The Sheik's Secret Bride (9 page)

“There’s nothing to tell,” Liana said, refusing to think about the kiss they’d just shared. While it had been amazing, it didn’t mean anything. She quickly recounted her meeting with
Malik
and how she’d come to be at the palace rather than the teacher residences at the
American
School
.

“Most intriguing,”
Fatima
mused. “Not like
Malik
at all.” She regarded Liana thoughtfully. “
Malik
is a great many good things, but he’s not what you Americans refer to as a people person. He’s generally reserved. Heidi, his sister-in-law, can get through to him. She always has. I believe it’s her irreverence for his authority, and the fact that she treats
Malik
like a regular person.”

“He is a regular person,” Liana reminded the queen. “He has exceptional responsibilities, but that doesn’t make him any less human.”

“Really…”
Fatima
took another sip of tea. “How interesting you should think so. Most of
Malik’s
acquaintances would not agree with you. They would say he was quite removed from the rest of us.”

Probably because they hadn’t been kissed by him, Liana thought humorously. There was nothing like a passionate embrace from a handsome prince to remind a woman that he was very much a mortal man.

“So how are you adjusting to life in El
Bahar
?” the queen asked.

As far as smooth transitions went, it left much to be desired, but Liana was determined to play along. She found herself liking the grandmother of the Crown Prince.

“I’ve never lived in a palace before,” she admitted. “It has its benefits, as well as its drawbacks.”

“The palace is very beautiful,”
Fatima
said. “You and your daughter must visit me in the harem for tea.
Perhaps on Saturday.”

“That would be nice.” Liana answered politely even as she wondered if they would still be here on Saturday. Just because she’d had a moment of mind-stealing passion didn’t mean that she’d changed her views on having her own place. If
Malik
thought he could seduce her into staying at the palace, he was going to find himself very startled when she left.

Fatima
smiled at her. “I hope you’re going to be very good for my grandson. He needs that.”

“Because he misses his late wife?”

Fatima
’s friendly expression faded as if it had never been. Her expression hardened just as Liana had seen
Malik’s
do.
Fatima
stiffened,
then
set her teacup on the table.

“I will not speak of that woman,” the queen announced as she rose to her feet. “She might have been of royal blood, but she was not worthy of the house of Khan.”

“I’m sorry,” Liana said quickly. “I didn’t mean to say anything offensive about
Malik’s
late wife.”

“You did not. You could not, as you are unaware of what happened.”
Fatima
smiled tightly. “Do not trouble yourself, child. While
Iman
will never be dead enough to suit me, she is out of our lives and we are the better for having her gone. I have trespassed on your hospitality long enough. I bid you goodnight.”

With that,
Fatima
departed, leaving a very bemused Liana staring after her. The rich and royal truly were different, she thought, feeling slightly bemused and very confused by all that had happened.

The girl caught on quickly,
Malik
thought with some pleasure. After three days,
Bethany
was fearless on horseback, which meant their riding lessons had been successful. He wanted her to learn the mechanics of a good seat and a combination of gentle firmness with which to guide her mount rather than have to overcome any terror at being on top of such a large animal. She was a natural, taking to the saddle with the balance of someone born to the sport.

“I want to gallop across the desert,” she said with a small pout as they circled the large training ring. “This is boring.”

“This is practice,” he told her patiently. “You would not like falling and breaking a bone. Casts are uncomfortable and itchy.”

The pout turned into a grin. “What did you break?”

“My arm.
Twice.”

Blue eyes gazed at him. “Mommy says that to make a mistake once is good. It means we’re stretching ourselves and learning something new. But to make the same mistake again is really…”
Bethany
pressed her lips together and didn’t finish her sentence.

Malik
wondered if her reticence was good manners on her part, or a sudden realization that he was a prince and it didn’t do to call him stupid. He hoped it was the former because he liked being with
Bethany
. The majority of her charm came from her intelligence and her artlessness. She didn’t know the first thing about having a conversation with a member of the royal family. To her, he was just an adult who had agreed to grant her wish of learning to ride.

“My father told me the same thing,” he said solemnly. “He also forbade me to jump my horse again.”

She frowned at him. “But if you broke your arm twice, that means you didn’t listen to him.”

“You’re right. And I paid the price.”

She mulled that over. “I think I’ll listen to my mom and to you. I don’t want to break anything.” She eyed the gate of the training corral,
then
sighed. “If we can’t go out, can we at least go faster?”

“Of course.”

She flashed him a grin of pure pleasure,
then
urged her horse into a trot. The patient gelding did as she requested, bouncing her along in a bone-jarring gait that made her thick, blond braid dance up and down on her back.

“Try cantering,”
Malik
called. “It’s more comfortable.”

Bethany
’s expression changed to one of concentration. She leaned over the horse’s neck and squeezed her thighs for all she was worth.
Malik
doubted the horse felt the pressure, but he sensed her intent and switched to the smoother stride.
Bethany
circled him around the ring,
then
executed a perfect figure 8 before slowing to a walk and moving next to
Malik
on his horse in the center of the ring.

