“Excuse me, everyone.”
Zadir. She looked at him, looking like he’d stepped right off the pages of a fashion magazine. Why did he have to look so good in that modern, Western tux? She didn’t need to be reminded of his handsome face, that effortless charm or how well his hard body felt under her delicate touch. The only thing she needed to think about was that he didn’t like her and had quickly recovered from the bout of lust that had gripped him in Spain.
“It looks like dinner is going to be postponed by about an hour,” he looked at his watch and flicked his gaze back out to the crowd. “Apparently this friends and family dinner is going to be a reception.” The crowd clapped and the hum picked back up. “But first, you all are invited to the wedding. It will be held in the Petite Ballroom, so follow me.”
Shala lost herself in the crowd, hoping to avoid any personal interaction with Zadir. She took a seat near the back, between two older couples. She shot them each a polite smile and focused her attention on returning emails until she heard the traditional Jovanbar wedding march begin.
Sabrina looked beautiful in her simple lace dress that was a perfect complement to her dark features and pale skin. Her smile was bright and engaging as she stared up into Rashid’s eyes, and the way he looked at her made Shala choke on the tears she tried in vain to suppress. Rashid looked like Sabrina was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Tears trickled down her cheek at the beauty of this special, private moment.
As soon as the bride and groom, and their small wedding party, exited the ballroom, Shala slipped out and went in the opposite direction in search of the valet. If she could get out now, while they were transitioning from wedding ceremony glee to post-ceremony party mode, it would be a clean break. She would get them something nice as a wedding gift since Sabrina was American, mostly, and send her apologies later.
She’d given her ticket to the valet and waited. Come on, come on, come on! She willed the valet to come back before anyone noticed her.
“Leaving so soon?”
She gasped at the sound of Zadir’s deep voice behind her and whirled on him. Her hand covered her thundering heart. “Shouldn’t you be inside, performing best man duties?”
“It will be some time before Rashid and Sabrina are ready for the reception. We have time.”
She nodded and turned. “I don’t. I have to get going.” She walked a few feet away, looking in the distance for her car.
“Running again?”
With an exasperated sigh she spoke. “No, I’m just trying to mitigate disaster at the workplace.”
He scoffed. “Is that really what you think, Shala?”
She shrugged. “I think it doesn’t matter what I think.” He hadn’t cared when he shouted that he didn’t like her and he didn’t give a damn that she’d seen him after he’d had sex with another woman. He didn’t care about her or what she thought.
He came closer, suppressing his anger that she wouldn’t look at him. “You know that isn’t true.”
Her stiff posture weakened and her shoulders slumped. “What do you want Zadir? We have nothing to talk about.”
Grasping her upper arm he spun her around. “We have plenty to talk about. You left Italy without a word.”
“Of course I did!” Her teeth clenched and she balled her fists as anger rolled off her in waves.
“You are an employee of Alzari Holdings,” he began with that smarmy smile that he used when he needed to get his way. “And as such,”
She cut him off. “Fine, Zadir, I quit. Have a nice life!” She yanked out of his grasp and walked around her car—finally!—and slid in.
Zadir grabbed the door handle. “I don’t think so, Shala. It’s time we had that talk.” He ducked low to look her in her eyes. “So either come back inside or I’m coming in.”
Shala rolled her eyes. “I’m not going back inside. If you want to talk, meet me at the edge of the driveway or don’t. I don’t care.” She put the car in gear and drove to the end of the long drive, hoping he’d decided she wasn’t worth it and rejoined the party.
Her hopes were soon dashed. “Shala, I’m sorry, okay?”
She nodded, squeezing her teeth against a small strip of skin inside her mouth to keep from responding. “Okay, apology accepted.”
“Is that it?” Fingers tunneled through his hair in anger and frustration and defeat.
“What would you like me to say? I’ve accepted your apology, do I need to massage your ego too?”
“Unbelievable! I guess you really don’t care.” He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned down at her.
“I guess that makes two of us.” Her head tilted defiantly.
“I don’t believe this!” He began to pace just a few feet in front of her. “Here I am, thinking we were on the same page and you…you!” He was speechless.
“I heard you.” He continued to rant and Shala’s anger was starting to show. “I heard you,” she said again, this time with more force until she got his attention. “I heard you say you didn’t even like me, and a day later you slept with someone else.” She turned and stepped into the car. “Goodbye, Zadir.”
“I didn’t sleep with her.” Shala’s look was incredulous. “I didn’t. She tried to…we almost…but I couldn’t. Shala, I couldn’t.”
“Is that supposed to impress me? Why are you making this into something it isn’t? You got what you wanted, sex while you were away from home and your company back. Congratulations.”
“I love you.”
She slammed on her brakes and looked up at him with watery eyes. “What?”
