Read Online The Sheikh's Accidental Bride by Holly Rayner - Free Book Online
Authors: Holly Rayner
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intelligent man, would agree to tie himself forever to a woman he’d never met before.
“Ok, fair enough. And what about that one?” She nodded her head towards the door behind them and to the left, next to the one Salman said was his own.
“Ah, that’s my oldest sister. She’s a mother. Six children, if you can believe it. All adorable little terrors.”
“And what is in her wing?” Nadya asked, suspecting she knew the answer.
“The dining room,” he said at first, surprising her. “And the ballroom. She throws amazing dinner parties. And the children’s rooms, as well.”
“And that one?”
“Servants’ quarters. And kitchens. My sister, Amani, is very active back home in improving the treatment of migrant workers. It’s a big problem, as I’m sure you already know, but not so much in Al-Ahradi, anymore. And that’s down to her. She works with our neighboring countries, doing what she can.”
Nadya found herself thinking that she was looking forward to meeting Amani, before she caught herself with a pang of regret.
“And that one?” she pointed at the last remaining side. She had to move on.
He smiled. “Elham, the second eldest,” he said. Music and entertainment. The piano is in there. And the listening room. It’s set up beautifully. I’ve got a recording studio, there for her. She uses it when she comes to visit.”
“And,” he said, leaning into her conspiratorially, “the movie theater is in there.”
“We should watch something,” she said. “I’d like to see it. From the inside.”
He nodded, but didn’t move to walk. “Of course. But after breakfast, I think. We never did have breakfast, did we?”
With those words, Nadya suddenly realized how hungry she was. All the excitement – the plans for escape and the realization that she was standing in the place of Salman’s dreams – it had served to suppress her appetite without her realizing.
“I could use some coffee, as well, if you’re offering.”
He asked a staff member to bring them a table and chairs, and they ate right there on the podium. She would have felt exposed up, Nadya thought, except that the courtyard itself, large though it was, still felt intimate. It was protected – their own private world. It had the same feeling of privacy that the inside of their hotel in the city had.
“Is it always like this with you?” Nadya asked, settling back into her chair, sipping her coffee. She felt full and satisfied enough to muse.
“Like what?”
“Like nothing else matters. Like the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
She hadn’t meant it to sound romantic. She meant it as a comment on his style, and his choices. But the words out loud made her blush with their implications.
“I’m glad you feel that way.”
She began to formulate a response, to try and make him understand that she was commenting on the architecture of his home, and his choice of hotel suite. But instead she let it stand. If she was supposed to be his fiancée, what was wrong with a little romance? She was pretending to be other Nadya, and other Nadya was supposed to fall in love with this man. If she let herself go a little bit down that road, what would be the harm?
With the thought of Other Nadya, though, she grew uncomfortable. She was sitting in the very same place as the woman would, in just a few days, form an unbreakable, lifelong union with Salman. This very spot, right here, was where their life together would begin.
“What’s wrong?” Salman asked, noticing her discomfort.
“Nothing,” she said. Looking at him, she meant it. His face had a way of banishing her worried from her mind. Whatever was going to happen in an hour, or two hours, or ten hours, she had him for the moment, and she may as well enjoy it. “I was just thinking the house looks bigger than what you had described. Inside it.”
He frowned.
“Ok, fair enough. And what about that one?” She nodded her head towards the door behind them and to the left, next to the one Salman said was his own.
“Ah, that’s my oldest sister. She’s a mother. Six children, if you can believe it. All adorable little terrors.”
“And what is in her wing?” Nadya asked, suspecting she knew the answer.
“The dining room,” he said at first, surprising her. “And the ballroom. She throws amazing dinner parties. And the children’s rooms, as well.”
“And that one?”
“Servants’ quarters. And kitchens. My sister, Amani, is very active back home in improving the treatment of migrant workers. It’s a big problem, as I’m sure you already know, but not so much in Al-Ahradi, anymore. And that’s down to her. She works with our neighboring countries, doing what she can.”
Nadya found herself thinking that she was looking forward to meeting Amani, before she caught herself with a pang of regret.
“And that one?” she pointed at the last remaining side. She had to move on.
He smiled. “Elham, the second eldest,” he said. Music and entertainment. The piano is in there. And the listening room. It’s set up beautifully. I’ve got a recording studio, there for her. She uses it when she comes to visit.”
“And,” he said, leaning into her conspiratorially, “the movie theater is in there.”
“We should watch something,” she said. “I’d like to see it. From the inside.”
He nodded, but didn’t move to walk. “Of course. But after breakfast, I think. We never did have breakfast, did we?”
With those words, Nadya suddenly realized how hungry she was. All the excitement – the plans for escape and the realization that she was standing in the place of Salman’s dreams – it had served to suppress her appetite without her realizing.
“I could use some coffee, as well, if you’re offering.”
He asked a staff member to bring them a table and chairs, and they ate right there on the podium. She would have felt exposed up, Nadya thought, except that the courtyard itself, large though it was, still felt intimate. It was protected – their own private world. It had the same feeling of privacy that the inside of their hotel in the city had.
“Is it always like this with you?” Nadya asked, settling back into her chair, sipping her coffee. She felt full and satisfied enough to muse.
“Like what?”
“Like nothing else matters. Like the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
She hadn’t meant it to sound romantic. She meant it as a comment on his style, and his choices. But the words out loud made her blush with their implications.
“I’m glad you feel that way.”
She began to formulate a response, to try and make him understand that she was commenting on the architecture of his home, and his choice of hotel suite. But instead she let it stand. If she was supposed to be his fiancée, what was wrong with a little romance? She was pretending to be other Nadya, and other Nadya was supposed to fall in love with this man. If she let herself go a little bit down that road, what would be the harm?
With the thought of Other Nadya, though, she grew uncomfortable. She was sitting in the very same place as the woman would, in just a few days, form an unbreakable, lifelong union with Salman. This very spot, right here, was where their life together would begin.
“What’s wrong?” Salman asked, noticing her discomfort.
“Nothing,” she said. Looking at him, she meant it. His face had a way of banishing her worried from her mind. Whatever was going to happen in an hour, or two hours, or ten hours, she had him for the moment, and she may as well enjoy it. “I was just thinking the house looks bigger than what you had described. Inside it.”
He frowned.
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