‘No, I have everything.’ Flo smiled. ‘I just...’ She held in her disappointed sigh. ‘I thought my family might have sent something for Christmas.’
‘I shall look into it myself,’ Kumu said. ‘If anything comes, it shall be delivered straight to your suite.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Flo, I know that we don’t do Christmas here, but I wondered if, as a treat, you might like to sleep in the western wing tonight. The view of the desert at sunset is spectacular.’
‘It’s lovely of you to offer...’ Flo smiled ‘...but, no, thank you. I really like it where I am.’
‘You’re sure?’ Kumu checked.
‘Absolutely.’
It was madness, Flo knew, yet the first thing she had done when Kumu had opened the drapes had been to check for Hazin’s plane.
She could read the insignia on the tails a lot better now and it soothed her to know that he was still here. Yes, he had promised not to leave without saying goodbye, but men would promise anything after a good blowjob.
And if that was crass, she was only being crass with herself, because distance from him made Flo bully herself. And that bully rearranged her thoughts until she had decided that she had thrown herself at him in the hammam.
And though they had both enjoyed it, there had been nothing since then bar that brief exchange after his speech. Flo picked at her breakfast and then cast her mind back to yesterday and the moment they had shared.
Not now, Flo!
She could still hear his words and feel the tension with which they had been delivered. Flo could kick herself for being insensitive and for saying what ten thousand people yesterday had surely already said to him.
From all Flo could gather, Hazin had not returned to the Palace last night.
Where had he spent the night?
Give it up, Flo told herself, and hauled herself from the bed.
Yet she could not let it go.
She had known from the start that he came with a warning attached.
Yet it wasn’t his reputation or other women that concerned her.
It was Petra.
Flo, dressed in a soft, indigo velvet robe, stepped out onto the balcony and tried to shift her low mood. It was cold, though not, Flo thought, cold enough for it to be Christmas, not while the sky was so high and blue.
And his plane was still here.
* * *
Of course there were no decorations in the palace. Flo noted their absence as she made her way to Maggie’s wing.
‘Morning.’ Maggie smiled and greeted her friend. ‘Have you had breakfast?’
‘I have.’ Flo nodded as she wandered in and took a seat on one of the couches. Maggie came and sat with her and they gazed out at the stunning desert view. ‘It feels odd not to be hitting the shops today,’ Flo admitted. Usually she was the last of the last-minute Christmas shoppers but had made sure that she’d got it all done before she’d left. ‘It doesn’t feel like Christmas at all.’
‘I feel bad that I’ve let it slide.’
‘Well, you’ve been pretty busy.’ Flo shrugged. ‘I’m just a Christmas tragic.’
‘And this is going to be your worst.’
‘No.’ Flo shook her head. She didn’t want Maggie feeling guilty. ‘I’m having the most amazing time and I am so glad that I came. It was last Christmas that was the worst ever.’
‘Oh, that’s right, while I was away you broke up with...?’ Maggie frowned. ‘I can’t remember his name.’
Flo smiled at her friend’s irritation with her own brain.
‘What was his name?’ Maggie said, clicking her fingers in exasperation, as if that might make his name suddenly appear.
Flo decided it was time to share with Maggie his rightful description—and it was far worse than one that began in B and ended in D. ‘His name was Married Man.’
‘Oh, Flo.’ Maggie put her arms around her friend. ‘Why didn’t you say?’
‘Because I was just so ashamed. His wife came in to have her baby...’
‘You poor, poor thing.’ Maggie was completely lovely. ‘You could have told me.’
‘I know, I just didn’t know how.’
It was since she’d told Hazin that she’d felt if not better then a little less brushed by the shame. ‘I do know how to pick them, don’t I?’
‘You really, really do.’ Maggie sighed and then told Flo what little she knew about Hazin. ‘Apparently he came back very late last night and left early this morning.’
‘Do you know where to?’
‘I don’t,’ Maggie said, and then her voice was serious. ‘Though he’s asked to speak formally with Ilyas tonight. Ilyas seems to think that now Hazin has got the speech out of the way he’s going to formally request to step down.’
‘And how does Ilyas feel about that?’
‘He wants Hazin beside him.’
‘Don’t we all,’ Flo said, and then buried her face in her hands. ‘I’m sorry, Maggie, my disaster of a love life is the last thing you need to hear about right now.’
‘It’s exactly what I need,’ Maggie said. ‘I’ve missed you so much, you know.’
Maybe she could address it? Flo thought of Hazin’s suggestion to talk about what was on her mind. But Flo did not want to heap pressure on Maggie now and tell her her insecurities about the future of their friendship. So instead she did what she did best—shook off her mood and pushed out a smile.
‘I’ll be fine.’
‘Better than fine,’ Maggie said. ‘I’ve told the hammam to expect us this afternoon! I think we could both use a spa day.’
It was a very different Christmas Eve indeed.
Flo left Maggie and met with two nursery nurses who would be helping once the baby was here. She also spoke with the palace elder who went through a few details about what was required after the birth had taken place.
