“Then what would you have done?” Alyssa asked quietly. “If you were in my shoes?”

  Ali took her hand in his. “I don’t know.”

  Alyssa pressed her lips together. “What now?”

  “I’m sorry, Alyssa. I lost myself at the apartment.”

  “I’m sorry, too.” She shut her eyes. “Thinking back, I should have just said it while you were at home.”

  “I understand it now, though.”

  Alyssa set her other hand on top of both of theirs. “I was in shock.”

  “And now?” Ali watched her with a raised brow.

  “I’m…not in shock,” she said, feeling like she missed something.

  “Are you…do you…” Ali cleared his throat.

  “Are you asking me if I want this baby?”

  Ali’s eyes locked with hers. “Yes.”

  A ball of emotion formed in Alyssa’s throat, and she had to swallow it before she could answer. Once she spoke, though, she could hardly stop.

  “Yes,” she said. “I want this baby. And I know it’s super early. Way sooner than we planned. And, God, we haven’t even set a wedding date yet, but I do want it. I was so excited when I found out about it. Scared, too, yeah. But it feels right, Ali. I mean…”

  Alyssa had run out of breath. She inhaled and looked at him. “What do you think?”

  Ali chuckled slightly. “Of course I want it, Alyssa. Did you think I wouldn’t?”

  She bit her lip. “I don’t know… In Costa Rica, you said—”

  “What I said in Costa Rica does not apply. Life cannot be perfectly planned out. Things happen.” He smiled. “Good things.”

  “Yeah.” Alyssa grinned back at him. “I guess they do.”

  Reaching across the table, Ali cupped her face in his hand. Alyssa relaxed the touch. Ali was here. He wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Ali?” she asked.

  “Hmm?” He drew his hand back.

  “Your mother said you’ve been through something similar to this before. With another woman and the tabloids.”

  “Ah. I could have guessed my mother has already spoken to you.”

  “Whoever she was,” Alyssa said. “Whatever she did…I’m not like that. I will never hurt you on purpose. I swear.”

  “I know,” Ali whispered. “And I will never hurt you, either.”

  Alyssa smiled through a haze of happy tears. “It kind of feels like we’re exchanging wedding vows, you know?”

  Ali chuckled. “A little bit, yes. Come over here.”

  He opened his arms, and Alyssa scooted along the bench. Safe and warm against his body, she sighed happily.

  Ali kissed the top of her head. “Trust is hard.”

  “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Tell me about it.”

  “I need you to know, though…” Ali swallowed. “I want nothing more than for you to be the mother of my child.”

  Alyssa looked up at him. “I want you to be the father. I mean, you are. And I like that.” She scrunched her face. “I feel like I’m not doing a good job expressing myself right now.”

  “That is all right.” Ali smoothed his hand over her head. “A lot has happened. Plus…” His gaze drifted down to her belly, and he placed his hand there. “Your body is busy. It is no doubt taking a lot of energy away from your brain.”

  Alyssa put her hand over top of his, enjoying the sensation of his touch there.

  “What I was going to add,” Ali said, “was that yes, trust is hard, but we can work on it together.”

  Alyssa lifted her face to his. “I’d like that.”

  Ali brushed hair from her face. “Good.”

  “One more thing about the article…” Alyssa cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. Really. If I had known that Derek—”

  “He took advantage of you, and he is the only one to blame. For now, let us forget about him.” Ali’s palm nestled against her belly. “We have more important things to talk about.”

  CHAPTER 14

  ALI

  Noura dropped one sugar cube into her tea, stirred, and set the spoon on the saucer next to the cup. She raised the cup to her lips but paused before taking a drink and glanced around the living room.

  “I do wish you had at least one member of staff,” she said.

  From her spot on one of the cushioned chairs across the coffee table, Alyssa gave Ali a small smile. He tried not to grin back—that would surely put his mother in an awful mood.

  “Things are different in New York,” Ali said. “And we do have a chef and a housekeeper.”

