It was a space large enough to fit fifty people, and they were nearly at capacity with Kishon and his wife Chloe, Chakir and Hannah and Ryan, and the closest members of Matek’s security team and their wives. Kishon stood on a low stage up front; he nodded to her and waved her forward. She’d known Kishon since high school, and now she was pregnant with his cousin’s baby.

  His cousin’s baby. This was a scenario she’d never imagined playing out, not in a million years. She must’ve missed a pill. Her cheeks heated at the thought. She would have noticed a broken condom, wouldn’t she? Maybe not. Not with the way Matek made her feel swoony and buzzed. Looking into his dark eyes gave her that half-drunk feeling. Running her fingertips down his jawline made her knees weak. And when he kissed her? When he did other things with her? Matek’s muscles working as he thrust into her from beneath, his big hands on her hips, popped into her mind in an ill-timed vision. She stepped to his side anyway.

  His dark eyes narrowed. “I thought you were going to sleep.”

  On Matek’s other side, Chakir’s stepson Ryan leaned forward very slowly, then rocked back into place. Shoot. If she’d remembered, she’d have put a small piece of candy in her pocket for him to keep him entertained during the talking portion of the evening. But even getting herself here had been a victory.

  “I thought so too.” She kept a proud smile on her face. “But I figured everyone would notice if I missed your big send-off.”

  “Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Worry darkened his features. “If you’re not feeling well—”

  “I’m feeling fine.” This wasn’t strictly true. Something about Nina’s stomach felt off, but it could be nerves. It could be the mad sprint from her room to the dining room. “It would be more conspicuous if I stayed in bed.”

  “I could have given an excuse.”

  “What, and admitted we were on a date together?” She gave a quick shake of her head. “No way.”

  He huffed a breath.

  On stage, Kishon raised his glass. “So please join me in a toast to our beloved cousin Matek. He’ll be missed dearly, and you can be sure I’ll be writing to him every week to convince him to return to Hamari where he belongs. Though his own father, the king of our brother kingdom Damarah, will surely want him to stay there forever.”

  Waiters came through the gathering, champagne glasses balanced expertly on trays.

  “To Matek,” Kishon said. “For all he’s done for us and all he’s set to do. We’re so proud of you.”

  A waiter paused in front of Matek and Nina, and she took a glass.

  “To Matek,” everyone echoed, and Nina raised it to her lips, pulse hammering. The champagne kissed her lips, bubbly and light. One fake sip, and she’d be home free.

  “Stop,” hissed Matek. “The baby.”

  “What baby?”

  Ryan’s voice rang loud and clear and unmistakable. It was as attention getting as the sound of breaking glass. Kishon heard. Everyone heard. Kishon quickly put the microphone back in its stand and came down from the stage. Nina couldn’t take a breath. This should be so simple. She should just open her mouth and say something witty.

  “Our baby,” Matek announced. “Nina is pregnant with our baby.”

  Kishon was stepping forward in slow motion. Hannah’s hair lifted on the breeze created as she whipped her head toward the two of them. Chloe’s mouth dropped open. And Nina felt as if she had run face first into something hard and unyielding. The shock of it reverberated through her entire body. Had he really just said that?

  Oh, god, had he really just said that? These were her employers. Sure, they were her friends, but mostly they were her employers. This couldn’t be the time or place to announce news like this. Not at all. She grabbed at Matek’s arm, holding on tight. Had the heels of her shoes grown several inches in the span of a heartbeat? Why did she feel like she could topple over at any second?

  Time caught up with her in a rush. The sound hit her a moment later. Everyone from Matek’s family was talking. Kishon was saying something to Chloe, and the two of them were smiling at each other, then at her. Hannah had rushed over.

  “I don’t know if we’re on hugging terms,” said Hannah. “But I have to give you a hug. Congratulations, Nina.” She pulled Nina in for a ferocious hug and let go just as quickly. “This is incredible news.”

  “Congratulations.” Kishon reached over Hannah and shook Matek’s hand. “What, this gathering wasn’t exciting enough already?”

  Matek’s face looked frozen, bewildered, but he put on a smile. “The less exciting, the better.” He flicked his eyes over to Nina, and the smile deepened, became more genuine. “But not when it comes to this. I was looking for a change of pace anyway.”

  Kishon laughe
d heartily. “We’re so glad to have Nina in the family.”

