Page 5 of The Sheikh's Matchmaker Bride

Chapter Two

"Come here and sit down, Shahid."

Shahid Al Mahrez closed the door to the sitting room behind him as his brother Azim gestured for him to sit down on the sofa. But, the last thing he wanted to do was sit next to his brother and talk about wedding plans.

Not right now. Not when he knew Aliyah was out there on the terrace. He'd caught a glimpse of her as Azim had led him into the sitting room. Knowing she was out there had made something shift inside him, that familiar sensation he felt these days whenever he thought about Aliyah. He'd been tormented by those thoughts and sensations since he'd held her in his arms at the wedding two months ago. An eternity ago, it seemed.

And now here he was, being roped into helping arrange a wedding for another of his brothers. What was happening in Qazhar? Every one of his friends and their cousins seemed to have taken leave of their senses. For the last couple of years, it had been one wedding after another. That was all well and good. For other men, he told himself. He wasn't ready yet for marriage. He knew that, felt it in his bones.

He glanced out toward the terrace, certain he'd heard Aliyah's voice. He could hear his sister Nadyah talking, but her voice was too quiet for him to make out what was being said.

The truth was when he'd gotten the call from his sister Nadyah that Aliyah would be here this morning, Shahid had done everything he could do to get to Azim's palace on the outskirts of Qazhar city as fast as he could. The prospect of seeing Aliyah had been enough for him to cancel every one of his meetings for the day and hightail it in his sports car along the thin strip of road that cut a dark line across the desert to the palace.

Shahid took his seat on the sofa. Now that he was here, though, the last thing he wanted to do was insult his brother. He could see the excitement on Azim's face. The reality of the upcoming wedding was just starting to sink in.

Shahid was pleased for Azim. Every time Azim and Lucy were together, it was evident just how much they both loved each other. Azim was lucky, Shahid told himself. Lucy was gorgeous and amazing in every possible way. The tale of how they'd been reunited in the mountains, their subsequent desert journey and Azim's proposal on their friend Raz's boat had amazed everyone who'd heard it.

Shahid twisted his head and glanced through the open doors. From where he was seated, he could see a table and two chairs. But he couldn't see Aliyah or his sister Nadyah. Knowing it wouldn't be too long before he saw Aliyah made anticipation surge within him.

He glanced at Azim. Didn't Azim already know about Shahid and Aliyah? Shahid speculated that his brother was probably so preoccupied with his own wedding that he didn't have time to become involved in the rumors about Shahid and Aliyah.

"Did you manage to contact Abdul about that issue with the transport?" Azim asked briskly.

Shahid dragged his attention back to the moment and peered at Azim. "What thing?" he asked distractedly.

Azim frowned. "You know. Bringing people out here by helicopter?"

"Oh, that," Shahid said distractedly. He paused, his glance flickering toward the terrace. "Yeah, sure. I've got it sorted, Azim. It's not going to be a problem. They just have to some coordination on their end. But he's assured me it will fine on the day," he concluded.

When he looked at Azim he saw his brother's brows were furrowed. Shahid tried changing the subject. He patted Azim on the knee. "So, how are you bearing up under the pressure?" Shahid asked with a grin.

"What pressure?" Azim replied casually.

Shahid narrowed his eyes. "You can't fool me. I'm your brother. I can tell you're ready to buckle."

Azim laughed. "Not likely. You don't know what Lucy's like. She's positively demonic when it comes to organizing things. This wedding is no exception."

"You're letting your wife-to-be arrange everything?"

Azim shook his head and smiled. "Not everything. But she and Nadyah have just about taken over here at the palace."

"Nadyah does like to stick her nose into everything," Shahid observed.

"In the nicest possible way," Azim added.

"Of course," Shahid agreed.

He was just about to turn and look through the terrace doors again when he heard a familiar voice.

"Talking about me?"

Shahid turned and saw Nadyah standing at the door. For a moment he'd hoped to see Aliyah standing by his sister's side. But she wasn't there. He felt a momentary, sinking disappointment, the same sensation that had troubled him so many times these past few weeks. It seemed that Aliyah had been doing everything possible to avoid meeting Shahid. Why would she do that?

Briefly, he considered the possibility that Aliyah had made her excuses to Nadyah and escaped to another part of the palace. But Nadyah's quick, confirming glance back out onto the terrace told him that Aliyah was still out there. Shahid knew that if he was going to speak with Aliyah, as he so desperately wanted to do, he needed to get out onto the terrace.

Shahid stood quickly and went to Nadyah, greeting her with an air kiss. Over Nadyah's shoulder, Shahid saw the empty terrace.

Shahid glanced at Nadyah and saw that she had noticed his obvious disappointment. The corner of Nadyah's mouth creased with a mischievous smile.

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