Bad sheikh pregnant mistress

Four.

It took a while for Brenda to feel comfortable asking Sheikh Rahal what he wanted when they sat down to dinner. At first, she was confused that the address he'd given her was for a trendy Italian place near London Bridge when she assumed he would want to go to the nearby Mediterranean café. Then again, she hated going anywhere for a burger and fries in England because it never tasted like home. Brenda figured he wouldn't want to settle for anything less than the home-cooked meals of his native Zomelia.

Still, she smiled politely and nodded at the right moments as they made small talk over the salad and appetizer. Now that his lobster ravioli and her fettuccine alfredo were on the table, Brenda knew that she couldn't keep skating the issue. They had to discuss whatever was actually on Jamsheed's mind.

"You said this was a date, Sheikh Rahal."
He frowned, some light dimming from his golden eyes. "I did, and do you not trust my word, my phoenix?"

She sighed and dug into her food. "I know what you said, but I was nervous even getting dressed. It's so hard to believe."

He smirked and gestured with his right hand to the ambience of the restaurant around them. "Do you not feel this is enough? I could have gotten a reservation at one of the premiere restaurants in the city, shut the whole place down except for us, but you were already so nervous. I didn't know if a grand gesture would help or hurt."

"I think my head's still spinning," she admitted, trying to enjoy things like Anne suggested, desperately wanting to be the perfect Cinderella. Yet, she'd lived through the father of her child walking out on her, and now the lawsuit from Hell. She learned long ago to be wary and cynical. It was the only way to live. "You said you'd explain more about all of this: the dinner, wanting a relationship with me, and your father. How is he by the way?"

Jamsheed's jaw tightened and he set his fork down to rub ferociously at the back of his neck. "No change. He's stable in his coma, and the royal doctor was encouraged that he hadn't suffered any subsequent strokes. To be honest, with the life-saving technology I can afford for him, he could be in that state for years. I hope to Allah he can recover. It's why I have to fly home soon. Zomelia will need an acting sheikh, and I have a talented team of executives to serve here in London for the company. I just... I hate it so much."

She nodded and reached out, placing her hand over his on the table. "I didn't move to England until one of my sisters died. Dana had ovarian cancer and it just came on so much faster than we thought. I mean, she'd been sick, but she was the kind of person who always had to tough things out, always thought that she couldn't make a big deal out of pain. By the time she broke down and saw a specialist, she had a year left."

"I'm sorry."

Brenda nodded and squeezed his hand. "The point is that I'd never even been out of my home state in my life. My daughter, Haley, was just starting college, and that gave me the courage to leave the country, to stop being quite as trapped as I was." Not that I'm exactly a daredevil now...

"I'm still sorry."

"Of course, but sometimes when our loved ones are sick, we go where we're needed and it also clarifies things for us. You have nothing to be sorry about for going back home to Zomelia. You're right. The company will survive, and I'm sure that the maids for your penthouse here— Anne and I—will find something else as well."

"I want you to come with me to Zomelia. I'm not kidding about wanting you."

"You mean to date me?" she asked, her voice going hoarse.

"Among other things. Maybe you're right and there's more clarity in my life. Maybe it's just easier to see what I've been missing when I've been fooling around so much. I'm in my early forties now. I'm not a kid anymore, and I need to work harder to live up to my father's reputation and the path he set for me. Besides, I get so tired sometimes of the emptiness."