by Holly Rayner
The song changed, and the patio door opened again. Out came Mabrouk and Leyla, arms linked.
At the sight of them, the guests all stood. Kane’s inhale caught in his throat.
Leyla’s hair had been pinned into a low bun, little tendrils of hair kissing her neck here and there. Half of the white dress was made of lace and had a train that stretched a good yard behind her.
As she stepped into the garden, her sapphire tiara caught the sun. Murmurs went through the crowd.
Kane knew exactly what everyone was thinking. Not only did Leyla make a beautiful bride, but she also looked like a princess.
He could have admired her all day, and yet at the same time, he couldn’t wait for her to reach the end of the aisle.
When she finally got to him, he couldn’t stop grinning.
“You look nice,” she whispered to him, handing her bouquet off to London.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He didn’t bother to whisper. Let everyone hear.
The music ended, and the officiant began. They’d opted to go for a non-religious wedding, though it had both aspects of American and Sharraini culture. Not only did the decorations blend the two countries, but dinner would consist of kabsa, a mixed rice dish, and Texas chili.
Oh, and steak. What was a wedding without steak?
Kane didn’t hear most of what the officiant said. He was too busy admiring every detail about Leyla, from her rosy cheeks to the smile flickering at the corners of her lips. When the time came to exchange rings, she gasped at the pink diamond.
“I know,” he said. “You have Maryum and my mom to thank for it.”
Taking her hand, he slipped the ring on. The fit was perfect, the gold band a complement to her dark olive skin. He didn’t even wait for the officiant to announce them man and wife. Pulling Leyla flush to him, he kissed her with everything he had.
The guests burst into joyous applause. Even Sharkie, woken from his nap by all the cheering, let out a few barks.
“Well?” he whispered into Leyla’s ear. “Did we pull it off? Are they buying it?”
She threw her head back with laughter. “I dunno. Maybe you should kiss me again.”
And so he did. And then again… And again.
He kissed her until Trick pulled him off, claiming it was time to take photos. After that, though, he went right back to the kissing.
By the koi pond. On the patio. Under the tent. In the swinging bench. There was hardly a place left in the palace gardens where his lips hadn’t claimed hers.
The festivities went on for hours, with dancing, more dancing, drinking, eating, and all kinds of fun. Oh, and toasting. They sure did like their toasting in Sharrain.
“To my darling cousin,” Maryum said, raising her glass high, “and her wonderful husband.”
“To love,” Kane’s mom chimed in. She’d stood up right next to Maryum.
“And its mysterious ways,” Maryum added.
“Hear, hear.” Judy clinked her glass against the other woman’s.
Leyla buried her face in Kane’s shoulder and he smiled. The two women were becoming fast friends, and apparently alcohol fueled the bonding experience.
“And now, from the bride and groom!” Trick hollered from another table.
With a look at Kane, Leyla stood. He followed her lead, wrapping one arm around her waist and raising his drink with the other.
“We’d like to make a toast…” He trailed off and looked to his new wife.
She gazed into his eyes, a slow smile lifting her lips. “To family.”
His chest warmed. “To family.”
“To old family.” Leyla looked around the tent. “And to new family.”
“And to family that isn’t here physically,” Kane said, “but that is here today in spirit.”
Judy dabbed at her eyes, and Maryum comforted her with a pat on the back.
Leyla raised her glass higher. “To the bright future of our extended family.”
She raised an eyebrow at Kane. Anything else?
He grinned. Nope. She’d done perfect.
With that, they drank.
As they took their seats, Judy came over, bringing a chair with her. Plopping it in the grass, she took a seat and reached for Leyla’s hands.
“Look at you,” she cooed. “Just look at you. You know, when I walked into Kane’s office and saw him looking at pictures of you on his computer, I knew something would happen. Oh, I called it.”
“Looking at pictures of me on the computer?” Leyla cocked her head at him. “Mr. Clay, were you cyberstalking me?”
“Uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. Which answer would be the best?
“He said there was nothing going on, but uh-uh.” His mom shook her head and winked at Leyla. “An amazing girl like you, you can tame this boy. Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Clay,” Leyla laughed.
“Judy, honey. It’s Judy.”
There were a few more toasts, mostly from extended relatives on Maryum and Mabrouk’s side. As the day slipped into night, people got up to party on the dance floor. Kane knew he and Leyla were probably supposed to have some sort of public dance, but he was tired of sharing her with everyone.
Call him selfish, but he wanted her to himself for a bit.
Taking her hand, he pressed a finger to his lips and nodded at the tent’s exit. They snuck away with soft laughter, and if anyone saw them go, they didn’t raise the alarm.
It seemed natural to end up on the path they’d walked in the garden days ago, the one that led to the koi pond. It was lit now by hanging lanterns that cast a mystical glow about the area.
Taking their time, they moseyed down the trail. Leyla had removed the detachable train from her dress not long after the press had left, and it made walking a lot easier. At the pond, she stopped and turned to him.
“Hi,” she said.
“Oh, hello.” He took her in his arms. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“It is my wedding,” she laughed.
