The Sheikh's Island (Sheikh's Wedding Bet Series Book 4)

D
oes love solve all
?

Shiekh Rameez Molamid doesn’t believe in love. He only cares about looking out for his interests, and after winning Muharraq Island from the Khalidzack brothers in the wedding bet, he’s certainly proven that he can trust his instincts. But when a feud threatens to tear his family apart, he has to do what he can to make peace for the sake of his elderly mother.

Wynifred Fellows, author of the upcoming book
Love Solves All
, is brought in to heal the rift within the family. The last thing she expects is to feel a spark of mutual attraction for the handsome bachelor Rameez. With her publisher turning up the pressure, she really needs a win. But when Rameez and his cousin Haris begin competing for her attention, the feud—and the bedroom—start to heat up.

With tensions at a fever pitch, Wynifred knows the only logical thing is to force a confrontation, so she “strands” the three of them on Muharraq Island. What she doesn’t know is that dangerous art collector Anton Negatin is waiting to get his hands on the island, by any means necessary—even murder.

“
I
t’s all yours
,” Crown Sheikh Quadir Khalidizack said with a crooked smile. “I can’t help but wonder if this was your plan all along.”

Rameez Molamid only smiled as he counter-signed the paperwork making him the new owner of Murharraq Island. Although Rameez was closer in age to Quadir’s sons, he enjoyed a close relationship with the Sheikh.

“Do you care? In the span of one year, all of your sons are married. There was a time when you thought they’d be bachelors and rakes for many years to come, and yet now, thanks to me, they are all happily wed. You should be thanking me rather than accusing me.”

Thanks to a bet that Rameez had slyly suggested, Quadir’s three sons, Jaymin, Masoud, and Adil competed for the deed to the coveted island. The last brother still single in a year’s time won.

If, however, they all fell in love and married, the island went to Rameez.

“My sons will always trouble me,” Quadir said in good humor. “The only difference is now they have to answer to their wives as well. You, Rameez, played the game quite well.”

“I don’t play games, old man,” Rameez said with a wry smile.

“Then what do you call the bet? Tell them all they had to do was stay single to win? You knew that love would win out.”

“Logic,” Rameez corrected. “Logic won out. Once you narrow the focus to a single goal, that person will start to see all the options. Tell someone they should stay single, and they’ll be much more open to what could very possibly be their downfall.”

Quadir frowned. “Love is not a downfall, Rameez.”

“Of course,” the younger man said smoothly. “Your sons are happy, and that is all that matters.”

The Sheikh grunted, but there was suspicion in his eyes. “What about you, Rameez? Will you find love?”

“I am not a Sheikh and therefore not your concern.” While Rameez tried to keep his tone light so as not to offend his friend, his love life was not an open topic for discussion. Love wasn’t high on his list of priorities, and marriage wasn’t even on the list.

“You’re still my friend.”

Before Rameez could respond, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Happy for the interruption, he pulled it out and glanced at it. When he saw who was calling, fear settled in his stomach. “Would you excuse me?” he murmured. “I need to take this.”

He crossed the Sheikh’s office and stepped out to the patio that overlooked the impressive palace gardens, but he couldn’t enjoy the view. The call was from his mother’s doctor. Shifa recently suffered from failing health although the doctor didn’t seem to know why.

“Rameez here,” he said briskly.

“Rameez, its Dr. Nayad. I don’t want you to worry, but your mother hasn’t left her room in several days. When I examined her, I saw no signs of illness. No temperature or rash, but she complains of body aches and a feeling of heaviness. I would like to speak to you about her condition in private if you have some time to meet with me.”

He stiffened. “I’m at the Khalidizack household, but I will leave immediately. I can be there by mid-afternoon.”

“Excellent. I have another patient that I need to visit, but I should be back by the house shortly after your arrival.”

Rameez disconnected the call and turned only to almost run into Quadir. “Is everything okay?” the Sheikh asked quietly.

“My mother’s doctor,” Rameez said tiredly. “She hasn’t been doing well lately, but he’s always assured me that it seems to be nothing serious. Now, he wants to have a private word with me.”

