“Good.” She paused. “But then why did you tell Noura to go ahead?”

  Ali grinned wickedly. “So I could have the privacy to finish what we started before my mother interrupted.”

  With that, wrapping his arms around her waist, he brought her in for a sizzling kiss.

  CHAPTER 18

  ALYSSA

  The sound of the buzzer made Lucy jump up from her spot on Alyssa’s couch. Gambit, spooked by her sudden movement, took off running.

  “That has to be it,” Lucy squealed.

  Alyssa eased herself up from the other end of the couch. Now that she was six months pregnant, her energy was back and she was never sick—but she was rather, well…she took up a lot of space. And getting around with an extra human attached to her proved to be tricky sometimes.

  She followed Lucy into the foyer, where Lucy hit the intercom. “Yes?”

  “Miss Cambridge,” Eli—who worked the front desk during the day—said, “Your magazine is here. I will send it up with Ricky.”

  “Yes,” Lucy hissed, letting go of the button. “I can’t wait.”

  Alyssa smoothed her hands over her belly and sighed. “I’m nervous.”

  “Didn’t you see the photos at the shoot?”

  “Yeah, they showed them to us on the monitor right there on the beach, but still…” Alyssa bit her bottom lip. “It’s a magazine, Lu. My face is out there for everyone to see…along with my body.”

  Lucy looked Alyssa straight in the eye. “And that body, girl, is beautiful.”

  “Thanks, Lu.” Alyssa smiled. “Have I ever told you you always know exactly what to say?”

  Lucy shrugged a shoulder. “What can I say? I guess that's my thing.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Lucy flung it open. Ricky, a college student who worked in the building part-time, extended a magazine. “For you, Miss Cambridge.”

  “Thanks, Ricky.” Alyssa extracted a tip from her purse sitting on the nearby table while Lucy took the magazine.

  Shutting the door after Ricky, Alyssa turned to Lucy. “Well?”

  Lucy stared at the front cover of the magazine, a grin on her face. “It's nice. Really nice.”

  She turned it around so Alyssa could see the picture, and Alyssa gasped in surprise. There, on the cover of a prominent Baqari fashion magazine, were Alyssa and Ali standing on a beach. Alyssa’s royal blue gown blew in the breeze, and Ali looked his handsome self in a traditional Baqari suit.

  Alyssa slowly took the magazine from Lucy, unable to tear her gaze away from the cover. She'd seen pictures of her and Ali before, ones taken at dinners or charity events. The framed picture in their bedroom was a more personal one, a shot they'd taken of themselves at the beach over the summer. But this fashion magazine picture took things to a whole new level. The beach photo was way better than the unedited shots Alyssa had seen the day of the shoot.

  Her hair and skin were luminous, her smile bright. Ali’s chiseled face wore a look of absolute pride as he stood half behind Alyssa, his hand on her full belly.

  As part of the plan Noura had laid out months before, Alyssa and Ali had flown to Baqar several weeks earlier to participate in a maternity shoot. In addition to taking photographs, the magazine had conducted an interview—which was the other thing Alyssa was nervous about.

  Heart thudding, she carried the magazine into the living room, Lucy hot on her heels. Plopping down on the couch, she flipped it open. When she came to the article, accompanied by a picture of the couple gazing into each other's eyes under a tree, Alyssa lost her nerves.

  “I can't,” she said, shoving the magazine at Lucy.

  “What's wrong?”

  “I'm just nervous. What if it says… I don't know…”

  “They can't publish anything negative about you. This isn't Whispers.”

  That made Alyssa laugh. “Okay. True.”

  “That being said, I will happily be the first to read it.” Sitting cross-legged, Lucy scanned the article, her lips silently moving.

  Alyssa chewed on her thumbnail. “Okay. What’s it say?”

  “I’m not done.”

  “But what’s the tone?”

  Lucy looked at Alyssa like she was crazy. “Uh, the tone is positive-through-the-roof.” She tossed the magazine in Alyssa’s direction.

  Licking her dry lips, Alyssa snatched up the magazine. The baby kicked, and she pressed her palm against the spot as she read the article.

