Page 30 of The Sheikh's Matchmaker Bride

Chapter Ten

It was one of the biggest gambles of his life, and he knew it.

Shahid stood at the balustrade of the balcony that faced onto the driveway of his palace, gazing out past the gardens which circled his home. Beyond, the distant desert sands shimmered in the afternoon sun.

Where was she? Why hadn't she already come?

He'd stood here for a long time and the impatience making his body tense was getting to be almost intolerable.

Would she come? Had his plan worked? He knew his sister had paid a visit to Aliyah this morning, knew that Nadyah would probably have relayed the message to Aliyah. The message he hoped would spur Aliyah to act.

Shahid knew it hadn't been exactly subtle. The hint that he hadn't been happy with the way he and Aliyah had parted yesterday. Had he overplayed his hand?

It was almost lunchtime, and she still hadn't arrived. He was wondering whether she would come at all, whether he had misjudged the whole situation.

He drew in a deep, calming breath, inhaling the sweet, fragrant aroma of flowers from the well-tended gardens just a few feet below him.

Shahid had known he hadn't had any other choice. He knew he'd needed some way to prompt her to come to him. If he managed to draw her into his domain, the place where he knew he stood the best chance to convince her just how strongly he felt about her, there was at least some hope he could break through the wall she'd built between them.

No. That wasn't the truth. The wall they'd both built between themselves.

Because, there was no doubt in his mind that, after their kiss at the beach, during the drive back to her home, Aliyah had put up a barrier between them. He'd seen it in her eyes, the dark hesitancy that had made anxiety form a hard knot in his middle. He'd felt it in the silence he'd endured while driving.

Just when he'd thought he'd been making progress, just as he'd started to believe that maybe some kind of hard-won victory was almost in his grasp, she'd snatched it away. And all it had taken was one look from Aliyah to convince him that she was pulling away from him.

Again.

He knew he couldn't allow that. There was too much at stake. He felt too much for Aliyah not to try, with everything in his power, to court her, to win her heart and to claim her forever.

Shahid gripped the cool stone of the balustrade, feeling the tension ripple through every nerve in his body.

If she decided not to come today, then he knew that he would have failed. That burned him so badly, as he considered what that would mean.

He knew she had been right about maintaining a facade for the benefit of Azim and Lucy. The last thing Shahid wanted was to spoil his brother's wedding. That was why it was imperative that he bring Aliyah to a place where they wouldn't be seen, where they could work out the madness of their passion without intruding on the happiness of his precious brother, Azim and the wonderful woman he was about to make his wife.

So, where was Aliyah? He gazed down the length of the driveway, hoping to see her car speeding toward the palace, but there was still no sign of her.

He knew she would have been too proud to simply pick up the phone and demand an answer from him. That wasn't the Aliyah he knew. The woman he treasured would want straight answers from Shahid. And she would want those face to face.

Had he done the right thing in planting the seeds of doubt? It had only taken one simple comment to Nadyah. One single phrase that he knew, in his heart, wasn't quite true. He'd felt bad even hinting at such a thing, but he'd been confident his sister would relay the message to Aliyah. He'd had no intention of going anywhere. Certainly not back to his old life. He was done with that. Thanks to Aliyah.

He'd done something very different. After speaking with Nadyah last night, he'd asked his brother, Zarif to come over for a while. They'd talked about a whole lot of things. There had even been mention of Aliyah, although Shahid had been careful what he'd said. It had felt good to talk with his brother, and the evening had passed quickly.

Then, after Zarif had left, Shahid had spent the rest of the night thinking about one person.

Aliyah.

He'd hardly slept, memories of their time at the beach tormenting him, making sleep impossible.

He sighed, thinking about what he'd done, what he had tried to engineer. The pretense would be worth it, if it meant she would come to him. Because, that was all he wanted, all he needed.

Then he saw something that made his heart quicken. He saw a flash of light in the far distance. Sunlight on glass or metal. And then he heard the roar of an engine. A blue car was speeding up the driveway.

It was her. It could only be Aliyah, he told himself.

He felt a surge of excitement as he moved quickly away from the balcony. He had to get to the palace entrance, and fast.

He moved through the empty corridors of his palace, pausing only once to tell one of his servants to deliver drinks to one of the sitting rooms. Then, he was at the door, hesitating before opening the huge, ornately carved door. He drew in a deep breath and then pulled the door open, expecting to see Aliyah's car drawing up at the foot of the steps.

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