Read Online Her Royal Bed by Laura Wright - Free Book Online

so sure. What gets to me is that I was so sure of it before, back in California. The restaurant of my own, a family of my own someday. That was my passion, what drove me. Then this man comes along and tells me he’s my brother—that back when my mother worked in politics, she met a man and had a short-term affair with him, and that this man was my father. Oh, and right, he also happened to be the Sultan of Emand—”
    â€œWhat?” Bobby prompted, watching her mouth drop into a apprehensive frown before his eyes. The sight bothered him far more than it should.
    â€œWell,” she said, shrugging. “I was sort of tossed into someone else’s life—a life that would probably thrill most people. I mean, Emand is beautiful and the people are great and I want to want to be a part of them. But I found myself only feeling discontented there, and then guilty because of all the wonderful things my brothers have given me, offered to me. But, honestly,that life—their life—makes me uncomfortable. I’ve never been out in front, you know? Celebrity holds no appeal for me. I like simple. I like being behind the scenes.”
    â€œIn the kitchen,” he said, following her thought, though the mutual joke made her smile.
    â€œDon’t get me wrong, I’m glad I know the truth about where I come from, and having brothers is a gift, but my life doesn’t seem to be my own anymore.”
    â€œAre your brothers making the decisions for you?” he said, his smile wavering as a thread of contempt lined his query.
    Her large, almond-shaped eyes held understanding. “No, Bobby. There’s no forcing me to do what I don’t want to do. But I do feel obligated to try to be an Al-Nayhal. That’s why I went to Emand, to experience the life and the culture, to learn as much as I could about my father and his family. And it was wonderful. But I felt like a tourist. I felt like I wanted to go home.”
    Bobby stared at her. Not since his parents were alive had there been such a conversation at his kitchen table. Most meals, he and Abel just talked about familiar things—the ranch, the food, the past, what had to be done the following day. On occasion a local politician’s name would be tossed around, dragged through the mud, but that was about it. Never were there feelings and hopes and flowery stuff like that mentioned.
    â€œMaybe you just want what every woman wants,” Bobby pointed out, leaning back in his chair.
    Her gaze moved over him in a slow, covetous way that made his chest and groin tighten simultaneously.
    â€œWhat’s that?” she asked.
    â€œSecurity.”
    â€œIn love or money?”
    â€œIn life.”
    She smiled then, a deep, warm smile that cut into his gut like a hot knife. “How did you get so insightful?” she asked.
    â€œMy sister probably,” he said without giving it much thought. “Despite her disability, that girl had wisdom beyond her years. She always knew what was really important.”
    Kimmy had tried to make Bobby see what was important in life, too. But trying to teach a dead heart to beat again was an impossible task and he’d failed her time and time again in everything but the ranch.
    Bobby stared into the green eyes of the woman who made his pulse shift erratically. In this, he wouldn’t fail his sister or his father. Jane Hefner Al-Nayhal had complimented him on the direction he’d taken with his choices and his future. Little did she know that Bobby was attempting to navigate her future as well, but in a direction not nearly as successful.

Five
    S ara, Eli, Daniel and May.
    They were four of the most wonderful children Jane had ever met. Talking with them and hearing how much they enjoyed coming to KC Ranch made her heart twist with admiration for the man who had made it all possible.
    Bobby Callahan was a few feet away, saying goodbye to May and her parents. The bright and