by Holly Rayner
“What is it?”
Leyla hesitated. As much as she wanted to tell Maryum about the origins of her engagement, she couldn’t. It wasn’t entirely her story to tell. The non-disclosure agreement she’d signed was still in effect, and she didn’t want to ruin anything for Kane.
If he still wanted to go through with drilling in Sharrain, he’d need to keep relationships here good. No matter what happened between the two of them, she wouldn’t ruin that for him.
But she could tell Maryum about the other stuff.
“Kane and I had a fight, and I don’t know if we’re still getting married.”
Maryum’s grip tightened. “May I ask what the fight was over?”
Leyla took a shaky breath. “I signed this distribution deal for my film. Thing is, the company wants a documentary about mine and Kane’s relationship. They won’t take my narrative feature without it.”
She closed her eyes, hating herself.
“He would hate doing a documentary. I kept putting off telling him. And then, I decided not to take the deal at all, but still tell him about what I’d done. But it was too late. He found the agreement.”
Slowly, afraid of what she’d see in Maryum’s face, she opened her eyes.
Instead of judgment, she found concern and sympathy.
“Oh, Leyla. I am sorry. This does sound difficult.”
“Yeah.” Feeling weak, Leyla took a seat in the armchair by the window. “Apparently, he took off in the middle of the night and no one has seen him since. I blew it, Maryum.”
“Now, you don’t know that for sure.”
“I do. I—”
A knock on the door interrupted her. Mouth still hanging ajar, Leyla glanced at the door then back to Maryum.
“Let’s see who it is.” Maryum crossed the floor and opened the door.
Leyla nearly fell out of her chair. Kane had come back.
He hovered in the doorway, wary, like he might be entering a surprise war zone.
Maryum cleared her throat in the most delicate manner possible. “I will make sure everything is progressing well downstairs. See you both shortly.”
She gestured at Kane, urging him to come into the room. Once he did, she gave Leyla an encouraging smile and left, the door closing with a crisp click.
“Kane…” Leyla swallowed against a lump in her throat. She wanted to say whatever wouldn’t scare him away, but her own fear kept her frozen.
“That’s pretty.”
It was one of the last things she’d expected him to say. Blinking in confusion, Leyla shook her head.
“I’m sorry. What?”
He nodded at the tiara.
“Oh. Yeah. That.”
They met in the middle of the room, where the tiara still rested on the bed. The seconds crept by, and they both gazed down at the jewels.
“It’s yours?” he asked.
“It was my mother’s. Maryum thought I should have something old, borrowed, and blue.”
“That’s nice.” His voice was the quietest she’d ever heard it. “What’s new?”
“My dress, I guess.” She clasped her hands together and squeezed tight, feeling like a bomb of emotions that could explode at any moment.
“Leyla…”
“I’m surprised you’re here.” She searched his eyes for a reaction. He stayed quiet. “I was packing. I thought you’d left for good and the wedding was called off.”
His shoulders sank. “Really? No.”
She bit into her bottom lip. Okay, maybe she’d overreacted.
“You’re right, that’s crazy,” she said. “You need this deal. And don’t worry. I won’t screw it up for you. I still haven’t told Maryum and Mabrouk anything, and I won’t.”
“I know you wouldn’t. I’m not worried about that.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Although…” He paused, gaze drifting to the window. “I was thinking that we should tell them the truth at some point.”
“What?” She could hardly believe it. “But ClayFuel—”
“Is it worth it?” His gaze came back to hers. “All the lying and secrets?”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Lying about our marriage isn’t as bad as what I kept from you.”
“That’s not true.”
He cupped her face. She wanted to disappear into the touch.
“I’m not mad about the distribution deal,” he said. “If you want to do the documentary, then do it. I’ll be in it, as well.”
“Um… what?”
He nodded once. “Finding those papers was a shock. I needed some time to get my head together. Actually… I can’t take most of the credit. London helped me.”
“She’s good at that.” Leyla set her hand on top of his.
“You need to put your own needs and wishes first. Take the deal.”
“I don’t want to.”
He ducked his face in order to look her square in the eye. “Really. I’m fine with it. This makes me sound like an idiot, but I’ve enjoyed so much success that sometimes I forget it doesn’t come as easy to others. I work hard, but I still inherited my dad’s company.”
“Really,” she stressed. “I’m not fine with it. I only said yes to that out of fear. I don’t want to do a documentary. There will be other offers. And if not… yeah, it wouldn’t be worth it. I know that for a fact.”
He studied her face for a moment longer, trying to figure out if she meant it. Eventually, he seemed satisfied, because he nodded and straightened up.
“We’ll get you another deal,” he said.
“Thank you.” She planted her hands on his chest. “But I can take care of it.”
He grimaced. “Leyla, I don’t want you taking care of anything on your own. I’m here for you… if you’ll let me be.”
Her breathing sped up. “Thank you.”
“I don’t want our wedding to be off.”
“You don’t?”
“No. I want to marry you. For real.” Stepping back, he got down on one knee. “I’m really sorry I don’t have a ring.”
“It’s okay,” she said through a mixture of tears and laughter. She waggled her left hand. “You gave me one weeks ago.”
