Page 21 of Sheikh's Pregnant Fiancée

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“You’re already besotted.”

Startled, Jarah looked out the window of his car to find his mother smiling at him from outside. He’d pulled up in the driveway a few minutes ago, but instead of getting out, he’d just been staring at the sonogram of his child.

“Hello, Mother.”

“I saw you drive up, but you’ve been in the car for ten minutes. I was too impatient to wait.” Nura glanced into the car and frowned. “Where is Aubrey?”

“She’s meeting Gwen and Callista at the university. She texted me an hour ago to say that she would not be home until after dinner.” Jarah frowned. “I impressed upon her the importance of being seen together now that we’re married. She told me that if we were eating out, then that might be important, but since I’d told her this morning that I might not be home for dinner, she didn’t understand my point.”

Smiling, his mother opened the door and stepped aside. “Your wife has impeccable logic. In the future, if you want to have dinner with her, you should tell her. It is all right to be in love with your wife, you know, and express your affection.”

Jarah just scowled, but he couldn’t say anything because his mother did think they were in love. He didn’t want her to realize that he’d lied to her.

“Now let me see my grandchild.”

She held out her hand expectantly, and Jarah happily handed her the picture. He was a little embarrassed at being caught staring at it, but it was just his mother.

“You know, when I was pregnant with you, Rihamel didn’t have an ultrasound machine. Your grandfather was a good man, but he wasn’t a family man, so he didn’t agree when Cyril asked for money to buy one for the hospital. So he sent me to England when I was six months pregnant. We did it again with Mikal, but by the time Zev was born, the hospital had raised the money itself. So with Zev and the twins, we have multiple pictures, but with you and Mikal, I just had the one, and I treasured them. When I was nearing delivery time and moody and angry with your father, I’d pull them out and look at them. Several times, I caught your father looking at them too.”

“It’s a boy,” Jarah said softly. “We’re having a boy.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Nura squealed, the smile melting years off her face as she embraced him. “A boy! Is Aubrey excited?”

Aubrey had been pale and sweaty most of the appointment, and at one point, she’d gotten sick. She’d claimed it was morning sickness, but Jarah knew it was nerves.

She was terrified about having a baby, and he didn’t know what to make of that. Why would she be scared? She was carrying the next crown prince. That should thrill her. It thrilled him.

His mother touched his arm lightly. “Your father is off with Silaah somewhere. Have dinner with me so I won’t dine alone.”

It had been a long time since he’d dined with his mother alone. It was a quiet and relaxing meal, and when Jarah returned to his suite, he knew that he would find it empty. The guards were to let him know when Aubrey returned.

It was well after ten before Aubrey walked in, a big smile on her face.

It slipped just a little when she saw him. “Oh, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I live here.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that since we’ve been married, I haven’t seen much of you. I assumed you would be out late again tonight.” She dropped her purse on the table by the door and groaned as she kicked off her shoes. “Next time you decide to buy me a complete wardrobe, you should know that ninety percent of women’s shoes are very uncomfortable.”

He didn’t like how tired she looked. He rose. “How do you feel?”

“It’s been a long day, but I haven’t had any more nausea. I think I’m going to head to bed.”

“First, some tea. My mother gave me a recipe that might help settle your stomach. Let me brew some for you.”

“You’re going to make me tea?” She laughed, but upon looking at his face again, she cleared her throat. “Sorry. That sounds nice. I’ll just sit here and…wait for you to do that.”

“You think I’m not capable of boiling water,” he said mildly as he moved to the kitchen. “When I came to Yale to study, I arrived with three guards and five servants. I had a whole house to myself. The wealthy flocked to me—they were used to my lifestyle—but then I met Travis Burns. He was a scholarship kid, lived in the dorms, and had a food stipend. I was drawn to him, enjoyed his company. I met his friends, and I realized that I wanted to be with more people like him. I wanted to be like him. I couldn’t get rid of my guards, but I did send the servants home. Travis and three others shared the house with me, and they taught me to cook and do laundry and some things my parents would not have approved of.”

Aubrey chuckled. “I think that’s important in college. Anyway, I take back my shock. I’m going to go change while the tea steeps.”

When she returned, she was dressed in a pair of black yoga pants and a fitted pink T-shirt. She was beginning to show just a little, a tiny, tempting roundness to her belly that hadn’t been there before. Her hair was back down, tousled and spreading across her shoulders, and she’d scrubbed off her makeup.

His body tightened. He was getting tired of sleeping alone at night.

Knowing that she liked sweet things, he added a little sugar to the tea and handed it to her. “How was your time at the university?”

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