Читать книгу The Sheikh's Collection - Оливия Гейтс - Страница 26
ОглавлениеAt the sound of a crying baby, Piper awoke with a start. She tried to regain her bearings only to discover the room was too dark to see much of anything, leading her to fumble for the bedside lamp and snap it on.
Since she hadn’t bothered to reset her watch after she showered, she didn’t know the exact time, nor did she know how long she’d been sleeping. She did know that her once-damp hair had dislodged from the towel and her pink silk robe was practically wrapped around her neck.
After pushing off the bed, she immediately strode to the dresser to untangle her hair with a brush and to select appropriate clothing before setting off to see about Sam. But the continuous cries had her tightening the robe’s sash as she left the room and plodded down the hall on bare feet.
She paused at the nursery to find the door ajar and a disheveled sheikh pacing the area, a very distressed son cradled in his arms. She strolled into the room, feeling slightly uneasy over her state of dress—or undress as the case might be. While she wore only a flimsy robe, he was dressed in a white T-shirt and faded jeans, his feet also bare. He looked tousled and sexy and, oh, so tempting...and she needed to shift her brain back into an appropriate gear. “Having problems?”
Adan paused the pacing to give her a forlorn look. “I have fed him twice and diapered him more times than I can possibly count, and he still continues to cry at the top of his lungs.”
Taking pity on the prince, she walked up to him, took Sam from his grasp and began patting the baby’s back. “Did you burp him?”
He lowered his gaze. “Actually, no, I did not.”
“Then it’s probably just a bubble in his tummy.” She sat down in a nearby rocker, draped the baby horizontally over her knees and rubbed his back. “Did Talia happen to mention anything about colic?” she asked, and when he seemed confused, she launched into an explanation. “It’s an odd occurrence that happens to some babies at the same time every night. Basically a stomachache that can’t quite be explained. On a positive note, it eventually resolves itself, usually when they’re around three months old.”
He slid his hands into his pockets and approached her slowly. “I highly doubt Talia would have known if he had this problem. Are you certain it’s not dangerous?”
He sounded so worried her heart went out to him. “No, it’s not dangerous. But it’s probably wise to have him checked out by a doctor as soon as possible, just to make sure he’s healthy and growing at the right rate. And please tell me Talia left some sort of medical records with you.”
“That much she did,” he said. “My sister-in-law, who also happens to be the queen and head of our ministry of health, is a physician. I will have her examine Samuel as soon as she returns at the end of the week.”
Although Sam’s sobs had turned into sniffles, she continued to gently pat the baby’s back in hopes of relieving his tummy distress. “It’s good to have a doctor in the family. How do you think the king will take the news about Sam?”
Adan leaned a shoulder against the wall. “He is no stranger to scandal, so he has no reason to judge me.”
She recalled reading a bit about that scandal during a pretravel internet search. “I remember seeing something about him marrying a divorced woman.”
“Maysa is a remarkable woman,” he said. “And say what you will about Rafiq’s reputation for being rigid, at least he has been willing to bring the country into the twenty-first century. He had the elevator installed.”
Piper thanked her lucky stars for that modern convenience. She also experienced more good fortune when the baby lifted his little head and let out a loud belch. “I believe Sam could use a warm bath now that his belly problem’s solved. I can do it if you’re too exhausted to take that on.”
Finally, he smiled. “As long as you are there to guide me, I am a willing student.”
Piper shifted Sam to her shoulder, pushed out of the chair and nodded toward the cupboard angled in the corner. “Elena said there are still some baby things in there. Take a look and see what we have available.”
Adan strode to the large cabinet and opened the double doors, revealing shelves that housed numerous infant outfits and supplies. “If we do not have what we need here, then it does not exist.”
She crossed the room to survey the bounty. “You could be right about that. And I see exactly what we need on the top shelf. Grab that blue tub and two towels. And next to that you’ll see a small container with all the shampoo and stuff. Get that, too.”
After Adan complied, he turned around, the bathing provisions balanced precariously in his arms. “Anything else?”
“Just show me to the sink and we’ll bathe your little boy.”
“In here,” Adan said as he opened a door to his immediate right.
