The Sheikh's Stolen Bride(27)
“You are my perfect half,” he said throatily, finally, lifting his face just enough to stare at her with disbelief.
“No. You’re mine,” she corrected.
He cupped her cheeks, holding her still, and then he smiled. A smile that reached right into her soul and pieced her pierced heart back together. “You’ll marry me tomorrow?”
“I’d marry you right now if we could.”
His eyes lit up. “Let’s do it.”
“What?” She laughed. “We can’t. Everyone’s here and …”
“So? I don’t think your father would mind if we hijacked his birthday for such an occasion. Do you?”
She bit down on her lip. “You’re serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
“But who would perform the ceremony? It doesn’t make sense. Surely we need time to organise …”
“Give me half an hour, Charlotte, and your blessing, and it will be done.”
It was madness! Craziness! But hadn’t their whole relationship been just that?
Surrender to the wave, she told herself, and she nodded. “Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The crowd was silent as King Rama took the stage. At seventy, he was still spry and youthful, a courtesy of his athletic pursuits. He looked down on the guests with a sense of pride.
“My friends,” he said, encompassing political allies and enemies, powerful business men and those men and women he truly adored most on earth. “I thank you for your attendance this night. Having you here to celebrate my birthday is an honour.” His eyes moved sideways, landing on his wife Eloise. “My life has been richly blessed. This kingdom is a gift I cherish, ruling it has been my life’s work. Marriage to my Queen fills me with joy, and our daughter, Charlotte,” he scanned the crowd though he knew she was not there, “has been my crowning achievement. Charlotte is a woman who knows her own mind and who will serve our people well. She is intelligent, courageous, kind and loyal. And tonight, it gives me great pleasure to tell you she is about to be wed.”
There was an immediate outbreak of conversation and Rama lifted a hand to silence the crowd. But surprise was immense and it took almost a minute for the talking to stop.
“It is not the husband I chose for her, but better than that, it is the husband she has chosen for herself. I invite you to stay where you are and witness the ceremony. Be amongst the first to welcome a couple that will, one day, rule this land.”
Applause broke out like fireworks.
Charlotte, waiting just outside the ballroom, stared at Mika with an enormous smile. She’d changed back into the white dress she’d worn to Ashad’s ball earlier. Her ceremonial tiara had been collected from the vault and sat high on her head, a shimmering collection of ancient stones that sparkled almost as brightly as her enthusiasm.
“Can you see him?” She asked.
“No,” Mika grinned at her friend. “Be patient.”
Eloise emerged then, her eyes suspiciously moist. “May I have a moment, Mika?”
Mika nodded. “Of course, Eloise.” She had long ago dispensed with formalities when it came to the royal parents.
Charlotte waited, uncertain how her mother would react to the development.
“I have never seen you so happy,” Eloise murmured, staring at her daughter with wonderment.
“I’m in love,” she said simply.
“I can see that.” She shook her head. “I should have seen it then.”
Charlotte swallowed. “You wanted me to marry Syed…”
“I wanted to know you safe. I became so fixated on protecting you from men that I didn’t stop to see how grown up you are now. You don’t need my protection. And you have chosen for yourself so much better than we did!”
Charlotte laughed. “Don’t let Syed hear you say that; I’m sure he’d be quite offended.”
“I don’t mean to insult him. I’m sure he is a wonderful man, too. But Ashad is so in love with you. He came to see us today, and the way he spoke was so lavish. He looks at you and sees you as you really are – the most beautiful, kind-hearted, wonderful woman on earth. I know he will always love you, Charlotte. What more could a mother want?”
Charlotte shook her head as a mix of euphoria and frustration swirled through her. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt that Adin is honouring all of the promises agreed to in the marriage to Syed?”
“Not one bit,” Eloise laughed.
But Charlotte’s eyes were searching as they met her mother’s. “I have spent this entire evening feeling miserable and bereft. Why didn’t you tell me he’d been?”
“He didn’t want you to feel pressured,” she said quickly. “He was adamant that your marriage avoid any appearance of being arranged. And it isn’t. You are marrying for love.” Eloise put a hand on her daughter’s. “Do not let it bother you that your father and I support the marriage one hundred percent.”
Charlotte laughed softly, tears of joy sparkling in her eyes. “I’ll try.”
The crowd, chatting amongst themselves were quiet again, and when Charlotte peered around the door, she saw Ashad. Handsome, perfect, her-other-half Ashad. She stared at him and everyone else in the room faded away. It was just them.
“I am a Sheikh of Kalastan,” he began, his voice booming, his manner confident by birthright and nature. “And I stand before you, the Falinese people, offering my service and fidelity for the rest of my life. Falina is a place that has taken much from me.” The crowd was eerily silent. “It is here, on this soil, in this country, that my parents were murdered.”
Charlotte’s eyes swept closed.
“And here, in your city, that I met your Princess Charlotte and finally understood my purpose for being.” She had intended to stay hidden until the ceremony began, but her heart was being pulled towards his, inexorably, as though by an invisible string. She peeked around the door and then stepped through it, into the room. His eyes found her instantly, and the crowd parted.
She was conscious of their smiles as she went; the way well-wishes were whispered at her as she past. But really, her mind, her heart, her everything, was trained on the man ahead. She moved to the front of the room and stood just in front of him.
“Are you ready?”
She stared at him, and then stood on tiptoes. “I just realised something,” she whispered into his ear.
“What is it?” He responded in kind, a smile tipping the corners of his mouth.
“I don’t think I’ve told you yet that I love you.” And her smile showed the truth of the statement. “I love you,” she said again.
And he laughed.
He laughed out of joy, love and gratitude.
The kingdom laughed with him.
Happiness abounded as it would, forever after.
THE END
Following is an excerpt from THE SHEIKH’S MILLION DOLLAR BRIDE, book THREE in THE SHEIKHS’ BRIDE SERIES.
THE SHEIKH’S MILLION DOLLAR BRIDE
Clare Connelly
All the characters in this book are fictitious and have no existence outside the author’s imagination. They have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names and are pure invention.
All rights reserved. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reprinted by any means without permission of the Author.
The illustration on the cover of this book features model/s and bears no relation to the characters described within.
First published 2017
(c) Clare Connelly
Cover Credit: adobestock
Contact Clare:
http://www.clareconnelly.co.uk
Blog: http://clarewriteslove.wordpress.com/
Email: Clareconnelly@outlook.com
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PROLOGUE
“I know you think you loved her once.” Zahir’s expression carried an apology. “But it’s time to move on and forget.”
Syed stared out at the old city without seeing the ancient buildings that were fringed by desert sands. “I have tried.”
“Try harder.”
“If I told you to forget about Violet, would you?”
Zahir’s expression flashed with a strong emotion. “It’s completely different. She is my wife.”
“So? Why can’t I marry Sarah?”
“Because it would kill father! He is close to death, and news of it would surely end him.”
Syed compressed his lips, his eyes hard in his handsome face. “I can’t explain in words how I felt for her; how I feel for her…”
“She is not suitable.” Zahir spoke the words quietly but there was a steely determination in them that Syed knew he ought to heed.
“Oh?” Syed demanded. “And why not?”
“We have talked about this already.”
“Five years ago we talked about it,” Syed was adamant. “When I was engaged to another woman. To a princess of a country we want a good relationship with. My engagement has ended. I am free now.”
“Yes, free, but not to marry Sarah Smith. Never to marry her.”
Syed made a sound of muted anger. “Why not? What’s wrong with her?”
“You ask this question seriously?”