She walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She caught sight of herself in the mirror under the glare of the bathroom light. Under that light she could see what she’d hoped to keep from Daidan, but what she now knew she had to tell him. Her fingers traced the telltale silvery stretch marks down her stomach. Then she looked up suddenly into eyes that were afraid. What would he do when she told him she’d already had a child?
CHAPTER SIX
Ma’in was basking under brilliant sunshine when Taina and Daidan landed. Taina was treated like royalty in Finland, by virtue of being the only daughter of one of the country’s wealthiest families but she’d never been treated like actual royalty. Her previous experience paled into insignificance.
Paparazzi lined the arrivals hall and Taina was glad she hadn’t dressed down for the occasion. Daidan appeared to be totally comfortable with the fuss and attention around their arrival and for the first time Taina saw him in a different light. He’d dressed in robes for arriving in Ma’in. More comfortable, he’d said. And also because Tariq, the king and his older brother, was a traditionalist. Besides, the people liked it. It was fitting. Whatever the reasons, Taina thought Daidan looked sensational in the long white robes. They made his tall, lean body look taller somehow, and his dark complexion more exotic. He truly looked like a prince.
They were soon driving in a stretch limo down the wide avenue lined with exclusive boutiques at the end of which the royal palace sat, white and gleaming in the mid-day sun. The avenue of date palms that lined the pink-tinted procession-way provided welcome shade. Under their graceful branches, rainbows flickered as water sprang up from hidden irrigation pipes to keep the beds of white flowers fresh.
As they got out the car two tall men, both dressed in flowing white robes, came down to greet them. One, smiling and amiable, was slightly ahead of the other more austere and dignified one.
“Daidan,” the younger, sunnier Sahmir said, gripping Daidan by the shoulders and pulling him to him in a big brotherly hug. “Good to see you. How have you been?” And then he spotted Taina who’d just got out the car and stood behind Daidan, suddenly feeling very shy.
“Taina! What an unexpected surprise.” He glanced at Daidan. “You didn’t tell us to expect Taina!”
Daidan shrugged. “You’d find out soon enough. Anyway, it was a last minute decision.”
Tariq meanwhile had gone straight toward Taina and taken her hand and kissed it. “Taina, it is a real pleasure and honor to have you with us. Thank you for coming. We, as Daidan’s family, truly appreciate it.”
Taina was touched by the big man’s warmth and gentleness. He moved aside so Sahmir could greet her with a kiss on both cheeks. For a moment she marveled at the difference between the three men.
Then she looked up at Daidan and she saw such a heated gaze that she momentarily forgot the other two men and accepted his outstretched hand. Once he had her by his side he turned to his brothers. “Taina has returned to Helsinki,” he said simply. Trust Daidan to say “Helsinki” instead of “me”. But it looked as if the brothers understood fully.
“Good,” said Tariq.
“Didn’t think this was a social visit before she returned to wherever it was. Where were you again, Taina?”
She smiled and shrugged. It all seemed a long way behind her now. “Nowhere important.” By the look on Daidan’s face he liked the answer.
Taina had been to many beautiful and extraordinary places all over the world but, as they walked into the palace, she thought she’d never seen anything like this before. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor as they entered a large reception area, decorated in cream and gold. The walls soared up two stories high, with each story framed by a series of gold-trimmed balconies. The building and its furnishings were on a scale of glamor and riches she’d never before experienced.
And then there were the people—many fully robed—who bowed respectfully as the King and his family passed by.
“Taina!” She turned to face Tariq. “My wife, Cara, will be sorry not to have been here to greet you but we didn’t know you were coming and she’s busy with the baby. However I know she’ll want to meet you as soon as possible. As will my three children from my first marriage.”
“That’s Tariq’s way of saying, ‘prepare to be bombarded with questions by his kids’,” said Sahmir. “Rory’s and my first baby is due next month. We got married a couple of months ago. You won’t be able to stop her from meeting you as soon as she hears the news, either.”