“The doctors checked him out thoroughly,” Ali said. “He is well. And so is Alyssa. She did wonderfully.”

  “Of course she did.” Laurie pushed hair back from Alyssa’s face. “She’s strong like that.”

  “We were pretty scared for a while there,” Alyssa admitted. “But he’s fully developed. Just a little underweight.”

  Ali nodded. “The doctor said we should be able to go home tomorrow.”

  “So, what’s his name?” Lucy asked.

  “Tell me you didn’t go with Hudson,” Alyssa’s dad said.

  Laurie shot him a look. “Hudson is a beautiful name.”

  “So is Abdal,” Noura said, reminding them of the name she had only mentioned about a hundred times.

  Alyssa and Ali looked at each other. “We went with something a little more traditional,” Alyssa said.

  “Even though being named after a river that has seen a lot of history is an honor,” Ali said.

  The group laughed and shook their heads.

  “Please say it’s not another river,” Ali’s dad moaned.

  “It’s not.” Alyssa smiled, running her finger down her son’s face. “His name is Rashid.”

  “Rashid,” Laurie gasped. “Beautiful!”

  Noura pressed her hand to her heart. “The family will be so pleased.”

  “Yeah.” Alyssa smiled at Ali. “We’re pretty happy with it.”

  He held her gaze. “We’re pretty happy in general,” he said.

  Alyssa laughed, her heart overflowing with love and joy. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I can’t argue with you there.”

  * * *

  The End of Book Two

  * * *

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this second instalment of Ali and Alyssa’s story. Book three is available now:

  To read the beginning of book three, continue scrolling!

  HIS BELOVED BRIDE

  CHAPTER 1

  ALYSSA

  “Shh, shh,” Alyssa cooed, bouncing three-month-old baby Rashid in her arms. Outside, a light rain splattered the kitchen windows. It was a July dusk in New York City, the red, yellow and white lights of the cars far below sparkling away.

  It used to be that Alyssa dreaded Friday nights. Years before, she’d lost much of her desire to go out and hang at clubs and bars, and that switch had produced both positive and negative repercussions. On the one hand, staying in had meant less spending money on drinks she didn’t really want and less getting hit on by creepy guys, but on the other, it meant spiraling into a lonely funk.

  Nowadays, she looked forward to Fridays. If Ali didn’t have a business dinner, he’d be home, sharing stories about his day and making plans with the family for the weekend. Since Rashid had arrived, Alyssa had taken to working part-time at her job at the nonprofit. Being lucky enough to take it if she’d wanted, she’d considered a full six-month maternity leave. In the end, though, she knew that wasn’t for her. Balance was where it was at.

  So, that meant going into the office three days a week while Rashid was with his nanny. It was the best of both worlds. She felt extremely blessed.

  “Is the bottle ready?” Alyssa asked, turning away from the window and looking at Ali.

  “Just about.” He glanced up at her from the stovetop, and an automatic smile pulled at Alyssa’s lips. Was it possible that her fiancé just kept getting better looking? With his black, wavy hair and firm jaw, Ali looked like a cover model—like he should always be stretched out on the beach, shirtless.

  “He needs an eight ounce,” Alyssa said. “Not four.”

  “I know, darling,” Ali replied soothingly.

  Alyssa sighed. “Sorry. He’s just been cranky today.”

  As if wanting to prove that point, Rashid burst into a loud cry. Alyssa rubbed her palm around his back and kissed the top of his head.

  “It’s okay, Rashid,” she whispered. “Daddy has your bottle coming.”

  “It is ready,” Ali announced.

  He brought the bottle over, and Rashid’s brown eyes widened as he saw it coming. The bottle went into his mouth with a pop, and he let out one of those big belly sighs that only babies could. He suckled away, his eyelids growing heavy.

  “He’s tired tonight,” Ali whispered.

  “Yeah, Kinsley said he woke up from his nap early,” Alyssa said, referring to the nanny they’d hired two months back.

  They stood there together in the kitchen, the silence broken only by the loud sucks of a happy baby. Ali put his hand on Alyssa’s shoulder, and a deep sense of gratitude filled her.

  “Wow, this is what life is really about,” she whispered. “You know? All the worrying and running around and trying to get ahead all the time…it seems so important, but in the end, it’s only being here that feels important. Being with people to love.”

  Ali squeezed her shoulder. “I do know.”

  Rashid let out a long sigh and the bottle’s nipple slipped from his mouth. A little bit of milk clung to his lips, and Ali wiped it away with his thumb.

