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She knew all the children of his father’s first wives were older than Omar, but Hamdan was much older—old enough to be his father or hers.
Hiding her surprise, Delphi smiled. ‘Thank you. It’s lovely to meet you.’
Over the next few hours she repeated that sentence more times than she could count, as one by one Omar’s siblings came up to greet him and welcome her, only varying it once when Omar led her through the crowded room to meet his parents.
Then she said, ‘It’s lovely to see you again.’
As the only one of Rashid’s children not living in the Middle East, she had thought that Omar might be treated like the prodigal son by his father. But although Rashid’s greeting was affectionate, his blue gaze moved on with surprising speed.
Still, gazing round the room, it was impossible for her not to feel a twinge of guilt as her eyes leapfrogged Hamdan to each of Omar’s siblings in turn. Marriage and family were clearly important to the Al Majids. Only now, just like her mother had done before her, she was going to blow everything apart. Shatter the bedrock of their lives by divorcing their son and brother.
Heart pumping, she glanced sideways at Omar. Was he thinking the same thing? Was that why his hand felt so rigid? Her chest squeezed tight, the pain suddenly too big for her body. It made no sense, given the current state of their relationship, but she couldn’t bear to think that he was suffering.
‘Excuse me, Delphi.’ It was Hamdan, his handsome face apologetic. ‘Would it be all right if I just borrowed Omar for a couple of moments?’
She nodded, her smile aching as Omar followed his brother through the guests, emotions she had managed to contain for weeks now clawing at her, overwhelming her. Why had she ever agreed to do this?
A flash caught her eye from the other side of the room, where the photographer was now taking pictures of Omar’s father and his wives. Her hands clenched. She knew it was all perfectly legitimate, but it was making her nervous. Maybe she could find somewhere quiet to sit out the rest of the party. She turned, hoping she might slide discreetly away—
‘Delphi!’
A beautiful woman in an exquisite flute-sleeved robe the colour of ripe pomegranates was standing in front of her.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted to say hi, and that I love your dress. You look beautiful. You are beautiful.’
‘Thank you.’ Delphi smiled. She wasn’t good at small talk, but somehow this woman made it easy for her to say, ‘I love the colour of yours. It’s an amazing party, isn’t it?’
The woman nodded. ‘What’s amazing is that Baba agreed to cut short a business trip to be here. Oh, I’m Jalila, by the way—Omar’s sister.’
So ‘Baba’ must be Rashid. But surely he wasn’t still working? Delphi felt her stomach clench, but there was no time to pursue that thought.
‘I’m the one you haven’t met.’ Jalila laughed. ‘Although, to be fair, you might not have noticed there are so many of us.’
Delph screwed up her face. ‘I have to admit I did lose count after I got to double figures.’ She smiled at Jalila. All of Omar’s siblings were good-looking, and they shared his dark hair and eyes, but with her flawless skin and fine bone structure Jalila was the one who most resembled him.
‘It’s fine, honestly.’ Leaning towards her, Jalila lowered her voice. ‘Just tell me, though, did Hamdan introduce everyone in age order or alphabetically?’
Delphi hesitated. ‘I think it might have been age order.’
Jalila rolled her eyes. ‘He does that because otherwise Aisha and Ahmad would come before him. Brothers—honestly.’
Now Delphi laughed. ‘I know what you mean. I have three, and I love them, but they can be a real pain.’
‘Think yourself lucky. I have nine.’ Jalila smiled then, almost shyly. ‘But you got my favourite one, and I’m really glad about that.’
Delphi frowned. ‘You are?’
Jalila nodded slowly. ‘Honestly, none of us ever imagined Omar would tie the knot, and if he did we thought it would all be planned out, with a mile-long agenda. But it was so romantic...getting married on impulse like that. That’s how I know he must be crazy about you.’
Wordless, Delphi stared at Omar’s sister. Her hands were shaking, and she was fighting so many crazy and contradictory thoughts and feelings that her head was spinning. And some of those conflicting emotions must have shown on her face because the next moment Jalila took hold of Delphi’s hands.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so forward. I know we’ve only just met, but I’m so happy Omar’s found love. I know he’s rich and gorgeous...’ she screwed up her face as if the opposite were true ‘...but I also know how intense he can be, how fixated he is on proving himself.’
Proving himself? Delphi stared at her in confusion. Proving what? To whom? Her eyes flickered across the room to where Omar stood out from the crowd, and not just because he was taller than most of the other men in the room. His face was a wonder—all dark shadows and gold highlights—and his smile made him look as if he was posing for a photograph. Not the kind of man who needed to prove himself to anyone.
Jalila squeezed her hands. ‘Sometimes he can be his own worst enemy, but I can tell you get him. And I see how my brother looks at you and I know there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you. All you have to do is ask.’
Suddenly it was a struggle for Delphi to keep smiling.