  “This is really…nice,” Alyssa said after a minute.

  “Yeah. Have you gotten to the part where they call you guys a merging of tradition and the romance of the future?”

  “It’s…so nice,” Alyssa whispered, tears pricking her eyes.

  “What?” Lucy asked.

  “It’s just…” Alyssa sniffed and put down the magazine. “I guess, after the way this whole pregnancy started, you know, with the hiding and the shame, and then that article…I couldn’t help but expect something at least slightly negative. Is that crazy?”

  Lucy shook her head. “Not at all. Because of how everything went down in the beginning, you’ve been conditioned to associate bad things with the press. That’s human nature. It’s called learning how to survive.”

  “Yeah,” Alyssa said with a nod. “You’re right. And I think that, as I get used to things being good, my immediate reactions will start changing.”

  Lucy winked. “Precisely.”

  “Ali will like this.” Alyssa smoothed her hand over the magazine, making sure no part of it was wrinkled.

  “How did he like the photo shoot?”

  Alyssa giggled. “He didn’t. But he went through with it for his mother.”

  The sound of the front door opening made them both look over. Ali entered the living room, his cheeks pink from the cold.

  “Hi,” he said.

  Lucy and Alyssa stared at him from over the back of the couch, smiles on both their faces.

  Ali squinted his eyes. “Am I missing something?”

  The girls giggled.

  “Look.” Alyssa held the magazine up. “This came.”

  Ali laughed. “Ah. Yes. I forgot that was on its way today.”

  “How could you forget?” Alyssa squealed. “It’s our debut as a couple in Baqar.”

  Arriving at the couch, Ali picked up the magazine and inspected its cover. “And you look marvelous.” He bent and kissed Alyssa on the cheek. “Are we having the lasagna for dinner?”

  Alyssa guffawed and looked at Lucy. “I wait breathlessly for this for weeks, and meanwhile, he forgets all about it.” She looked at Ali. “Yeah. Lasagna is a go for me.”

  Ali finished with his tie and got to work unbuttoning his sleeves. Next up would be the pouring of a bourbon. He’d taken to this after-work ritual over the last couple months, and since it involved the two of them cozying up on the couch while they watched a movie and he massaged whichever pregnant part of her body currently ached the most, Alyssa couldn’t complain.

  “Lucy,” Ali said. “Will you stay for dinner?”

  “As tempting as that sounds…” Lucy paused. “I actually have plans.”

  “More studying?” Alyssa asked.

  “No, um, something…else.”

  Alyssa looked at Lucy in confusion. It wasn’t like her to be cryptic.

  “What?” Alyssa asked with a laugh. “Do you have a date or something?”

  “Yeah. Actually, I do.”

  Alyssa’s jaw dropped. “Lucy! You didn’t tell me that!”

  Lucy scrunched her nose. “I didn’t want to make it into a big thing.”

  “Except, it kind of is. You haven’t been on a date in months.”

  “Try longer,” Lucy reminded her.

  “Who’s it with?” Ali asked from the bar as he poured himself a drink.

  “Someone from school,” Lucy said. “And it’s no big deal.”

  “Liar,” Alyssa said. “I see you blushing.”

  “Okay, fine! I’m excited. And nervous.”

  Alyssa’s heart melted. Not a lot made Lucy nervous. This date really had to meaning something to her.

  “Don’t worry,” Alyssa assured her. “It’ll be fine. It’s cool you’re making time to get out there and be social.”

  “Yeah.” Lucy nodded. “It feels pretty freeing. Hey, it was just a year ago where I was the one telling you to get out there and start living.”

  “And I never listened,” Alyssa laughed.

  “Until that one day you did,” Lucy pointed out, “and your life changed forever.”

  “Maybe that’ll happen to you tonight,” Alyssa responded.

  Laughing, Lucy headed for the front door. “I won’t hold my breath.”

  They said their goodbyes, and the front door clicked closed. Ali left the bar, took his spot on the couch, put his bourbon on a coaster, and set Alyssa’s legs across his lap.

  “How are you?” he asked, smoothing his palm down her cheek. “Feeling all right?”

