AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He laughed and shook his head like she was some silly little girl. “Your silly vacation romance won’t make it to the fall Abby and then you’ll be all alone.”
“I would rather be alone than with someone I can’t trust and who doesn’t give a damn about me. We’re over Charles.” She saw the gears churning in his head, looking for another argument. “I hate what you did Charles but you did us a favor. We would both be stupidly moving forward in a relationship that didn’t satisfy us.”
“But you can’t forgive me?”
“For putting my health at risk? No. But I do forgive you Charles. I just can’t un-see what I saw.” That and the little fact that she had fallen in love, real, true love, with someone else.
“Fine. I tried,” he told her with a grin on his face as he leaned forward and tried to kiss her.
Abby sidestepped his effort and with a hand to his chest she stopped his forward momentum. “I don’t think so Charles. Have a nice life.” He gave a curt nod and sauntered off into the night.
She watched him go, waiting until he was long gone from sight before turning to her bungalow. This night would be a long one.
By the time she finally rolled out of bed Abby guessed she’d gotten about three hours of sleep. About twenty minutes at a time. So she got up, put on her green one-piece and hit the beach. She often got some of her best thinking done when she engaged in physical activity. Today swimming would have to get the job done.
After her long conversation with Shelly she knew she wasn’t anywhere close to making a decision. “He has no reason to lie and the man loves you. Don’t be a dummy honey. Make that man yours if that’s what you want.”
“If that’s what I want,” she thought bitterly as she walked into the water, deeper and deeper until her chest was covered. Of course its what I want, to build a life with Sadiq. But can I be a Sheikha? What the hell does a Sheikha even do? She hadn’t a clue about any of that and not even late night binge research online had helped. Much.
The only thing she knew was that she wanted Sadiq. It was selfish but she wanted the man she’d fallen in love with over the past couple months. The one who was stiff at first before showing off his wicked sense of humor. The man who went snorkeling and cliff diving despite his better judgment. The man who made her body sing louder than it ever had, shown her pleasures she hadn’t known existed. The man she taught how to do laundry. “Oh hell, I showed a king how to do laundry!” She felt her face flame as her arms tired and she floated parallel with the coastline. Her heart was certain that Sadiq was it, the great love of her life.
Her mind however, was playing hardball. Loving someone like Sadiq wouldn’t be enough. She needed to be well spoken which she thought she was. Cultured and sophisticated, which she wasn’t. She didn’t have what it took to be a royal. She would be a great wife and an incredible mother, maybe even a role model for the people of Kaza’ah. But she didn’t have what it took to travel in such rarefied circles of other royals, world leaders and the ultra wealthy. She knew that.
Which meant she couldn’t have him. Couldn’t keep him.
Could she.
No closer to an answer than when she entered the water, Abby pushed herself until she was out of breath and floated back to shore. Scanning the beach she realized she’d swam a lot farther than she’d intended to so she grabbed a large smoothie for the walk back to her pile of clothes. The walk was long but invigorating, her senses teased by the exotic island and her surrounding beauty. This place would have been magical on her own but sharing the experiences with a man like Sadiq had taken it to a whole new level. I love him. She knew it was true weeks ago but right now, sitting on her towel while the breeze carried her hair off her shoulders and the sun dried her rapidly cooling skin she felt the truth of it down to her bones. She loved Sadiq and she couldn’t stand the idea of a world where he wasn’t in her life everyday.
“I’ll just have to become the woman he deserves.”
***
“You missed our lunch date.” Sadiq stood about three feet from where Abby sat in the sand looking like a gorgeous water nymph in a green bathing suit that matched her eyes. Air dried hair held thick windblown curls.
She froze at the sound of his voice, leaning back on her elbows for an upside down view of him. “No I didn’t. It’s only,” she grabbed around for her phone and peeked at the screen. “Oh sorry. I guess I’ve been out here longer than I realized.”
“So you didn’t miss lunch on purpose?” He’d been worried for the past two hours that not showing up was her way of telling him they were over. He figured it was the royal thing but he knew there was a chance it could be her cheating ex, at least he’d thought so until he saw two island girls wrapped around the man as he exited one of the resort restaurants. Emphasis on girls.
“No,” she shook her head vigorously, wild chocolate curls flew around her head like a halo and she leaned on her knees, looking up at him. When she removed her sunglasses Sadiq had to suck in a breath at the happy green eyes that flashed his way. So beautiful and full of emotion he had to stop himself from falling to his knees in front of her and wrapping her in his arms. “I didn’t sleep very well last night Sadiq and it’s all your fault,” she flashed a small smile but he saw the truth in the light purple crescents under her eyes. “I stopped trying to sleep very early and went for a walk. Then a long swim and another long walk. I guess I’ve been sitting here for hours. Thinking.”
He felt disappointment wash through him. She still hadn’t made up her mind about him. About them. “Have you reached any conclusions?”
She smiled and nodded. “I have.”
He felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth but he fought it. He couldn’t give himself any extra hope until she told him everything. “Would you like to share with the class?” Her eyes flashed amusement and she took his hands, pulling him down she was kneeling between the v of his legs and cradling his jaws in her hand.
“I’m scared Sadiq. What if I’m not enough for you? What if I’m not good enough? I mean this is kind of a big deal for you, right? I don’t want to be the reason you don’t Sheikh the hell out of Kaza’ah!”
He smiled and brought his hands to the back of her thighs, warm and sandy from her day at the beach. “That was about as clear as mud Abby. Do you love me.”
A grin slid across her face and her whole demeanor softened with love. Affection. “Oh Sadiq, I am so in love with you. That’s why I’m so scared.”
“I don’t want you to be scared,” he told her, holding on to her tight. Keeping her close.
“You need someone who looks amazing in tiaras and jewels and ball gowns, a woman who makes everyone she encounters feel special. I’m awkward and nerdy, no one feels special around me.” He opened his mouth to rebut her arguments but she pressed two fingers to his lips. He nibbled them and she smiled. “I love you Sadiq but I’m not sure if for us, that’s enough. This is a difficult, lifelong task. What if I’m not cut out for it?”
He couldn’t love this woman anymore if he tried. “The fact that you’re so worried about it tells me you are the right woman for the job. The one I need by my side.” He held her by the waist, caressing up and down her back while they couldn’t look away from each other. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you because you’d know that you do make everyone around you feel special. You chat with everyone, ask about their families and cultures, customs and traditions. They all hug you when you leave them.” He’d seen everyone from bellhops and waiters to the tanned and hardened fishing boat captains, smile and fall at her feet. Because she cared about each and every one of them. “They’ve all told me what a lucky man I am to have a woman like you in my life Abby. I couldn’t agree more. Meeting you and loving you has given me something I was worried I would never have. Excitement to take the throne. I thought of it as a death sentence, something I would have to endure until I had a male child old enough to take my place.” He could hardly recall the image of the Sadiq from before. That man saw nothing but a bleak, hopeless future ahead of him. “Now all I can think about is waking up to your beautiful green eyes, hugging your curves close and listening to you tell me why I’m wrong,” he laughed and pressed a kiss to her pink lips. “And mostly I think about filling up the palace with tiny royals.”