  Wait. Wait. “You’re not angry?” She blurted the words, and a happy wave of laughter came back to her.

  “Angry? Why would I be upset about one of my friends getting together with my best cousin?” Kishon tipped his head back and beamed at the ceiling. “I think we’re all just glad it’s finally out in the open.”

  Matek’s arm tensed under the palm of her hand. “What do you mean, out in the open?” Matek said.

  “You two.” Hannah patted them both on the shoulder. “You thought you were being so discreet.”

  “We were being discreet,” countered Nina. “We never had a date inside the palace. Matek always dropped me off in the back and went in through another entrance.”

  From farther back, she could see Chloe rolling her eyes in the good-natured way only Chloe could pull off. “He took you to your room just last night.”

  “There was nobody in the hall. Are you all stalking us?”

  “Never mind us,” said Kishon. “What about you? What are your plans?”

  “Hey,” said Ryan, sounding disgruntled. “She’s going to take care of me. Like always.”

  “I can,” insisted Nina. This was all going wildly off-track. “I’m only a few weeks pregnant at most. I can keep doing my job—”

  “You’re a few weeks pregnant with Matek’s baby,” Chakir cut in. “You can’t be our nanny.” She must be missing something. “Being a nanny isn’t an appropriate job for a member of the royal family. Of two royal families. The mother of a sheikh’s child can’t work as a servant.”

  “I’m just so thrilled,” said Hannah. “See? This is all working out. None of us expected to find ourselves in love, either, and now we have such a wonderful family. It’s been the trial of my life to keep my mouth shut about you two.”

  “She’s serious.” Chakir put his hand on the small of Hannah’s back. “We’ll have to find something else to debate before we fall asleep.”

  They’d all known, and she hadn’t realized it. Her face went hot, then hotter. The walls of the room closed in. Because there was something even more embarrassing than carrying on a secret relationship that everyone had known about. They’d known something she hadn’t. She faced Matek.

  “You didn’t tell me,” she said, the words struggling their way out of her mouth.

  “What was that?” Matek leaned in closer.

  “You didn’t tell me you were a prince. I knew you were a cousin, but I didn’t know your father is the king of Damarah. Are you in line for the throne?”

  He shrugged a shoulder, worry flaring in his dark eyes. “Behind my brother. But until today, I didn’t think it mattered.”

  He was a sheikh. He was a member of Kishon’s family, yes, but he was also second in line to the throne of Damarah. He had standing.

  She had the strangest sensation, like the floor had turned and become the ceiling. Nina might plummet toward it at any second. Everything was upside down—everything.

  Nina locked eyes with Hannah, who had fallen in love with Chakir after they’d discovered that her son was royalty. It hadn’t been easy for the other woman, transitioning from being a private citizen to a member of the royal family. Nina’s skin tightened, goose bumps rising and making the hairs on the back of her arms stand on end. This was the kind of thing she’d left behind when she moved to the UK for college. This was not what she wanted.

  Her stomach clenched, and nausea stormed into her throat like an avenging army, bitter and thick and disgusting.

  Matek was a sheikh, and everyone around her was thrilled about it, and, and....she was going to be sick.

  Nina clapped a hand over her mouth and held on tight. The only thing to do was get out of this room—now.

  “Nina?” Matek’s voice followed her, but she didn’t stop. No time.

  3

  The knock at the bathroom door came…later—Nina couldn’t tell how long. Her knees ached from hunching on the tile. She had been thoroughly emptied out. Light as a feather. Almost light enough to float. She pushed her hair back over her shoulder and took a deep breath. “Yes?”

  “Ms. Frank, it’s Ashaki.”

  Ashaki served as a maid in the family wing. Tension released somewhere at the very center of her, and she pressed her knuckles to the floor. Thank god it wasn’t Matek. It was one thing to be pregnant with his baby. It was another thing for him to be standing outside the door while she was sick for who knew how long.

  “Are you all right?”

  Nina rocked back on her heels and got tentatively to her feet, testing each movement to see if it made her sick. So far, so good. At the sink she splashed water on her face.

  “I’m all right,” she called out.

  “We’re waiting here for you. Take as long as you need.”

  We’re waiting? Who else was outside the bathroom? She clutched the sides of the sink and leaned over in case her nerves wound themselves up into another round of sickness. “I’m good,” she said, and went out to make the statement at least a little bit true.

