The Sheikh’s Fake Engagement: The Blooming Desert Series Book One Read online

  Rafiq tugged at his hand. “I can’t see, Dad, I can’t see.”

  Hamid and Tali lifted Rafiq up above the railing of the balcony so they could all look at the turn and sparkle of the people below. The tribal colors were gorgeous on their own, but together? Transcendent.

  When the parade had finished and the square settled into a semblance of quiet—it would never be totally quiet at this event, and Hamid loved that—Hamid went once again to the microphone. “People of Qasha,” he said. “I’d like to formally introduce my fiancée and your future queen: Talitha Rahman, the light of my life and a guiding star for Qasha. The wedding will be in one month.”

  Applause started fast and furious, along with more cheers, the square erupting with joy.

  “Which means another party!” piped up Rafiq from Hamid’s side. He scooped his son into his arms and lifted him up while Raed ruffled the little boy’s hair.

  “So like me,” said Raed with a chuckle. “Always looking for a party.”

  The leaders of the tribes came forward, each of them bowing to Talitha and offering congratulations in turn. The sun had finally set, a purple-blue taking over the sky, and Raed took Rafiq from Hamid’s arms. The leaders released Talitha from their attention, and he took her into his arms, holding her fiercely. His new queen. She’d been the queen of his heart from almost the first moment he saw her, and soon she would be in the history books alongside him.

  Tail tipped her face to his and kissed him, hard enough that it drew whistles from the crowd below the balcony.

  “They’re enjoying the show,” Hamid said wryly.

  “They’ll love the next one even more,” she murmured against his mouth.

  “What, our wedding?”

  She laughed and turned him to the front of the balcony, looking up at the darkening sky. A lone firework spiraled up from the earth and exploded in a burst of white.

  “This,” said Talitha. “Watch.”

  * * *

  “You designed a fireworks show?” Hamid pulled Tali closer against his side, his face illuminated in the light of fireworks representing each of the tribes. She’d also worked to set it to music, a swelling melody that included the national anthem and popular songs.

  Tali reached her arms around Hamid’s waist and hugged him tighter, her heart speeding up. So far, the show had gone off without a hitch—that single firework exploding in the sky, followed by a circle of smaller fireworks representing each tribe. “I had some help.”

  She’d had quite a bit of help, actually, because although she knew a lot about design, she knew almost nothing about fireworks. Luckily, the owner of the company in charge of putting on the shows had been beside himself with excitement when the future queen of Qasha showed up in his office. He even maintained his enthusiasm through all twelve of their subsequent meetings, and Tali only hoped they’d gotten everything right.

  Hamid leaned down to kiss her, and Tali gave him a brush on the lips, then turned his face back to the sky.

  “Keep watching,” she murmured against his skin.

  “For what?” He gave her a wide-eyed innocent look. “Surely, nothing could be better than what’s already happened—all the tribes, represented right there in the sky.”

  “Watch.”

  The explosions got more elaborate, forming the shape of the flag, and it drifted away in trails of white smoke. The music changed, shifting into a swelling version of the wedding march. The wedding march. Hamid’s hand tightened on her waist, and Tali wanted the moment to last a bit longer. That was the thing about fireworks shows—they took forever to plan and only a few minutes to end. Their wedding would be the same—a month of hurried planning followed by a single day of magic.

  But that wasn’t true, was it? The wedding was only just the beginning. With Hamid, they’d have days and days of magic. Years, even. Her pulse thrummed with anticipation for it all. One fireworks show? She’d make thousands of plans for the palace and for Qasha. It was beyond her wildest dreams. He was beyond her wildest dreams. Tali looked across the balcony at all the family members with their faces upturned toward the bright sparks in the sky. Nenet, who had cried tears of joy when Tali moved back into the palace. Rafiq, who could not stop pointing at the sky. Hamid’s brother and cousin. Even Tali’s father had been invited, and he stood proudly at the other side of the balcony, an honored guest of the royal family. She’d never expected everything to turn out like this, but she was so glad that it had.

  Now—pay attention. The fireworks flashed and boomed, trailing up into the sky, and a constellation faded away. This was the finale—the thing they’d spent four whole weeks planning. Tali held her breath. If this didn’t turn out—

  Fireworks soared into the sky in an enormous coordinated group and exploded, revealing a portrait of Tali and Hamid, standing with Rafiq. Tali tore her eyes away from the image in the sky—they’d take photos of it, there were cameras flashing below even now—and met Hamid’s surprised gaze.

  He bent down to kiss her then, and she felt the smile in his kiss. “How are you going to top those for the wedding night?” he said against her mouth, and she laughed.

  “Oh, I thought I’d leave that up to you.” The rest of the finale whistled into the sky, and huge booms spread out over the city, shaking all the buildings and making the people in the square jump and cheer. It felt like they were all cheering for Tali and Hamid, like their love was enough to cover the entire city, and farther.

  Hamid’s eyes flashed, and he kissed her again, harder this time, sweeter still. “Good,” he said. “I can’t wait.”