  “Yes, but you have no one to answer the door or make tea.”

  “Is there something wrong with the tea?” Alyssa asked.

  “Oh, no. It is fine.” Noura smiled at Alyssa, and Alyssa returned the gesture.

  Ali held back a chuckle. Something had changed between the two of them the night before. Alyssa had told him Noura had come over with a plan for damage control, and Alyssa had stood up for herself, telling Noura the whole story. After that, Noura had calmed down some.

  Watching the two of them, though, Ali could see there was more to it than that. There was a new respect between his mother and his fiancée that had not been there before.

  Perhaps the scandal and misunderstanding had been painful, but if it had helped ease tensions in the family at least a small amount, Ali was grateful for it.

  “I know it’s not perfect,” Alyssa said, still talking about the tea, “but I’ve been practicing making it the traditional Baqari way.”

  “And you have done a good job.” Noura nodded in satisfaction.

  Alyssa’s phone rang, and she looked over her shoulder to where she’d left it on the table by the doorway. “Sorry. I should see who it is.”

  Alyssa picked up the phone, her eyes going wide. “It’s my mother,” she said to Ali.

  He nodded. “You should probably take that.”

  “Right.” Hitting the answer button, she walked for the hall. “Hi, Mom.”

  Alyssa’s mom had called the night before, after seeing the article, but with everything happening, Alyssa had postponed the conversation. It had to be awful for her mother to be sitting around not knowing the truth, though. Ali thought it very strong of Laurie to wait a whole night and part of a morning before calling again.

  Alyssa’s voice was getting softer as she walked further back into the apartment. Ali took a sip of his tea and looked to his mother. She had not come over merely to chat. Noura never did such a thing.

  But Noura said nothing. She merely sipped her tea and looked at her son.

  “I will take care of Derek,” Ali said.

  Noura’s eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed. “Derek,” she said, as if it were a curse word. “How dare he? Does he not understand who this family is?”

  Ali sighed. “You know as well as I do, Mother, that there are not many laws when it comes to the press. We could sue him for slander. That would be lengthy, though, and there’s no guarantee it would be successful.”

  Noura sniffed. “Do it, anyway. I’m tired of these papers believing they can get away with anything.”

  Ali nodded. “I’ll make the call this morning.”

  They sat drinking their tea for another quiet minute. Alyssa’s voice had become barely perceptible, and Ali guessed she had shut herself in the bedroom to speak with Laurie.

  The sound of paws against the hardwood announced the entrance of the cats, and the next thing Ali knew, Gambit jumped onto the couch next to him. Ali glanced at his mother, expecting her to say something about it, but to his surprise, he found Ralph on her lap. What’s more, Ali’s mother was scratching the chubby orange cat behind the ear.

  “He is a nice animal,” she commented, almost absentmindedly.

  Ali smiled into his teacup. “We love them.”

  Noura looked around at the room—at the cats on the couch, at the long windows, at the doorway Alyssa had gone out of. Ali could almost feel her scrutinizing it all. He would almost think that—after three decades of being exposed to her constantly critical eye—he would be used to it. Sadly, however, he was not. Irritation wound its way through his chest. He knew by now, though, that causing a ruckus would not be worth it.

  “You have done well for yourself here, Ali,” Noura said abruptly. “Your father and I are proud of you.”

  Ali tilted his head and looked at her in surprise. He knew that his parents were happy he was finally getting married, but they had made it clear that they wished it was to someone of his own social class. They also did not like having him living in New York, and wished he were in Baqar instead.

  So, for his mother to look at his life and say she was proud… What was happening here?

  “I must admit, Mother, that is not something I expected to hear.”

  “Yes, well…” She lifted her shoulder as if it was no big deal. “We are both quite happy to hear about the baby.”

  Ali smiled. So this was about the baby.

  “I am happy as well, Mother.”

  Before they could say anything else, Alyssa entered the living room. “What did I miss?”

  Ali smiled at her. “Not very much. How is your mother?”