“Can we go out of the ring tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I think you are ready.”

She beamed at him and together they turned toward the stable. The groom on duty opened the gate to let them through.

“I’m having the best time in El
Bahar
,”
Bethany
confessed. “I thought I’d miss home a bunch, but I don’t. I mean, I miss my friends and all, but I’m making new ones. Mommy promised I would and she was right.”

“What about your father?”
Malik
asked before he could stop himself. “Do you miss him?”

Bethany
reined in her mount. They were on the tree-lined path between the corrals and the barn.
Malik
stopped next to her. He reached over and touched her arm. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I’m not sad,” she told him. “I don’t miss my dad very much because I don’t really see him.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s kinda complicated, but the main thing is he’s really interested in racing cars.
So all his free time and money goes into that.
He would rather buy a new car engine than send child support.”

She paused. “Mommy always says it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me, but instead that Daddy isn’t practical. He doesn’t understand that buying me shoes and stuff is more important than his race cars.” She shrugged. “I didn’t mind that so much, but I used to cry when he would promise to come see me on Saturdays and then he’d forget. Or he’d take me to a race and leave me in the pit all day by myself. I didn’t like that. It was scary and loud.”

Malik
stared at her young face. She seemed too small and innocent to carry such burdens. He thought of Liana’s ex-husband and wished the man were a resident of El
Bahar
. The laws here were quite strict on these matters, and if
Bethany
’s father had missed even two payments of his child support, he would find himself living most unpleasantly in an El
Baharian
prison. Or if that could not be arranged,
Malik
would be pleased to take it upon himself to teach the man a lesson he would not soon forget.

“What did your mother tell you about that?” he asked.

“That Daddy still loves me, but he’s not really mature enough to handle the responsibilities of having a child. We decided, Mommy and me I mean, that it would be better if I didn’t see Daddy for a while. Not until he was ready to be there when he said.”

“I’m sorry.”
Malik
knew the words were inadequate, but didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t comprehend a man turning his back on his responsibilities.

Bethany
shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. I want to believe that he still loves me, like Mommy says, but I don’t know. I mean if he loved me wouldn’t he want to be with me?” She looked up at
Malik
. “You wouldn’t forget to pick up your little girl, would you?”

“If I had a daughter like you, I would move heaven and earth to be with her,”
Malik
told her honestly.

“See, that’s what I thought.” She slumped a little in her saddle.

He felt badly that he’d upset her, but didn’t know how to fix the situation. “You have your mother,” he reminded her. “She loves you and always puts you first.”

Bethany
perked up a little. “You’re right. That’s why we’re here in El
Bahar
. They pay a lot at the
American
School
and there will be enough left over for college and for a house and everything.” Her expression turned wistful. “I wonder if we can get a house big enough for a horse.”

“It would have to be pretty big,”
Malik
said.
“And no stairs.
Not if you’re going to keep it inside.”

She burst out laughing. “You don’t keep horses in the house, silly.”

“But that’s what you said.
A house big enough for a horse.”

“I meant the backyard.”

The laughter chased the sadness from her eyes and made her cheeks glow with lovely color.
Malik
found himself enjoying his time with
Bethany
. In many ways she reminded him of Heidi, his brother Jamal’s wife. Heidi teased him and treated him with the irreverence of a sibling. To him, she was the sister he’d never had. While the brothers were close, they were all acutely aware of their position in the El
Baharian
government and their duty to their country. That caused a certain distance. But Heidi would tease him about anything and not give a damn that he would one day rule El
Bahar
.

Bethany
was like that. Part of it was her age. Children quickly forgot that they were supposed to be impressed. But most of it was her bubbly personality.

“Race you back to the barn,”
Bethany
said. “It’s not far,” she added quickly, “and I promise not to fall and break anything.”

“You’re on,” he said, turning Alexander so that he faced the path, then giving the horse a light squeeze with his thighs.

Although he could have easily won the competition, he instead kept pace with
Bethany
, as much to keep her safe as to make her feel that it was a battle to the finish. As their horses ate up the grassy ground between the trees and the stable, he remembered what it had been like when he’d been
Bethany
’s age. They were worlds apart.

At least
Bethany
had Liana on her side. Whatever the child’s father might have done wrong, her mother more than made up for it by giving the girl a warm home and unconditional love and
support.
What more could a daughter ask for?

“I really don’t have anything to wear,” Liana said, staring at the brief note.
Fatima
had invited her and Bethany to dine with the royal family, and her limited wardrobe was not up to royal standards.

“You’ll still be the prettiest one there,”
Bethany
said loyally. “Besides, Prince
Malik
is really cool. You’ll like him.”

Liana glanced at her daughter stretched out on the large bed in the master bedroom. The girl couldn’t put two sentences together without prefacing one of them with the phrase, “Prince
Malik
says.” No doubt
Bethany
thought the prince was “cool.” Liana, however, didn’t have the same easy camaraderie with the Crown Prince. In fact, in the past three days, she’d barely seen him.