by Holly Rayner
“I know this will come as a surprise, but I couldn’t want to wait any longer to tell you. I’ve asked Jacqui to be my wife, and she said yes. We’re getting married!”
Jacqui watched Khizar’s parents closely for their reaction, and although they were certainly stunned, she could tell they were also genuinely pleased.
“Oh, my dear boy, that’s wonderful!” Sonja exclaimed, and leaned over to hug Jacqui.
Adil reached across the table to shake his son’s hand.
“We’d hoped it was something like that. Congratulations to the both of you.”
Adil called the server over and ordered something sparkling to toast the new couple with. Sonja admired Jacqui’s ring, and Adil nodded approvingly at Khizar when he got a chance to inspect it as well.
“So, when is the wedding?” Sonja asked.
Khizar laughed. “We don’t have any of the details yet, Mother.”
Jacqui added, “We have a few details to work out, still.”
Khizar gave her a puzzled look, but nodded.
“We do, so as soon as we know, we’ll tell you.”
Sonja patted Jacqui’s arm.
“I’m so pleased, Jacqui. Khizar has always been a bit hard to pin down, and you appear to have focused his mind on the important things.”
Adil chuckled and pointed as his son.
“I can’t wait to tell your uncle. He despaired of you ever settling down; said you were going to be attending wild parties when you were fifty.”
It was Jacqui’s turn to give Khizar a puzzled look, which his parents missed. He didn’t though, and just shook his head at her. Jacqui wasn’t quite sure what to make of their teasing Khizar. It sounded affectionate, but she wasn’t sure.
Once again, it occurred to Jacqui that she didn’t really know anything about Khizar’s history.
Sonja patted Jacqui’s hand again.
“I told him when he met the right girl, he’d know it, and he’d know it was time to get serious about his own family. Of course, it happened quickly. Love so often does, when it’s right.”
The server brought glasses of champagne and Jacqui barely tasted it as his parents toasted them. Just how many women had Khizar dated? Was she one in a long line, and if so, why had he chosen her?
The four of them ordered dinner, and as Khizar’s parents chatted away, Jacqui thought she did a decent job of holding up her end of the conversation, but she didn’t remember any of what was said. She nodded and smiled and laughed when appropriate.
She was sure even Khizar didn’t realize anything was wrong. He touched her arm, or laid his hand on hers, talking animatedly with his parents. He and his father talked business, more than Jacqui had ever heard from him. At one point in their conversation, Jacqui must have looked lost, because Sonja leaned over to her.
“Don’t worry about all the focus on work. It’s something they both love, and it brings them together. But Adil taught Khizar the important things in life, and once you are married, Khizar will be happy to spend as much time out of the office as he spends in it.”
Jacqui nodded at Sonja, who patted her hand reassuringly this time. If she understood Khizar’s mother correctly, he was distant because of work. And really, they hadn’t had time to share things like dating histories. It was something she hoped they could talk about over the next few days.
Jacqui sighed silently. She was making quite a list of things they needed to talk about. It might have been better if she hadn’t accepted his proposal until they’d talked about all those things.
Khizar looked up at her, grinning. Jacqui’s heart skipped a beat because he looked so happy. She’d never seen him be this open with anyone, even her. He was usually kind and generous, even friendly, but still reserved. Jacqui had thought that was just his way, but she saw that with his family, he was less detached.
Oddly enough, that made her feel both better and worse. Better, because she liked this side of him, a lot. It was attractive, even more so than fun, free-wheeling Khizar. But it was also worse, because if she was going to be his family, shouldn’t he be that way with her, too?
Jacqui made it through the meal, her mind spinning. She wanted a few hours alone to think, to figure out what she needed to do. But Khizar’s parents were so nice. She didn’t want to upset them, so she waited. After dinner, she could take some time to think, and then she and Khizar could have a long talk before they went out to find Bill Bauer’s mine.
Laying her napkin on the seat and picking up her handbag, she excused herself. Khizar stood and offered a hand to her while she slid out of the booth. He fingers lingered on hers for just a moment, and then she pulled away.
Jacqui took a few minutes to splash some water on her face, not caring if she messed up her makeup a bit. They were almost done with dinner, anyway.
She made her way back to the table, but when she rounded the corner closest to their booth, she dropped her bag and the contents spilled out. Fortunately, she was out of the way of foot traffic. As she knelt down to pick everything up, she realized she could hear Khizar and his parents talking.
“Son, she’s a lovely girl. We’re just a little surprised, that’s all. It seems rather fast. How did you two even meet?”
“She’s Bill Bauer’s niece. Well, great-niece.”
“Really? That’s news. I heard he left his entire fortune to charity, except for the mine. Must have been quite a surprise to her to inherit that.”
Jacqui could hear Khizar’s sigh from her hidden spot around the corner.
He said, “Bill was estranged from his brother, and wasn’t aware that his brother’s son had a child—Jacqui—until after her parents died. Though he met her once, he didn’t establish a relationship with her. Jacqui has no idea who Bill is.”