‘There are already people gathering and watching activity at the palace. It is one of the reasons that we prefer the birth to take place here. It allows the family some time before it is announced to the world.’
‘How long before it is?’
‘That is a choice for the parents. For Ilyas it was two weeks after his birth and for Hazin I believe it was a couple of months.’
‘A couple of months?’
‘The baby is brought onto the balcony, or that is what used to happen. Ilyas says that the announcement shall be made on the day the baby is born but the balcony presentation can come afterwards, whenever Maggie is ready.’
Flo could more than see the merit of giving birth here without the world waiting impatiently to hear the news. Maggie was shielded from a lot of what was happening, for certainly Flo would not be telling her about the crowd already gathered. It really sounded as if Ilyas had done all he could to ensure his wife was well looked after.
And that included having Flo here.
After lunch, she and Maggie made their way down to the hammam, but Maggie could not relax at the foot massage. She was just as tense through all the gorgeous treatments so Flo suggested they go into one of the pools.
The water was bliss and just the right temperature. Maggie lay on her back as Flo leant over the edge and stared out at the desert.
It was late afternoon and in a couple of hours the sun would be setting. Flo could have accepted Kumu’s kind offer and had that view all to herself.
Yet she had placed herself on Hazin-watch, furtively checking for his plane and all too aware that at any moment he could leave. It sounded as if he would tonight.
He was surely stepping down.
Why else would he want to see Ilyas?
And it made her sad.
There was a guilty shard in her soul that relished the thought of him living in London and the
chance it might give them, but mostly she was sad.
She didn’t blame him for turning his back on his parents, who had treated him so abysmally, but the people all loved him so much, that was clear to Flo. And, despite his rather staid exterior, Ilyas wanted to right the wrongs that had been done to them and to have a relationship with his brother. Yet Hazin pushed away anyone who attempted to get close to him, that was abundantly clear.
And so she would close her drapes on the view tonight and stop watching for planes leaving and searching for signs.
She had a job to do.
Maggie was in pre-labour, Flo was quite certain, for she was irritable and unable to relax, though the water seemed to be doing the trick now for there was a lovely feeling of calm.
Flo was on Maggie-watch now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
IT WAS A very quiet Christmas Eve indeed.
Tired from the massages and time in the pool, Maggie was early to bed and Flo lay in hers with the drapes firmly closed. If she was right and Maggie was in early labour, at any time her phone could go off so Flo was more than happy to have an early night. But first she called home.
‘Flo, I can’t talk for long,’ her mother warned, which wasn’t exactly a great conversation starter. ‘I have so much to do.’
‘Tell me,’ Flo said, desperate to be a part of the celebrations, but her mother didn’t have time to indulge her suddenly homesick daughter. And so Flo lay on her bed watching a Christmas movie on her computer and eating chocolate.
It would be perfect, really, if it wasn’t Christmas Eve.
And if she wasn’t bracing herself for a broken heart.
She was all floppy and tired from her spa and she frowned when there was a knock at her door. But as she pulled on a wrap Flo was sure it was Kumu to tell her to come and see Maggie.
It was Hazin.
‘What do you want?’ she asked, and her voice was all surly, for she refused, yes, refused to jump to his tune.
‘I want you to come to bed,’ he said.
‘Excuse me?’ Flo checked, not sure if she was hearing things right. It would seem that she was! ‘Hazin, what happened to the thrill of the chase?’
‘You’re easy, though,’ he teased, and then saw her murderous expression and quickly amended with a slight triumphant smile, ‘Flo, I prefer the thrill of you.’
He melted her.
Her resolve popped in the same way she’d feared Maggie’s waters would until it lay in a puddle on the floor. Still, she did try to resist him, even if he had just made her smile.
‘I’m not your sex toy, Hazin. Anyway, I need to sleep.’ She went to close the door but his shoulder got in the way.
‘Sleep in my bed, Goldilocks.’
‘Ha-ha.’
‘We’ve managed to just sleep before,’ Hazin pointed out. In fact, it rather suited him not to have sex tonight, for he desperately wanted the air cleared between them before they did. He was holding onto a secret indeed. ‘You have to come to my apartment, I’ve got a surprise there for you.’
Flo was intrigued.
And she wanted to know what had been said between him and Ilyas, not that she could admit she knew he had just been in a meeting.
‘Bring your phone,’ he said. ‘You may be gone some time.’
She really was a pushover where Hazin was concerned, Flo thought as she quickly pulled on her robe and happily collected her phone.
Down long corridors they went and then they entered his apartment.
He led her towards his bedroom and as she opened the door to darkness, there was a familiar scent in the air. It wasn’t pitch dark, for there was a candle burning and he handed her a glass of warm mulled wine.
‘It’s a redcurrant candle,’ Flo said shaking her head in wonder, because it most certainly was.
‘Happy Christmas Eve,’ Hazin said.