“I’ll get you a new one, if you like.”
“Kane.” She wiped at tears. “I don’t need a new one. I don’t care about rings. I just… I just need you.”
Taking her left hand, he gazed up at her. “Leyla Al-Adain, will you marry me, not as a business partner, but as the love of my life?”
Tears of relief and happiness streamed down her face. “I have a condition.”
He didn’t so much as blink. “Name it.”
“Did you bring your white Stetson to Sharrain? The one you wore on our date to the barbecue place?”
“Yes…” He tilted his head in question.
Taking both his hands, she pulled him to standing. “Wear it at our wedding. I want to see you in it as I walk down the aisle.”
Kane let out a hearty laugh. “That’s your condition? I thought it was going to be more extreme. Like we have to live in Alaska or adopt a dozen dogs.”
“What would you have said to those requests?”
“Yes.” He pulled her to his chest and kissed her head. “I would have said yes.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Crazy in love.” Drawing back the slightest bit, he looked down at her. “You never answered my question.”
“Which one?”
“About whether or not you’ll marry me. I said yes to wearing the hat.”
“Oh my gosh.” She shook her head at herself. “Yes! Yes, I will marry you.”
“Sweet.” Kane picked her right up and spun her in a circle, Leyla laughing the whole time.
Setting her back on her feet, he angled his face down and she pushed onto her tiptoes. Their lips pressed together in a passionate kiss. Leyla felt the love overflow from her heart and spread into and around Kane.
To think, only a few minutes before, she had
thought it was all over. Then, in almost no time at all, everything had turned on its head.
Kane’s hold tightened, and she kissed him deeper. Forget the wedding. Forget all the people waiting. Did they really need to get married, anyway? Suppose they stayed in this room for the rest of their lives?
Too soon, Kane’s lips detached from hers. “You need to go downstairs. Maryum will be up here any minute looking for you if you don’t.”
“Ugh.” She made a face. “I don’t wanna.”
His thumb ran across her bottom lip. “I’ll see you soon.”
Leyla nodded. Hand in hand, they walked for the door. She didn’t quite register the sound on the other side until she already had her hand on the knob.
As she opened the door, two people in the hall took big steps back.
“London?” she asked.
“Trick?” Kane asked.
“Um…” London bit her lower lip, guilt written all over her face.
“You guys were listening in on us?” Leyla looked back and forth between the two of them.
Hands shoved into his pockets, Trick lifted a shoulder. “Sorry. We were worried.” He looked twice as embarrassed as his accomplice.
Kane looped an arm around Leyla’s shoulders. “How much did you hear?”
“Er…” London cleared her throat. “Something about a tiara.”
Leyla gasped. “I forgot it!”
After making sure the tiara was safely wrapped in the box, she brought it out to the hall.
“Everything is good,” Kane was saying. “The wedding is on.”
The two of them nodded.
“Like, for real.” Leyla kissed Kane’s jaw.
“For real, for real,” he agreed, looking down at her with a smile.
Finally, their friends got it. Trick let out a whoop and London squealed and clapped her hands.
“We have to get ready.” London took the box from Leyla and grabbed her hand. “Sorry, Kane. You shouldn’t even be seeing her right now. Close your eyes! Look away!”
“Never,” he said.
“See you soon,” Leyla called over her shoulder as her friend directed her toward the staircase.
Kane’s heated look melted her. “See you soon.”
“Wow.” London squeezed Leyla’s hand on the staircase. “This is amazing.”
“How long were you eavesdropping for?” Leyla asked.
“I dunno.”
“What do you mean…” At the sight of London’s grin, she gasped. “London! What were you and that cowboy doing in the hall?”
“Okay. It was one kiss. And I wasn’t gonna tell you. This is your day.”
“Come on.” Rolling her eyes, Leyla pulled her friend close to her. They’d reached the bottom of the staircase. “That doesn’t ruin my day. It makes it monumentally better.”
“Okay.” She giggled. “Because I really like him.”
“I don’t blame you.” Leyla sighed happily.
At the doors to the first-floor powder room, she paused.
“Hey, you know what?”
“What?” London asked.
“I think we’re entering a new era.”
“Ooh. What kind of era?”
“One,” Leyla said, “where anything is possible, and everything is right.”
Chapter 26
Kane
Kane fiddled with his tie for the fifth or sixth time, his hands restless. Going to the window, he looked out at the garden area. Chairs had been set up across the expansive lawn, and a wedding arch waited for the bride and groom.
Trick studied himself in the full-length mirror. “Boy, do I feel fancy.”
“You look good.” Rubbing his hands together, Kane left the window. He hadn’t expected to be this nervous.
A knock on the door made them both look over.
“Come in,” Kane called.
Mabrouk entered, wearing a traditional Sharraini robe and carrying a folder. Immediately, Trick stiffened and did an awkward bow. He hadn’t quite gotten used to being around a king.
“Hello, gentlemen,” Mabrouk said. “Ready?”
“We are, sir,” Trick said.
“Actually…” The nerves Kane had felt a minute before were nothing compared to the anxiety that suddenly enveloped him.