  Epilogue

  The journalist leaned forward, her lipstick bright, and pushed the microphone closer to where Hamid and Tali stood. “And what’s your vision for the palace, Your Highness? I’m assuming you’ve kept tight control over the renovations.”

  Tight control. The garden was in bloom again, another set of plants flowering a few months after the jubilee, and for once in his life Hamid was able to enjoy it. Enjoy the way the flowers bowed their heads in the sun and the leaves on the trees trembled in the breeze. And mostly, how his wife Talitha bent to run her fingers over the petals of the particularly vibrant blooms. “I’ll let my queen tell you about that.”

  The reporter blinked, swinging her microphone over to Talitha. The crew had come at Tali’s invitation—a way to show the public that the renovations would be for them, not just for the occupants of the palace.

  Tali smiled brightly next to him. He could tell everyone in the film crew was charmed, if they were a little surprised—Hamid hadn’t been in the habit of giving film crews access to the palace or his family. His world was opening up.

  “My vision for the palace is that the refurbishment should honor history while modernizing and freshening. So what we’ve done is uncover some of the original stonework while building in place to showcase the palace’s treasures.” They moved through the garden, Tali going over some of the items they’d unearthed during the comprehensive inventory of the palace’s collections. The group turned a corner, walking slowly so that the camera crew could keep up, and came upon Nenet on a bench near the side of the path.

  It had all been planned in advance, but Nenet waved at the crew with surprise lighting up her eyes, Beauty on her lap and Beast circling her feet.

  “Oh, look at those kittens,” cooed the reporter, and the whole thing briefly became a documentary about the beloved queen and her celebrity cats. “Have you posted on their Instagram today?”

  “I haven’t,” said Nenet. “Would you like to be in the photo?”

  Hamid laughed softly to himself. Well, that would make the whole interview a success no matter what.

  They continued through the gardens, the crew stopping to film the different flowers, and went back into the palace.

  Tali hadn’t wasted a moment on the renovations. Not a single moment. One of the wings had already been redone, and Tali led them in proudly, stopping at select pieces and giving a few lines on the
historical significance of each. She paused beside one of the large windows, a painting by one of Qasha’s up-and-coming artists in the background, and Hamid joined her, along with Raed. Nenet’s cats coiled around the stands for the artwork.

  “And you’re planning to let the public visit this wing when all is said and done?” The question had been proposed in advance—Tali wanted everyone to know that they would be welcome. Within reason, of course. One couldn’t let all the rules fall by the wayside.

  “Oh, yes.” Tali beamed. “We’ve got plans in the works to bring groups of schoolchildren over the next month, and larger tours after that. We also hope to turn some of our focus outward, bringing more revenue into the country and making English lessons more accessible.”

  The reporter nodded. “English lessons?”

  “Yes.” Raed chimed in. “We’d like to culturally enrich ourselves through many avenues, one being to speak English to ease our expanding international business connections.”

  “Very interesting,” the reporter said, her smile in place. But it was obvious the cats had her attention. Who could blame her? They were the true celebrities in the room.

  “Yet another woman isn’t into you,” Hamid teased his brother.

  “I hadn’t counted on the cats.”

  While the camera crew filmed background shots of the gallery and the art, Hamid let his gaze wander to all the people standing there. All those people who mattered to Hamid. He took another step closer to Talitha.

  Then the reporter was back, and Nenet swept toward the doors, taking the cats with her. It was time for the final part of the interview. A sofa had been carried in from one of the sitting rooms and positioned just so in front of the windows. Hamid curled his hand through Tali’s, and they sat down together, the makeup crew coming in for last-minute touches. Raed and Omar stepped to the side to talk, and in the end it was just Hamid, his queen, and the reporter in front of the camera.

  The reporter cleared her throat. “I wanted to ask you about your new look. We’re seeing suits we’ve never seen before, and a wedding ring that matches the queen’s. Care to comment?”

  Hamid had too many thoughts to sort them all out and found himself smiling fondly down at the ring instead of at the camera. The new suits—a more modern cut—and the colorful tie had all been courtesy of Tali’s influence. The wedding rings were her own design. How could he ever explain what it meant to him? The old Hamid might have trotted out a prepared answer, but now he took his time, thinking. But no words could capture the scope of the changes in his life. For most people, a new wardrobe wouldn’t signal such a shift. For Hamid, it was everything. Tali was everything. He squeezed her hand.

  * * *

  It was a signal they’d developed over the course of their still-young marriage—the subtle hand-squeeze. Either one could use it when they wanted the other to step in on a question from the press or, really, any other issue that might come up. Tali loved it. Feeling Hamid’s hand against hers sent a thrill all the way through her. The intimate squeeze spoke of other intimacies, too—the time they spent in his bedroom after dinner, when all the staff was gone and Rafiq was asleep. Oh, she loved that time. Tali looked forward to it every day. Her cheeks heated at the memory of last night, which—

  Which had nothing to do with answering the reporter.

