Fated Lovers (Sold To The Sheikh 2)

The driver insisted on carrying her luggage to the door, and Mia decided that it wasn’t worth the argument; she wanted nothing more than to get inside, meet Rami’s family, and hopefully find a place where she could curl up and have a nap. She had freshened up at the airport, but as she waddled her way to the door, Mia couldn’t help but feel like some kind of huge, ugly creature that had been hauled out of the ocean. At her last checkup, the obstetrician had told her she’d only gained about twenty-five pounds, but Mia felt as if she were carrying an extra fifty. Even the normally comfortable dress that was draped over her protruding abdomen seemed much less flattering than it had when she had put it on, simply because Mia knew she would soon be seeing Rami’s beautiful, stylish mother again.

The driver knocked at the door and deposited the suitcase at Mia’s feet, tipping his hat to her before darting back to his car. “Thanks,” Mia said half-sarcastically; while she appreciated the help, it would have been nicer if he’d stayed until someone answered the door—even thought she knew that was far beyond the scope of his job. Mia pushed back her shoulders and lifted her head, deciding that if she was going to have to face Rami’s family alone, she would at least do it proudly.

The door opened, and Mia blinked at the sight of a beautiful woman, around her own age, standing on the other side of it. The woman was maybe two inches shorter than Mia, with long, slightly curled black hair, wide-set hazel eyes, and full lips.

“You must be Mia!” the woman said, smiling broadly.

“Yes,” Mia said, startled at the warm greeting. “I—I’m sorry. I was hoping that Rami would be able to introduce me.” The woman reached out and wrapped her arms around Mia.

“He’s just inside. I’m his sister, Karima.” The woman kissed Mia on both cheeks, then took her by the hand as she reached down to pick up her suitcase with the other. “You must be exhausted from the flight.”

“I am,” Mia admitted. Karima led her into the house as someone in a uniform closed the front door behind them.

“As the eldest daughter, it’s my job to greet anyone who comes in,” Karima explained. She looked Mia over and smiled again, her gaze lingering at the bulge that signaled Mia’s advanced pregnancy. “Are you hungry, Mia? Or thirsty? Let me take your shoes off for you. I can’t imagine you’re finding it easy bending down right now!” Mia blushed, embarrassed at the attention Karima was showing her; she had been prepared for a standoffish greeting, or even for Rami’s family to ignore her completely. Utterly confused, Mia sheepishly let Karima help her with her shoes before following the younger woman through a hallway.

The room Mia stepped into was full of people who were mostly engaged in hushed conversations. It smelled of spices and cooking, of incense and candles. Mia swallowed down her lingering dread, glancing around, hoping to spot Rami amongst the members of his family.

“Everyone, this is the mother of Rami’s child, his…” Karima glanced to the side and Mia’s blush deepened as she saw that the younger woman was looking to her mother, seemingly waiting for her to finish her sentence.

“She is my fiancée,” Rami said, stepping from his mother’s side and walking over to the two of them. The room went silent, and Mia tried to remember to breathe normally. Rami took her hands in his and gave her a quick, reassuring smile.

“It is good to see you again,” Rami’s mother said, having followed Rami over.

“And you as well,” Mia replied, her lips almost numb. “Though I am very sorry for the circumstances.” Rami’s mother nodded and kissed her briefly on each cheek. Up close, Mia could see that the older woman was wearing almost no makeup, her hair slicked back into a simple bun. She looked older than she had when Mia had first met her, less polished and sleek.

Rami’s mother took a step back and Mia found herself being introduced to one person after another: aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers; Rami’s other sister, grandparents, great-aunts and so on. To her shock, no one mentioned anything about the circumstances of her pregnancy; the only comments she heard were that it was a wonderful thing that there would be cause for joy again so soon, that it was good to know that Rami was settling down, especially after what had happened. She nodded and smiled at each person she met, all the while trying to maintain her composure.

The women of Rami’s family began to fuss over her, insisting that she should sit down and eat some of the food people had been bringing for days; that she should have something to drink—tea, flavored water or sherbet. Mia looked over at Rami in bewilderment, only to see that he was smiling at her. It was just a ghost of the charming expression she had fallen in love with months before, but enough to stir something inside of Mia. She interpreted it to mean that she should give into the desire of his relatives to fuss over and care for her.

“How was the flight?” Rami took her hand in his, sitting down next to her as his family members finally began to resume their previous conversations.

“It was a flight,” Mia said dryly. “It probably would have been much worse in coach.”

“Oh, definitely,” Rami agreed. An expression that Mia couldn’t quite read flickered across his features, but it was gone so quickly that she thought she might have imagined it. “There’s a great, deep bath in our bedroom,” he told her, rubbing his thumb across her palm. “And the bed is heaven, so at least you’ll get a chance to rest a little before the funeral tomorrow.”

“I think I managed to pick out an appropriate dress,” Mia told him lowly. “It’s black, and plain, and comes down to my mid-calf. Is that okay?” Rami leaned close and brushed his lips against her temple in a brief kiss. Mia realized with a start that for the first time in months, he didn’t smell of alcohol at all. She smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

“It will be perfect, I’m sure.” Rami told her. “Do you want to rest now? This…” he gestured to the assembly of relatives and friends

who were talking amongst themselves. “This will continue until late tonight. No one will be offended if you want to go to bed—you’re pregnant after all.” Mia considered it. She was there to support Rami—she didn’t want to retreat just because she was exhausted and aching. “Besides,” Rami added lowly. “You going to rest will give me an excuse to join you, at least for a little while. I want to make up for missing you, if you’re not too tired.” Mia bit her bottom lip, her cheeks warming with a blush.

“We could see just how big and deep that bath tub is together,” she suggested, pitching her voice low. Rami squeezed her hand and released it. He got up and raised a hand to get the attention of the others in the room.

“Mia is very tired, everyone. If no one minds, I will just show her to our room and make sure she is comfortably resting.” There were no objections—not even from Rami’s mother—and Mia let Rami pull her to her feet and lead her out of the room, one arm draped around her waist to support her.