Читать книгу The Sheikh's Collection - Оливия Гейтс - Страница 27
ОглавлениеDead silence—Piper’s first impression the minute she followed Adan into the conference room for the so-called meeting. And she had no doubt she knew exactly what was on the agenda—quite possibly her head delivered to her personally by the king of Bajul.
He wore a black silk suit, dark gray tie and a definite air of authority. His coal-colored eyes and near-black hair would qualify him as darkly handsome, and somewhat intimidating. Very intimidating, Piper realized when he pushed back from the head of the mahogany table and came to his feet. Adan might be an inch or so taller, but his brother’s aura of sheer power made him seem gigantic.
The mysterious Mr. Deeb stood nearby, absently studying his glasses before he repositioned them over his eyes. “Please join us,” he said, indicating the two chairs on each side of the stoic monarch.
Adan had already settled in before Piper had gathered enough courage to walk forward. She could do this. She could face Rafiq Mehdi with a calm head and feigned confidence. Or she could turn and run.
Choosing the first option for diplomacy’s sake, she claimed the chair opposite Adan as the king sat and folded his hands before him on the tabletop. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. McAdams,” he began, “though I would have preferred to have done so under different circumstances.”
She would have preferred not to meet him at all today, if ever. Sucking up seemed like a fantastic idea. “The pleasure is all mine, Your Excellency. My grandfather has said some wonderful things about your leadership. And you may call me Piper.”
“And you may address me as Rafiq, since it seems you have become a part of the royal family without my knowledge.”
Piper swallowed hard around her chagrin. “Actually, that’s not—”
“Are you going to jump to conclusions without hearing our side of the story, Rafiq?” Adan asked, a serious hint of impatience in his tone.
The king leaned back and studied them both for a moment. “I am giving you the opportunity now.”
“I have a son,” Adan said. “That whole wife issue was simply a misunderstanding, and that is all there is to the story.”
Rafiq released a gruff laugh. “I fear you are wrong about that, brother. I know this because I have heard the entire sordid tale. And I do believe that included you delivering the ‘wife’ proclamation yourself.”
Piper noticed an immediate change in Adan’s demeanor. He definitely didn’t appear quite as confident as he had when they’d entered the room. She had to come to his defense due to her contribution to the mess. “Your Excellency, I’m in part responsible for—”
Adan put up a hand to silence her. “It was simply an error in judgment on both our parts. We were attempting to protect each other and my son.”
“Yet instead you have created a scandal at a time when we are trying to convince our people this conservation project is worthwhile,” Rafiq replied. “Their attention has now been diverted from the need to relocate some of the farms to an illegitimate child born to the man in charge of protecting our borders.”
“Never use that word to describe my son again,” Adan hissed. “I may not have known about him, but he is every bit a Mehdi.”
Rafiq looked extremely surprised. “I never thought of you as being the paternal sort, Adan. That being said, it is my understanding his true mother is the narcissistic Talia Thorpe.”
Evidently the royal family and staff held the model in very low esteem. “That’s true,” Piper interjected before she could be cut off again. “I was simply pretending to be the baby’s mother to delay the questions over his parentage.”
“Yet everyone now believes you are his mother,” Rafiq replied. “That has created quite the dilemma.”
“I promise you I will handle this,” Adan said. “I will retract the marriage statement and explain that Samuel is my child from a previous relationship.”
Rafiq straightened and scowled. “You will do no such thing.”
Adan exchanged a look with Piper before bringing his attention back to his brother. “You would have us continue the lie?”
“As a matter of fact, that is exactly what you will do,” Rafiq began, “until you find some way to be rid of the model, for both yours and your heir’s sake. Naming her as the mother will only wreak more havoc. The woman is known for posing in the nude in several photographs.”
The king’s condescension ruffled Piper’s artistic feathers. “Some do not find nudity offensive. It would depend on what the photographer was attempting to convey.”
“Centerfold photos,” Adan added. “She posed for several magazines, in print and online. Some of those publications are obscure and questionable at best.”
That did change everything from an artistic standpoint. “Are they widely circulated here?”
Adan looked somewhat sheepish. “After word got out that we were involved.”
The king turned his full attention to her. “Ms. McAdams, if you would kindly continue the charade until your departure, then we will make certain you are compensated.”
She could not believe someone was offering to pay her for a humongous fib that could alter her own life. “No offense, Your Excellency, but I can’t in good conscience accept money for my silence.”
“Temporary silence,” the king added. “And I was not suggesting a bribe. However, I will award the contract to your corporation upon review of the bid. Once you have returned to the States, we will issue a statement saying you felt it best that the marriage be dissolved on the basis of irreconcilable differences, and that you feel your son should live in his homeland.”