  “Sometimes,” she said, lifting her chin, “the way things have always been, or been done, isn’t necessarily the best way forward. As my husband has come to see about his wardrobe.” Tali reached out and smoothed a hand over the breast of his jacket. Hamid smiled at the joke—still a relief, even after all these months. The Hamid she’d met that first day in her father’s store would not have taken such a joke lightly. It all might have ended then, if she’d made a similar one. But it hadn’t. Thank goodness, it hadn’t.

  “Tali has influenced more than just my suits.”

  “Really?” The reporter’s eyebrows rose. “More than the palace renovations?”

  “She’s changed everything,” he confided, and Tali could see exactly how it would play when the interview aired. A king, finally opening himself up to his people. Oh, this was going to be big. “I eat different breakfasts in the morning. She cooks pancakes. A queen—can you imagine it?” Hamid glanced down at her with warmth in his eyes, and amusement. “And French toast. We’ve tried different kinds of exercise together. I’m getting my pilot’s license.”

  “Would you be the first king to have one?”

  “I don’t know,” Hamid admitted. “All I know is that I’ve waited all my life to learn to fly, and now I’m finally doing it with Talitha by my side.”

  The reporter cocked her head to the side. “Would you say that your marriage has had a positive influence on your leadership of the country?”

  “Of course. The pancakes make me an excellent king.”

  Everyone in the room laughed at the joke, and Tali felt an answering light at the center of her. Hamid, wearing new suits. Hamid, making jokes. Hamid, finally enjoying himself. He’d carried the burden of being king for so long, and though he still wore the crown, it didn’t weigh quite so heavily on him anymore. Tali loved that for him—and for herself, too. The two of them were going to have a lifetime of fun together. Bet you didn’t see that coming.

  “In all honesty, though...” Hamid’s expression turned serious. “I’m more open to other ideas now. I solicit different thoughts on all the aspects of running the kingdom, and I’ve made the Queen Mother one of my close councilors. Do I follow everyone else’s opinion? Of course not. That’s not the job of a leader. But I do listen to them and use their experience to everyone’s benefit.”

  “That’s wonderful. One final standing shot, just the king and queen?” The reporter stepped back, and the crew set up for the shot. Tali held Hamid’s hand tight. It had all gone according to plan—to her plan. And now she had the power to make her own future. It was better than she could have dreamed.

  “Your Highness,” the reporter said, a smile in her eyes. “Is there anything that’s going to stay the same for Qasha?”

  Hamid grinned, looking boyish and powerful all at once, and swept Tali into his arms for a kiss. She dipped back and their lips met, Hamid’s firm and strong. It took her breath away, that kiss. Hamid stood her up and looked into the camera. “Some traditions can never change,” he said, and then he ran his broad hand over her stomach, newly swelling with the baby they’d made. No, some traditions had to stay the same—for the future.

  End of The Sheikh’s Fake Engagement

  The Blooming Desert Series Book One

  The Sheikh’s Fake Engagement, 5 November 2020

  The Sheikh’s Pregnant Foreigner, 12 November 2020

  The Sheikh’s Unexpected Son, 19 November 2020

  PS: Do you love passionate Sheikhs? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Sheikh’s Pregnant Foreigner and The Sheikh’s Marriage Bargain.

  Thank you!

  Thank you so much for purchasing my book. It’s hard for me to put into words how much I appreciate my readers. If you enjoyed this book, please remember to leave a review. Reviews are crucial for an author’s success and I would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to review the book. I love hearing from you!

  About Leslie

  Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.

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  BLURB

  Billionaire Crown Prince Skandar Al-Basran’s life is disrupted in a big way when a red-headed beauty literally stumbles into his life. For the first time, Skandar has been asked by his ailing father to lead a series of rituals
to reinforce the royal family’s ties to the kingdom’s tribal community. It is vital to Skandar’s future as king that everything go to plan. So when Virginia “Gina” Allen nearly disrupts a particularly sacred ritual, he asks her to stay. Anyone leaving before the next full moon will destroy the ritual and offend the tribe. Gina is unexpectedly enthusiastic about remaining for a week, leaving Skandar entranced. And intrigued. Especially when her enthusiasm continues after he invites her into his tent…

  Gina loves adventure, so spending a week with a sexy sheikh is a no-brainer. Only, weeks later, when Gina realizes she’s pregnant, she knows she’s in trouble. When Skandar unexpectedly returns from the royal palace after his father’s death, she can’t stop herself from blurting out her condition, and Skandar immediately informs her they must marry—but only until a convocation can determine who should be king. His uncle is challenging him for the throne, and not marrying Gina will weaken Skandar’s support among the desert tribes. He’ll make it worth her while, compensate her for her time. Business only. Gina doesn’t need much convincing; she’s happy to help keep peace with the tribes she’s come to deeply respect. But through the whirlwind of events leading up to the convocation, Skandar and Gina’s desire for each other grows stronger. Gina, who’s fallen hard for Skandar, comes to realize she won’t settle for anything but love, and Skandar just can’t seem to understand that love is the one thing he needs most.