“What a coincidence.” He pretended to be shocked. “It’s mine, too.”
She laced her fingers in his. “If someone had told you a month ago that you’d be here today, would you have believed it?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely not. You?”
“No.” Her hand went to the heart necklace tucked under her dress’s collar, and a faraway look entered her eyes. “I wish my mom was here.”
“Yeah.” He felt longing’s sharp stab. “I wish my dad was, too. It would have been great to meet your mom.”
“She was an amazing woman.” Admiration shone in her eyes.
“I know. She raised you.”
“Aw. Shucks.” Leyla ran her fingers through his hair.
“You’re not upset that she kept her past from you?”
“It wasn’t mine to demand.” Again, she grew thoughtful. “I bet that if she knew how she would have been welcomed back here, though, things would have been different.”
“For sure.” He hooked his fingers under her chin. “What she wanted for you more than anything else was to be happy. That’s why she stayed away from Sharrain. If she’d known returning would have brought you that happiness, she’d have been here in a heartbeat. I know it.”
“Yeah.” Leyla let a tear fall. “That’s true.”
“And are you happy?”
Her eyes softened. “I’m happier than I ever thought I could be. I don’t think I can even describe how happy I am.”
Ducking his face, he swept his lips against hers in the lightest touch. “There’s no need to describe it.”
“And why is that?” she murmured.
“Because I feel it, too.”
Epilogue
A Year Later: Leyla
Dawn. There was so much to love about it. The first tittering of the birds. The surprise colors streaking across the sky. The quiet moments before everyone else woke up.
Slipping out of bed so as not
to wake Kane, she crept downstairs and into the kitchen. The ranch house was quiet and dark. Turning on the kettle, she took a seat at the counter and checked her emails on her phone.
It probably wasn’t the first thing some people would do in the mornings, but for her, it was something to look forward to. Over the last year, ever since she and Kane had returned home from Sharrain, life had gone into overdrive.
She’d visited Sharrain five times since meeting Maryum and Mabrouk, and during those trips, had gotten to know her extended family well. Though her mother had been an only child, there were plenty of second and third cousins to get acquainted with. At this point, Leyla had to field requests to return to Sharrain.
Soon, she told everyone. And that was the truth. She loved being in Sharrain, and looked forward to Maryum and Mabrouk visiting the Texas ranch in a few weeks.
But Sharrain wasn’t her whole life. Neither was being married to Kane and shuttling between the Austin condo and the ranch.
Filming had wrapped on her movie, Look to Tomorrow, a couple months ago. Which meant she’d just finished up post-production. The whole process had been longer and more exhausting than she could have ever predicted.
It had also been unbelievably fulfilling. Though there had been hard days when the weather or locations or paperwork or background actors not showing up had created big bumps in the road, overall, the project had been a success.
With Leyla directing and playing the lead, she’d found an awesome cast of actors from around the Austin and Dallas area. The crew had also been phenomenal, and all of this had culminated in the film already being accepted to a major festival.
Maybe the triumph of making a feature film had given her a boost of confidence that led to better acting, because she’d recently had a callback for a secondary lead in a film featuring a major star. Just getting the first audition had been a big deal.
Scrolling through her emails, she passed a belated birthday e-card from one of her third cousins, a couple pieces of spam, and… hold on. An email from her agent.
Tapping on the email, she did a quick once-over of the message—and gasped in surprise.
She’d gotten the movie part!
Just to make sure she wasn’t imagining things, she read over the message more carefully. Nope. She wasn’t delusional.
“Oh my goodness,” she breathed, clutching her throat.
“Oh my goodness, what?” a deep voice asked. Kane’s arms wrapped around her from behind.
“I just got some good news.” She put the phone face down on the counter and relaxed into his embrace.
“Oh, yeah? What?”
She opened her mouth to respond, but then changed her mind. “I think I’ll wait until Trick and London get here to share.”
Kane pursed his lips and pretended to pout. “Really? Are you sure you don’t want to share right now?”
“Nope,” she laughed. “I’m gonna wait until breakfast.”
It had become something of a ritual for Trick and London to come over on Sunday mornings. The two of them had gotten a little house together on the outskirts of Austin a few months ago, and the drive out to the ranch wasn’t more than an hour.
Typically, the four of them would cook a big breakfast together, then Kane and Trick would go outside and practice for whatever rodeo they had coming up next. Kane had taken to competing again, which had woken up a whole other side of him.
Though Leyla had turned into an early riser of late, he was never far behind her on the days they were at the ranch.
“Breakfast is so far away.” Kane took her hands in his.
“London said something about them coming earlier today. She wants to go out for a ride.” Leyla paused. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for her to ride horses right then…
“But we’ll see,” she added, right as the doorbell rang.
They looked at each other in surprise.
“That can’t be them,” Kane said. “It’s too early.”
She shrugged. “I dunno. Let’s find out. Who else would it be?”
Though the ranch still employed the full staff it had before, they typically did their own thing, feeding and caring for the horses and the land. Leyla had felt weird about having a housekeeper at first, but she eventually came to like it.
