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But already the Palace machine was rolling into action. Arrangements were being made for her to become his bride and although it made her feel uneasy and out of control, she understood. Because of who he was, it had to be that way.
‘Don’t they mind that it’s not Kalila?’
‘Turns out that there was more to Kalila than either of us knew. I’m informed that she married her bodyguard within hours of us leaving.’
‘What?’
‘I would have preferred she waited. It would have been easier for her to let me take responsibility, but I suppose she was afraid that her father might find a way to stop her.’
‘Or perhaps she needed to take responsibility for her own decisions.’ Avery understood that, but it didn’t stop her being concerned for Kalila. ‘What will her father do now?’
‘He can’t do much. Rafiq is arranging for them to come back to Zubran, at least for the time being. But I don’t want to talk about Kalila right now. I promise she won’t suffer for her decision.’ He lowered his mouth to hers. ‘I want to think about us, and if we are discussing a wedding, I want it to be ours. Talking of which, do you intend to invite your mother?’ The question was asked casually but there was no such thing as casual when it came to discussing her relationship with her mother.
‘No. I’ve told you—we’re not really in touch much now.’
‘Perhaps a wedding would be a good time to reconcile.’
He had no idea. ‘Believe me, my mother would be the very last person anyone would choose to invite to a wedding. Not if they want it to be a happy event.’
‘And your father? I was thinking that this might be a perfect time to make contact.’
‘No.’ Suddenly cold, she pulled away from him. ‘I’ll give you a list of people I’d like to invite. Friends and people from work.’
‘In other words you don’t want to talk about your father.’
‘That’s right.’ Closing down the conversation, she slid from the bed and pulled on a silk wrap, knotting it firmly at the waist. ‘Not all families are like yours, Mal. I wish you’d try and understand that.’ Without giving him an opportunity to respond, she walked through to the bathroom and locked the door.
And this time he didn’t follow her.
Was this the start of it? she wondered, leaning her head back against the door and closing her eyes. Was this how it happened? The first crack. And then another crack, until the cracks became a rift, and the rift became a canyon and suddenly there was nothing between them but space that couldn’t be bridged.
‘It is not going to happen the way you’re thinking.’ His dry tone came from the other doorway and she felt a rush of exasperation with herself for forgetting about the second door, but also relief because she hated feeling the way she was feeling.
‘Please tell me that your apartment in the Palace doesn’t have two doors in the bathroom.’
He crossed the room to her, lean, powerful and confident. ‘It doesn’t, but unless you stop trying to knock down what we are building with every thought you have, then I’m going to remove all the walls and we will be living open-plan. I know which part of our conversation had you running from my bed and I won’t mention it again. If you don’t want to trace your father then that is your decision, but if you ever change your mind then let me know. I will use my contacts to find the truth.’
She already knew the truth but any guilt she felt at not revealing that was drowned out by more urgent feelings as he pulled her into his arms and brought his mouth down on hers.
And afterwards, hours afterwards as they lay in the darkness in sheets tangled from their loving, she told herself that it didn’t matter, that it didn’t make a difference, but the feeling that she was somehow deceiving him stayed with her and it was still with her when they finally landed in Zubran City.
The Old Palace, the Sultan’s official residence, was a fascinating labyrinth of private courtyards, soaring ceilings and opulence built on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Avery had planned parties in the most luxurious and exclusive venues in the world, but nowhere had left her quite as breathless as this place. The Palace was beautiful, but her real love was the gardens, particularly the water gardens that provided a cooling sanctuary from the blistering desert heat.
It became her favourite place to escape from the madness and chaos of the wedding plans, none of which seemed to require her input. As someone used to running things, it felt strange not to have a role in what was surely the biggest event of her life.
While Mal was occupied with state business, Avery flew back to London to see clients and deal with aspects of her own business that Jenny couldn’t handle. Far from being concerned about Avery’s marriage to Mal, her friend was delighted. Together they agreed to a few changes to the running of the business, giving Jenny more day to day control. Avery returned to Zubran knowing her business was in safe hands and feeling slightly redundant. It was a strange feeling. She loved her work and was proud of her achievements, but she knew that for her it wasn’t just a means to independence, but a shield against intimacy. She’d been afraid to share herself, afraid to trust, and her mother would have said that was a sensible approach. Until a few weeks ago, Avery would have agreed.
That was before she realised how good it felt to love and be loved. And she was loved, she was sure of that.
Mal loved her.
How could she doubt it? He loved her so much that he couldn’t wait to marry her. There was no hesitation on his part. He was so sure of himself and of her and that made her feel wanted in a way she’d never been wanted. Her mother’s only contribution as a parent had been to teach her that it was better to live her life alone. She’d never mentioned the richness of a life shared and Avery was starting to appreciate the flavour of that.
Ten days after they’d arrived back at the Palace she’d taken coffee and her work down to her favourite spot and was sitting in the shade reading through a document Jenny had sent through to her when Mal found her.
‘The entire Palace is searching for you.’
She closed the document she was reading. ‘I wasn’t hiding. I like it here. I love the water gardens. The sound is so soothing.’