  Walking slowly so as not to wake the baby, Alyssa took Rashid to the nursery across the hall from the master bedroom. He’d wake later in the night, of course, and there was a good chance Ali or Alyssa would bring him into their room and put him in the bassinet next to their bed, but for now, he slumbered in his crib. Ali turned on the nightlight, and colorful starfish and octopuses floated across the wall.

  There was a soft meow as Gambit peeked into the room. He ran his tail along the doorframe and looked up at his humans.

  “Go, Gambit,” Ali whispered, waving his hand at the cat. “No cats in the baby’s room.”

  Alyssa leaned down to kiss their baby on the forehead. Then, because she couldn’t resist, she planted a kiss on each cheek.

  She stepped back and allowed Ali to kiss Rashid; then, together, they gently closed the door and went back to the front of the apartment.

  The cats were on the couch, Ralph laying on his side and Gambit sitting there, tail still twitching and ears flicking as he scanned the room for a bug or piece of lint he might be able to play with. Though he was full-grown, Gambit was one of those cats who would probably always be a kitten at heart.

  Alyssa collapsed onto the couch and put her feet up on the footstool.

  “Tea?” Ali asked.

  “Yes, please. Don’t worry about the tray and the mangos cut to look like flowers, though.”

  Ali rolled his eyes. “That is the Baqari way.”

  “I know.” Alyssa took hold of his hand. “I’m only poking fun.”

  He ran his palm over the top of her head. “Be right back.”

  Relaxing on the couch, Alyssa brought her phone out and checked her messages. Lucy had sent her a picture of some guy on the subway that she swore was a celebrity. There was a work email, which Alyssa was tempted to open, but she held off. Tomorrow morning, she promised herself.

  There were three emails from her mom, each of them pertaining to the upcoming wedding. One contained about a dozen pictures of wedding dresses and another contained baby tux options for Rashid. The last email was all about venues. Destination or in town, Laurie wanted to know, and, if the former, where? Beach? Mountains?

  Alyssa could nearly feel her mother’s anxiety leaking out of the email. It heightened her own nerves, not that she needed much help with that. For some reason, she and Ali had set their wedding date without giving much thought to anything else. Now, reaching the middle of July, they were only two months away from the big day.

  Alyssa put the phone down on the coffee table without replying to any of the messages. Her stomach felt like a pile of wet ropes, and a frantic feeling was rising.

  Footsteps announced Ali’s entrance. He set two mugs of tea on the marble coasters on the coffee table and took his seat on the cushion next to Alyssa.

  Ali brought Alyssa’s legs across his lap and sighed. “All right. We made it to Friday. We get to sleep in tomorrow.” His grin was short-lived. “Wait. Aren’t you dress shopping tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.” Alyssa picked up her tea, then put it back down. Chamomile wasn’t going to do anything for her queasiness.

  Ali cocked his head. “Is everything okay?”

  “The wedding is two months away.”

  “Yes.” He nodded slowly.

  “Ali, what were we thinking, telling everyone to save the second Saturday in September? How do we even know we’re gonna pull this off?”

  He rubbed the back of her neck, and a trickle of peace flowed from his fingers and into Alyssa. She felt better. Slightly.

  “I admit it was a rash decision,” Ali said. “We can blame it on our parents, if you like.”

  Alyssa snorted. It was true that both sets of their parents were desperate to see the couple married. The pressure from the four of them, though Alyssa tried not to let it rule her life, often ended up affecting her decisions when she didn’t mean for it to.

  “No,” she said. “We’re adults. We can’t keep putting everything on them.”

  “Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be fun?”

  “Stop.” Alyssa rubbed the little indention in his chin. It was only noticeable when he was clean-shaven, and right then, she found she couldn’t keep her fingers off of the cute dimple.

  “How about we hire a wedding planner?” Ali asked, his brows drawing together as he grew serious. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to suggest it before, but this is a lot for two people to plan. Especially with a newborn.”

  Alyssa caught her bottom lip between her teeth and thought about that. “I guess that’s a good idea. But how are we going to get someone to bring a wedding to life when we don’t even know what we want?”

  For some reason, Ali looked confused. “I assumed we would have a traditional Baqari wedding.”

  “I…” Alyssa faltered. “Okay, um…we talked about that. I don’t remember ever agreeing to it.”

  Ali licked his lips and looked down. It was a gesture Alyssa knew well. He did it when he was annoyed or, occasionally, hungry. “My parents—”

  “Right,” Alyssa cut in. “Your parents. Of course.”

  Ali arched an eyebrow.

  “Look,” Alyssa said. “I know what it’s like to feel like you’re always under your parents’ thumb, okay? Sometimes, I find myself still picking out the shoes I know they’d want me to get.”