“And what do you propose we do with Talia?” Adan asked. “Bind and gag her before she leaks the truth to the media?”
“She we will have to pay,” Rafiq stated. “I am certain it will cost a fortune to have her relinquish her rights as well as execute a legal document forbidding her to have any claim on the child. Fortunately, you have the means to meet her price, however high that might be.”
Adan released a weary sigh. “Rafiq, this could all backfire no matter how carefully we plan. Talia could refuse to meet our terms, and furthermore, the truth may surface no matter how hard we try to conceal it.”
“I trust that you and Ms. McAdams will see that does not happen.”
The man was making too many impossible demands as far as Piper was concerned. “How do you propose we do that when you risk someone within these walls leaking that information?”
“The staff normally practices absolute discretion,” Rafiq said, mirroring Adan’s words from the day they discovered Sam existed. “Yet it would be foolish not to believe someone with lesser responsibility in the palace could sell the information to the highest bidder. Therefore it is paramount you both act as if you are a wedded couple at all times. We will issue a press release stating you were married at an undisclosed location prior to the pregnancy.”
As she regarded Adan, Piper couldn’t quite contain her sarcasm. “Would that be all right with you, dear?”
He shook his head. “None of this is right, but I do believe it is a viable plan, at least for the time being.”
She saw her control over the situation begin to slip away. “Do I have any say in the matter?”
“Yes you do,” Rafiq said. “You are free to refuse and leave immediately. With your company’s crew.”
A not-so-veiled threat. She mulled over a laundry list of pros and cons while Adan and the king waited for her answer. If she didn’t agree, they would lose the contract, and that could send the struggling business into a free fall. If she did agree, she would have to stay on for at least a month immersed in a massive lie. And most important, she would be charged with contacting her grandparents to break the news before someone else did. She could only imagine her grandfather’s reaction to either scenario. Then again, if she went along with the marriage pretense, she’d have the opportunity to stand up to him once and for all if he gave her any grief. She could finally be her own person and control her own life—for at least a month. Not a bad thing, at that.
A few more seconds ticked off while she weighed her options. The one bright spot she could see coming out of this entire debacle had directly to do with Adan. Being his make-believe spouse could come with some serious perks.
She drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, “I’ll do it.”
Adan looked caught completely off guard. “You will?”
“I will.” She rose from the chair and managed a smile. “Now, if you gentlemen would please excuse me, this pretend wife needs to make a call to her very real grandparents.”
Adan stood and returned her smile. “Feel free to use my private study next door.”
“Thanks. I believe I will.”
Piper did an about-face, strode into the hall and prepared to lie.
* * *
“Have you totally lost your ever-lovin’ mind, sweet pea?”
Oh, how she hated her grandfather’s pet name for her. But Piper had to admit she was enjoying his shock. She’d never seriously shocked anyone in her sheltered life up to this point, at least not to this extreme. “No, Poppa, I’m quite sane. I would have told you sooner about the marriage but it was rather spontaneous.” And pure fiction.
“When did you meet this character?”
Lie number one. “Quite a while ago, when I was in the U.K. last year.”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me this when you knew full well I was sending you to his country? That dog just don’t hunt.”
Lie number two. “We’ve kept our relationship quiet because we didn’t want other contractors thinking I could influence the bidding process.”
“And you don’t have an influence over the bid now that you’ve gotten yourself hitched to him, sweet pea?”
Lie number three. “Not at all.”
A span of silence passed before he responded. “I guess there’s nothing I can do about it now, but at least it’s good to know he’s got royal blood and money to burn.”
Of course that would be Walter McAdams’s main concern when it came to her choice in a life partner. It always had been. “I’m sure when you met him back in Chicago you realized he’s a very charming man.”
“A charming snake,” he muttered. “Of course, your grandmother’s all atwitter over this. She wants to talk to you, so hang on a minute.”
Piper heard him put down the receiver, followed by muffled conversation before someone picked up the phone again. “My little sugar plum is a married woman!”
Enough with the overly sweet endearments, she wanted to say, but kept her impatience in check. “Yes, Nana, I finally took the plunge.” Headlong into a humongous fabricated fairy tale.
“I saw a picture of him on the internet, Piper. My, my, he’s a good-looking young man. When did you two meet?”
Piper was frankly sick to death of fibbing, so she decided to try on the truth. “In a hotel bar. I attempted to seduce him but he didn’t take the bait. He’s quite the gentleman.”
As usual, her grandmother giggled like a schoolgirl, a good indicator she didn’t believe what she’d heard. “Oh, child, you are still such a cutup when it comes to boys. And you don’t have to tell me any details right now.”