Piper stepped into the adjacent bath that was right out of an Arabian dream. The large double sink, with ornate gold fixtures, appeared to be made of copper. The shower to her left was composed of rich beige stones, much like the one in her guest suite, only she had access to a deep marble soaking tub. For a nursery she would deem it way over the top, but functional enough to bathe an infant.
“Lay the towels out on the vanity and put the tub in the sink,” she instructed Adan. “Always make sure you have everything within reach.”
“In case he climbs out of the bath?”
This time she laughed. “He won’t, at least not at this age. Once he’s too big for this setup, you’ll bathe him in a regular tub.”
He frowned. “I greatly look forward to that time.”
“And it will be here before you know it.” After he had the supplies set out, she handed Sam to him. “Now lay him down and undress him while I test the water.”
With the bath moderately filled and the baby undressed, she slid her hands beneath Sam and laid him gently in the tub. “You’re on, Daddy.”
Sam seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the process. His father—not so much. Yet Piper admired the care in which he bathed his son, though at times he seemed somewhat tentative, especially when it came to removing the infant from the tub.
“He’s soaking wet,” he said. “What if I drop him?”
In consideration of his inexperience, she picked up Sam beneath the arms, careful to support his head with her fingertips, and wrapped him securely in the hooded towel. “See how easy that was?”
“Easy for you,” he said. “I will definitely need more practice.”
“You’ll definitely get that.”
After carrying the baby back to the dressing table, Piper outfitted him in one-piece white footed pajamas. Sam was wide-eyed and more awake than she’d seen him to this point, and she automatically leaned over to kiss his cheek. “You’re a happy baby now, aren’t you, sweetie? You smell so good, too.”
“And you are a natural mother, Piper McAdams.”
She straightened to find Adan staring at her, a soft smile enhancing his gorgeous face. “I don’t know about that, but I do love kids.”
Without any prompting, he picked up his son and set him in the crook of his arm. “And I would say this lad is fairly taken with you. I cannot say that I blame him.”
Piper felt heat rise to her face over the compliment and his nearness. “You’re a great father, Adan. The two of you will make a good team for many, many years to come.”
The pride in his expression was unmistakable. “I am determined to do my best by him. Yet I already sense bedtime could be an issue. He does not appear at all ready to sleep.”
Piper checked the clock on the wall and noted the time at half past nine. “I had no idea it was that late. I slept through dinner.”
He gestured toward the door. “By all means, return to your quarters and I will have a tray sent up.”
She truly hated to leave him all alone on his first night as a father. “Are you sure? I’m really not that hungry.” A patent lie. Sam’s half-full bottle of formula set on the table was starting to look appetizing.
“I have to learn to do this by myself eventually,” he said. “You need food and sleep to sustain you during our shopping trip tomorrow.”
She sincerely looked forward to the outing. “All right, but please let me know if you need help with Sam at any point during the night.”
He reached over and pushed a damp strand of hair from her cheek. “You have done more than your share, Piper. I cannot express how much I appreciate your guidance.”
He had no idea how much she appreciated his willingness to take on raising a baby on his own. “It was my pleasure. And before I turn in for the night, I’ll make a list of things you’ll need for the baby.”
He grinned, showing his dimples to full advantage. “Perhaps I should purchase a pack mule while we’re out.”
She shrugged. “As long as you don’t mind showing your ass all over town.”
His laugh was gruff and extremely sexy. “I would rather show my son off all over town, so we will forgo the mule for the moment.”
Piper wanted to argue against creating too much attention to his newly discovered child, but Adan seemed so proud of Sam, she didn’t dare discourage him. In twenty-six years, her own mother had never expressed that devotion, nor would she ever.
Besides, the possibility of another scandal would fall on the royal family’s shoulders, and they’d most likely dealt with those issues before. And if they played their cards right, no one would discover the prince in disguise in their midst.
* * *
Piper would swear the store clerk had recognized Adan, even though he wore a New York Yankees baseball cap covering his dark hair, sunglasses covering his amber eyes, khaki cargo pants, black T-shirt and heavy boots. Not to mention he hadn’t shaved that morning, evident by the light blanket of whiskers along his chin, upper lip and jaw. She definitely liked that rugged, manly look. A lot. And maybe that was what had garnered the young woman’s attention—Adan’s sheer animal magnetism.
