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His features tightened. ‘No, of course not. I misunderstood. I know it will take time for me to make it right between us, but I want to do that, Daisy.’
Her stomach flipped. ‘I believe you.’
‘And because you are clearly so much wiser than I in these matters, I ask only that you tell me how. What do I do to make amends?’
His hands dropped to her stomach and he closed his eyes, inhaling. ‘I want you and our child to be in my life. Please, Daisy.’
And she smiled because she knew he meant it, and because she wanted, more than anything, to grab the dream of this future with both hands.
‘Well...’ She pretended to think about it. ‘Perhaps we should put the divorce on hold. At least while I consider my options.’
He was disappointed, and there was a tiny part of her that enjoyed that. But she couldn’t string it out any longer—it was too cruel.
‘There are some things you could do to help me with that, you know.’
Hope flicked in his eyes. ‘Oh?’ Then, more seriously, his voice gruff, ‘Anything.’
She lifted a finger to his lips, silencing him.
‘Love me.’ That was it. Nothing more complex than that.
‘I do.’
‘Good.’ Her smile beamed from her. ‘Love me with all your heart, for all your life, and don’t ever stop.’
He pulled her against his chest, holding her tight, breathing her in. Their hearts beat in unison. Happiness burst through her.
‘Not only is that something I can manage, it turns out it’s completely non-negotiable.’
His kiss sealed that promise, and she surrendered to it, to him and to the future she knew they’d lead.
A year later, she stared out at the packed auditorium, anxiety a drum in her soul that was lessened only by the presence in the front row of her husband, the powerful Sheikh Sariq Al Antarah. Since returning to the palace, he’d insisted she further her piano studies. Leaving to attend a school like the Juilliard wasn’t possible—once their son Kadir was born, named for his grandfather, she found she didn’t want to go anywhere anyway. But Sariq saw no obstacle to that. He engaged world-famous pianists to come to the palace and work with her.
And now, all that effort had culminated in this. A performance that had sold out within minutes, the proceeds of which were going towards the charitable institution she’d established, helping women with mental health issues. Nerves were like fireflies in her veins but she closed her eyes and lifted her hands to the keyboard.
It was a perfect moment with infinite possibilities. She began to play and felt all the hopes of her childhood, the aspirations she’d nurtured for so long, bearing fruit. Who she’d been then, who she was now, unified in one dazzling, magical moment. She smiled, because she was truly happy, and suspected she would be for ever after.
Coming next month
BEAUTY AND HER ONE-NIGHT BABY
Dani Collins
Scarlett dropped her phone with a clatter.
She had been trying to call Kiara. Now she was taking in the livid claw marks across Javiero’s face, each pocked on either side with the pinpricks of recently removed stitches. His dark brown hair was longer than she’d ever seen it, perhaps gelled back from the widow’s peak at some point this morning, but it was mussed and held a jagged part. He wore a black eye patch like a pirate, its narrow band cutting a thin stripe across his temple and into his hair.
Maybe that’s why his features looked as though they had been set askew? His mouth was…not right. His upper lip was uneven and the claw marks drew lines through his unkempt stubble all the way down into his neck.
That was dangerously close to his jugular! Dear God, he had nearly been killed.
She grasped at the edge of the sink, trying to stay on her feet while she grew so light-headed at the thought of him dying that she feared she would faint.
The ravages of his attack weren’t what made him look so forbidding and grim, though, she computed through her haze of panic and anguish. No. The contemptuous glare in his one eye was for her. For this.
He flicked another outraged glance at her middle.
“I thought we were meeting in the boardroom.” His voice sounded gravelly. Damaged as well? Or was that simply his true feelings toward her now? Deadly and completely devoid of any of the sensual admiration she’d sometimes heard in his tone.
