Now look at me—I'm causing trouble with Fahim, and for some reason, everyone's okay with it.

  “Sorry, everyone,” she said to the room at large. “I just remembered how much I loved Make Way for Ducklings when I was little, and I wanted to share.”

  “Well, if it wasn't you, it was going to be me,” Sarah said with Lalah in her lap. Lalah was furiously gumming away at a little blue rubber duck, and Rose didn't think she had ever seen the tiny girl that quiet for that long.

  “No, more ducks,” Jamila said with authority. “There should always be more ducks.”

  “Well, maybe there will be, but only if you've been practicing your music. Have you been practicing while I was gone?”

  Jamila's head shot up, and she grinned at Rose.

  “Every single day,” she promised. “And I'm getting better too! I want to show you after breakfast. I can play three whole songs now—”

  “Sorry, I'm going to stop you right there, Jamila,” Fahim said easily. “I have to talk to Rose about some adult things. You know. Taxes. Decorating.”

  “Boring,” Jamila said, wrinkling her nose. “You should learn music with us though, Uncle. Rose is teaching me guitar, and I am teaching Daddy.”

  Rose turned to Ziad with surprise, because while Fahim with an instrument in his hands made a kind of logical sense to her, Ziad, the eldest brother and so serious, was more of a surprise.

  “It's true,” Ziad said. “I'm not very good, unfortunately—”

  “But the important thing is that you practice, practice, practice,” Jamila piped up, and Rose laughed because it was, after all, nothing but true.

  “I used to play piano,” Maryam said thoughtfully. “I wonder if I should get back to it.”

  Rose blinked in surprise, but she wasn't the only one.

  “Mother, you took piano?” Imran asked curiously. “I didn't know that at all.”

  “Or me,” Ziad supplied. “So it's not just Imran not paying attention.”

  “Both of you, stop now,” Maryam said lightly. “As a matter of fact, it is just one of my many talents. You lose track of things like that sometimes, when you have a busy life and children and grandchildren to take care of.”

  “I would love to hear it,” Laura said loyally. “I wouldn't mind being part of a musical family.”

  She winked at Rose, and Rose's heart swelled with love. She hadn't just found Fahim, she had found a whole family of people who wanted her and welcomed her.

  The breakfast conversation drifted to other things, Ziad and Fahim talking about some legal matter or other, Imran and Sarah talking with Laura about Lalah, and somewhat to Rose's surprise, Maryam came over to sit beside her, scooting her chair close so they could speak more softly.

  “Hello, dear. I just wanted to ask you how you enjoyed your visit home.”

  “Oh, it was…it was great,” Rose said, and at Maryam's expectant look, she continued, a little shyly.

  “Frankly, it was amazing. I thought, well, I thought that there was no way my parents would really want me back. Fahim and I stayed with them for a while after the mediation was finalized, and it was just good. It was easy and good. We had so much catching up to do, so many things we've missed in each other’s lives…”

  Rose shook her head.

  “You know, the whole time, I was just waiting for them to ask How could you? Maybe not my dad, but I was sure my mom would. All that time lost, and all the suffering I put them through, and she never asked. They were just so happy to see me, and to see that I was happy.”

  “Yes, of course they were,” Maryam said warmly. “It is obvious that they raised you with a great deal of love, and even if you never understood each other very well, the future could change so much.”

  Rose cleared her throat, looking down at her hands on the table.

  “They asked me why I was so nervous finally, and I told them that I felt that there was too much to explain, so much I didn't even have words for. They told me that they had read the statements that Fahim put together, and that they understood more than I might think. My mom, when she was young, had a relationship a little like it, and she just got it. I didn't think that would mean so much to me—I didn't suspect it at all—but it helped so much.”

  Maryam laughed, squeezing Rose's shoulder gently.

  “You know none of this surprises me at all. Of course she understands you. Of course she loves you. She's your mother—she could hardly do otherwise. Motherhood isn't easy, but I managed to raise three fine sons, and now two are married and one is on his way.” She gave Rose a suddenly sharp glance, and Rose sat up straight in automatic response. “That is, he is, isn’t he? When things are as clear as this, I do not like to see him hanging back or—”

  “Mother, that's enough,” Fahim said, coming to Rose's rescue. “Rose knows enough of my faults without you introducing her to new ones.” Then to Rose, “Actually, so long as you are not sick of me yet, do you care for a walk?”