Yes, that had to be it. Why else would she giggle when Adan leaned over the counter and handed her the supply list? Unfortunately Piper couldn’t understand a word they were saying, which left her to guess. And she’d begun to assume the sheikh might be making a date.
The baby began to stir in the stroller they’d purchased on their first stop, drawing Piper’s attention and giving her a valid excuse to interrupt the exchange. “I believe Sam is going to want a bottle very soon.”
He pushed away from the counter and glanced at Sam, who looked as if he might be in precrying mode. “I believe you are correct. We should be finished here soon.”
After Adan spoke to the clerk again, she disappeared into a back room and returned a few moments later with a scowling, middle-aged man carrying three cardboard boxes. He set the boxes down hard on the counter, then eyed Adan suspiciously before he sent Piper a clear look of contempt. She had no idea what they had done to warrant his disdain, but she was relieved when he disappeared into the back area again. After the young woman placed the clothing, toys and other provisions they’d selected into several bags, Adan counted out cash—a lot of cash—then smiled when his admirer fumbled with the receipt before she finally set it in his open palm.
Ready for a quick escape before the love-struck clerk fainted, Piper flipped her sunglasses back into place—and immediately saw a problem with transporting the items since the driver had parked in an alley two blocks away to avoid detection. “Looks like we’re going to have to make several trips to get all of this to the car.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Adan replied as he headed out the exit, leaving her behind with a fussy baby and a smitten cashier.
Piper could easily remedy one problem by giving Sam a bottle. While she was rummaging through the diaper bag to do that very thing, she noticed the grumpy guy standing behind the counter, staring at her. She immediately glanced down to make sure the sundress hadn’t slipped down and exposed too much cleavage. Not the case at all. And when she scooped the baby from the stroller to feed him, he continued to look at her as if she was a scourge on society.
Fortunately Adan returned a few moments later, three teenage boys dressed in muslin tunics and pants trailing behind him. He handed them each a few bills, barked a few orders, and like a well-oiled human machine, the trio picked up the supplies, awaiting further instruction.
After opening the door, Adan made a sweeping gesture with one hand. “After you, fair lady.”
“Thank you, kind sir, and please bring the stroller and the bag.”
With Sam in her arms and the secret sheikh by her side, they stepped onto the stone sidewalk and traveled past clay-colored artisan shops and small eateries. The luscious scents of a nearby restaurant reminded Piper they hadn’t yet had lunch. The way people stared at them reminded her of the overly stern guy in the store. “Did you notice how that older man in the boutique kept looking at us?” she asked Adan as she handed him the empty bottle, then brought Sam up to her shoulder.
He dropped the bottle back into the bag resting in the stroller without breaking his stride. “Some of Bajul’s citizens are not particularly fond of foreigners.”
That made sense. Sort of. “He actually seemed angry.”
“Perhaps he noticed you were not wearing a ring and assumed we are unmarried with a child.”
“He would be wrong on all counts.”
Piper experienced a sudden melancholy over that fact. She’d learned long ago not to chase unattainable dreams, and wanting more from Adan would definitely qualify. She still wasn’t sure she could entirely trust him, although he seemed to be making an effort to earn it. Even so, she was clearly in danger of becoming too close to the baby—and the baby’s father.
As they rounded the corner and entered the alley, a series of shouts startled the sleeping baby awake. Sam began to cry and Piper began to panic when a crowd of people converged upon them on the way to the car. Most members of the press, she surmised when she noticed the microphones being thrust in Adan’s face. She hadn’t been able to understand the questions until one lanky blond English-speaking reporter stepped forward. “Whose child is this, Sheikh Mehdi?”
Overcome with the need to protect Adan, Piper responded without thought. “He’s mine.”
She managed to open the car door as the driver loaded the trunk, escaping the chaos. But she’d barely settled inside before the reporter blocked the prince’s path. “Is the baby your bastard child?”
Adan grabbed the journalist by the collar with both hands. “The child is not a bastard,” he hissed. “He is my son.”
Piper saw a disaster in the making and had to intervene. “Adan, he’s not worth it.”
