The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,46

at it with a stern expression.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Ouahu. Just take the bag. You’ll never have a more delicious meal in your life,” the Sheikh demanded as he headed out the door.

Lily thought she caught a small smile as the guards followed him out, leaving Atnan and Lily in the peace and quiet of their home once again.

“Well, that was nice,” Lily said, turning to find Atnan with an impish look in his eyes.

“Uh-oh. What are you up to, Sheikh?”

He approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist until his fingers linked behind her back.

“It’s a surprise. Grab your bag. It’s time to go.”

“What?” she asked.

Glancing in the direction of the bedroom, she noticed then that he had packed a small suitcase for her. She looked back up at Atnan curiously.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he said, grabbing a set of keys and pulling a bag for himself out from behind the coffee table.

Lily’s heart beat with excitement. Atnan was always full of wonderful surprises; would they be taking a weekend trip away, perhaps to somewhere she hadn’t yet been?

They made quick work of turning off the lights and locking the door before heading down to Atnan’s car and tossing their suitcases into the trunk. He sped off into the night, the stars shimmering above them as they drove on and on, the foliage thinning as Lily realized just where they were headed.

“Are we having a trip down memory lane?” Lily asked, and Atnan chuckled.

“Something like that. I’ve had the palace renovated over the past year to get it back to its former glory, with my father’s blessing, of course. Tomorrow he will be joining us for brunch there, for the first time since my mother’s death.”

Lily was shocked at that bit of news.

“How did you get him to agree to it?” she asked.

Atnan stared ahead, remaining elusive.

“I have my ways. Look, there it is!”

The old palace appeared on the horizon, bathed in starlight. In the dark, it was hard to see many changes, but once Atnan had parked in the front, Lily could smell fresh paint as she opened her door. The moisture had been sucked completely out of the air. The feel of the world around them was totally different as Atnan led the way into the main hall.

There was a small light on, and in that light, Lily saw that the covered furniture had been moved, leaving the hall wide and spacious.

“Wow, Atnan!” she exclaimed.

He glanced around as though it was nothing he hadn’t seen before and grabbed her hand, pulling her suitcase along with the other.

“I’m sure it will look much nicer in the light of day. For now, why don’t we head back to where the real magic started?” he said, his tone suggestive.

Lily liked the sound of that. They trekked down the familiar hallway until they reached Atnan’s former sleeping quarters. When they arrived, Lily was happy to see that it had been freshly painted and the floors retiled to give it an entirely new look.

“I love it,” she said.

Not wasting any time, Atnan pulled her into his arms.

“I’m glad. Now, let’s christen it properly, shall we?”

As daylight poured into the room, Lily awoke, feeling a stark emptiness. As she opened an eye, she realized that for the first time, Atnan wasn’t beside her. Finding that strange, she quickly found some clothing and padded out into the hallway, making her way to the kitchen. She heard voices as she walked along, and her curiosity increased.

When she reached the kitchen, she was shocked to see her parents enjoying a cup of tea with Atnan, Amman sitting alongside them. When Atnan caught her eye, he grinned.

“Surprise,” he said, and the whole room turned to see Lily’s stunned and delighted expression.

She greeted her parents warmly, happy to see them. With breakfast already prepared, Atnan proposed that they carry their food out to the garden, where a table had been set the night before. Lily chatted happily with her parents and Amman, who had a slightly sad look about him due to being back in the palace. Lily wondered again at his presence there, after so much time had passed.

When they stepped out into the garden, Lily gasped. Instead of rotted old plants, flowers bloomed all around them as they headed toward a large table in the center. Lily had a flashback of running from that very spot, though the memory was old enough that it no longer hurt to think about. They placed their food down and enjoyed a breakfast beneath the sweet-scented flowers.

After they finished their meal, Atnan cleared his throat.

“I would like to thank all of you for coming out here today. As you know, the palace was a very special place to my mother, and I am happy to preserve her memory here.”

He gazed at Lily, his eyes filled with love.

“As she cannot meet Lily, this was the best place I could think of to bring you all here today, so that her presence could be felt when I do this.”

He pulled a black box out of his pocket, and Lily’s eyes grew wide as he knelt before her.

“Lily Hawthorne, you have changed my life for the better since the day you crashed into it. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, caring for you, and sharing new adventures together. Here in the palace of my mother, I ask if you would consider becoming my wife, the future Sheikha of Al Yibri.”

Lily’s eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, unable to speak. She grinned as their assembled parents erupted in cheers, congratulating the happy couple as they embraced, Atnan twirling his future bride in a joyful circle.

Lily sent out a silent prayer of gratitude to Atnan’s mother for her blessing, and she felt a warm breeze float over them. She promised that she would make a good life for them, that her son would always be loved and well cared for, as long as they lived.

It was a promise she would keep for the rest of her life.

The End