Jacqui was confused. The way Khizar talked, it was almost as if he knew her great-uncle more personally than he’d suggested.
“Well, it must be nice for her then that you can share stories about him. Are you still planning on buying the mine from her? Or asking for it as a wedding gift?” Adil chuckled at his own joke.
Jacqui wasn’t sure what they meant. Khizar was buying the Bauer mine?
“I’ve learned, actually, that the mine is tapped out. Bauer must have known that, which is why he wouldn’t sell it before. I’m not sure why he even proposed selling it to me right before he died.”
“At least it brought the two of you together.”
Sonja sounded happy, but Jacqui wasn’t sure what she meant. Khizar hadn’t known there was any connection between her and William Bauer when he walked into her bakery.
Jacqui wasn’t sure what expression was on Khizar’s face, but it must have been strong enough to prompt his father to ask a more specific question.
“You did go to Milwaukee in order to talk to her about the mine, right?”
She heard another sigh, almost a sound of defeat.
“No. I went to see what she knew about the Bauer Diamond.”
Khizar’s father laughed.
“Bill’s legendary find? That hasn’t been seen in decades. If she didn’t know him, how would she know about it?”
“I wasn’t aware that she didn’t know him. I arranged to meet her at her bakery, and made an effort to get to know her. I thought if she trusted me, she’d open up about Bill and the diamond.”
Jacqui gasped, her sudden intake of breath choking on the beginning of tears as Khizar continued.
“I thought that the best way to get her to trust me was to date her and then propose. Once we were engaged, she’d tell me about her inheritance of the diamond. I was going to buy it from her, and make sure she had enough money to support her business and have financial security.”
Jacqui was frozen in place, even as tears poured down her cheeks.
It was all a lie. He’d known more about her than she knew about herself, and he’d always known it. The fake surprise at finding out they knew someone in common, the willingness to help her find out more about her great-uncle. It all made
sense now. He was only looking for the diamond; he didn’t want Jacqui at all.
Jacqui’s face flushed pale and then red. She was so embarrassed. And scared. She was halfway around the world from anything or anyone she really knew, and she wasn’t sure how she would get back home. And right then, all she wanted was to go home.
She didn’t care about the diamond or about her great-uncle or finding anything else out. Jacqui just wanted to go home and crawl into bed and come out again sometime next year.
Khizar was still talking, however.
“I needed that diamond. The value of the jewel would cause the net worth of Jamshidi & Company to skyrocket, yes, but the prestige alone would be worth it. The Bauer Diamond is the stuff of legend, and if it became our legend, the company would be set for decades to come.”
“And what about Jacqui?”
“She’s a lovely girl. I didn’t know just how much I would enjoy spending time with her. But my proposal was entirely about the diamond.”
Hearing that she had accepted a proposal from someone who cared nothing for her was the final straw. Jacqui couldn’t hide the great gulping sobs that racked her body, and so, she pushed away from the wall and ran.
She almost tripped over a server, who just barely avoided her, calling after her as she made it to the door.
Jacqui didn’t pay attention to where she was going. All she wanted was to get away from the restaurant and away from Khizar. She dashed across the street to put some distance between them, walking as fast as she could.
She couldn’t stop crying, prompting more than a few strange looks from people on the sidewalk. Not wanting to cause a scene, she ducked down a side alley and through a stone archway. It looked like a small park; the path was lit with bright hanging lanterns and Jacqui could see a small pond up ahead.
There were benches, too, and so she collapsed onto one of them. Then, she put her head in her hands and cried.
Chapter 18
Khizar
Khizar’s heart began to ache as he confessed what he’d done. He had made a mess of courting Jacqui, had gotten close to her for all the wrong reasons. But he wanted to make that right, and talking to his parents was the first step.
He told them the whole story, as well as why he had originally proposed, and was about to explain that he’d since realized Jacqui meant more to him than the Bauer Diamond ever could. He was nervous about admitting his love for Jacqui, but he was certain that he had fallen for her for real.
There was a commotion near the door, and Khizar heard a waiter ask someone if they were okay. He jerked his head up and saw Jacqui’s head disappear out the door. Concerned, he left his parents at the table and caught up with the waiter, who would only tell him that the young woman had been distraught.
Khizar looked back at the table. Her path back from the restroom would have put her around that corner. It only took him a moment to surmise what had happened; she must have overheard him telling his parents about his false proposal.
If the ground had opened up and swallowed him, Khizar would have welcomed it. It was no less than he deserved.
But Jacqui deserved better. A reason, if nothing else. Khizar dashed out the door.
He didn’t see her outside, so asked the valet at the front door if he’d seen a crying woman leave. The valet pointed down the street, and Khizar took off.
He ran down the street, dodged other pedestrians, and looked for a glimpse of Jacqui. She didn’t know her way around, and if she wasn’t paying attention, she might have gone anywhere.
Khizar doubled back after going down one street. Maybe she stopped somewhere to catch her breath, he thought. When he looked up, he saw the entrance to the botanical gardens across the street.
She must be in there, he thought. He didn’t dare think otherwise.