Quadir frowned. “I wasn’t aware that your mother was ill. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have sent our doctor to take a look at her.”

The Sheikh’s wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s while the brothers were still teenagers and for the most part had regressed to the age of a child, preferring to spend time in her room under the watchful eyes of her caregivers. While she had moments of clarity, she rarely recognized her husband or sons for who they were, preferring to see them as family friends.

“Dr. Nayad is a concierge doctor and has an excellent reputation. I’ve been quite pleased with his service.”

“What does your cousin think?”

Rameez narrowed his eyes. “You know damn well what the answer to that question is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see my mother.”

Realizing that he had snapped at his friend, he stopped and took a deep breath. “My apologies, old friend.” At Quadir’s nod, he left the palace.

It took longer than he expected to navigate the heavy traffic in the city, and the doctor was waiting for him when he finally arrived.

“Dr. Nayad, I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

“You didn’t,” the doctor said dismissively. “Your mother is already asleep, which is just as well. She doesn’t want me to tell you my theory.”

Anxiety twisted in his stomach. “And what theory is that?”

“Rameez, I believe your mother’s deterioration of health is psychological. Despite what people may believe, stress and anxiety do take a toll on the body. I know things haven’t been easy with her and you and your cousin.”

“What does my cousin have to do with this,” Rameez demanded. “What is your point?”

“My point is that if you want to see improvement in your mother, you’re going to have to give her some peace of mind. And that starts with you and Haris.”

Simply hearing his cousin’s name made him grit his teeth. It wasn’t his fault that the man was unreasonable. “I assure you, doctor. The more distance between Haris and me, the better off things will be for everyone. Besides, he is not her son. There’s no reason for her to stress about it.”

“It’s a pity you feel that way. I think you know deep down that your mother cares for you both. There is no cure for a broken heart.” Dr. Nayad picked up his bag and carried it to his car. Rameez could only stare at him as the doctor got in his car and drove away. If there was one thing that he and his cousin did have in common, it was their love for his mother.

Asad, Rameez’s father, died when Rameez was only a teenager. Haris lost his mother as a baby, and Mohammed, his father, died not long after Asad. Shifa raised the cousins as though they were brothers and she was the only thing Haris had left to family.

Except for Rameez, but neither man wanted to admit that.

Praying that Dr. Nayad was wrong and that their mother’s health didn’t hinge on his relationship with his cousin, he turned and went inside.

As he eased her bedroom door open, he saw the empty bed. “Mother?” he called out in a panic.

“Rameez? What are you doing here, darling?” She walked around from behind the door clutching a photo frame to her chest. He looked her over critically. She’d lost weight since he’d last seen her, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

“Dr. Nayad called me.”

She frowned. “I told him not to. He is a terrible doctor.”

“He’s a very good doctor. Why didn’t you call me?” He didn’t want to scold her as if she were a child, but his overwhelming desire to protect her had him doing just that.

She waved her hand dismissively and eased herself to the edge of the bed. Her white night gown hung over her gaunt frame, and her long dark hair tangled over her shoulders. “Because it’s never anything serious. I’ve been feeling a little tired, that’s all. I think I might have a stomach bug.”

They both knew that wasn’t true. Rameez entered her room and helped ease her back onto the mattress. “You should call me when you’re not feeling well. I don’t care how unimportant you think it is.”

“I don’t want to bother you. You’re so busy,” she said with a smile. “You’re so successful.”

“You are more important than work,” he scolded gently, as he tugged the frame from her hand. “So, when you’re not feeling well, you need to call me.” He pulled the covers up around her.

Turning the frame around, his heart sank. It was a photograph of him and Haris hugging each other. They were still children and full of joy. Without saying anything, he placed the frame on the nightstand so she could see it from the bed.

“You should not be tending to an old woman like me,” Shifa said tiredly. “You are so handsome. You need to be out wooing women.”

“When I find the right woman, I’ll woo her right off her feet,” Rameez said softly. His mother narrowed her eyes.