Living in a giant ranch house was much different from living in a one-bedroom apartment. She’d done a couple rounds of cleaning the ranch house herself, but disappointment at discovering it had started getting dirty again before she’d even finished every room had deterred her.
She crossed through the dining and living rooms, her mind on her new part with each step. This whole thing was insane, a dream come true.
The email hadn’t said anything about specific shoot dates, but she’d been told at the first audition that it would be sometime in the next month or two.
Which would be perfect.
Biting into a smile, she looked through the front door’s peephole, then opened up.
“Hiiiii!” London bustled into the room, a canvas bag in hand. “I brought chorizo!”
Sharkie flew into the house after her and promptly started running in circles. He loved the ranch. Every time he came there, he jumped onto the golf cart the staff used for rounds, expecting someone to take him for a ride.
More often than not, there was at least one person willing to oblige.
“Yum.” Leyla hugged her.
“Morning.” Trick came in last, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Kane laughed. “Up and at ’em, Trick.”
Trick grumbled something incoherent then threw a lethargic punch Kane’s way. Kane blocked it, and a second later, they were involved in a wrestling match.
“Boys.” London rolled her eyes, but smiled.
“Yeah.” Leyla raised her voice so the men could hear her. “If you guys knock over that vase, Judy will freak out.”
That got Trick’s attention. Letting go of Kane, he straightened up.
“Don’t worry, Trick,” Kane said, and chuckled. “You’d still be my mom’s favorite.”
“Let’s get started on breakfast.” Leyla took the bag from London. “I’m ravenous.”
In the kitchen, they beat eggs and pulled a hodgepodge of ingredients from the bag and the fridge to make omelets. Sharkie weaved in between their legs, searching the floor for crumbs.
“Did Leyla tell you about the film festival?” Kane looked up from where he diced onions.
“Yes.” London clapped her hands. “That’s big. Congrats.”
“Thanks.”
“And she’s already gotten some interest in distribution,” he added.
Leyla shrugged and started the coffee pot. “Yeah. It’s funny. All that worry about a distribution deal, and I could have relaxed the whole time. Things were headed in this direction, anyway.”
“If only we could do that with everything.” London sighed.
“I dunno.” Trick reached over and ran his fingers through his girlfriend’s hair. “We can.”
“Easy for you to say,” London responded. “You’re always happy.”
“Gosh. I wonder why that is.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. Quick as a flash, he grabbed her and kissed her. London squealed, pretending to make an escape, but he kissed her again.
From across the kitchen, Kane sent Leyla a wink. They talked all the time about how cool it was their best friends were dating. Secretly, Leyla hoped they’d get married.
Which, really, could totally happen. They were gaga for each other.
“And,” Kane added, “apparently there’s another piece of news, but she wanted to wait until you guys got here to reveal it.”
Now, it was London’s turn to catch Leyla’s eye. She raised her eyebrows, face serious.
“It’s good news,” Leyla said. “And it’s two things, actually.”
“Now you have to tell us,” Trick said. “You can’t leave us in suspense. Is the coffee ready yet?”
“On its last drip,”
Leyla said and laughed. She took mugs down from the cabinet and poured him a cup.
He accepted it like it was his saving grace.
Kane had finished chopping the veggies and turned around, back against the counter, his gaze glued to Leyla.
“How long do we have to wait?”
She took a deep breath. “Okay, remember that movie I auditioned for? The serious, big-time, A-list actor one?”
London yelped. “You got the part?”
“Yeah. I got the part!” Saying the news out loud really helped it to sink in.
“What?” Kane left his spot at the counter to hug Leyla. “Congratulations, babe. I knew they’d pick you.”
“Oh, did you now?”
“Of course. You’re amazing.”
“That’s awesome, Leyla,” Trick said. “Congratulations.”
London turned on the stove and put a couple skillets on.
“We have to celebrate somehow. What should we do? Go out dancing? The beach? Ooh. We could go to that new bar on Hope Avenue. I heard they have a champagne button at the tables.”
“Champagne button?” Trick frowned in confusion.
“Yeah. You press the button and champagne comes out of this fountain in the middle of the table.”
“Honey,” he said, “you’re so darn sophisticated.”
“I dunno…” Leyla hesitated.
“I know you’re busy right now,” London said. “We can figure it out. No rush. When does the movie start filming?”
“That’s the other part of it.”
Leyla clasped her hands together and took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected to be this nervous, but as she looked around at the faces in front of her—including Sharkie’s—the panic dissolved and she remembered why she’d chosen to share her other news with them first.
“That’s right.” London grew quiet. “You said there’s a second part.”
“Yep.” Leyla took Kane’s hand in hers. She didn’t want to miss his reaction. “I haven’t gotten exact shoot dates for the movie yet, but I hope it’s soon. You know, before I start showing.”
Silence descended on the kitchen.
Kane blinked. “Wait… what?”
“Yeah.” Leyla laughed. “I’m pregnant.”