  “Mad that I didn't tell her about the baby, but I expected that.”

  Ali extended his arm, and Alyssa walked over to the couch and leaned against his shoulder, his arm around her waist. After three weeks apart compounded by the drama that had occurred once he’d arrived home, Ali now felt he could not go more than a minute without his hands on Alyssa.

  That morning, after he'd woken in the early light and found Alyssa still asleep, he'd taken some time to quietly observe her and found her different in subtle ways. Her cheeks were pinker. Her body softer. When she'd woken and gone about getting ready for the day, there was a change in the way she moved. It was hard to put a finger on, exactly, but it was almost as if she were more aware of her body, aware of the treasure she held inside.

  “We were speaking of one important matter while you were out,” Noura said. She put her teacup down and focused on petting Ralph.

  “What?” Alyssa asked.

  “Derek,” Ali said, his voice clipped. He did not even like saying the man's name. Talk about a necessary evil.

  Alyssa's shoulders slumped. “It was stupid of me to trust him. For some reason, I actually thought he wanted to be friends.”

  Ali squeezed her waist. “It’s not your fault. He took advantage of you.”

  “Yeah, but I let him.”

  “And he will pay for that,” Noura said.

  Alyssa laughed nervously. “What, are you gonna take a hit out on him or something?”

  Noura’s lips twitched.

  “Kidding,” Alyssa said.

  “I will sue him,” Ali answered.

  Alyssa looked at him, and a quiet moment stretched on. Pulling away from his arm, she took a seat on the chair next to the couch.

  “You think it's worth it?”

  “Yes,” Ali said confidently. He wondered why she seemed hesitant. Alyssa had been a paralegal for years. She understood American law much better than he could ever hope to. “It is possible,” Ali said. “Is it not?”

  “Possible…” Alyssa folded her legs on the chair and thought about that. “Sure, it's possible. The gossip magazines write trash about people all the time. Half of it can't be true, and a few celebrities that I know of have sued over false stories.”

  “So, we have a chance then,” Noura said excitedly.

  Alyssa’s face twisted. “I'm not sure I want to take that chance.”

  “But what do we have to lose?” Ali asked. “I have more than enough money to hire the best lawyer in New York.”

  “If we sue Derek, it's not just him we'll be hurting. It will be his whole family.”

  Alyssa pierced Ali with her certain gaze, and he saw that she'd already made up her mind on this.

  “You’re worried about his wife and children,” Ali said, already feeling like a horrible person for not thinking about them before.

  “They are not our responsibility,” Noura said.

  Alyssa looked to her. “It's not about responsibility,” she said, not unkindly. “I don't want to hurt them because I…” She spread her palms. “I don't want to. It's as simple as that.”

  Pride swelled in Ali. He knew he did not always have the most empathy, but Alyssa was an angel. She constantly taught him how to be a better person.

  “But you barely know them,” Noura protested.

  “How well I know them doesn't matter. That doesn't change the struggle they'll go through if Derek loses his job and a judge makes him pay up. They could lose their home.”

  Noura sighed. “Then, what do we do?”

  Alyssa shrugged, looking incredibly sad.

  “Doing nothing is not an option,” Ali said. “Derek is dangerous. Left to his own whims, he could easily continue to write anything he chooses about us. We are releasing the statement debunking his article, but that is not enough. I want to make sure nothing like this happens in the future.”

  “You can't control the press, Ali,” Alyssa said.

  “No, but I can exert a certain amount of force over this one man.”

  Alyssa looked like she did not know what to say to that.

  Noura stood and smoothed her skirt. “Well, I should get going. I trust you both to make the appropriate decision when it comes to this. Please keep us updated.”

  Her eyes lingered on Ali, and he understood the hidden message there. The “appropriate decision” was whatever would make the royal family look best.

  “Thank you for coming by, Noura,” Alyssa said, standing and leading the way to the hall.

  “I will see you to your car, Mother,” Ali said in the foyer.

