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He placed a lingering kiss on her lips before he raised his head. ‘Shhh, don’t spoil my plans.’ He glanced at his phone nearby. ‘It’s almost three fifteen. One more minute,’ he murmured.
Esme’s eyebrows rose. ‘You remember the exact time?’
‘It was supposed to be a momentous occasion, jamila. It’s imprinted in my memory.’
The phone beeped softly. Zaid’s gaze shifted from it to her face, his features settling into the same mask of love and devotion she’d witnessed so many times in the past year.
‘I love you, Esmeralda. So much more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I thank Allah every day that he brought you to me. That you found space in your heart for me. Everything that I am is devoted to you. I will love you even after the breath leaves my body.’
‘Oh, Zaid... I love you, too. So much it hurts sometimes.’
He lowered his head and they sealed their love with a kiss. Then he raised his head and elevated a brow. ‘So, are you happy you stayed?’
She laughed. ‘Ecstatic. Not that I had a choice after my renunciation of my title was so thoroughly rejected.’
They both laughed, then her joy dimmed a little.
Zaid caressed a thumb down her cheek. ‘You’re thinking about your father again.’
She nodded. ‘Being a mother myself now, feeling the way I do about Amir, it hurts to think that I was so unlovable that he couldn’t—’
‘No, habiba. It wasn’t you who was unlovable. It was your father. Not everyone is cut out to be a father. He failed in his duty to you and to your mother. You have nothing to blame yourself for.’
Although she nodded, her heart shook with sadness as she thought of all the opportunities she would never have.
Jeffrey Scott’s death in prison from a heart attack two months into his eight-year prison sentence had come as a shock. Despite everything, Esme mourned the fact that they would never have a normal loving relationship and that he’d never get to meet her beloved son, Amir. But that too was something she would eventually put behind her.
Especially when she had more love than she could ever dream of from the husband of her wildest dreams and the son who made her heart burst with gratitude and joy every day.
As if summoned, Aisha mounted the steps to the deck with her precious bundle cradled in her arms.
‘Ah, a much better interruption this time round,’ Zaid observed with immense satisfaction. ‘Although I was hoping to follow that declaration of love with a very physical demonstration.’
Esme smiled and dropped a kiss on his mouth. ‘You’ll get your chance later, I promise.’
‘I’ll hold you to that,’ he drawled. Then sat up to hold out his arms for his son.
She watched him cradle their son in his strong arms, his face a picture of utter bliss. And then, just because she couldn’t help herself, Esme rose too, and put her arms around both her men.
The man of her heart glanced up and smiled, deep abiding love blazing in eyes. ‘I love you, Esmeralda.’
The last of her sadness evaporated. ‘I love you, too, my Sultan.’
In the brilliant sunlight, the son of her soul gurgled happily as he watched his parents seal their love with one more kiss.
* * * * *