  “I’m doing great. The magazine article is really nice. They make it sound like people in Baqar are excited about us.”

  “They are,” Ali said.

  “But your mother was so worried. She made it sound like the whole country might explode because you’re having a baby out of wedlock.”

  Ali laughed. “She is from a different time, my love. Baqar, like many other countries, has developed to be more modern with time.”

  “Yeah.” Alyssa laced her fingers with his. “I’m glad you’re home.”

  The baby kicked, and Alyssa gasped.

  “What?” Ali asked with alarm.

  She guided his hand to her belly. “There,” she said.

  They waited, hardly daring to breathe. After a moment, the baby kicked again, this time against Ali’s hand.

  Ali chuckled. “Wonderful. Strong as a river.” His eyes twinkled wickedly. “The Hudson River.”

  “Oh, Lord.” Alyssa rolled her eyes. “This again.”

  CHAPTER 19

  ALYSSA

  The April breeze wafted across Central Park, and Alyssa lifted her face to it, absorbing the warmth of the sun and the caress of the wind. It was the first truly warm day of the year, and Ali had suggested they spend the afternoon having a picnic.

  Behind Alyssa, on the blanket he’d spread out, Ali rubbed her shoulders. Alyssa took in a long breath. She was full from the lunch, cozy from the sun, and relaxed by Ali’s gentle touches.

  “You know,” she murmured sleepily, “I could get used to this. I don’t think I want to stop being pregnant.”

  Ali chuckled. “You think I treat you this way only because you’re pregnant?”

  “You’ve definitely upped the massages.” Alyssa grinned over her shoulder at him. “Don’t deny that.”

  “True,” he conceded.

  Nearby, on the lawn, a group of college kids played frisbee, their dog running alongside the disc with his pink tongue hanging from his mouth. A group of mothers pushing strollers walked by, and an old man playing a harmonica sauntered down the hill.

  Central Park. Man, Alyssa loved it.

  “We used to come sledding here when I was a kid,” she said.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Mm-hmm.” She closed her eyes as Ali found a particularly sore spot in her shoulder.

  “So you know all the best hills.”

  “Heck, yeah.”

  “We’ll bring the baby here next winter.”

  Alyssa laughed. “Eight months is a little young for sledding, honey.”

  “True.” She heard the smile in his voice. “The year after that, then. He or she can sit on my lap.”

  Alyssa smiled to herself, the perfect picture of Ali and their little one going down a snow-covered hill filling her mind.

  A tightness entered the middle part of her belly, and Alyssa cringed.

  “Are you all right?” Ali asked, his hands stilling.

  “Yeah,” Alyssa said, breathing out as the uncomfortable sensation passed. “Just a Braxton Hicks. Dr. Jean said they might get more common around now, remember?”

  “Yes,” Ali said. “I hope you won’t be in pain for the next four weeks, though.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. They’re so mild. It’s nothing like real—”

  Another spasm cut Alyssa off, and she sucked in a sharp breath. This one was longer than the last, and she breathed out slow, waiting for it to pass.

  “Alyssa?” Ali trailed his fingers down her back, waiting for her response.

  “Yeah,” she said through gritted teeth. The contraction ended, and she swallowed hard. None of the Braxton-Hicks up till this moment had been so strong. In fact, they’d been more like the cramps you get from running too hard than anything else.

  “This seems different,” Ali commented, reading her mind.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “But they can’t be…” She licked her lips.

  “Real labor?” Ali asked.

  “The due date is four weeks away.”

  “Perhaps we should take you to the hospital, anyway. Just to be checked out.”

  Alyssa started to tell him that wasn’t necessary, but another contraction arrived, and she focused on breathing through it. As it ended, she opened her eyes and turned to him, her heart pounding wildly.

  “This is different,” she agreed. “Let’s go.”

  By the time they made it out of Central Park and to the street, the contractions had become so intense that Alyssa found it hard to walk. Ali flagged a taxi down, and they sped off.

  In the back of the cab, Alyssa rolled down her window so she could catch a breeze on her face. She couldn’t be in labor, right? Four weeks early was not good. Everything with the pregnancy had been perfect so far. A premature baby didn’t make sense.

