The Sheikh's Pregnant Wife - Leslie North Page 0,2

as part of the royal wedding ceremony, but Yaseen kept an easy smile on his face. He’d perfected that light expression years ago. It served him well. Sometimes, he came across paparazzi photos of himself in unguarded moments. His face displayed nothing other than an attentive half-smile. In fact, his mother and father smiled back at him now as they made their way down the center aisle.

The mood of the room shifted as the king and queen of Raihan took their places in the front row. None of the strain of the past few months showed in their faces. To the people of Raihan, Yaseen’s wedding was cause for another happy celebration, not a ceremony happening just in the nick of time. It would never do for a royal son to have a child born out of wedlock. Not in this family.

“There can be unintended consequences.” Zayid’s kept his tone even but spoke faster, the cadence matching the quickening beat of Yaseen’s heart. He had nothing to be nervous about. Nothing. “If love gets involved, a marriage of convenience can turn out to be inconvenient in the best possible way.”

“If love gets involved,” Yaseen scoffed. “I’m not marrying for love. I’m marrying because of the law. Nothing much about our lives is going to change after this ceremony.”

“We’ll see.”

Yaseen turned and put a hand on Zayid’s shoulder as if he were overcome with emotion, beaming into his brother’s face. “You will see,” he said firmly. In other words, shut up.

Zayid returned the gesture. No doubt he took Yaseen at face value. Everyone did, when they bothered to notice him. The string quintet at the opposite corner of the garden paused, the air swelling with anticipation. Then Pachelbel’s Canon in D wafted over the guests, and the ceremony began in earnest. Laila, Yaseen’s sister-in-law, was one of two relatives who would stand next to Kara under the canopy. She came down the aisle at a measured pace, head held high, smile perfect for the camera. She’d settled nicely into her role as Zayid’s wife. Yaseen caught her winking at his brother, a flutter of her eyelash. He couldn’t see Zayid’s answer, only that Laila’s smile grew a bit wider.

Kara appeared at the far end of the aisle, a vision in lace and silk, cap sleeves a nod to modesty but countered by a neckline low enough to stir something deep and animal in Yaseen. The dress wasn’t meant to conceal her bump. On the contrary, she’d insisted it be designed to showcase it. Yaseen couldn’t take his eyes off her, even if he’d wanted to. The pregnancy had made her lush with curves. Kara glowed with her second trimester, and another emotion broke loose inside of him. It knocked him off guard. He felt the powerful, beating edges of it, but couldn’t name it—not as she came down the aisle toward him. Possessiveness? Protectiveness? Lust, all wrapped up in something softer, just as Kara was softer now.

Yaseen tipped forward into Kara’s blue eyes. They sparkled with anticipation and hope. In this way, at least, she was the same as she had been that night in the club. Brave. Utterly confident. The anxiety of the past few months—would Zayid get married in time? Would Yaseen be thrust into the spotlight as the son that brought scandal to the royal family?—fell away under the words of the imam. Yaseen heard himself repeating his vows. It felt less like something to be checked off a to-do list than an actual series of promises.

As Yaseen pressed his lips to hers under the canopy and a fall of applause and cheers from their audience, Zayid’s words echoed in his mind. If love gets involved. Kara’s sweet softness against his lips chased everything away. Maybe this marriage was for more than the law. Maybe...

2

Kara stepped carefully out of the big black SUV that took her to and from work at the Community Connections office. Had it really only been a week since the wedding? She felt at least another month pregnant. Or maybe it had just been busy at the office. Either way, she finally felt a full appreciation for the SUV. When things had ramped up with Yaseen—when her pregnancy had been discovered—he’d insisted she take royal security with her every day. It had chafed at first, but now?

Now she had not one single complaint about traveling in a plush, air-conditioned car. One step onto the cobblestone courtyard made her wish she could ride around the