Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family #1)- Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,37

whole world was smiling with relief at the sound of that little voice

Unconsciously, Harper reached behind her, squeezing Amit’s hand with delight. She’d known that the girls would speak once they felt safe enough to do so. But for their voices to appear while racing in on a horse hadn’t occurred to her. Animal therapy wasn’t unheard of, but she’d never witnessed such delight!

“They…!” she whispered to Amit as they watched the uncles lifted their small charges from the saddles.

“I know,” he whispered, returning the squeeze.

Even as they watched, Tarin and Gaelen carried the twins off while the stable hands came forward to care for the horses. The twins patted the horses and, as Harper watched, the horses nudged the girls with their noses. It was almost as if the horses were saying to the girls, “You’re cute!”

Except that horses didn’t speak, she thought, still grinning.

“Uncle Amit!” Elsa gasped, then looked warily around, almost as if she wasn’t sure she should be speaking now that her feet were on the ground.

Amit moved forward although Harper lingered behind, allowing the uncles to care for their nieces, amazed at the gentleness shown as they cuddled the twins.

“What’s up, love?” he asked, kneeling in front of Elsa.

Elsa shared a look with Ellora, seemingly having a silent conversation. Fortunately, that conversation must have given both girls permission to speak, because Ellora whispered, “Can we ride again?”

Amit smiled, putting a hand on Ellora’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you what,” he began, then leaned closer, “If you two will talk to Harper behind me for a few minutes, maybe your uncles will take you riding again tomorrow!”

The girls looked at Harper over his shoulder, then at each other. They nodded in unison, and grinned at Amit. “Promise?” Elsa whispered, almost as if she worried that speaking with a louder voice was forbidden.

“Promise!” Amit replied in the same hushed tones.

The girls wiggled down out of their uncles’ arms, and raced over to Harper. They lifted their eyes and took Harper’s hands, drawing her into the group. She glanced at Amit, feeling honored that he had such faith in her skills at this crucial moment in the lives of his nieces. She silently vowed that she wouldn’t let him down.

Chapter 14

Amit paced across the space of his office, wondering what was going on. He’d watched the twins lead Harper away, and he hadn’t heard anything since. All he knew was that they were coloring.

Coloring! Why in the world was she coloring?!

“Any word?” Gaelen demanded, stepping into Amit’s office, followed almost directly by Tarin.

“Nothing,” he grumbled, without missing a step. His brothers sighed heavily, then slumped into the leather chairs on the opposite side of his office.

A moment later, there was a knock on his door, but before he could tell the person to go away, Talia stuck her head into his office. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Amit rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I haven’t heard!” he snapped.

Undeterred, Talia stepped into the room as well, taking up a perch on the edge of his desk. “Soooo…you guys took the twins riding and they laughed? They liked riding so much that they spoke?”

Gaelen and Tarin nodded, Tarin standing up to pour four glasses of scotch, which he distributed around the room. “We weren’t expecting anything,” Tarin explained, taking a long sip of the scotch. “We just…wanted them to smile.”

Talia hid her grin behind the glass as she took a sip. “Yeah, and you rode so fast that you left their fear behind. Interesting technique.”

Gaelen rolled his eyes, then tossed his scotch back in a single gulp, and set the glass on the table. “Maybe we’re expecting too much. Maybe they spoke after the ride but they don’t want to speak anymore. We shouldn’t push them!”

Amit kept pacing. “Harper won’t push them. She knows what she’s doing.”

A soft knock sounded on his door. All four turned expectantly towards the door. “Come in!” he called out.

The door only cracked slightly to reveal Elsa and Ellora standing in the doorway, staring anxiously into the room with Harper just behind them, holding their hands.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Let’s try it out and I’ll prove it to you.”

Amit had no idea what was going on, but he watched as his twin nieces stepped into the room, their eyes huge.

“Would you mind bending down?” Harper asked, kneeling beside the girls.

Amit immediately knelt down, thinking that one of his nieces wanted to whisper a question.

Harper leaned forward, whispering into Elsa’s ear. “Go ahead. Feel