The Sheikh's Surrogate Bride

by Holly Rayner

  Formal introductions were made. First his father, Maalik, then his younger brother, Rashad. Olivia might have been nervous about pleasing the Sheikh’s father, but it was his brother that she should have worried about. Rashad—who was friendly to Yasin—seemed almost cold to her. When they all sat down, Olivia found herself seated across the table from him. She felt only a little better when Yasin sat down next to her, across the table from his sister.

  As soon as they began to eat, everyone—save for Rashad—warmed up to her quickly. The spread was lavish. There were local dishes as well as American dishes which, Olivia assumed, had been included so as to make her feel more welcome.

  Looking around at the well-dressed family and the vast quantities and varieties of food, Olivia suddenly felt ill-prepared and underdressed. She had chosen conservative attire for Yasin’s father’s sake, but she wished in that moment that she’d perhaps chosen something more glamorous. She was supposed to be marrying into a royal family, what with Yasin being a sheikh and all.

  Despite her insecurities (and Rashad’s cold glances), Olivia tried her best to play the dutiful fiancée. To her advantage, it was easy—almost natural—for her to be comfortable around Yasin. They laughed and cracked jokes. She even did the little things: holding his hand, modest flirting, and loving glances.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding her from us,” Maalik said.

  “Oh, Father,” Nylah said. “That’s our job as your children, no matter how old we are.”

  “Yasin,” Rashad said, his voice soft but stern. He stared at Olivia but spoke to his brother. “Not too long ago, you were complaining about having to get married,” he said. “And now this? And now her?”

  “I wanted it to be a surprise,” Yasin explained. He took a sip of his coffee. “And I had to wait until Olivia could fly in. It worked, didn’t it?”

  Rashad nodded, though he didn’t look completely convinced.

  “What took so long, then?” Maalik asked.

  “That was my fault,” Olivia said, thinking that it was her turn to say something. “I was just so nervous to meet a ruling family. I was afraid that you wouldn’t approve of me. I’m just a small-town girl from Dallas, after all.”

  Dallas was a rather large city, of course, but since it was all that she knew, it felt small compared to this new foreign place. It made her feel uncultured and small. Despite the charade that she and Yasin were concocting, this was one of the most truthful things would come out of her mouth during the meal.

  Yasin’s father waved his hand. “As long as you make my son happy—”

  “As long as!” Nylah repeated loudly, sputtering the words out while holding back a laugh.

  “Since when—” Rashad started, but he was interrupted.

  Maalik shot them a look and cleared his throat. “Have you chosen a date for the wedding yet?” he asked, ignoring the remarks from his other children.

  Olivia stifled a snicker and took a sip of her orange juice. She glanced at Yasin and took the lead on the answer.

  “We talked about it,” she said. “We both agreed on an intimate wedding in the next couple of weeks.”

  “Intimate?!” Maalik said. “No, no. That won’t do. Not for a sheikh. We will plan the most extravagant wedding Rebayah has ever seen.” He motioned to Yasin. “For my first born, we will pull out all the stops.” He turned to Nylah and whispered, “That is the right saying, yes?”

  Nylah waved her hand dismissively and chuckled. “If you want, I’ll help you start the planning process, if you haven’t already. Who are you going to invite from Texas?”

  Olivia looked at her plate. “No one,” she said. “I mean, I would love to have my sister here, but Rebayah is too far for her to travel.”

  “We can’t have a wedding without your family!” Nylah said.

  She shook her head. “It’s just my sister and I,” she replied. “And I’m afraid that she’s ill. She won’t be able to fly this distance.” She paused. “But, we can have a small reception in Texas after the big wedding.”

  Nylah’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I’m so excited!”

  Yasin gave Olivia’s hand a reassuring squeeze. She was starting to get used to those. It was a welcome comfort since she could feel her anxieties rise at the thought of a large wedding. The more people were involved, the bigger the wedding, and the more of a chance that things could go wrong. They looked at each other nervously.

  “Don’t worry,” Nylah said, her voice optimistic and happy. “You don’t have to do this alone, Olivia! I’ll help you. We can leave the boys to their business and we can plan this wonderful and blessed event.”

  Nylah is more excited than I am, Olivia thought to herself. I should probably show a little more enthusiasm.

  She gave Yasin’s sister a forced smile.

  The rest of the breakfast was filled with lively talk about the local happenings around town and their plans for the day. It was sweet and reminded Olivia of what it had been like to have family dinners when she was a kid. Her parents and sister would sit around the table with her. Her father would go on and on about work, and her mother would tell him to stop bringing work home with him. They would talk about weekend plans. Jennifer and Olivia would try their best to convince their parents that they needed a dog.

  Things changed as they got older. Her dad wasn’t home for dinner as often after he got promoted to senior partner at his firm. When Olivia had been in high school, her mother had begun pulling double shifts at the restaurant she worked at in order to gain favor with her boss. She’d wanted to own her own restaurant one day, but she’d needed managerial experience.

  Years later, after Jennifer got her diagnosis, the family had started to spend more time at home. There’s nothing like illness or family tragedy to make people put their priorities in perspective again. It had been wonderful to be able to see her family regularly again. Especially since it was only a few months after that when her parents had been in the car crash that had taken their lives.

