The Sheikh's Pregnant Wife - Leslie North Page 0,34
the conference. Her smile was so welcoming. And genuine. The corners of her eyes crinkled, and as he watched, she greeted every single person who approached her like they were old friends. A hand on the elbow. A quick embrace. An expression of delight.
The organizer of the conference finally broke away from Kara and came to the podium. “If you’d all take your seats,” she said into the beehive-like hum of the room. “Our keynote will begin in a matter of moments.”
Yaseen felt the attention in the room shift toward the front—toward Kara—and felt a stab of protectiveness. He forced himself to stay seated. It would not look good to jump up on the stage and put himself at her side. That would be over the top. Besides, he had enough security in the room as it was.
She beamed out at the settling crowd, looking for him. Yaseen had never felt prouder than when her gaze settled on him and her shoulders relaxed.
A woman whose name didn’t register gave a too-long introduction, and then Kara stepped up, adjusting her wireless mic on her ear.
“Hello,” she said. Oh, it was odd, knowing that everyone in the room was sharing her voice. But good, too. “My name is Kara Shaw, and I’m—”
Yaseen felt struck by lightning, watching her there. Struck by lightning and pride and awe. This wasn’t how he’d planned for his marriage to go, but now that he’d been with Kara...well, what could compare? Who could compare? She was gorgeous. Intelligent. So passionate. And above all...she was good. It shone through every word she spoke.
The screen came to life behind her, showing photos of all the projects she’d spearheaded at her time at Community Connections. How had he gone this long without truly knowing them? She’d glossed over this part of the speech back in the garden. Now he wished she hadn’t. In countries across the world, she’d worked miracles. She would work another one in Mennah. Of course she would.
A strange regret tightened his throat. He wanted it to fit in with his own business plans for Raihan. But he knew—he knew—it wouldn’t. The applause the other day at the council meeting hadn’t given him the high he’d anticipated, but it had reinforced for him that his priority should be to continue to increase revenue. Increasing revenue was best for Raihan. The longer Kara spoke, the more certain Yaseen was that she could figure it out without him. Something would come through for her.
How could it not? He could hardly catch his breath, watching her speak. Watching her lips. The brightness in her eyes. The way she stepped so gracefully behind the podium. Kara turned to the side and his heart gave a hard beat. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. That baby bump. Yaseen wanted to get down on his knees in front of it.
She finished the speech, and Yaseen leapt to his feet, not caring if the rest of them thought she was worthy of a standing ovation. She was more than worth it. All around him, people got to their feet, following his lead, but Yaseen only had eyes for Kara. The volume of the applause increased. Kara blushed, her thanks lost in the noise.
And I get to take her to dinner when this is over. I’m the luckiest man in the world.
Yaseen held the door open for Kara himself. Her skin still buzzed with the excitement of getting a standing ovation from her keynote speech. She’d made a difference. She had made a difference. So many people had come up to congratulate her afterward that finally she’d had to sit down and let them each take a turn sitting next to her.
The driver came around and closed the door behind Yaseen, who put his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug. She breathed him in, the citrus and spice scent of him, and sighed. “I did a great job.”
“You did a phenomenal job,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. Excited. Too excited for words.” She laughed. “Ready to go back to the hotel.”
Yaseen smiled at her. “Mind if we make one stop first?”
“Of course not.” The driver pulled away from the curb, and Kara felt like she was surfacing from a long swim underwater. The conference had been incredible—so many great NGOs were represented, and they had all wanted to talk to her. She had at least fifty business cards stuffed into her purse. “Where do you have in mind?”
“You’ll see.”
She found out ten minutes