There was something he needed to do. As much as he wanted to get to the part where he and Leyla got married and headed off into the sunset, another matter needed to come first.
“Can I speak to you a minute?” Kane asked Mabrouk.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trick’s eyes widen. He probably knew exactly what Kane was about to do.
“Certainly.”
“I’ll be outside.” Trick did another stiff bow and left.
Kane made sure to close the door before he turned to Mabrouk. There seemed no right way to start the conversation.
“First of all,” he said, “I want to thank you for your hospitality. It’s meant a great deal to me these last two weeks. And I know that it’s the world to Leyla.”
Mabrouk inclined his head. “You are both family.”
“Right.” A pang hit Kane in the center of his chest. “I love Leyla. I want you to know that right off the bat. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Mabrouk stayed passive and still, watching Kane with a mild amount of interest.
“I…” Kane drew a deep breath. “I haven’t been completely honest with you, and it’s time I came clean.”
Still, Mabrouk only blinked. He waited, the calm and in-control king he was, expecting fully that Kane would get to the point with no to little encouragement.
“When Leyla and I became engaged, it wasn’t out of love. I asked her to marry me because I thought a Sharraini bride would help me secure the oil deal. When I found out she was related to you, it seemed an even better opportunity. Better than I could ever hope for.”
A weight pressed down on Kane’s heart. The words burned his tongue, but he kept going.
“It was wrong, and I regret it. If you want nothing to do with me or ClayFuel anymore, I understand completely. Please, though, don’t take it out on Leyla. One of the reasons she’d agreed to my offer was so that she could meet you and Maryum. It would break her heart if you ever shut her out.”
Mabrouk was quiet for a long moment, during which the room started to spin. Had this been a bad idea?
Kane had wanted to come clean, but if it happened at the expense of Leyla’s family, it wouldn’t be worth it.
Finally, Mabrouk opened the folder tucked under his arm. Out came a short stack of stapled papers, which he promptly handed over to Kane.
“What’s this?” Kane rasped.
“Read it.”
Kane did a quick once-over. Then another.
It was a deal for drilling in Sharrain. Not only that, but Mabrouk had signed it. The only step left was for Kane to put his signature down.
“You came in here to give me this.” A sickening feeling flooded Kane. “I’m sorry to have ruined it.”
He extended the papers, but Mabrouk didn’t take them.
“I suspected a ruse from the beginning,” Mabrouk said. “The circumstances were too perfect. And then, as time went by and I saw you and Leyla together, I came to believe otherwise. I saw the love you two have for each other.”
“It’s real.” Kane’s words became thick with emotion. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And you’re right. It does seem too good to be true. Leyla and I met when she auditioned for a ClayFuel ad. But maybe it wasn't a coincidence. Maybe it was meant to be.”
“I don’t fault you for what you did. Though it was not honorable, revealing the truth is. Especially considering what you have to lose.” Mabrouk clapped Kane on the shoulder. “I am full of honor to have you enter my family, and, if you still wish it, I would like to go through with our deal.”
Kane didn’t cry often. Hell, he could probably count the number of times he had. But the acceptance that had just been h
anded to him made his eyes all wet.
Blinking back tears, he nodded. “I’d like that, sir. Thank you.”
“You can sign the agreement later. Right now, you have a wedding to get to.”
“I would never let that slip my mind,” Kane said on a laugh. As he walked for the door, he grabbed his white Stetson.
Couldn’t forget the most important wardrobe piece.
They separated in the hall, Mabrouk going to join Leyla and Kane meeting Trick in the garden, under the wedding arch.
“How’d it go?” Trick whispered.
“Good. I’ll tell you more later.” He smoothed his tie yet again.
The hundred or so guests were taking their seats, and several cameras were trained on the aisle and the wedding arch.
From the front row, his mother raised her phone. “Kane! Trick, honey!”
They smiled for the picture, then immediately went back to whispering.
“So,” Trick said, “Check this out.”
From his pocket, he drew a ring box. Popping the lid, he revealed a dazzling pink diamond ring.
“What happened to the other one?” Kane asked.
He’d picked up a simple diamond ring for the ceremony, but no real thought had gone into it. Certainly, it was nothing compared to this one.
“It’s from Maryum and your mom,” Trick said. “They said Leyla needed something new.”
“Wow.” Kane glanced at the front row again, but Maryum and Judy were deep in conversation. He would thank them for the beautiful gift later.
The band started playing a gentle, slow song, and all the guests quieted down. From one of the patio doors came London, carrying a bouquet of flowers.
Her sky-blue dress was pretty, and she smiled big, but it wasn’t her that caught the wedding guests’ attention. Everyone oohed and aahed at the little pug following behind her.
Sharkie, dressed up in a doggie tux, trotted behind his owner. As he passed by chairs, people reached out and petted him.
Kane took the opportunity to elbow Trick. “She looks nice.”
In response, Trick blushed pink as the diamond ring.
London took her spot on the other side of the arch, but not before sharing a quick look with Trick.
“Sit, Sharkie,” she whispered.
Sharkie took it one step further and spun in a circle, then plopped into the grass for a nap.