  “No need. The driver is waiting out front for me.” She kissed Ali and Alyssa on their cheeks, then glanced over her shoulder right before she went through the door. “I am trusting you, Ali.”

  The door clicked shut behind her.

  “Yikes,” Alyssa said. “Why did that sound so ominous?”

  Ali sighed and scratched his chin. He’d neglected to shave that morning, something his mother had commented on the moment he’d walked through the door.

  “She is worried I will embarrass the family name,” Ali explained.

  “Well, that’s not gonna happen,” Alyssa tartly said. “Because we’re not doing anything other than releasing that statement and having the photo shoots. Other than that, I’m done. I don’t need anyone to know my business ever again.”

  “There is still the matter of Derek,” Ali reminded her.

  Alyssa folded her arms. “I don’t like it any more than you, Ali. If Derek were here right now, I honestly might punch him in his face. But what I said before still holds: I’m not gonna hurt his family.” She made a face. “I just hope his wife figures out what a sleaze-ball he is soon.”

  “Doing nothing is not an option,” Ali said quietly.

  Alyssa eyed him. “Why do I feel like you have an idea?”

  Ali chuckled. “Because I do?”

  “What kind of idea?” she asked slowly, eyes squinted.

  “The kind that will not involve suing Derek, and will not involve losing his job.”

  Alyssa chewed that over. “But it will prevent him from writing any more about us?”

  “That is the idea, yes.”

  Alyssa dropped her arms and walked up to his chest. “Okay. That sounds like something I can live with.”

  Ali cupped her cheek. “Were you really going to let it all be?”

  Alyssa looked up at him. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I mean, last night, when I was looking everywhere for you, I almost went over to his place so I could scream at him in front of his wife…but I knew that was pathetic. That would be stooping to his level, and it wouldn’t really get anything done.”

  “You have more self-restraint than me,” Ali said.

  Alyssa looped her arms around his neck. “Yeah, but you have a lot I don’t. You’re definitely the more pragmatic of the two of us.”

  Ali laughed. “Alyssa, dear, I was not that way until I met you. You showed me that all my yearning for a different way of living was not in vain. I could make the changes I wanted. I could become a new person.”

  “Okay, maybe I helped bring that side of you out,” she pointedly said. “But I didn’t create it. It was there in you all along.”

  Ali ran his hand down her back. “What you are saying is that we make a great team.”

  “Exactly.” Alyssa grinned. “Now, tell me about this plan you have for Derek.”

  CHAPTER 15

  ALYSSA

  Sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of chamomile tea at her side and her laptop in front of her, Alyssa read through the email she'd written to Derek the day before.

  Going off of Ali's plan, they'd decided to ask Derek over for a “follow-up” interview. Knowing he'd never bite at such an obvious trap, Alyssa had written that she had been displeased over the article, but “what's done is done,” and she now wanted to find some way to spin the story and make her and Ali look good.

  Nervously twisting her ring back and forth, Alyssa glanced at the clock. Derek would be there any minute, and Lucy was running late.

  The buzzer sounded, and Alyssa jumped up. She met Ali in the hallway.

  “I hope that's her,” Alyssa said.

  Ali touched her shoulder. “Once he hears what we have to say, he will be terrified regardless of when Lucy arrives.”

  Alyssa rolled her eyes and pushed the intercom’s button. “Here's hoping.”

  “It's me!” Lucy sang out.

  “Thank goodness,” Alyssa sighed. “Come on up.”

  “Sorry,” Lucy said as she rushed in the door a minute later. “The trains were behind.” She took off her coat, and Alyssa’s jaw dropped.

  “Holy…” Alyssa breathed. “You look amazing.”

  “Thanks.” Lucy did a turn, showing off her gray dress suit, six inch black heels, red lipstick, and austere bun. “It's my hard-ass lawyer outfit. Hopefully it'll be convincing, since I'm not, you know, exactly a lawyer, yet.”

  “Technicalities,” Ali said with a smile.