The Sheik and I
Page 20
That was an understatement. It was so cute, the way Sharif called Lexie Alexis, the way she hung on to his every word and ignored his occasional glares. Lexie made Sharif laugh. Sharif offered Lexie a sense of peace she had never known. They suited one another well, even though they both still had issues. For once, Cassandra approved of her sister’s taste in men.
I hear that things in Silvershire are in an uproar once again. I always wanted to be right in the middle of all the royal scandals, but I’m very happy to be here, instead. Not that we don’t have our own scandals, now and then.
I know you always want to know what those scandals are, and what a shame that the Silvershire Inquisitor doesn’t have a correspondent here in Kahani so you can be well-informed. ? The man who took leadership of Bin-Asfour’s followers after his death is very much against bringing Kahani into the twenty-first century, but he’s shut down Bin-Asfour’s drug operations, finding them distasteful, and he’s in favor of peaceful change. He doesn’t agree with Kadir on what those changes should be, but he makes his point by yelling a lot, not shooting people. He doesn’t like me at all, but what do you expect of a man who wants to take an entire country back a thousand years? I met his wife last week, and I like her very much. Once the men excused themselves to talk privately, we had a very interesting conversation. She seems to think her husband will come around to Kadir’s way of thinking, eventually.
Wouldn’t it be marvelous if two women from very different backgrounds had their say in the changes that were due to come to Kahani? Cassandra knew she would have to take her part in the participation slowly, but still…she was off to a grand start.
From the beginning, Kadir had included her in his day-to-day business as much as possible. They’d made a few short trips out of the country, and they had created their own scandal just by getting married and working together. Talk about photographers! Everywhere they went, around the world, men like Simon York snapped endless photos.
So far, her bare legs had been kept under wraps, thank goodness.
For the most part, she and Kadir had spent the first month of their marriage here, at this villa by the sea. Her fondest moments with him were all by the sea, either here or in Silvershire. She could not hear the waves crash or smell the salty air without thinking of her husband.
Cassandra was living in a foreign country, surrounded by people she was just beginning to know, and yet this was the home she’d searched for all her life.
I saved the best news for last. Kadir and I are going to have a baby. I can’t tell you how excited I am, how happy, but I guess you know well enough what a wonderful feeling it is to begin a family. I’m terrified and excited and elated, all at the same time.
Kadir walked up behind her, reached around the chair and laid a hand on her flat belly.
“Feel anything different yet?” she asked, her pen poised above the paper.
“Not yet,” her husband answered. “I’ll try again in a few minutes.” He leaned down and kissed her on the side of her neck, then left her to finish her letter with a wide smile on her face and a new shimmer beneath her skin.
Do you still get those flutters and flips when you look at Daddy? No, don’t tell me. I don’t really want to know everything that’s to come. I only ask because I get those feelings every time I look at Kadir. I know we’re newlyweds, but somehow I think they’ll stick around for a good long while.
She couldn’t imagine ever settling for anything less than what she and Kadir had, now that she knew what real, true love was like. Had she really thought that she could plan how and with whom she’d fall in love? Had she really thought she could dismiss what she felt for Kadir because it wasn’t convenient? Trying to stop love was like trying to stop a freight train with a well-placed pea.
Thanks for all the good advice, and the stories about love at first sight. Eight months from now, I’ll be an almost-psychic mum like you!
Love,
Cassandra
She prepared the letter to post, and set it on the dresser in the bedroom. Kadir stood by the nearby wide window that looked out over the sea. Cassandra joined him there, wrapping her arm around his waist and leaning in. This was her place in the world, and she would not trade it for anything, or anyone.
Cassandra shared a lot with her mother in her weekly letters, but she hadn’t yet mentioned one small fact. Perhaps that fact was insignificant, and not even worth mentioning. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, and to mention it to anyone would be silly. But to her, it wasn’t silly at all.
Her husband was the owner of a very fine white horse.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1742-7
THE SHEIK AND I
Copyright © 2006 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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