The reporter cut a look in her direction. “Is this woman your mistress?”
Adan pointed in her direction. “That woman is... She is...my wife.”
* * *
“Your wife? What were you thinking, Adan?”
He hadn’t been thinking at all, only reacting. But after spending a good hour sitting on the veranda outside the nursery, that was all he had been doing. “The bloody imbecile insulted my child, and then he insulted you.”
Piper yanked the chair opposite his back from the table and sat. “Telling the press we’re married was a bit extreme, don’t you agree?”
That extreme stemmed from wrath over the circumstance. “Had you not begun this debacle by claiming to be Samuel’s mother, then I would not have had to defend yours and my son’s honor.”
She sent him a withering look. “For your information, I was simply trying to protect you from answering questions you weren’t prepared to answer. I had no idea you were going tell the world you’re Sam’s father, nor did I have a clue you were going to have us living in wedded bliss.”
“I believe that would be preferable to confirming you’re nothing more than a mistress who bore my bastard child.”
“What would have been wrong with letting everyone believe he’s mine and leave it at that?”
His anger returned with the strength of a tempest. “I will not deny my son to anyone. Under any circumstance.”
She blew an upward breath that ruffled her bangs. “Okay, it’s obvious we’re not going to get anywhere by playing the blame game. The question is, what are you going to do now? I don’t think moving to Antarctica is a viable option with a month-old child.”
The trip was beginning to appeal to him greatly. “If I refuse to comment further, the rumors will eventually die down.”
She leaned back and released an acerbic laugh. “By the time Sam turns twenty?”
He recognized the absurdity in believing any scandal involving the Mehdi family would simply go away. “You’re right. I will have to come up with some way to explain the situation. But I will not retract my statement regarding my son.”
She appeared resigned. “I understand that, but you have to be worried Talia might find out someone else is pretending to be your son’s mother, not to mention your wife. If she decides to come forward, everyone will know Sam’s the result of a relationship out of wedlock and you lied about our marriage.”
Since his ex was the consummate publicity hound, handing her that bone could prove to be problematic eventually. “To my good fortune, she’s unreachable at the moment. I highly doubt she will hear any of this until she returns to France.”
“Possibly, but I’m sure the king has heard by now and—” she streaked both hands down her face “—if my grandfather finds out, he’ll demand I board the next plane bound for the Carolinas.”
Despite what had transpired an hour ago, he still did not want her to leave for many reasons. “As far as I know, you have not yet been identified.”
“I saw camera flashes.”
“And you were wearing sunglasses. You could be any number of women who’ve crossed my path.” He regretted the comment the moment it left his stupid mouth.
“All your ex-lovers?” she asked, her voice surprisingly calm.
He grasped for anything to dig himself out of the hole. “I meant any woman, whether I’ve slept with her or not. When you are constantly in the spotlight, your reputation becomes completely overblown. My brother Zain could attest to that. His reputation preceded him before he married Madison.”
“I recall Elena mentioning they’re in Los Angeles,” she said. “Is his wife from the States?”
“Yes, and she is unequivocally the best thing that has ever happened to him. I sincerely never believed he would settle down with one woman.”
She leaned back against the seat and began to toy with the diamond pendant dangling between her breasts. “Well, since I’m apparently just any woman, I suppose I shouldn’t be worried at all. However, if I know the press, it’s only a matter of time before they learn who I am.”
Adan pushed out of the chair and moved to the veranda’s edge to stare at the mountainous panorama he had always taken for granted. “It would be better for Samuel if everyone believed you are his mother, not Talia. She has quite a few skeletons in her dressing room closet.”
Piper joined him and folded her arms atop the ledge. “Haven’t we all in some way?”
He turned and leaned back against the stone wall. “I would have a difficult time believing you have anything scandalous to hide.”
She smiled. “Well, apparently I gave birth and I haven’t been exposed to sex in quite some time. That would be some fairly heavy fodder for the gossipmongers.”
He shook his head and returned her smile. “It’s good to see your wit is still intact.”
“Hey, if you can’t immediately fix a terrible situation, you might as well find some humor in it.”
A true optimist. He added that to his ever-expanding list of her attributes. “Do you consider the thought of being wed to me so terrible?”