  “That would be fantastic,” Rose said, and after bidding everyone at breakfast goodbye and giving Jamila a promise to come listen to her progress that evening, they made their way to the garden.

  When she breathed in the soft fragrant air of the garden, Rose knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was home.

  No, it's more than that, she realized. It's that this is home. After all the running I've done and all the places and people that I've seen, I've come home at last.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Fahim asked, and she smiled at him.

  “I'm happy here,” she said, squeezing his hand as they walked the winding garden paths. “I mean, I've been happy before, but it was an incidental thing. It never stayed, it never lasted. I didn't know how to make it last, and here…here it's different.”

  “How so?”

  “Here it feels like I know what's going to happen. I mean, there are surprises. I'm not saying it's all dull or something like that. I am learning to be happy here, and there's space and security for me to do that. I think that maybe happiness is a thing you can learn if you are safe enough, and I can't wait to teach that to our child.”

  Fahim halted, and she turned to him, feeling her newfound certainty flag a little.

  “I mean, if that's okay with you,” she said hurriedly. “I know we haven’t talked about it very much, but…”

  “You just called them our child,” Fahim said softly, and there was such a light of love in his eyes that there was no mistaking what he meant or how happy he was. “That's the first time you've done that. Do you mean it?”

  “With everything inside me,” Rose promised him. “I swear to you. This is our child, and we are going to teach them how to be safe and how to be happy and music and legal things, and it's going to be amazing.”

  Fahim took her in his arms and shook his head.

  “I really can't wait much longer,” he said, and Rose blinked at him.

  “For what?”

  “Fortunately, we're almost there. Come on.”

  “All right,” Rose said, amused but following him. “What's the big deal?”

  They came to the pond where they had sat and talked what felt like a hundred years ago. At the same time, Rose felt as if it had only been yesterday that they had started to really get to know each other. Something told her that it would always be like that with Fahim, that she would feel as if she had just met him and as if she had known him her whole life.

  “Well, I wasn't really lying when I told Jamila I was stealing you away to talk about adult stuff like taxes. Taxes are involved, but unless you have very strong feelings, I can handle it, or rather, I know people who can—”

  Rose looked at Fahim closely, her head tilted to one side. “Fahim, are you nervous or something? You're babbling.”

  Fahim laughed a little. “I am. I suppose with regards to things like this, it is best to be direct, isn't it?”

  Rose was about to agree, but then Fahim dropped to one knee in front of her. Whatever she had been going to say flew straight out of her mind, and she stared at him, her breath gone.

  “Rose, this is where I fell in love with you,” Fahim said, his voice low and urgent. “I didn't even know what it was at the time, but I know now, and every time I wake up next to you, every time I hear you laugh or touch you or kiss you, I know even better. I know you've had a rough time with proposals, so I thought I would keep this simple. Though of course, if you want something more impressive, I'm willing to do it again. Just…I wanted to give you this because you deserve it, and I want to make it formal, do it right.”

  He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket, and he opened it to reveal a gleaming diamond ring.

  “Rose, will you marry me?”

  Rose let out a long breath, and there were just no words in her. All she could do was nod and pull Fahim to his feet so she could embrace him and be in his arms.

  “I love you,” she whispered. “I love you so much.”

  He took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. When she really looked at it, Rose could only think how right it looked, how perfect it was there, as if it belonged.

  “The plaza with the water walkway,” she said suddenly. “I don't mind what else we do, but I want that. You described me there as you saw me, and I want to be the woman you see.”

  “And I want you to be so perfectly yourself,” Fahim whispered, and he kissed her.

  22

  Fahim couldn't quite believe that it had been just a little under a year since he had proposed to Rose in this very garden. It had been a year full of joy and light, challenges overcome, and a world of love he had never imagined.

  Indeed, it's been a real armful, he thought wryly, looking down at the two babies in his arms.

  Laura had given birth to Mustafa, and then less than three weeks later while she was still on bed rest, Rose had gone into early labor. Fahim could still remember that frantic night, and how it had ended with an exhausted but triumphant Rose and their tiny, precious, perfect Lily being placed in his arms.