‘This is the nicest thing you could have done.’ Flo beamed. She was very close to tears, for she could not quite believe what he had done! There was one problem, though. ‘I can’t have a drink tonight,’ Flo said, and told him the real reason she had to sneak in some sleep. ‘I’ve a feeling I’m going to be needed by Maggie.’
‘Really?’ He thought for a moment. ‘Well, you can have some tomorrow then.’
He took the glass from her and put it down and then turned on the side lights as she breathed in the lovely scent of a Christmas at home. Well, minus the pine and the mince pies and things, but quite simply he had taken her breath away.
‘Thank you for this, Hazin!’
‘You are so welcome.’
‘I was starting to feel a bit homesick.’
‘Then come here,’ he said, and lay on the bed. A moment later she had joined him. It was bliss to be in his arms and just to lie and chat and be held. ‘Do you really think Maggie will have the baby tonight?’ he asked.
‘Well, it’s not an exact science, but I think things are starting to move along.’
‘How come?’
‘She’s distracted, a bit irritable...’ Flo couldn’t really explain it. ‘I haven’t said anything to Maggie, of course. You just get a feeling about it, I guess, though I may well be wrong and I shall have foregone my mulled wine for no reason.’
‘There’s plenty whenever you’re ready.’
‘So you’re going to stick around?’ Flo asked, not so subtly fishing for information.
‘I think so,’ Hazin said. ‘I just spoke with Ilyas.’
‘And?’ Flo asked.
‘I don’t want to talk about it now,’ Hazin said.
In many ways she was happy not to hear his decision just yet.
Whatever he had chosen, it would hurt.
Still, there was a part of her that simply wanted more information.
‘If you’re ever back in London...’
‘Flo...’ He warned that the subject was closed.
‘I’m just saying we might bump into each other.’
‘Like we did the first night, when you just happened to be at Dion’s?’
Flo smiled. ‘No, maybe on the tube...’
‘I think we did cross paths once.’
‘Really?’
‘I’m sure it was you. It was winter and I specifically remember you were wearing jeans and boots...’
It took a second to realise she was being teased because half the women in London would have been wearing jeans and boots in winter.
Still, Flo smiled at the thought that their paths might have crossed one day and accepted that the subject of his chosen future was closed. And so she asked him another question instead. ‘Are you looking forward to being an uncle?’
‘I don’t know. I’ve never had anything to do with babies.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Ilyas seems happy, though.’
‘He does.’
‘And the mood at the palace has certainly improved since the last time I was here. It’s nothing like it used to be.’
‘What was it like when you came home at Christmas from school?’ Flo asked.
‘Well, it wasn’t Christmas, for one thing.’
‘But what was it like?’
She wanted to know.
‘I had nannies when I was younger and then from the age of about eleven I took care of myself. Really, I didn’t see anyone when I was here in the holidays, unless there was an official function. Ilyas was housed in the leaders’ wing or taken out to the desert and immersed in the teachings.’
‘Did you eat together?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘Well, we did on formal occasions.’
‘So where did you eat?’
‘I was served my meals in the dining room here.’
‘In the apartment?’ Flo said, and she swallowed and thought of a ch
ild virtually alone in this huge space.
You really can have everything and nothing, Flo thought.
‘I loathed coming home,’ Hazin admitted, and he gave her arm a squeeze. ‘But not this time.’
‘I’m glad I’ve entertained—’
‘You’re not the entertainment, Flo,’ Hazin said, and he meant it. So much so that it was then that he remembered she might soon have to work. ‘Let’s get some sleep.’
They undressed and slipped into bed. He turned off the lights so that all that lit the room was the scented candle.
He lay on his back with Flo curled up into him, her head on his chest. He smelt heavenly and the feel of his naked stomach beneath her fingers had her wonder if she might just have to change her mind about sex.
He was so unexpectedly romantic this evening.
But she must not get ahead of herself.
As nice as tonight had been, it was a glass of mulled wine and a candle.
Yet it was the little things he did that made her heart glow, and she could not help but hope that there was more to come, for he had made this night away from home so special.
She had assumed, right up to now, that the gesture had been a bit of a ruse to get her into bed.
Not that he had needed a ruse.
Yet Hazin didn’t seem to mind a bit that she needed to sleep.
But now she wanted a kiss.
Except Hazin really was asleep!
Not just asleep—his breathing had gone from deep to a gentle snore.
Flo lay there smiling as the noise from her less-than-perfect Prince grew louder.
‘Hazin,’ she said, and gave him a little prod.
It didn’t do the trick.
‘Hazin!’ she said louder, and this time he got a kick.
He awoke a little and disengaged her from his arms, then rolled onto his side so they faced each other. They shared a smile. ‘I don’t usually snore,’ Hazin said.
‘Liar.’
‘I don’t, I’m just wrecked.’
These last few days had been busy. Racing around to get things done and seeing Petra’s family, followed by the drain of relief at having given the speech.
Christmas Bride for the Sheikh Page 12