“Actually, I can think of a few perks being married to you would provide.”
He inched closer to her. “What perks do you have in mind?”
She faced him and folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Living in a palace immediately comes to mind.”
Not at all what he’d wanted to hear. “That’s it?”
“Who wouldn’t want to be waited on hand and foot?”
He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m disappointed that’s the best you can do.”
She frowned. “If you want me to include your expertise as a lover, I can’t speak to that because I don’t know. Not that I didn’t try my best to convince you to show me in your hotel room.”
He still wanted to be her lover. More than he’d wanted anything in quite some time, aside from being a worthy father to his son. “Since the rest of the world now believes we’ve conceived a child together, perhaps we should give lovemaking serious consideration.”
Her grin rivaled the sun setting on the horizon. “Procreation in reverse. I kind of like the thought of that, but...” Her words trailed off along with her gaze.
“You still doubt my honor.” He hadn’t been able to mask the disappointment in his tone.
“You’re wrong,” she said adamantly. “I realize now only an honorable man would so obviously love a child he just met. I see it every time you look at Sam.”
Every time he looked at her, he felt things he could not explain, and shouldn’t be feeling. “Then what would stop you from exploring our relationship on an intimate level, particularly when you were so bent on doing so in Chicago?”
“I’m taking your need for celibacy into consideration.”
That vow was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. “I do not believe that to be the case.”
She sighed. “Fine. Truth is, I don’t want to get hurt.”
He slid a fingertip along her jaw. “I would never do anything to hurt you, Piper.”
“Not intentionally,” she said. “But if we take that all-important step, I worry it’s going to be too hard to walk away. And we both know I’ll be walking away sooner than later.”
Letting her walk away wouldn’t be one of his finest moments, either. But he could make no promises. “I propose we continue with our original plan and learn all we can about each other while you’re here. Anything beyond that will happen only if we mutually decide it’s beneficial for both of us.”
She tapped her chin and pretended to think. “A prince with benefits. That does sound intriguing.”
He had resisted her long enough was his last thought before he reeled her into his arms and kissed her. She didn’t reject the gesture at all. She didn’t push him away or tense against him. She simply kissed him back like a woman who had not been kissed enough. And as usual, his body responded in a way that would merit a serious scolding from his former governess.
Bent on telling her what she was doing to him, he brought his lips to her ear. “If we had no care in the world, and all the privacy we needed, I would lift up your dress, lower your panties and take you right here.”
She pulled back and stared at him with hazy eyes. “I could think of worse things.”
He could think of something much better. “You deserve a bed and champagne and candles our first time.”
“You’re certainly not lacking in confidence.”
Subtlety had never been his strongest suit. “Provided we decide to take that next step.”
“Provided we could actually find the time to do it while adhering to your son’s schedule.”
Right on time, the sound of a crying baby filtered out through the nursery’s open window. “I shall go see about him,” he said without removing his hold or his gaze from her.
“I’ll do it,” she answered without making a single move.
“I already have.”
Adan glanced to his right to see Elena strolling onto the terrace, his son in her arms, sending him away from Piper. “We were on our way.”
Elena rolled her eyes. “You were on your way, all right, but that had nothing to do with the bambino.”
Caught by the former nanny like a juvenile delinquent stealing candy from the market. “We shall take charge of him now.”
Elena moved in front of him and smiled. “I will watch him for a while until you and Miss McAdams return.”
“Where are we going?” Piper asked before he could respond.
“Your presence is requested in the conference room. Both of you.”
Perhaps the first information from the engineers, although he had a difficult time believing they’d have anything significant to report in such a short time. “Shouldn’t we wait to meet with the conservation crew until after Rafiq returns?”
“Rafiq arrived a few minutes ago,” Elena said. “He called the meeting.”
Damn it all to hell. He’d been summoned to take his place in the king’s hot seat. “Did he happen to mention anything about water conservation?”
“I would speculate he’s interested in conserving the military commander in chief’s reputation.” Elena cradled the baby closer and patted Adan’s arm. “Good luck, cara. You are absolutely going to need it.”
Depending on what his brother had in store for him, he could very well need to call out the royal guard.