  After breakfast with Yasin’s family, Olivia walked with her fiancé out to their black sedan. The driver stood outside of the passenger’s side door, just as he had before. Olivia wondered if he had been standing there the whole time. She had worked as a waitress, so she knew what it was like to have to wait on people and be at their beck and call. It was almost as if you were expected to either read their minds or just patiently await orders.

  “Abdul,” Yasin said, addressing the driver. “What are you doing this afternoon? Do you have plans?”

  The tall, stoic man shook his head. “No, sir.”

  “I told you to stop calling me sir,” Yasin said with a small sigh. “Anyway, I know that your wedding anniversary is soon, is it not?”

  “It is…”

  “Have you bought Asma a gift yet?” he asked.

  Abdul shook his head.

  “Well how about this? I want to take Olivia out on the town today. You know, show her the sights, the museums, the ruins…give her a feel for what Rebayah’s all about.”

  Abdul nodded.

  “How about I give you the day off? You can take the day to find the perfect present for your wife. I’ll get to stretch my legs and show Olivia around. Agreed?”

  Abdul gave him a deep bow. “That would be most helpful and generous, sir—I mean, thank you. I appreciate your consideration.”

  “It’s nothing,” Yasin said, smiling. “It’s also slightly selfish, because I would like to spend some time alone with my fiancée.”

  Abdul smiled at Olivia. “Yes, of course.” He nodded yet again and opened the door for her.

  After dropping Abdul off at his car, Yasin took her out into the town. He seemed excited to show her his city. Olivia was reminded of the times when her sister had been able to leave the house and visit her at work—no matter which job it was. Olivia had always been excited to show her around, and to show her off.

  Yasin was clearly proud of his city. He also seemed proud of his fiancée, as he sho
wed no hesitation in holding her hand in public while they walked through the old palaces and the historical ruins in Rebayah.

  It took all of Olivia’s willpower to be able to keep her giddy emotions under control. Her previous boyfriends hadn’t treated her this well. Of course, certain things needed to be taken into consideration, like the fact that her first boyfriend was in high school and her only other relationship had been during her short stint in college. After she’d stopped going to school, her whole life had been centered around her sister.

  Having someone spend their time and money on her was a welcome change, but Olivia couldn’t help feeling just a tad guilty.

  “Aren’t you having fun?” Yasin asked when they pulled up to one of Rebayah’s finest art galleries. “Would you rather we go somewhere else?” A genuine look of concern was etched across his face.

  “I’m fine. I’m fine,” she said, feeling even worse. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about…” She sighed. “My sister. Here I am, having this great time, while my sister is back in Texas. She’s probably in pain or—”

  “I understand,” Yasin said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened his world clock app. “Here,” he said. After checking a few details, he pulled her sister’s cellphone number up on his phone. “It’s the middle of the morning there right now. Why don’t you give her a call? Video chat her, even.” He pointed to the small icon on his phone. “I’ll leave you here to do this—so you can have some privacy—and I’ll just wait for you inside. It’ll give me a chance to talk to the curator about a small matter, anyway.”

  “I couldn’t—”

  “It’ll give you peace of mind, and it’ll make me feel better, also.” He handed her the phone. “I did promise to take care of you, so if you could reassure her, that would make me feel better.” He touched her shoulder and smiled before leaving the car and walking toward the doors of the museum.

  The video chat did make her feel better. “I can’t talk too much longer,” Olivia said after she had filled her sister in about her insecurities with breakfast and the amazing mansion that she was now living in. “The Sheikh—I mean, Yasin—is waiting for me inside.”

  Her sister nodded. It was nice to see her face. She reassured Olivia that she was having a good day and that the treatments were going well. “I miss you,” Jennifer said as they ended the call.

  Olivia had a spring in her step as she walked up to the museum steps. Yasin was waiting for her right inside the glass doors.

  “How is your sister?” he asked.

  She handed him back his phone. “Good,” she said. “Really good.”

  “It’s nice to see you smile,” he said, putting his phone back in his pocket. “Tell me the truth, though.”

  “I’ll always be honest with you,” she said. Olivia bit her lip. She hadn’t realized how cheesy that sounded until she said it aloud. “I mean, yeah. Of course.”

  “Are you having a good time? Rebayah is known for its art and architecture, so I wanted to show you all of that. But I don’t want to bore you if you aren’t interested.”

  “I love all of this,” she said. “Dallas has some wonderful things to offer, but this is amazing. Your country is beautiful.” She hugged him—a surprising gesture that made them both pause. She was about to let go, but he held on.

  “I want to show you some of my favorite pieces,” he said. “I’m probably rushing this. I mean, I’m sure that you want to see the whole museum. But I do want to show you this particular painting first and, well, let’s be honest. Rushing things has become a staple in our relationship so far, hasn’t it?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I suppose it has.”

  He led her through a few rooms before arriving in a rather large space with a handful of paintings on the walls. The furthest wall housed a beautiful landscape piece encased in a gilded frame.