  Ashaki stood just outside the door, holding a warm towel. Three other maids from the staff lined up behind her, one with a basin of water, one with a dress over her arm, and a third with her hands folded in front of her, waiting.

  Nina pressed the back of her hand to her lips. “Is...everything all right?”

  Ashaki gave her a concerned smile. “If everything’s all right with you. Matek sent word that you were ill.”

  “Where—” She swallowed hard. “Where is he?”

  “He’s attending to the guests at the reception. He asked me to check in on you.”

  Matek had asked Ashaki to do more than just ask after her wellbeing. The maids took Nina back to her room, where a warm bath had been drawn. Rose petals floated lazily on the surface of the water. The four other women buzzed around Nina’s small suite while she relaxed in the bath. When she stepped out in her nightgown, they wrapped her in one of the palace’s notoriously fluffy robes. They tucked her into bed.

  “Text me if you need anything,” Ashaki said. “Or have Matek come get me. Anything at all.”

  And then they left, Nina blinking after them.

  Was this what being royalty was like? In the space of an hour, she’d gone from one of the staff to...something like a princess.

  She sighed, wriggling down beneath the covers. It was so tempting to go to sleep, to will all of this away...but she had to make a call.

  Her parents.

  If Matek’s family knew about the pregnancy, it was only fair that she tell her parents.

  Where were her parents? Last time she’d spoken to her mother, they’d been planning a trip around the world, due to leave within days. Nina dialed her mom’s cell once, then twice, then tried her dad.

  No answer.

  Finally, she tried her father’s personal assistant, Pete.

  “Nina, it’s good to hear from you. How can I help you?”

  She rubbed at her forehead. “Hi. I’m calling to see if you have any idea where my parents might be. I’m trying to get in touch with them.”

  “Oh, you just missed them,” he said, sounding only vaguely sympathetic. “They’re in the Australian Outback for the next six months. Going off grid.” Pete laughed. “Your father’s big idea for the year. Isn’t that just like him?”

  “Just like him,” she echoed, her heart sinking. By the time they came back on the grid, she’d be....eight months pregnant.

  Pete kept talking. “Since the sale, he’s been wanting to see the rest of the planet. Well, he’s finally doing it.”

  “Sale? What sale?” All the exhaustion that had creeped into Nina’s eyes fell away again.

  “The mansion.” Pete chuckled, and she felt a surge of irritation at that laugh. “They closed last month. Didn’t you know? I’m so happy for them. Now that all you kids are out of the house, they’ll finally have a chance to get out and follow their dreams.”

  She’d thought
her heart couldn’t sink any lower, but by now it was beneath the Earth’s crust and falling fast toward the molten core. So much for the idea she’d had in the bath—going home to Connecticut. The mansion had always been there in the back of her mind as a soft place to land, even after she’d given it up for the UK and then Hamari. There would be no lying low back in the States while she figured things out.

  “Great,” she said to Pete, and a soft knock came at the door to her suite. “Thanks.” She hung up as the door cracked open.

  It was Hannah, Chakir’s wife and Ryan’s mother. “Hey, you.”

  “Hi.” Nina let her phone drop to the comforter. “That was a scene.”

  Hannah laughed. “That was pretty typical, I’d say. The night Chakir and I met was a scene, too.” She came and perched on the edge of Nina’s bed. “Are you doing okay?”

  “I’ve been better. Running out of that reception wasn’t my finest moment.”

  “You’re more than forgiven.” Hannah looked down into her lap, then back at Nina. “Look, I—I’ve seen the way that you and Matek look at each other. He’s got a tight-knit family. There’s a lot of love between...you know, all parties involved. That’ll help the transition for all of you.”

  “I’m not so sure.” Nina covered her eyes with her arm, blocking out the light. It seemed brighter by the second—or maybe that was the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “A surprise baby doesn’t guarantee a good relationship. Just the opposite, sometimes. Love takes work.” It’s not like a fling you have with a man who’s so sexy your clothes practically melt off. “You have to earn it.”

  Hannah nodded slowly. “I agree with you that relationships are work. But love is a feeling. You don’t have to earn it. You just have it.”

  “That’s not how—“

  “Everything all right?” Matek stood in the doorway to her room, hands in his pockets.