  “That is…”

  “Too much, I know,” Alyssa finished. “But what I’m saying here is that we can’t just do something because your parents want us to.”

  “Okay.” Ali folded his hands on top of her legs, which were still stretched out across his lap. “What would you like to do?”

  “Well, for starters, what if we have something like a blended Baqari and American wedding?”

  Ali’s gaze drifted to the side as he thought about it. “That could work,” he said after a pause.

  “I want to show you something.” Alyssa plucked her phone off the coffee table. “One of my old coworkers from the law firm had a wedding upstate a few years ago. It was on this farm, outside. They had tables set up under the trees, and lights were strung all in the branches above. It was simple, but super cute. And there was a jam for music. They had guests bring their own instruments and it was, like, a all-night hoedown.”

  “Economical,” Ali commented.

  Alyssa found the pictures on her phone and swiped through them so they both could see.

  “Don’t forget we have no budget for this,” Ali said. “My parents are willing to spend whatever is necessary.”

  Alyssa put the phone down. “It’s not about penny-pinching. I like the setting. The simplicity. Don’t you?”

  “It’s nice,” Ali offered.

  “But you don’t like it?” Alyssa’s face grew warm.

  Ali sighed. “I feel like you’re taking this personally.”

  “Of course I am,” Alyssa said. “It’s our wedding. It should be personal.”

  Ali lifted a finger and tucked his chin, showing he was formulating a response. “We have to think of more than what just we want.”

  Alyssa stared at him. “I honestly didn’t think pleasing your parents was that important to you.”

  His jaw flexed. “It is not about pleasing my parents. I am Baqari royalty, and you are about to be, as well. While we live detached from most of the constraints that entails, there are certain actions that we are obligated to. My family’s highest connections will not be impressed by a wedding in a field followed by goat yoga.”

  “Goat yoga?” Alyssa shrieked. “Who said anything about that?”

  “The last part was a joke,” Ali answered.

  Alyssa crossed her arms. “Well, I’m not laughing.”

  “Alyssa.” Forcing her to unfold her arms, he took her hand in his. “Please understand. This is simply not my personal taste.”

  She chewed on the inside of her lip. “I understand…okay, so, what are you thinking? I mean, what does Baqar expect?”

  Weird, Alyssa reflected. I’m asking what an entire country requires of my wedding. Never thought I’d be here.

  “Typically, Baqari weddings are rather elaborate affairs,” Ali said. “They take place over several days, often in exotic locations. For members of the royal family, the guest lists are long. Many politicians and other people of influence from around the globe are invited.”

  “So, it’s like a whole festival thing,” Alyssa mumbled.

  “I suppose so, yes.”

  “But you won’t even be taking the crown,” Alyssa pointed out. “Is it really such a big deal for you to have this kind of wedding?”

  Ali’s face tightened. “It is.”

  “Then, that’s just it, huh? What I want doesn’t matter?” Alyssa drew her legs out of his lap and brought them to her chest, where she wrapped her arms around them.

  “Alyssa, don’t do this.”

  “Do what? Want to make my own decisions about my life?”

  With that, Alyssa stood and stormed out of the living room.

  In the kitchen, she leaned over the sink and closed her eyes, her breathing heavy and her heart beating fast.

  I’m hormonal. I’m tired. I just gave birth three months ago! None of this is a big deal.

  Alyssa listed every excuse she could, but none of them worked. This was her wedding. Her only wedding. She shouldn’t have to feel guilty for wanting it a certain way.

  “Alyssa,” Ali said.

  She opened her eyes and found him standing in the doorway.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he continued.

  “Thanks.” Tears filled Alyssa’s eyes. Okay, so she was a little hormonal.

  “I understand that you’ve probably had an idea of what you’ve wanted your wedding to be like for years,” he said.

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “I have. But so have you. And I get that.”

  “Actually…” Ali pushed his hands into his pants’ pockets. “There was a time when I thought that I would never marry, so…”

  Alyssa gawked at him. How was this supposed to make her feel better? So, she was right. This really was all about what other people wanted.

  “I’m marrying you,” Alyssa stated. “It’s weird to think of having to consider other people’s opinions.”

  “I know,” he said quietly. “But will you at least think about it?”

  Alyssa straightened up from the sink. “We don’t have much time. But yeah. I’ll think about it.”

  “Thank you, my love,” Ali said softly, and Alyssa realized that navigating this wedding was likely just as difficult for him as it was for her. It was important that they work through it together, but how could they, when their viewpoints were so different?

  * * *

  His Beloved Bride is available now.

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