But she did have to tell her more truths. “Nana, Adan is a very public figure, so you might hear a few rumors that aren’t exactly accurate.”
“What kind of rumors?” she asked with obvious concern.
She could trust her grandmother with some of the facts, even if the woman was a little too steeped in Southern society. “First, you have to promise me that whatever I tell you, it has to remain strictly confidential.”
“Sugar, you know how I abhor gossip.”
An advantage for Piper in this gossip game. “All right. You’re probably going to hear that we’ve had a baby together.”
Nana released an audible gasp. “Did you?”
Heavens, the woman wasn’t thinking straight. “Do you recall me even remotely looking pregnant over the past few months?”
“Well, no.”
“Precisely, because I wasn’t. Adan does have an infant son, but obviously I’m not his mother. That said, as far as the world knows, Samuel is my baby. The biological mother’s identity is a well-kept secret and has to remain so for reasons I can’t reveal.”
“Is she an actress? Maybe a singer? Oh, wait. Is she a call girl?”
Piper had no idea Drusilla McAdams even knew what that was. “Don’t worry about it. I just need you to refuse to comment on anything if any reporters track you and Poppa down, and keep everything I’ve told you to yourself. Can you do that, Nana?”
“I certainly can, sugar plum,” she said. “And I’m so proud of you, sweetie. It’s admirable you’re willing to take another woman’s child and raise it as your own.”
“I learned that from you, Nana.”
A span of silence passed before her grandmother spoke again. “I have never regretted raising you and your sister, Piper. I do regret that Millie could never be a decent mother to you. But that’s mine and your Poppa’s fault. We spoiled her too much, maybe even loved her too much. She never had a care in the world aside from herself.”
She still didn’t as far as Piper could tell. She’d barely even seen her fly-by-night mother over the past few years, let alone established a relationship with her. “You were very good to me and Sunny, Nana. Millie is responsible for her behavior, not you. And I don’t believe you can ever love anyone too much.”
“Only if they can’t possibly love you back, honey.”
Her grandmother’s words gave her some cause for concern. If she happened to stupidly fall in love with Adan, she wondered if he had the capacity to return her feelings. Probably not, and she certainly didn’t intend to find out. Sadly, sometimes intentions went awry. “Look, Nana, I have a few things to do, but first, do you have any questions for me?” Piper held her breath and hoped for a no.
“Yes I do. How is the sheikh when it comes to...you know?”
Regretfully Piper hadn’t experienced “you know”...yet. “Nana, a girl’s gotta have her secrets, so I’ll only say I’m not at all disappointed.” Should she and Adan take that lovemaking step, she would wager she wouldn’t be disappointed in the least.
“That’s a good thing, sugar plum. What goes on between the sheets better be good if you want to sustain a relationship. Your grandfather and I have been happily going after—”
“I’d better go.” Before they wandered into too-much-information territory. “I’ll talk to you both real soon.”
“Okay, but your grandfather told me to deliver a message before you hang up, the old grump.”
Lovely. “What is it?”
“Married or not, you still have a job to do, and he expects a full report on the survey crew’s progress within the next two days.”
So much for spending time with father and son. For the time being, Adan would just have to go it alone.
* * *
“Congratulations, Dad. Your baby is the picture of health.”
Adan turned from the crib to face Maysa Barad Mehdi—Arabian beauty, American-educated premiere physician and current queen of Bajul. “Are you absolutely certain? He seems rather small to me.”
His sister-in-law sent him a sympathetic look, much to his chagrin. “He’s not quite five weeks old, Adan, so he’s going to be small. Fortunately Ms. Thorpe had the foresight to include copies of his medical records since his birth. He’s gaining weight at a favorable pace and I expect that to continue.” She paused and sent him a smile. “And before you know it, he will have a playmate.”
Clearly the woman had taken leave of her senses. “I have no intention of having another child in the near future, if ever.” First, he would have to have a willing partner, and his thoughts immediately turned to Piper. With her he wouldn’t be seeking procreation, only practice. As much practice as she would allow, if she allowed any at all after being thrust into Rafiq’s harebrained scheme.
“Let me rephrase that,” Maysa said. “Samuel will have a new cousin in a little less than eight months.”
Adan let that sink in for a moment before he responded, “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes, I am.”
He gave her a fond embrace. “Congratulations to you, as well. How is Rafiq handling impending parenthood?”
Her expression turned somber. “He is worried to death, though he tries not to show it.”