Khizar knew these gardens like he knew his parents’ palace. He’d spent so much time here as a child, and their layout hadn’t changed over the years. It didn’t matter how much time he spent away. He could walk through the paths blindfolded and not get lost.
The path wound around different sections and through the trees. The gardens were quiet at that time of night, though a few people were strolling through well-lit parts. Khizar followed the path to an area that wasn’t as well-traveled; it was likely that Jacqui sought solitude.
There was a small pond ahead of him, with benches around the edge of the water. Khizar’s pace slowed as he got closer to the pond, seeing a figure sitting alone on one of the benches.
All he could tell was that she was curled in on herself, head resting in her hands. It was quiet here, just the slight rustle of leaves in the night breeze. And the sound of the woman he loved softly crying.
He’d broken her heart.
Khizar acknowledged that his plan all along had been to break her heart. He’d kept himself out of reach, untouchable, in order to execute his plan. He had consoled himself with the idea that he would leave her better off than before, financially secure and with more freedom than she’d ever had.
He hadn’t planned on falling in love with her.
Khizar made his way to the bench. He didn’t sit, but instead softly cleared his throat. Her head jerked up and he almost flinched at how despondent she looked.
“May I sit?” he asked.
Jacqui stared at him. “I don’t think I want to talk to you right now.”
“I understand. I don’t particularly want to talk to myself right now, because I feel like a terrible person.”
“That might be because you are a terrible person.”
He acknowledged the hit with a nod of his head.
“I am. What I did was wrong and horrible. I am deeply sorry.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because I want to make sure you’re okay.”
The look she gave him could have flayed skin and he raised a hand, palm out, to ask for her forbearance.
“I mean, I want to make sure that you’re safe and know how to get back to the apartment. I’m not leaving you out here on your own.”
Jacqui nodded. “Fine. I’ll find my own way out to the mine tomorrow, and then I’m leaving.”
“I’ll put you in touch with someone else who can take you to the mine, and then I’ll arrange for my plane to fly you home.”
“That won’t be necessary. I can manage.”
“Jacqui, I brought you here. The least I can do is help you find what Bill left for you and get you safely home.”
She turned to him, still furious.
“Why did you bring me here at all? You could have just told me you knew I had a great-uncle, and that you wanted his diamond. I would have helped you. You didn’t have to take me on fancy dates, and to Hawaii.”
All he could do was shrug helplessly. It was a weak reaction and he knew it.
“I know. At least, I figured it out after I met you. But by then, I wanted to do those things. They made you happy, and I liked making you happy.”
“You didn’t have to propose.”
“I thought I did. I had a plan, and it was stupid, thoughtless and, yes, unnecessary. I didn’t give you a chance to help me outright. I didn’t trust you.”
The look she gave him told Khizar exactly what she thought of that statement.
“And I haven’t given you reason to trust me right now, I know. But I am telling you the truth—I am sorry I didn’t trust you before.”
“Why?”
Khizar gingerly sat next to her on the bench, heartened by the fact that she allowed him to sit down. He took a second to gather his thoughts.
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“Well, that’s a terrible way to live.”
He bit off a bitter laugh.
“How can you trust people? You’ve lost so much in your life. How can you believe anyone when they tell you it’s going to be okay?”
Jacqui shook her head. “Because I have to trust someone. Myself first, then the people I love. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“The point is that the people you love lie to you.”
She stared at him. “What happened to you?”
Khizar hadn’t meant to say that, to open himself up even a crack. He leaned his head back, trying to find a way around baring his soul. There was none, not if he wanted her to understand.
But it was hard, maybe too hard, so he started with a story instead.
“I grew up playing in these gardens. Climbing the trees, swimming in that pond,” he nodded toward the water, “which was completely forbidden, by the way. I spent hours here playing hide and seek, and when I was older, reading and doing schoolwork. For a large part of my childhood, it felt like I lived in these gardens.
“One day, some older boys from my school were playing here, too. I wanted to play with them, but they wouldn’t let me. I don’t even remember what it was, now, but at the time I was so crushed. They were cruel, though.
“What I do remember, is my older brother wading into the middle of those boys. He yelled at them for being unkind. He chased them off, and then he told me it didn’t matter if the older kids didn’t want to play with us, because we’d always have each other.”
Khizar had to stop, before the moment overwhelmed him. Jacqui must have heard it in his voice, because her next question hit home.
“When did you lose him?”
Of course, she would know. Those who felt this kind of grief recognized kindred spirits.
“I was ten. He was fourteen. He was sick for two years, in and out of hospitals. His diagnosis came three months after he promised me we’d always have each other.
“I believed him right up to the moment he died. I believed my parents when they told me it would be okay, that he had the best doctors and hospitals.
“My parents were devastated, of course. I don’t think they saw that I closed myself off to everyone after my brother’s death. It took me years to understand that they hadn’t lied to me—they’d really believed he would be cured.
“And that was its own sort of betrayal. My parents knew everything. They were smart and good and loyal. If they could be wrong about something so important, then they could be wrong about everything. I don’t think I’ve believed in anything—or anyone—since then.”
