Page 50 of Sheikh's Secret Love-Child
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ITWASTHE grandest wedding in Khalian history.
Or so Shona was told at every turn.
It took days. It followed typical Arabic custom, and Shona found that she loved every part of that except the traditional separation of bride and groom. By the time they got to the actual wedding ceremony, and the reception that seemed to include every last person in the kingdom as well as the entire world, she thought she might fall to pieces if she didn’t get some time alone with Malak.
In bed and out.
But queens did not necessarily get what they wanted, or not instantly anyway, she discovered. She had to greet a thousand people. She had to smile and nod and talk about the orphan initiatives she was putting into play after the wedding, because she’d taken what Malak had said about the good she could do seriously. She had to remember the names of every important person who appeared before her and clearly knew hers, and found to her dismay that she had to draw on every last one of the comportment classes she had tried so hard to avoid.
She met neighboring kings. She met Malak’s brother and sister. Zufar, the man who had given up the throne, and the wife who clearly made him so happy, making it obvious he’d made the right choice. Galila, who greeted Shona as if they were already friends, which eased a kind of tension inside Shona that she hadn’t known she was holding onto.
It was as if they were already a family, Shona thought at one point, and she was a part of it.
Family.It was something she’d never had before. Not really. It was something she’d never believed in.
And it seemed to be the order of the day, she thought, when her brand-new husband and his brother and sister were all smiles, built bridges and olive branches, with their imposing half brother, Adir.
Even the old king made an effort, mustering up one of his rare smiles and wearing it throughout the reception, as he greeted all the people he no longer ruled. But the best part, as far as Shona was concerned, was when he took Malak’s hands, called him his son and his king in the next breath, then turned to Shona and welcomed her like a daughter.
More family. So much family Shona was tempted to believe in it despite herself.
Miles, of course, was beside himself with joy. The crown prince of the kingdom smiled and laughed and told anybody who would listen that his parents were married at last and they really were a family.
King, queen and crown prince together, at last.
It all made Shona giddy.
And this time, if the other shoe dared try to fall on her, she planned to burn it in midair.
Because the queen of Khalia wanted to believe in happy families and love, thank you. Not ugly old shoes.
Finally, it was time for the bride and groom to leave.
Malak took her hands and led her from the reception that sprawled over the entire first floor of the palace, which had been thrown wide open to let in as many members of the public as could fit, all wild with joy for their new king and this next chapter for their kingdom.
“This does not look like the way to your bedroom,” Shona told him when he led her outside.
“I am afraid you will have to wait, little one,” Malak replied, grinning. And then he led her across the wide courtyard to where a gleaming black helicopter sat waiting. He helped her on board, and soon enough they were aloft.
The pilot flew them up and over the capital city, with all its towers and bells ringing out the kingdom’s joy at their union. They continued out over the desert, until all there was in every direction were the rolling, brooding sands. And for a long time, there was nothing below them but the ripple of the desert, the odd tide, stretching out toward the horizon.
The helicopter began its descent, and it was only as it lowered that Shona saw where they were headed. A splotch of impossible green in the middle of all that sand. She caught her breath, because she knew what this place was—what it had to be—and it was even more magical than she could have imagined.
“Welcome to my oasis,” Malak said when he helped her out of the helicopter. “I regret I cannot give you a fairy tale. But I can give you this.”
“It’s perfect.” She smiled at him, her heart too big for her chest. “It’s all perfect.”
There were pools of sparkling water ringed by date trees. Palms rustled overhead, and bright tents waited on the far side of the pools, with stout walls of fabric to keep out the sand.
But in the middle of everything was Malak. And he was all that mattered. They could have been back in her falling down old house in New Orleans and she would have felt just like this.
Brighter than anyone should be without bursting into flame.
“I love you,” Malak told her when he led her into the biggest tent, which was furnished like an apartment—but like no apartment Shona had ever seen. A four-poster bed rose to one side, a living area complete with couches and pillows to the other, while thick rugs made it seem as if they weren’t in the middle of a desert at all.
Malak drew her to him and gazed down at her, and Shona forgot the luxuriousness of their surroundings—because there was nothing but him. Nothing but them.