She didn’t have much choice. Despite how amazing the lovemaking had been, nothing had changed. She was still who she was and Qadir was still a prince.
She showered, then dried off and dressed. After combing out her hair, she reached for the blow-dryer, but before she could turn it on, someone pounded on her door.
She moved through the living room and opened it. Victoria stood in the hallway.
“There you are,” her friend said. “What is going on with you? I’ve been calling and calling and knocking and you haven’t…” Victoria’s blue eyes widened. “Oh my God. What happened?”
Maggie felt herself flush even as she said, “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. There’s something totally different about you.”
Was that possible? Did last night show?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she lied.
Victoria leaned closer and stared into her eyes. “I swear, there’s something. It’s-” Her mouth dropped open. “No way.”
The flush increased. Maggie stepped away from the open door and returned to the bathroom. “I have no idea what you’re going on about.”
“You are so lying. You were with Qadir last night. You were with him big-time.”
As she spoke, Victoria trailed after Maggie into the bathroom. When Maggie tried to turn on the blow-dryer to drown her out, Victoria simply pulled the plug.
Maggie looked at her in the mirror. “It just happened,” she admitted. “It was probably crazy, but I can’t regret it.”
“I want details,” Victoria said. “Even more important, I’m here for you.”
“I appreciate that, but I feel fine.”
“You won’t for long.” Her friend took a deep breath. “Jon is here. He arrived in the middle of the night and he’s been raising hell downstairs, trying to find you.”
Maggie wished she were the kind of person who could faint on command. This seemed like an excellent time to pass out. But she stayed annoyingly conscious as Victoria led her to the private room Jon had been assigned.
“How much hell?” Maggie asked, not sure she wanted to know.
“When we couldn’t find you right away, he started accusing the palace guards of holding you prisoner. They didn’t know who he was or what he wanted. When he started on the ‘I’m an American’ rant they called me. I assured him you were fine, which he almost believed, but then I couldn’t find you, either. Honestly, I never thought to check in Qadir’s room. I thought you were with the car, or taking a midnight jog or something.”
“I can’t believe he’s here,” Maggie muttered. “I can’t believe he’s here
“At least your life isn’t boring.”
“I wouldn’t mind boring,” Maggie said, refusing to feel guilty for what had happened with Qadir. She was sorry everyone had been put out because they couldn’t find her, but she had the right to a life. Jon had sure moved on. She could, too.
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he was coming,” she said.
Victoria stopped in front of a door and pointed. “Good luck.”
Maggie didn’t want to go inside by herself. “You could come with me.”
“I could, but I think you need to do this on your own.” She hugged Maggie, then hurried away.
Maggie stared at the door. She had a feeling she knew why Jon had arrived in El Deharia. After last night, she would have said gathering the energy to fight was impossible, but knowing Jon as she did, she was going to have to get her mad up or he would be making all the decisions. The last thing either of them needed was a situation that would impact the rest of their lives. Of course the pregnancy had already done a good job of that.
She knocked once and the door flew open. Jon stood there, looking as he always had.
“Where have you been?” he demanded. “I got here hours ago and no one could find you. Are they keeping you hostage somewhere? What’s going on here, Maggie?”
She stepped into his room, a space much smaller than her own. It faced the garden rather than the sea.
She looked at him, at the kind brown eyes, the mouth that curved into a crooked smile, the unruly brown hair he kept cut short so it didn’t get too wild.
This was Jon. He’d been the boy she’d grown up with, the man she’d fallen in love with. She deliberately remembered good times they’d shared and buried herself in those memories. She dug through her heart and felt… nothing.
Until that moment she thought it was over, but she hadn’t had proof. She did now. Whatever she and Jon had once shared had changed and faded until there was only a friendship she hoped would never go away.
“I’m sorry you were worried,” she said. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“It was a last-minute decision,” he admitted.
She thought about pointing out that there were no direct flights to El Deharia. That he had to stop somewhere and he could have easily called. But he had obviously wanted to surprise her. Which he’d done.
“I’m here now.” She crossed to the sofa and sat down. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here.”
She spoke calmly, hoping she was wrong in her assumptions.
“You’re pregnant, Maggie,” he said as he paced in front of her. “I’m here to bring you home. You don’t belong here. You should be home. With me.”
“Married to you,” she clarified.
“Yes. We’ll get married.”
She wanted to hold on to her temper. Getting angry wouldn’t help either of them.
“I’m not leaving anytime soon,” she told him. “I came to El Deharia to do a job and I’m going to complete it.”
He looked at her, impatience tightening his features. “It’s just a car.”
That really pissed her off. Her hands clenched, but still she held on to her calm. “It’s my work,” she corrected. “It’s what I do. Prince Qadir is paying me a lot of money to restore his car and I will finish the work before I leave.”
“I won’t allow it.”
That got her to her feet. “Fortunately it’s not your decision to make.”
“You’re having a baby. You shouldn’t be around cars.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’m restoring a car, not working in a toxic waste dump.”
“Come home with me now.”
“No.”
They stared at each other, a small coffee table between them. But the distance felt much greater.
Had Jon always been like this? she wondered. Had he always tried to boss her around? Why hadn’t she noticed before?
Her anger faded as sadness took its place. “This isn’t what I want,” she said quietly. “If nothing else, we have to stay friends.”
“I’m not interested in being friends.” His voice was a growl. “I’m here to marry you.”
“You keep saying that and I keep telling you no.” She walked around the coffee table and touched his arm. “Jon, just stop. We don’t have to be like this. I’m only a few weeks pregnant. We have months ahead of us. No decisions have to be made today. I appreciate your concern, because I know what this is about. You want to do the right thing. That’s the kind of man you are. But there are a lot of different right things we can do. Let’s explore them. Take a breath. Go home. I’ll be back in a month or so and we can figure out what we want to do.”
“I want to marry you.”
She held in a scream. “I don’t remember you being this stubborn before.”
“You were never carrying my baby before. Getting married is the right thing to do.”
“Right for who? Do you really want to spend the next eighteen years tied to me? You don’t love me. I appreciate that you’re concerned about the baby, but how happy will this child be knowing his or her parents don’t want to be married to each other?”
His stubborn expression didn’t change. “We were in love before. We’ll be fine.”
“No, we won’t. We’ll be miserable. I won’t do it. I won’t marry you because of the child. You can’t make me.”
“I’m not leaving until you agree.”