“That’s understandable considering the accident.” The freak car accident that had claimed Rafiq’s former wife and unborn child. A horrific event that had turned his brother into a temporary tyrant. “I’m certain he will relax eventually.”
She frowned. “Did you only recently meet Rafiq, Adan? The man does not know the first thing about relaxing. I only hope he calms somewhat before the birth. Otherwise we’ll have a fretful child.”
He couldn’t imagine Rafiq remaining calm under such a stressful situation. “Perhaps having Samuel around will demonstrate that tending to an infant isn’t rocket science. If I can manage it, then certainly so will he.”
She patted his cheek. “And you are doing very well from what I hear.”
Curiosity and concern drove him to ask, “What else have you heard?”
“If you’re wondering if I know about the presumed marriage, I do. My husband told me you could not have chosen a more suitable counterfeit wife.” She accentuated the barb with a grin.
He found little humor in the current state of affairs. “This entire situation reeks of fraud, and I find it appalling that I’ve drawn Piper into that web of deceit. She’s a remarkable woman and deserves much better.”
Maysa inclined her head and studied him a few moments. “You sound as if you care a great deal for her.”
More than he would ever let on—to Piper or to himself. “I’ve only known her a few days, yet I admittedly like what I do know.”
“It shows,” she said. “Your face lights up at the mention of her name.”
A complete exaggeration. “Women always seem to imagine things that aren’t there,” he muttered. “Just because I am fond of her does not mean I see her as anything other than my unwitting partner in crime.” But he could see her as his lover, as he had often in his fantasies. “I certainly have no plans to make this marriage real.”
“We’ll see,” Maysa said as she covered the now-sleeping infant with the blanket. “One never knows what will transpire once intimacy is involved.”
“I am not sleeping with her, Maysa,” he said, a little too defensively. “And as it stands now, that is not on the to-do list.” At least not on the one he wasn’t hiding.
Maysa flipped a lock of her waist-length hair over one shoulder. “Adan, when you do not have an agenda that includes bedding a woman, then the world has truly spun on its axis.”
If he had his way, someday people would see him as more than a womanizer. They would see him as a good father. “As always, dear queen, you are correct, at least partially. I would be telling a tale if I said I had not considered consummating our relationship. She’s beautiful and intelligent and possesses a keen wit. She is also in many ways an innocent. For that reason I have vowed not to take advantage of her trusting nature.”
“Perhaps you should explore the possibilities,” she said. “And I do not mean in a sexual sense. You should take this time to get to know her better. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you learn.”
Exactly as he had promised both himself and Piper—getting to know each other better before they took the next step. That was before he’d learned he had a son. “I see several problems with that prospect. Being charged with Samuel’s care is taxing and time-consuming. Commanding the whole bloody Royal Air Force doesn’t require as much attention.”
Maysa began returning supplies to her black doctor’s bag resting on the dressing table where she’d performed the examination on his son. “Then perhaps you will be happy to know my husband has instructed me to tell you to take your bride away for two days for a respite.”
Adan firmly believed his brother had taken leave of his senses. “Why would he suggest that?”
She snapped the bag closed and turned toward him. “He’s trying to buy more time, Adan. The media have already been hounding him for an interview with you, and it will only become worse once the palace releases an official statement later today. Rafiq feels that if he tells them you’re away for a brief holiday, they’ll let up for the time being. And considering Samuel’s age, this would be the appropriate time for you to resume your husbandly duty.”
He could not resume a duty he had yet to undertake. However, the prospect of spending more time with his presumed wife was greatly appealing, yet he could not ignore the obvious issues. “I cannot abandon Samuel.”
“I am sure Elena would wholeheartedly step in while you’re gone.”
“Actually, she wouldn’t,” he said. “She’s made it quite clear that she is handing all the responsibility to me.”
“Then I will watch him until you return. And you are more than welcome to take your new wife to the resort.”
He had his own secluded resort equipped with a pool where they could spend some quality time. Then again, swimming with Piper would involve very little clothing. Not a good scenario for a man who for months had engaged in sexual deprivation in order to build character. At the moment, he had enough character to rival philanthropists worldwide. “I certainly appreciate your offer, but I would not want to burden you with my responsibility.”
“It’s not a burden at all,” Maysa said as she leaned over and touched the top of Samuel’s head. “I consider it an opportunity to practice parenthood. Now, hurry along while you still have the better part of the day.”
A plan began to formulate in Adan’s brain. A good plan involving his favorite mode of transportation. Now all he had to do was convince Piper to come along for the ride of her life.
* * *
After the harrowing trip to the airbase, Piper would be out of her mind if she agreed to go on this little flying excursion in the miniplane built for two. “You don’t really believe I’m going to climb into that sardine can, do you?”