“It breaks my heart when you lie to me. It breaks my heart when you lie to yourself. I don’t want you to be alone, Rameez.”

“Relationships take time and work, Mother. You talk as if you expect me to meet the woman of my dreams tomorrow and fall instantly in love. The world doesn’t work like that.”

Her eyes were already drifting shut. “You need love, my son.”

When she was asleep, Rameez leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Love,” he whispered. “It’s not an answer, Mother. Usually, it’s the problem.”

Rising from the bed, he turned out the light and quietly closed the door. Hoping to find something in the kitchen to eat, he stepped lightly down the stairs.

The next phone call he made wouldn’t sit well on an empty stomach.

* * *

W
ynifred Fellows tried
to tuck her hair behind her ear as it whipped around her. She felt almost euphoric when she leaned over the edge of the boat and glanced at the water below.

“Whoa,” Haris Molamid called out, as he grabbed her by the waist. “You have a very big job ahead of you. It won’t do if you fall in the water before we get there.”

She smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I feel like I haven’t been outside in ages!”

“Busy with lectures and press releases?” he asked with a handsome smile. He was tall and well-built with beautiful chestnut eyes and shoulder-length hair that he kept tied back. He’d contacted her a few weeks ago in her office and spent a few days talking with her to convince her to work for him. He was pleasant and charming. That wasn’t usually the case with her clients.

“Very busy, but a good kind of busy,” she admitted. “Still, I’m glad to get back to the root of my profession.” Her book,
Love Solves All
, was due to be released in a few months, and her publishers were running her ragged with constant media coverage. In the past three weeks, she’d spoken at four schools and a Family Mediation convention. Not to mention there always seemed to be some last minute edits to make. When Haris had contacted her to request help in mediating an issue with his cousin, she’d been hesitant, but his willingness to work with her wooed her. It wasn’t every day that someone willingly wanted a truce.

Her publishers were not happy. Still, she was only a plane ride away, and they mostly contacted her through email anyway. Granted that meant pushing back some of her other marketing engagements.

This is what I wanted to do,
she reminded herself firmly. The book deal, the attention, was all a bonus. She couldn’t put her original work on hold simply because she had too much to do.

As the small boat settled on the beach, Wynifred sucked in her breath. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” she whispered. The Island was rocky and covered in driftwood, but she loved the look of untouched land. Fifty feet in, the woods were dense and lush. “What’s it called?”

“Murharraq Island. The Khalidizack family recently signed the deed over to my cousin, Rameez. It’s been hard to pry him away from it.”

“I can imagine,” she murmured. It really was spectacular.

Another boat joined them from the opposite direction, and Wynifred watched it curiously. This must have been Haris’ cousin.

According to Haris, the two cousins had barely spoken to one another in years, and when they did talk, all they did was argue. According to Haris, Rameez was competitive and arrogant. They were trying to make amends for the sake of his mother. The whole situation sounded like a fairy tale. Wynifred practically melted inside at the thought of reuniting two cousins and making a family stronger.

Love was the glue to everything.

Still, when Haris spoke, it was clear that whatever happened between the two men was deeply rooted in the past. Wynifred didn’t like to pass judgment. It usually took both parties to ask for her help before she’d mediate their issues, but Haris’ story had broken her heart. In a feud like theirs, someone always got hurt.

But there were also two sides to every story. Wynifred couldn’t even begin to work until she’d heard from Rameez.

When the man stepped out of the boat, her breath caught in her throat. If handsome described Haris, sinful described his cousin. There were similar features. Their coloring was similar, but where Haris had light eyes, Rameez’s were dark and captivating. Rameez kept his hair cropped at the nape of his neck, and though Haris was clean-shaven, Rameez sported stubble across his chin.

He knew how to fill out a pair of pants. As he walked toward them, she had to struggle to keep her jaw from dropping open. She’d expected a suit and tie from a business consultant, but Rameez was dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting t-shirt. It was a good look for him.

A mouth-wateringly good look.

She smiled pleasantly and held out her hand, but his eyes swept over her and quickly dismissed her. “You had to bring your girlfriend with you? Really?” he sneered.