“I love you, Shala.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. That’s why I left the morning after we first made love, because I didn’t know what it meant to you or if I could fulfill your expectations. I don’t know if you know this, but that’s not exactly my strong suit.” He knelt down inside her door so they were eye to eye. “I do love you, though Shala. Your smile, those killer curves and your crazy sense of humor. You drive me crazy and you’re the first person I want to tell when something good happens.”
She didn’t know what to say. The sincerity shining in his sparkling green eyes touched her in a way she couldn’t describe. Her heart opened like a flower in bloom and it began to warm. “You mean that?”
“I do. Please put me out of my misery and tell me that you love me to.”
She smiled. “I love you too, Zadir.”
His body visibly relaxed and he laid his head in her lap, arms banded tight around her. “I’m so glad to hear that.” He leaned forward and kissed her mouth long and hard, until they both leaned across the front seats, his body pressed tightly against hers. “Oh, Shala, I love you so damn much. I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
That smile was so sweet, she cupped his face and kissed him again. “I love you too Zadir. I have in one way or another since I was about thirteen years old and those girls bullied me.”
He smiled. “I remember.” He kissed her forehead. “That was a really good burn.” He chuckled at the memory.
“It was,” she smiled and pushed him off her until they both stood outside the car. “As I was saying. I’m so in love with you and when you ask, I’ll happily accept the proposal to be your wife.”
He frowned. “I did just ask.”
“No, you said you can’t wait.” She smiled at his confounded expression.
“Okay,” he groaned. “One day soon I’ll ask you for real.”
“And I promise I’ll say yes to forever with you.”
“Forever,” he smiled, “I like the sound of that.”
THE END
Her Older Lover
1.
Riley Foster sprinted up the hospital stairs and found a bored-looking receptionist sitting behind her desk. The nine and a half hour flight from London to Miami had done nothing to still her nerves. She had spent those long hours drifting between mentally willing the plane to fly faster and bitter tears of resignati
on. She could do nothing but sit and wait while her brother lay in a hospital bed half way across the world.
“I’m looking for my brother,” Riley told the receptionist. Her voice wavered on the brink of tears. “He was in an accident. His name is Matthew Foster.”
“Just one moment,” said the receptionist. Riley tapped her fingernails anxiously against the desk while the woman gazed at her computer screen. Riley wasn’t sure if she had a moment — if Matthew had a moment. She felt the tears brimming up once more and fought to keep them down.
“Please,” begged Riley. “It’s really serious. Can’t you just do a search for the name?”
“I’m sorry, Miss,” said the receptionist. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
Riley was just about to jump over the counter and hijack the computer when she heard a deep, familiar voice from her left. She almost jumped.
“Riley? Riley Foster?”
She spun to face the man who had called to her. He was dressed as if he had just stepped from a tense business meeting, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to the elbows revealing tanned, muscular forearms, his tie pulled down and the top two buttons undone, as if at some point he had found the smart shirt stifling and had hurriedly ripped them loose. The stubble dotting his cheeks might have been sexy under other circumstances, but here, under the fluorescent lights of the hospital, it hinted at a man who had barely slept in days, let alone had time to shave.
“Yes, I’m Riley,” she said.
“Follow me. Your brother is this way.”
The man turned and began down one of the hospital’s long, sterile corridor, without a backward glance at her to make sure she was following him. He walked with long, purposeful strides and Riley had to jog to catch up to him.
“Are you his doctor? Is he okay?” she asked him as they wound through the hospital corridors. He smiled warmly, tenderly.
“No, I’m Nick Maddox. Matthew’s business partner. We spoke on the phone. The doctors say his condition is critical but stable for now. We had some scares earlier, but it looks as if he’s pulled through.”
It was hard to believe that less than twenty-four ago she was in her dorm room at the University of London, talking to this man on the phone. He had called her from the hospital within hours of the accident and offered to pay for her tickets to come home to see Matt. Without a thought to the man on the other end, she had accepted, thinking only of her brother. Now she felt as if she owed him a huge amount of gratitude.
“Nick, I’m so sorry. I expected you to be older,” said Riley. “I can’t thank you enough for getting me back here so quickly. I’ll pay you back the money for the flights.” She paused for a moment, thinking of the mountain of student debt she was already facing. “It might take a while.”
Nick waved the offer aside. “No need. I know how terrible it would be to be stuck on the other side of the world while all this was going on. I’m just glad you’re here. For Matt’s sake.”
Riley regarded his face for a moment. “You look really familiar,” she said.
“We met once before,” he said, eyes focused ahead of him as he navigated the bleak corridors. Riley cast her mind back, trying to place him in a memory. “About three years ago,” he continued, “before you left to study in England. Before Matthew and I started the company.”