Adan flipped his aviators up to rest atop his head and tried to grin his way out of trouble, which wasn’t going to work on Piper. Much. “This happens to be a very solid aircraft,” he said.
Solid, maybe. Too tiny. Definitely. “First, you make me wear a massive helmet, throw me onto the back of a motorcycle and travel at excessive speeds on skinny little back roads to get here—”
“That was designed to evade the press, and if my memory serves me correctly, you came along willingly.”
Darn it, she had. “That’s not the point. Now you want me to get into a plane equivalent to a golf cart with wings.”
He moved in front of said wing and patted the white plane’s belly as if it were a favored pet. “Do not let the propeller scare you away. This is a Royal Air Force training craft meticulously maintained by our best mechanics. And of course, you are in good hands with me as your personal pilot.”
A personal pilot with great hands, and she sure would like to know how they would feel all over her body. Maybe today she might actually find out. Maybe squeezing into this plane would be well worth it. “Just show me to my seat.”
He grinned and opened the miniature door. “Hand over your bag and I will assist you.”
Piper relinquished the tote to Adan, as well as her coveted control. “Here you are, and be careful with it because it contains some breakable items.”
His smile melted into a scowl. “This bag must weigh ten pounds. Did you pack all your worldly belongings?”
She playfully slapped at his biceps, well aware he had one heck of a muscle. “No, I did not. I just packed a swimsuit and a change of clothes, per your request. I also brought along a few toiletries and sunscreen and towels. And a small sketch pad and pencils, in case I want to immortalize our day together on paper.”
His smile returned full force. “It is quite possible you will not have time to sketch.”
That sounded very promising. “And why would that be, Your Highness?”
He leaned over and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “Well, my pretend princess, I have several activities planned to occupy our time.”
She could think of only one activity at the moment that interested her. “Can you give me a hint?”
“No. I want you to be surprised.” He executed a slight bow. “Now climb into my chariot, fair lady, and we will begin our adventure.”
She managed a not-half-bad curtsy. “As you wish, good sir.”
Luckily the step up into the two-seater plane wasn’t all that steep, but the small space seemed somewhat claustrophobic once Adan took his place beside her.
After strapping himself in, he handed her a headset. “Put this on and we’ll be able to hear each other over the engine noise.”
Noisy engine—not good. “Are you sure this is safe?” she asked before she covered her ears.
“Positive. And don’t look so worried. We’ll barely be off the ground before it’s time to land again.”
“A planned landing, I hope,” she muttered as she adjusted the bulky headphones.
From that point forward, Piper watched Adan in action as he guided the pitiful excuse for a plane to the airstrip adjacent to the fleet of high-powered jets. As he did a final check, the Arabic exchange between Adan and the air traffic controller sounded like gibberish to her. But once he began to taxi down the runway, she didn’t care if the pilot was speaking pig Latin. She held her breath, fisted her hands in her lap, gritted her teeth and closed her eyes tightly.
During liftoff, her stomach dipped as if she were riding a roller coaster. She felt every bump and sway as they gained altitude, and even when the plane seemed to level off, she still refused to look.
“You are missing some incredible scenery.”
Feeling somewhat foolish, Piper forced herself to peer out the window at the terrain now cast in the midmorning sun. She noticed only a few man-made structures dotting the landscape, but the approaching mountains looked as if she could reach out and touch them, and that did nothing for her anxiety.
As if sensing her stress, Adan reached over the controls and took her hand. “This is the best view of my country,” he said. “And when I am flying, I feel completely at peace.”
She wished she could say the same for herself. “I’ve got a swarm of butterflies in my belly.”
“I had no idea you’re such a nervous flier.”
“Not usually,” she said. “I’ve never been in an aircraft quite this small before.”
“Try to think of this as being as close to heaven as you can possibly be.”
“I’d prefer not to get too much closer.”
He grinned and squeezed her hand. “I will have you earthbound in a matter of minutes. If you look straight ahead, you’ll see where we are going to land.”
She tried to focus on the horizon, and not the descent toward the ground. Or the fact Adan was guiding them toward what appeared to be no more than a glorified dirt road—and a rather large mountain not far away. Her stomach dipped along with the plane as they approached the makeshift runway, but this time she kept her eyes open. She still remained as tense as a tightrope when the wheels touched down and they bounced a time or two before coming to a stop.
Piper let out the breath she’d been holding and looked around to find a thick copse of odd-looking trees surrounding them, but no signs of human life. “Where are we?”
Adan removed his headset, then hers, and smiled. “I am about to show you my most favorite place on the planet, and an experience you will not soon forget.”
