Page 7 of The Sheikh's Matchmaker Bride

Aliyah was heart-stoppingly beautiful. He wondered how he had gone so long without noticing that simple fact.

The breeze swept through the trees, and the branches shifted slowly.

Aliyah opened her eyes and saw Shahid. She straightened suddenly and rose quickly from the seat.

"Shahid!" she exclaimed. "I didn't hear you." He noticed that her voice quivered with sudden emotion. Such a sweet voice, he told himself.

She shifted awkwardly and straightened her dress as if overcome by an intense self-consciousness.

Shahid stood his ground and grinned at Aliyah.

"I hope I didn't startle you," he said.

Aliyah smiled. "Of course you surprised me," she admonished him.

"You looked like you were going to fall asleep," he said with a teasing tone in his voice.

Aliyah shook her head. "I love this garden. I remember when we used to play here as children," she said.

Shahid gazed around the garden. He could recall so many long, lazy days here with his brothers and with his sister and Aliyah. It all seemed like it had happened an eternity ago.

"It's beautiful." He smiled. "Every tree has a story to tell," he teased.

Aliyah squinted at him. "Some things should remain unsaid. Don't you think?"

Shahid laughed. "I guess you're right. I know Nadyah still gets upset if you talk about how I threw her in the fountain."

Aliyah laughed. "I think she still avoids going anywhere near it. Even to this day."

Shahid took a step closer to Aliyah. In response she leaned away, the back of her knees pressing against the bench.

Aliyah fussed with her loose, dark hair and glanced back toward the palace. "I thought you and Azim were discussing the wedding," she said.

"We were. But Nadyah told me you were out here." He gazed at her, trying to convey just how much he had wanted to come to her. "So, I couldn't resist coming out and having a chat."

Aliyah's eyes widened, and she arched one brow. "A chat?" she asked.

Shahid nodded. "Does that sound so unusual?"

Aliyah shrugged. "I suppose not. I haven't heard from you since the wedding two months ago," she replied.

Was that a hint of annoyance in her voice, he asked himself. Had she been expecting him to call her? Had their embrace at that wedding reception meant so much to her, after all?

"I've been busy," he answered, aware of just how unconvincing it sounded.

"Busy? Of course. Your business interests."

Shahid drew in a deep breath and glanced across the broad expanse of freshly cut lawn. "Would you like to walk?"

Aliyah's gaze followed his and for a moment she seemed to be weighing up whether she really wanted to agree with his suggestion. Finally she nodded and gave him one of her broad smiles. He felt his heartbeat quicken.

Aliyah took a few steps toward him and he considered easing his arm across her back, but there was something stiff about her demeanor that warned him such a gesture might be too hasty.

As she passed him he caught her scent, a delicious mixture of sweetness and fragrant intensity.

He eased alongside her, matching her pace. As he walked by her side she glanced up at him. Her eyes shimmered in the bright sunshine. There was that familiar good-natured expression, the same one he'd known so well for so many years. But now, that expression of sheer goodness was tempered by a caution that he hadn't seen before.

Was she worried about his sudden appearance? He'd have to work hard to put her at ease. But, at the same time, he realized, he'd come here for a reason. He had to know how she felt about him; had to find out if she was even thinking about him as something more than a friend, something more than just someone from her past.

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