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Just the opposite, in fact. Ani felt more like herself when she was with him than she ever had alone. And if that wasn’t an answer to all her questions, she didn’t know what was. “No. You’re right. I need to at least confront him about how I feel. Tell him the truth, then let him decide.” She straightened. “I’m going to do it. After the press conference. I’ll call you later and let you know if you need to pick me up tomorrow or not. Okay, sis?”
“Okay,” Gwen said, her smile evident in her tone. “And good luck.”
* * *
Rehaj was a man torn. He wanted to see Ani every second of every day, so badly it hurt. He wanted to get down on one knee and profess his undying love to her and ask her to stay with him, if only for a little while longer. He wanted to explore this amazing connection between them, to see if there was a solid future there, to see if she might come to care for him as much as he cared for her.
It was crazy. It was insane. It was all he could think about.
But he also did not want to stand in her way. She had a whole life in America he knew precious little about and he wouldn’t, couldn’t ask her to leave all that behind because of some reckless passion between them. He’d acted recklessly once before, and it had cost him everything. Dare he risk it all now for the sake of love?
He was so restless with indecision that he’d finally corralled himself in the family’s private conference room at the palace to gather his thoughts and get his head back on straight before the press conference. There was less than an hour now until he was due before the cameras and already his heart was racing. Feraz had commanded him to give a final answer about his relationship with Ani, amongst the other topics to be discussed, and Rehaj did not want to let his brother down. He needed to make a choice.
Sounds of preparations for the press conference filtered in from down the hall. They were setting it up in the palace’s grand foyer, amidst all his family’s treasures and triumphs. Press and local dignitaries were already filing in to see the speech, but Rehaj’s couldn’t seem to regain his composure. This was supposed to be his redemption, his moment to tell the world that there was nothing between him and Ani and that all the rumors were false. His moment to show everyone that he would be fine without the cabinet position he’d worked so hard and so long for. His moment to finally lay down his burden of guilt over Ayesha’s death. If losing the head advisor job and setting the woman he loved free wasn’t penance enough, he didn’t know what was. Back when he’d been seventeen, he’d been selfish, thinking only of himself. That reckless abandon was what had gotten Ayesha killed. Now, he would put Ani first.
His sisters had informed him that she would be at his press conference and he looked forward to seeing her there. They’d not really seen each other at all that week, and he’d heard through the family grapevine that Ani had undergone a bit of a makeover. She’d always been beautiful to him and always would be, but if changing her appearance made her happy, he would support it.
Rehaj gave a rueful chuckle. When his younger brother Raheem had fallen in love the year before, Rehaj had poked fun at him, thinking him weak for giving in to his lover. But now, Rehaj saw the strength in love, had experienced Ani’s support firsthand, and would take that feeling with him into the press conference now. It was time to stop running, stop hiding, and start facing life head on.
It was time to tell Ani how he really felt.
All their moments together on the island played through his head—the first time he’d met her on the docks, the time they’d spent talking on their balconies, the dinner they’d shared on the beach. Making love to her had been a true religious experience—those little moans of hers, the way she tasted, her tropical floral perfume tickling his nose.
How could he ever let her go?
But he would, if that’s what she wanted.
He pushed to his feet, a sense of purpose weighing heavy in his gut. He would give his speech, appease Feraz, show the cabinet what they’d be missing with him as leader by insisting on their ludicrous “transparency” stipulation. All the while, he’d only have eyes for his Ani.
She was the reason he was at this point now. Her help, her encouragement, her support.
He’d never forget her. He could never repay her. He’d love her forever.
After straightening his suit jacket and checking his appearance in the full-length mirror, Rehaj walked out of the conference room and through the halls until he reached the press conference. The foyer was packed with people and the lights were hot on his skin. As he took his place behind the podium, he searched the crowds and found Ani, stunning in a brilliant purple dress, near the back of the room. She looked regal as a queen.
My queen.
Thankfully, he’d memorized his speech and his movements?
??all with Ani’s help—so he got through most of it on auto-pilot. Good thing too, because all of his senses were attuned to the woman at the back of the room, her gaze tingling on his skin along with the bright lights.
As the press conference neared the end, he cleared his throat and inhaled deep. “One last thing, if you all will permit me. I must tell you that I was not entirely honest before. About my relationship with Miss Anastasia Brightbridge.” He glanced over to the side to see his family gathered, Feraz looking wary at best. “You see, while it’s true that there is nothing going on between us at present, that is not the way I wish for things to be. I must confess that during our time on the island, I fell deeply in love with Miss Brightbridge. She, of course, is under no obligation to return those feelings at all, and thus I have not pressed the issue with her. But since she is scheduled to leave Djeva tonight, I felt it only right that she should know what’s in my heart before she heads home to Texas. Thank you.”
A flurry of flashbulbs and reporters shouting questions at him had Rehaj temporarily lost in the chaos. Next thing he knew, Feraz was beside him at the podium, pulling him aside.
“What the hell are you doing?” he hissed in Rehaj’s ear. “You were supposed to make things better by giving this speech. Not start a new round of rumors flying.”
“What if she returns your feeling, Sheikh?” a voice said from somewhere in the melee.
Rehaj and Feraz both stopped and peered out into the crowd. It couldn’t be. Breath lodged in his throat, Rehaj leaned forward to squint through the bright lights and speak into the mic. “I’m sorry?”
Ani stepped forward to the edge of the dais where the podium rested, her beautiful smile only for Rehaj. “I said, what if I return your feelings.”
Stunned, Rehaj went down on one knee, for once not caring who saw or what the media did about it. All he cared about was Ani, here, with him and professing her love. “Then you would make me the happiest man on earth.”
“Well, then.” Ani knelt before him, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “Consider yourself happy, baby. Because I love you, Sheikh Rehaj Nazrani, with all my heart.”
He kissed her deeply then, conveying with his actions what he felt in his heart. “And I love you, mahbubi. With all my soul. Will you stay with me until we figure this whole mess out?”
