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‘I am right where I need to be, Star Soames,’ he said, his voice loud, confident and carrying, causing tears to gather in her eyes. ‘And no. The horse was not enough,’ Khalif said, as if all joking was done and now he wanted her to know the sincerity of his words. Of his love.
‘I’m not completely sure that there will ever be enough ways for me to tell you how much I love you and why. But I’m going to try. You exploded into my life, dragging me by the arm and leading me to places I never expected.’
She blushed at the memory of how she had first encountered the Prince of Duratra, not having a single clue that he had been anything other than another tourist.
‘You put your trust and faith in me from the first, though I had not earned such a gift. You experienced, in the harshest of ways, the constraints of royal life and bore them without question, without argument or censure. You taught me things I didn’t know I still needed to learn and helped me to rediscover the things I knew but had forgotten. And in return I made you doubt your dreams. I will not forgive myself for that. I made you feel unwanted, and I promise never to let you feel that again. I made you feel shame by hiding you away, butIwas the one who should have felt shame for my actions. So now I vow to you, before the people of my country, that I will spend every day for the rest of my life being worthy of you—even if you choose not to do me the honour of becoming my wife.’
Star looked down at him, bent at the knee on the floor of the airport, and still the most amazing thing she’d ever seen.
‘What do you say?’ he asked, and the flash of uncertainty nearly broke her heart.
‘Well, I’m tempted to say that you should never ask someone to marry you in the negative, but that’s only really because you asked me to challenge you.’
A gasp of consternation that sounded very much like Amin caused Khalif to smile. He smiled because it was exactly how he’d hoped Star would reply, loving that she still surprised him and kept him pushing for more, for better. Her smile was a little wobbly, but her eyes were bright, clear and full of love he felt to his very soul.
‘Surely,’ she said, her voice carrying without effort, ‘my faith in my dreams would not have been that strong if it was shaken by one conversation? In as much as my sense of self would have to have been weak if I blamed you for making me feel unwanted or ashamed. And how could that be, when you were the one to show me that I have been looked for all my life, wanted and cared for by my family through centuries? When you were the one who has shown me that reality can be even more romantic and wonderful than fantasy?’
She shook her head as if in wonder that he hadn’t, couldn’t see what she saw in him, her love for him. He got to his feet and reached for her, cupping her jaw in his hands, taking what felt like his first breath since the early hours of that morning as she rested her head against his palm.
‘Ask me again,’ Star whispered, her eyes locked with his, lit with love and a happiness that made his chest burn.
‘Will you, Star Soames, be my wife, my love, my partner, my Queen?’
‘Yes,’ she said as a tear of happiness rolled down her cheek.
‘I love you so much,’ he whispered so that only she could hear.
‘Good,’ she replied, with a cheeky smile that made his heart soar. ‘Now, please, can you take me home?’
‘To England?’
She shook her head and smiled, playing with the strands of the necklace. ‘No. To Alhafa...to the desert.’
‘As you wish,’ he said, his heart full of love and peace.
‘Afterwe have couriered the necklace to my sisters,’ Star said, with light sparkling in her eyes.
‘I know just the man to do it... Amin?’
EPILOGUE
STARSTOODONthe balcony of the suite she shared with her husband at Alhafa, gazing out at the view of the desert she would never tire of.
She could hear her husband in the shower, and the scent of eucalyptus oil was heavy on the steam escaping from the bathroom. She inhaled deeply, trying to catch it before it disappeared, loving the scent she always associated with her husband.
She blinked away the jet lag from the time difference between Duratra and the Dordogne, smiling as images from Skye’s wedding to Benoit Chalendar filled her mind and heart. Her older sister had looked breathtakingly beautiful, the love she felt for her husband shining so bright it touched each and every guest. Their mother had cried through the entire ceremony, just as she had at Star’s wedding, stopping only for a short while to laugh at Summer’s daughter Catherine who, despite her mother’s intentions, absolutely stole the show. But only for a heartbeat. And none of the sisters would have had it any differently.
The relief following her mother’s successful treatment had been both shocking and surprising in its intensity. Khalif had been there and supported her through an aftershock that she had not expected, as all the fear, the hurt and pain she had kept at bay during their search for the jewels had run free onlyafterthey had accomplished all they had set out to do. Khalif had held her, comforted her, reassured her, soothed her and loved her through it all.
Star absentmindedly smoothed a hand over her stomach as she looked down at the sapphire wedding ring on her fourth finger of her other hand, remembering not only Khalif’s proposal but her own magical wedding day six months before.
A smile lit her features and her heart as she thought of how the whole of Duratra had turned out to watch the wedding of Sheikh Khalif and his bride. Celebrations had filled the streets for days and Star had found a welcome and acceptance she could never have imagined. The love that Khalif had shown her in the year since they had first met was something wondrous to her and she thought she’d never have too much of it.
She smiled now as she remembered how protective he had been of her, especially in the first few months of their engagement and marriage. She would never forget the look of shock on Khalif’s features as she’d requested Amin as her personal advisor. He had asked her again and again if she was sure, but Star had been determined. Within weeks, Amin and she had become allies and she now considered him one of her most loyal and trusted friends as he guided her through royal etiquette and protocol. And, surprising to almost everyone, she hadn’t caused an international incident.Yet.
As another wave of tiredness hit, she yawned, despite the excitement thrumming through her veins. They were supposed to be heading into the desert with Nadya, Nayla and Khalif’s parents and, although she would absolutely love to go with them, she wasn’t sure she was quite up to it.
Star had been there when Khalif had revealed the suite to the twin girls, and been half deafened by their squeals of excitement and squeezed as hard as six-year-old girls could squeeze with their love and thanks. Surprising both their uncle and their grandparents, Nayla had been the first up the tree, while Nadya had had to be bribed away from the bathroom, but both loved their bedroom equally. Hafsa and Bakir’s eyes had sparkled with tears of gratitude and love and Khalif had held her hand as if he would never let her go.