  “It’s from the 1800s,” Yasin explained. As soon as his eyes fell upon the painting, his voice felt far away. His hazel eyes twinkled as they scanned the various brush strokes and colors. “It looks extraordinary now, but back when the artist first painted it, it was unheard of. Her style. The colors that she used. Most of the paintings that came out of that period—from Rebayan artists, anyway—were monochrome. Shades of brown and beige. It was chic to paint that way. But this artist didn’t care. She just wanted to paint what was in her heart. She wanted to paint the world the way that she saw it.”

  They walked up to it. With her in front of him, he placed his hands on her waist as he continued to describe the history behind the painting. Olivia tried to focus on the colors that the artist had used when painting the lake and various vegetation. She recognized some of the flowers and foliage around the lake from the flowers that were planted on Yasin’s father’s property. These were native plants.

  “Is this a real place, here?” she asked.

  “Yes, but I’m afraid that the lake has dried up. It’s an empty bed now, and all of that vegetation is gone.”

  She could feel his breath against her ear as he continued to speak softly, not wanting to disturb the other museum-goers that walked into the room. He leaned close to her. She could feel the heat from his chest against her back. His touch. His warmth. It all felt so natural and so comforting.

  “Do you recognize the artist’s name?” he asked.

  “Aliya bin Taab?” she read aloud. “You’re related to the artist?”

  Yasin nodded and his eyes gleamed with pride.

  “She is from my father’s side of the family.” He shrugged. “Most of my family doesn’t really care about any of this, though. My father was the one that donated the painting in the first place. But I’m so proud to be related to someone who could create something so beautiful and progressive. Those colors are so dynamic. The style is so original.”

  Olivia looked back at him. His cheeks flushed. “I think it’s great,” she said. “I could never paint anything like that. Are you an artist?”

  He shook his head. “I wanted to be a painter when I was a child, but it’s not incredibly lucrative.” He pursed his lips and sighed through his nose. “Or lucrative at all. My father wasn’t impressed with my choice in professions, so he…encouraged me…to go into the family business.” Yasin shrugged. “It turned out well.”

  “You don’t even paint in your spare time?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t have time.”

  Olivia felt her heart swell. He was trying so hard to make her feel welcome and happy with her new life in Rebayah. She couldn’t stand the idea of him not being happy. To think that he didn’t have time to paint but he was going to make time to watch a movie with her each week! He was going to make time to raise a child. She suddenly felt closer to him.

  Yasin’s gaze went from the painting to her face. “All right,” he said. “On with the tour!”

  “Thank you,” she said suddenly, the words slipping out of her mouth before she could control her tongue. “Thanks for showing me this and for taking me around today. For making me feel at home here.”

  The corners of his lips rose slightly.

  “Of course,” he said. “This is nothing compared to what you’re doing for me.” He took her hand. “Come on,” he said. “I bet we can even find something nice in the gift shop for Jennifer.”

  Olivia giggled as she smiled from ear to ear.

  After the museum, and a trip to the bazaar to find some things to ship back to Olivia’s sister, they were both famished.

  “Dinner?” he asked her as they plopped down in the bucket seats of the black sedan.

  She nodded. “I’m starving.”

  He raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

  “Just in time,” he said. “I made reservations at one of the finest restaurants here. We have just enough time to drop all this stuff off, do a wardrobe change, and head out to dinner.”

  Olivia’s seat belt clicked into place.

  “I’m not sure if I have anything to wear to a fancy dinner,” sh
e said.

  “Well, take a look in your wardrobe and your closet,” he said as he started the car. “Hopefully you can find something that you like.”

  Chapter 8

  Yasin

  Olivia looked stunning. Yasin couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat as she walked out from the hallway leading to her wing of the house wearing one of the dresses that he had picked out for her. The red one. His favorite one. She had her hair up in a bun, a few strands of hair curled in loose ringlets. For the past few days, she’d worn her face natural, which was beautiful on its own, but tonight, she had put on just a little bit of makeup.

  He looked down at his black suit jacket and matching pants. His dark gray vest made the white button-up shirt under it pop. His hand reached up and adjusted his tie as his gaze went from his attire to his fiancée’s.

  “What?” she said as she walked up to him.

  “Huh?” He blinked back into reality.

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’re looking at me funny. Is this not the right type of dress for the restaurant?”

  “You look beautiful,” he replied. “It’s perfect.”

  The compliment made her blush. “Um, thanks,” she said, her voice soft.

  “I guess we should go so we’re not late for the reservation.” He offered the crook of his arm and she happily grasped his elbow with her dainty fingers.

  The drive to the restaurant was quiet. The sun had set during their stop at the mansion to change and drop off their belongings, and the bright lights of the city were reflected in the windows and glass. Olivia’s eyes glittered as they absorbed the city night life.

  If he were younger, he would have asked her if she wanted to go out dancing, but Yasin hadn’t been to the clubs in years. These days, it was his brother that frequented them, not him.

  When they pulled up to the restaurant, he gave the keys to a valet and pocketed the ticket that he received in return. The restaurant that he had chosen was one that he frequented with clients and people that he wanted to impress. This was no exception.