Page 53 of Unknown Royal Baby

‘I’m not particularly sporty but I used to play volleyball.’ Before her hectic job with a previous employer cut into her free time. ‘I joined to keep fit and I definitely felt healthier for it, but I loved the camaraderie most of all.’

She hadn’t realised until now how much she’d missed it. She’d had less time for friends after that.

Abruptly she became aware she and Isam still held hands. She looked at their intertwined fingers. There was nothing sexual in their touch yet it felt...powerful.

This man evoked such strong feelings, far more than a sexual yearning. He’d moved her with his talk of his sister and father. It was clear Isam had loved them, that their loss still hurt.

He felt deeply. How that appealed to her. Imagine being loved so steadfastly.

Now he was truly letting her into his life, sharing his hopes and emotions. Excitement rose. He’d opened up in a way that made her wonder if their future might be brighter than she’d thought. Perhaps, in time, there was a chance...

‘What are you thinking, Avril? Tell me.’

It wasn’t a command, but that coaxing, velvet voice was irresistible. She looked up and felt a beat of something pass between them. Heat rushed through her. She felt it climb her throat and pool deep too.

She could blurt out her neediness. How much she wanted from him. She could fret over his feelings. Or she could follow his example and simply commit to what now felt right.

Because she loved him.

Amazing that she hadn’t recognised it before.

‘You’re a good man, Isam. I know an unknown, foreign wife isn’t an ideal sheikha. I know Hafiz and others will try to use that against you, but I’ll do my best not to let you down.’

CHAPTER TWELVE

FORTHERESTof the day Isam battled a headache. He got them less frequently now but occasionally, when the flood of memory returned, pain came with it.

Pain because he was still healing? Or because the memories were bittersweet?

But he couldn’t wish them away. The memory of that last morning, his father’s ebullience at the prospect of his short vacation and at Isam’s news that his initiative for Nur could begin soon... That was priceless.

Isam rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his shoulders as he sat back from the desk. He knew the real reason for his pain—guilt lingering beneath his grief.

Because he’d lost his family and hadn’t been able to save them. Everyone, the doctors and his father, assured him he couldn’t have done any more for Nur, yet the burden of guilt would always lie heavy.

Now his father was gone too.

Isam had been told he’d done everything conceivable to save his father and the pilot. There’d even been amazement that, despite the severity of his injuries, he’d managed to drag them free before the chopper exploded. Yet that didn’t ease his guilt.

How could he alone have survived? Why him?

He felt as though he’d let them down.

An image of earnest brown eyes swam before him, dragging his thoughts from the past.

‘I’ll do my best not to let you down.’

He shook his head. As if Avril would ever let him down!

Technically he hadn’t known her long. Their working relationship had lasted less than a year and they’d only been reunited a short time. But he knew, as surely as he knew the view from this window, that he could rely on her.

Employing her had been a masterstroke. She’d handled every task assigned her and far more with competence and integrity. She’d so impressed that he’d wondered, during that week they’d worked side by side in London, why she’d settled for an assistant’s job, working remotely rather than aspiring to a more high-flying corporate job. He could imagine her managing her own enterprise.

He hadn’t realised then that she’d curtailed her career to care for her aunt. That made him respect her more.

Now she was to be his wife.

His pulse quickened, excitement stirring. And not because of her sterling work qualities.

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