The Sheikh's Virgin Bride(27)

Feeling the urge to give in to my passion for her, I jerked away. My back to her, I sucked in deep breaths and willed myself not to move, not yet.

“I’m sorry.”

Her response came back reassuring, breathless, too. “It’s okay.”

“I just…got carried away.” I craned my neck so I could look at her—my sweet-tasting, amazing beauty. “I care about you so much, and I am so attracted to you, I…”

Now, she was the one putting a finger to my lips. “Shh…”

She laid back down and patted the space beside her. I wrapped my arm around her and allowed myself nothing more. At first, it took every particle of my determination not to return my lips to hers, to rip my gaze away from her beautiful face, those blue, shining eyes, that soft smile.

But, when I did, when I allowed my gaze to settle on the night above us, it was spectacular. It was like before and yet it wasn’t; it was even better. The sky was alive with stars, more than I’d ever seen in my life. It was as the heavens themselves were celebrating with us, as if this was the universe’s wedding gift for us.

And, as I held her closer, my Lacie, it occurred to me that I was truly, blissfully, overwhelmingly happy, for the first time in my life.





Chapter Nineteen





Lacie




That night, we finally made it to the hotel. The next morning, I awoke in a bed of my own, and after Rashid and I enjoyed a relaxing, delicious breakfast together, the rush began.

The next few days passed as one blur of activity: dress fittings and dance lessons, talks with his mother and our wedding planner. So much happened that I barely had time to see Rashid, let alone address my feelings for him.

Meanwhile, every day, my voicemail got fuller until, two days before the wedding, it got filled up entirely. That night, I finally checked it. The first few messages were as expected: my manager freaking out that I had been serious when I’d told her I was taking two weeks off and would not return indefinitely, my mom and dad sending their love and worries, and then, finally, Nadia.

“Hey there, stranger.” Her snarky voice came through the speaker as I played the message, and I felt myself cringing. “So, you’ve officially disappeared and aren’t returning any of my messages. You better call me, now. I don’t know what the hell’s going on with you.”

It took me a few minutes on my bed, breathing deeply, before I could bring myself to call her back.

“Lacie! Where the hell have you been?”

At the sound of her voice, I paused. For a second, I considered just hanging up, blocking her, and never speaking to her again. But then, her irritated sigh came over the line, and I knew. I had to do this.

“I’m in Zayed-Kharan.”

“The Middle East? No way! What happened? Did you get fired? And why didn’t you call me?”

“No, I didn’t get fired. Although I’m not sure I’ll have my job when I get back home.”

“Well, why are you there, then?”

I took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“I met a man. He’s a prince and he’s invited me here to marry him.”

For a few moments, there was no response. Then, came the short, high-pitched bursts of laughter.

“Hahaha! Oh Lacie, you crack me up.”

When I said nothing, gradually, the penny dropped.

“Lacie, you aren’t serious…you don’t mean…”

“Yes, I am. I don’t know when I’ll be back, to be honest.”

At this, Nadia flared back up.

“Oh, really? And I don’t suppose you thought of my wedding in a few months, now did you? No, you were just so desperate to find a man that would have you that you jumped at the first one who said “hello” to you. God, Lace, I knew you were lonely, but this…”

I waited until she was finished, until her insistent angry voice had dimmed.

“You want to know what I think?”

And, as she was about to tell me, suddenly, the words flowed out of me.

“No, Nadia, I don’t. I don’t want to know what you think. I’ve spent half my childhood and way too much of my adult life hearing your thoughts about every single one of my choices from my other friends to the socks I wear. And you want to know what I think? I think you’re a stuck-up, hateful woman who never has anything nice to say to anyone, and one who I’ve let rule me for far too long. And so, yes, Nadia, I guess you could say that I won’t be making it to your wedding.”

There was a shocked pause, then her voice came over the line once more.

“Lacie, I swear to God—”

“Goodbye, Nadia.”

And then, I ended the call.

For a second, I was in shock. Then, as the reality of what I’d just done sunk in, I leapt up and skipped around the room. Every time I passed the ornate mirror, I paused to say the words to my face, to look at my reflection as I said them.

“I did it, I did it, I did it!”

And I was so happy, so jubilant, and felt so powerful, that I made a terrible mistake. I called them. My parents.

Someone I didn’t recognize picked up on the first ring.

“Lacie.”

“Mom, is that you?”

The hoarse, half-whisper hadn’t sounded like her at all.