She found herself staring at him as they walked, trying to remember, her overburdened mind unable to slot things into place. Then it clicked. It had been at Matthew’s apartment in Tampa before he moved to Miami. She’d been visiting him for the weekend and Nick had come around to discuss a business opportunity. He’d introduced himself as one of Matthew’s college pals, brimming with excitement over a crazy idea he had to start a tech company. He’d had long hair then like some figure from Greek mythology with a penchant for checkered shirts and surfing. She was eighteen then and remembered thinking how cute he was in a beach bum kind of way.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. My mind is…” she trailed off.
“I understand.” His voice was resonant, but tender. “Here we are,” he said gesturing to a door. She felt another overwhelming wave of gratitude for him then as she realized that she would never have been able to find the room by herself. The number on the door was faded and indistinct and the hospital corridors seemed like a maze in her state of disorientation.
“Listen,” said Nick softly, his hand resting on the door handle. “It might be difficult to see him like this, he’s pretty bruised up. I want you to know that we have the best doctors in Florida treating him. They’re doing everything they can. Are you sure you’re ready?”
Riley nodded, steeling herself.
He opened the door and ushered her inside.
Riley’s hands fluttered to her face as fresh tears burst from her eyes. Matthew’s eyes were bruised and puffy, his neck was wrapped in a tight brace while needles in his arm fed him nutrients from a drip. She rushed to his side, wanting to throw her arms around his neck and hold him, but not wanting to disturb the equipment. Instead she took his hand gently in hers and smoothed his hair back away from his forehead.
“Oh, Matt, please be okay.” She planted a kiss on his forehead and squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry, I haven’t spoken to you in so long, things just got really busy and now this…”
Matthew’s chest rose and fell gently.
“How did it happen?” Riley asked Nick.
“It was my fault.” A look of helpless self-directed rage passed over Nick’s handsome features. “We were out surfing. I should’ve known not to have gone down so close to the cove. I guess we got cocky. A riptide took him, smashed him against the rocks. I tried to pull him out, but the current was so strong. I should’ve been quicker dragging him out of there.”
“But you saved him,” said Riley, wanting now to throw her arms around him. “That’s all that counts.”
“If I had got to him sooner…” he trailed off.
“What about you? Are you okay?”
“Just some scratches, but otherwise I’m fine,” he paused, as if thinking about the incident caused him pain. “Can I get you anything? Some coffee maybe?” he asked eventually.
Riley nodded gratefully, unable to form the words through the lump forming in her throat. As Nick left the room, the dam walls finally gave way and Riley let her head fall to her brother’s bedside as she sobbed, still clutching his hand.
“Matt, if you can hear me, I love you. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy. I’m sorry for not being here for you.”
At the sound of her voice, his fingers curled around hers and the steady beep of his heart rate monitor quickened.
“Matt?” she said, “You can hear me, can’t you?”
She allowed herself to hope for a moment. His hands tensed again.
“Matt? Matthew?” Riley launched herself to her feet.
His eyes opened slowly, straining against the swollen lids.
“Riley?” he croaked. “How did you get here? Am I dead?”
A chuckle, half surprise and half relief burst from her and she threw her arms around his neck, being careful not to jostle him around too much.
“Take it easy,” groaned Matt. “I’m feeling a little tender.”
2.
To Riley’s relief, though he still sounded groggy, Matthew was incredibly lucid after his ordeal.
“I must be dreaming,” said Matt. “Last thing I remember is being on my board. I’ve never seen a wave that big. Wait a second, how did you get here?”
“Nick dragged you out of a riptide, you got beat up by some rocks. Nick flew me over just in case. We were so worried about you.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember the rocks. And the foam. It was crazy.”
Nick walked in then with two paper cups of coffee. For a second Riley thought he was going to drop the cups, but then his eyes widened with joy.
“Big guy! You’re awake!” He rushed to the bedside grinning.
“How long have I been out?”
/> “Going on forty-eight hours,” said Nick. “If you wanted to take a couple sick days, you just had to ask.”
“Am I correct in assuming you’ve been working twice as hard at the company to make up for my absence?” quipped Matt.
“Nah, I left that to the PA to handle. No way I’m letting you take time off and leave me sweating away.”
Matt chuckled and then winced. “Man, I’m pretty beat up, aren’t I? What’s the damage?”
“So far just a couple broken ribs, a concussion, a neck sprain and some bruises and scratches. You also have two massive shiners, but I’d say that’s an improvement. What do you think Riley?”
Riley giggled. The guys jostling each other was helping to drive home the fact that Matt was going to be okay. Their bravado in the face of an otherwise serious situation put her at ease. “Yeah, Matt, it kinda looks like you’re wearing eye shadow,” she chipped in.
Matt chuckled softly. “Stop making me laugh. It hurts.”
“Maybe you damaged your funny bone as well. Then again, your sense of humor was pretty weak to begin with,” said Nick still grinning. Their comradery was that of brothers and Riley couldn’t help feeling that she was in good hands.
“You know something, Nick? I think I might take a break from surfing for a while.”
ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance Page 88
