“You wouldn’t worry I might expose you?”
He hinted at a smile. “You have already exposed me and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”
That deserved an eye roll, which she gave him. “You’re not helping your cause, Tarek. I won’t agree even to consider accompanying you unless you promise to halt the innuendo and the thinly veiled seduction.”
He tried on an innocent look, but it failed to impress her. “I can only promise that I will try. I do promise to make the journey worth your while.”
His methods of making that happen concerned her most of all. “I’ll keep that in mind. At the moment, I have to go.”
He ate up the space between them in a matter of seconds, took her hand and kissed it. “Until we meet again.”
Don’t hold your breath, she thought as she hurried into the hallway. Wisdom dictated she refuse to go with him anywhere, especially to an exotic locale where she could forget her worries, and most likely would forget herself.
She needed to remember he was exactly the kind of man she’d strived to shun. And after tomorrow morning, when she’d tell him he could find someone else to do his bidding, she would have absolutely no reason to speak to him again.
* * *
“You’re pregnant.”
Balanced on the edge of the uncomfortable exam table, Kira tugged on her skirt hem and stared blankly at Dr. Maysa Mehdi, presiding queen of Bajul and resident village physician. “Excuse me?” she asked, her voice barely a croak.
Maysa scooted the rolling stool closer and flipped her lengthy dark braid back over one shoulder. “When I ordered your lab work last week, I had them add a pregnancy test, in light of your symptoms. That test was positive and all the rest were normal.”
Kira pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes against the sudden headache. “This can’t be happening.”
“I’m afraid it is, and it appears you are not pleased with the news.”
Kira opened her eyes and exhaled slowly. “I’m shocked. First of all, I’ve been on the pill for years. Secondly, I’ve been exposed only one time in several years.” And some exposure it had been.
Maysa opened the chart resting in her lap and scanned the text. “I notice here you have not requested a refill on your birth control in two months.”
Guilty. “I suppose I’ve been so busy I basically forgot. And I had no real need for them.” Until Tarek Azzmar slipped into her life like a thief of hearts and destroyed her self-imposed celibacy.
“Perhaps you were so busy that you forgot to take your pills prior to the time of your lovemaking?” Maysa asked.
Guilty again. “Yes, but only for two, maybe three days tops.”
“That is all it takes, Kira.”
She suddenly felt like an absolute fool. An unequivocal idiot. “Believe me, I never planned to be with this man.”
Maysa smiled. “At times, plans go awry and mistakes are made. How will this man feel about the pregnancy?”
She had no clue how Tarek would react, or if she would even tell him. “I truly don’t know. In reality, I barely know him beyond a few social functions. It was something neither of us expected to happen.”
“If he is a man of honor,” Maysa began, “he will accept the responsibility of raising a child.”
If only she could claim he was a man of honor, but all signs pointed to the contrary. “I suppose only time will tell.”
Maysa closed the chart and came to her feet. “I suppose you will learn soon enough. In the meantime, you’ll need to take better care of yourself, including getting more rest.”
As much as Kira had always dreamed of having a child, reaching that goal now hadn’t figured into her immediate plans, especially when considering her duties at the palace. “I have no idea how to balance work and this pregnancy. And I can’t imagine what my parents will say when I tell them.”
Maysa frowned. “They would not welcome a grandchild?”
“Since my mother’s Canadian and open-minded, she would be fine with it. My father, on the other hand, is from Bajul and quite the traditionalist. He would not be pleased to know his unwed daughter is giving birth.”
Maysa rested a hand on Kira’s shoulder. “If you determine the timing is not right for you, perhaps you should consider adoption.”
Since she was an adopted child, a fact few people knew, she had mixed feelings about that option. “I don’t know if I could hand over my baby to strangers.”
“Some believe that is the most unselfish thing a woman can do for her child, myself included. Regardless, you do not need to decide immediately. I am going to prescribe prenatal vitamins that you should begin taking.”
When Maysa turned to the counter and began scribbling on a prescription pad, Kira slid off the table and pressed her palm against the small of her aching back. At least now she knew why she’d been so tired and slightly nauseated. At least now she could explain the absence of her period. At least now she could formulate a plan for the future and decide if it would include the father of her baby.
It suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she should reconsider Tarek’s offer. Not only would she get some rest, but two weeks might be enough time to determine if he wanted children, and hopefully whether he would be father material. If neither applied, she could decide where she would go from there.
As soon as she returned to the palace, she would seek out Tarek Azzmar and ask a few more questions about his proposition. Only then could she establish if spending more time with him would be worth the risk.
* * *
“Miss Darzin is here to see you, sir.”
Tarek glanced up to find the young woman he’d recently hired standing in the doorway to his private study. He hesitated, surprised by the announcement. “Send her in, Adara.”
After the servant disappeared, Tarek set the quarterly reports on the teakwood end table, rose from the club chair and waited for what seemed an interminable amount of time before Kira appeared, looking as beautiful as the first time he’d noticed her across a crowded reception hall.
After tugging at the hem of her blue blazer, she swept one hand through her chin-length golden-brown hair and surveyed the room. “It’s nice to see you’ve completed all the décor.”
“It is very nice to see you.”
“Thank you,” she said with cool formality. “Everything looks extremely different from the last time I visited.”
The visit Tarek had not forgotten. The tour of the newly built, empty mansion had ended with a passionate encounter on the floor of the grand ballroom. “I still have some work to do on the third floor suites. How was your appointment with the physician, if you do not mind my asking?”
“I received a clean bill of health.” She then strolled into the room and breezed past him to study the volumes of books on the shelves behind his desk. “You have very eclectic tastes when it comes to novels. I had no idea you were so interested in true crime.”
He slid his hands into his pockets and approached her slowly. “Did you come here to approve my reading material?”
Finally, she faced him. “Actually, I came here to discuss the trip to Cyprus. I have a few more questions before I make my decision.”
His optimism rose when he thought she might have reconsidered his proposition. “What would you wish to know?”
“You’re certain we would be gone only two weeks?”
“Unless