  And yet, as they raced to the hospital, Alyssa’s contractions seemed to advance at warp-speed.

  “This doesn’t seem like a normal first delivery,” she told Ali, biting into her lip as another tightening came on. “No way is this gonna take twelve hours.”

  Indeed, getting out of the taxi proved to be one of the hardest things Alyssa had ever done. Someone came forward with a wheelchair, and she gratefully lowered herself into it, only to find that her weight pressing against the hard surface caused more discomfort.

  A nurse pushed her into the lobby, Ali at Alyssa’s side.

  “We just need to get you checked in,” the nurse said.

  Alyssa huffed. “I really don’t know if there’s time for that.”

  Ali’s jaw ticked and his eyes glinted. “Nurse, I fear this may be an emergency. She’s not due for another month, and the contractions are unnaturally close.”

  The nurse paused and then nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s get you up to the delivery ward, and then we’ll worry about everything else.”

  “If this is the real thing,” Alyssa said to Ali in between contractions, “call our parents.”

  Both of Ali’s parents had arrived from Baqar two days earlier, using the trip as an opportunity both to wait for the baby’s arrival and to check up on their New York businesses.

  Ali squeezed her hand. “I’ll call them after the baby arrives.”

  Alyssa laughed. “They’re gonna give you hell.”

  “I don’t care.” Ali smiled. “Do you really want everyone here?”

  Alyssa looked up at his gorgeous face. “You’re all I need.”

  In the delivery room, the doctor on call confirmed it: the baby was on its way.

  “Will it be all right?” Alyssa asked in despair, just as another contraction surged over her.

  The room filled with people, and a variety of devices started beeping. Alyssa was soon hooked up to so many machines she lost track of what was happening. All she knew was the baby was coming early, and the baby was coming fast. For some reason, her body had decided to jumpstart labor, and now, there was nothing to do but hang on for the ride.

  Please be all right, she prayed as she pushed. Little baby, you can do this.

  And then, after all the craziness, excitement, terror, and surprise, time ground to a halt. The doctor lifted a tiny little figure into the bright lights, and a high-pitched wail pierced the air.

  “He’s all right,” the doctor said, looking the baby over.

  “He’s all right,” Alyssa gasped, repeating the words, driving them into her brain. Her baby was okay!

  “He?” Ali asked from where he held Alyssa’s head up.

  “That’s right,” the doctor said, handing the baby over to Alyssa.

  Like it was second nature, like she’d done it a million times, Alyssa cradled her newborn son in her arms. She ran her hand over his cheek and laughed.

  “He looks like you,” she told Ali.

  Ali kissed her forehead. “But he has your nose and mouth.”

  Alyssa stared into her little boy’s face, tears filling her eyes. “It feels like we’ve been waiting for him forever.”

  Hours later, set up in a room in another part of the hospital, the baby slept soundly in Alyssa’s arms. There was a soft knock on the door, and Ali got up to open it. Suddenly, everyone spilled in at once. Alyssa’s parents. Ali’s parents. Lucy.

  “Ohmigosh,” Lucy gushed breathlessly. She crept over to Alyssa’s bedside and peeked at the sleeping baby in her arms. “You are kidding me right now. This is too amazing. Can I get a pic? Jason has to see this.” She took her phone out and snapped a close-up of the baby to text to her boyfriend.

  “You’ll wake him,” Alyssa’s mom said, gently pushing Lucy out of the way. Tears shone in her eyes, and she clasped her hands. “Oh, Alyssa. He’s beautiful.”

  Alyssa’s dad cleared his throat, a sure sign he was becoming emotional. “He looks like a good kid.”

  Alyssa laughed, and Lucy rolled her eyes behind Steve’s back.

  “A true miracle,” Noura said, adding something in Arabic that Alyssa thought sounded like a blessing.

  “Congratulations,” Ali’s dad, Fakhir, said, shaking his son’s hand.

  “Thanks, everyone.” Ali perched on the edge of Alyssa’s bed, his arm around her shoulders. The baby made a noise and yawned in his sleep, and a collective “aw” filled the room.

  “He is all right?” Laurie asked. “He’s so early.”