The Sheik And The Pregnant Bride

Chapter Thirteen

“He is an impossible old man,” Qadir said as he paced the length of his living room. “Impossible.”

“Agreed.” Kateb lounged on one of the sofas, smoking a cigar. “Unfortunately he is the king.”

“Perhaps, but he has no right to interfere.”

“You are his son.”

“A matter of no consequence,” Qadir muttered.

Kateb merely raised his eyebrows.

“It is not his place to say who is to be in my life,” Qadir continued.

“You have much energy over a matter that is very small,” his brother pointed out. “Maggie was merely a convenience. You hired her to act as your girlfriend, Qadir. You were not actually with her. Why are you so angry at our father’s interference?”

Qadir couldn’t answer. “It is the principle of the matter,” he said at last.

“Ah, well then. You must do as you see fit. But to me, the simpler solution is to let her go and find another woman to hire. What do you care who plays your pretend lover? Isn’t one woman as good as the next?”

Qadir turned on his brother. The need to strike out, to punish, was as powerful as it was unexpected. Kateb studied him through a cloud of smoke, his dark gaze deceptively lazy.

“I do not want another woman,” Qadir said. “Maggie suits me.” She understood him. She was easy to talk to. Why would he want to start over with someone else? “She is the only one I want.”

Kateb nodded slowly. “That is more of a problem.”

“You will not leave,” Qadir said imperiously.

Maggie was more than ready to stop being dictated to by men. First Jon, then the king and now Qadir. Of all of them, only the king made her nervous, probably because she didn’t actually know how much power he had. There were still rumors of a dungeon downstairs-a place she didn’t ever want to see.

“Your father wants me gone,” she said as she sat on the edge of the sofa and resisted the need to bury her face in her hands. “What does it matter? Someone else can finish the car.”

“You care so little for your work?”

“No, but in the scheme of things it matters a whole lot less than it did before. I’ve done most of the hard stuff. I’m staying through the end of the week, then I need to go.” She drew in a breath. “Qadir, I know you had your plan all worked out, but it isn’t going to work. Not with me.” She hated saying that, but it was true.

“The reality is, you can hire someone else,” she continued. “Someone who isn’t pregnant.” Maybe someone who would be smart enough not to fall in love with him.

She couldn’t think about that, she reminded herself. That was her vow. That she wouldn’t allow herself to get into her feelings until she was safely on a plane back to Aspen. Then she would have a small but tasteful breakdown and really feel the pain. It would probably frighten the other people on the flight, but they would have to deal with that.

“I do not want someone else. I want you.”

His words settled on her like a warm, cozy blanket. She held them close, hardly able to believe that he was actually-

“You are easy to talk to. We share a sense of humor and excellent chemistry. I am unlikely to find that again and it will not be convenient for me to look.”

She leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes. Not only did he know where to slide in the knife, he knew exactly how to twist it for maximum effect.

Not that she should blame him. Qadir had no clue as to her real feelings so he couldn’t know how he was hurting her.

“Qadir, I really think that I-”

“I have decided there is only one solution,” he said, interrupting her. “We will be married.”

Maggie sat up. “Excuse me?”

“We will be married. My father wants me to be married and I have no interest in someone he will thrust upon me. As I have stated, you and I get along well. I understand this match will have many advantages for you, which is also a good thing. It will be more difficult for Jon to see his child regularly, but you mentioned he could have the child for summers and I would not object to that.”

“I…You…” She stared at him, too stunned to form sentences.

“It is a great honor,” Qadir said kindly. “You are surprised at my generosity. I am confident we will both be happy in this marriage. While my father may take a while to convince, he will be pleased that you are a known breeder.”

Her brain was blank. Totally blank. Which was probably a good thing because if she had actual use of her functions, she would be forced to hit him over the head with a lamp.

“A known breeder?” she ground out.

He smiled. “That was meant to be humorous,” he told her. “What do you say, Maggie? It is an excellent solution for both of us.”

“Solution? To what problem? You’re the one who has to get married, not me. No one is pressuring me to take a husband.”

She hurt all over. She loved him. She could imagine nothing more amazing than having him say he cared about her and wanted to be with her always. But that was just a fantasy. The reality was Qadir wasn’t interested in being emotionally connected to anyone. He wanted a companion he liked and someone to have great sex with.

“Why are you angry?” he asked. Damn him, he actually looked confused. “I am doing you a great honor. I am Prince Qadir of El Deharia, Maggie. You would be my princess. A member of the royal family. Your children with me would be part of our history.”

“Not bad for a car mechanic from Colorado, right?” she said bitterly, then held up her hands. “Never mind answering. I know you don’t get it. Most of the time you’re almost a regular guy. I started to forget the whole prince thing. But that’s a part of you, too.”

His gaze narrowed. “Are you saying that is something you do not like?”

“It’s not my favorite characteristic.”

Too late she remembered his ex-fiancee, Whitney, who wouldn’t marry him because she didn’t want to deal with the restrictions of being a princess.

“It’s not just that,” she said quickly. “I’m not going to marry you to better my financial situation. That’s not who I am. And I’m not going to marry you because it’s convenient. I wouldn’t marry Jon and he thought he was doing the right thing.”

“Do not compare me to him.”

“Why not? You’re both interested in getting me to marry you for reasons that have nothing to do with me and everything to do with yourselves. That’s not what I want.”

She hurt all over. Her chest ached when she breathed and she just wanted to be alone.

She stood and walked to the door. After pulling it open, she shook her head. “Look. I know you think you’re doing me this big favor, but I don’t see it that way. I want something different. Something you can’t give me. And I’m not going to settle for anything less.” She opened the door a little wider. “You should go now.”

Maggie lay curled up on the bed, crying so hard, her whole body shook. She knew she should stop, that this much emotion couldn’t be good for the baby, but she didn’t know how.

“It’s all right,” Victoria said, stroking her back. “I’ll go online and find someone to beat the crap out of Qadir. That will help.”

“Not much.”

“But a little. Right?”

Maggie reached for another tissue and blew her nose. “I can’t believe he did that. I can’t believe he proposed that way. What was he thinking?”

“He wasn’t. I have no idea. Men can be really, really stupid. Even princes.”

“Especially princes. He told me it would be an honor for me to marry him.”