  Side by side, the babies looked like nothing so much as a pair of slumbering potatoes wrapped up in their blankets, but Fahim couldn't help thinking how beautiful they were and what they represented along with Lalah, Jamila, and Hasan, who Sarah and Imran had brought over to greet Laura's family, who were visiting Yeni. Lalah seemed especially intrigued by the visitors, while it was apparent that Jamila was back charming her grandparents with a happy laugh and a grin. Laura's sister Andrea, who had been so ill, was looking lovely and strong, and it was difficult to recognize her from the pictures Fahim had seen of her earlier.

  Laura would usually be handling the greetings, but currently she and Rose were fussing over the decorations for the meal. In fairly short order, Rose's parents would arrive from the airport, and she kept fluttering back and forth, seeming desperate for things to be right. She wore two rings now, her engagement ring and a simple gold wedding band, and the sun flashed on them as she gestured to the plates, worrying about their placement.

  “Calm down,” Imran called from where he held Lalah in his arms. “Like it's going to matter when these little eating machines get to the table?”

  Maryam gave him a light smack on the shoulder as she blew past.

  “What my youngest son is failing to realize is that courtesy and presentation are important, especially when the guests who are arriving are as important as Rose's family. Here, let me take care of that, dear. Why don't you call your parents and make sure they’re on time.”

  Rose gave Maryam a look that said she knew she was being handled, but she nodded distractedly, reaching for her phone as her mother-in-law shooed her away from the table. She came over to Fahim, taking baby Lily in her arms. Lily—he still loved that name, perfect for the daughter of Rose.

  “Here, let me have her, I'll feel better with her in my arms,” she said, and he gave one baby over willingly. He thought she would go on and call her mother, but instead she gave him a fond look.

  “Feeling good about your recital?” she asked, and he laughed, bouncing Mustafa in his arms.

  “A little nervous,” he said. “I still can't believe my family wants me to play the violin for them.”

  “Well, Jamila said that it's only fair that if she and Hasan get to show off what they know, you should as well,” Rose said. “And as your teacher, I am going to be so proud of you.”

  “But not proud enough to forgo your own performance and let me look good?” he teased, and she threw her hair back with a grin. He loved how she had come out of her shell, her fears and doubts mostly a thing of the past. Where they rose up, he knew how to cut them down, and he had never thought he could be so happy with another person's happiness.

  “I'm also a musician,” she said with a wink. “I have a competitive streak.”

  As she left to make her phone call, Laura came over as well to pluck Mustafa from his arms.

  “Looks like grandma's getting a little antsy,” she said, nodding at her own mother. “Better get her some baby time before she takes him from you.”

  Fahim laughed, watching with fondness as his family met and loved and held each other and held on to each other, only looking up when Ziad came to sit beside him.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked, and Ziad smiled.

  “Better,” he said. “Feeling a little less like things are painfully fragile.”

  Fahim nodded. Mustafa’s birth had been fine, but there had been a few dicey moments. Laura had made a full recovery, but sometimes, Fahim wasn't sure that he could say the same for his brother. Ziad had been fretful after his son's birth, prone to checking on Mustafa and Laura at odd hours until Laura had finally had to tell him to cut it out. He was looking better these days, much to everyone's relief.

  “It's funny though, isn't it,” Ziad said suddenly, looking out over their family.

  “What is?”

  “Our family feels as if it's bursting at the seams and that feels very, very good to me. We feel both…complete and as if at any moment, there will be more. More love, more joy, more everything.”

  “What's so funny about that?” asked Fahim, mystified.

  “Oh, that you and I and Imran, we all have this happiness with women who came to work here at the palace. I'm very happy for you, Fahim. You and Rose are perfect together.”

  Fahim started to nod, and then he gave Ziad a narrow look.

  “Wait, was that why you wanted me to do the hiring for Jamila's music tutor? Was that why—”

  “What a suspicious mind you have, brother,” Ziad said breezily. “Honestly, the things you come up with.” Fahim was ready to interrogate his brother and get the truth of it all, but then there was a shouting at the gates and Rose's parents came in, seizing her up in great hugs and cooing over their grandchild. They had only seen them a few months ago, but they acted as if it had been forever, and Fahim realized that he loved them as well.

  “Come on,” Ziad said, standing up. “Let's go join our family.”

  With a laugh, Fahim followed his brother and went to take his wife and child in his arms.

  End of The Sheikh’s Pregnant Teacher

  Khalid Sheikh Series Book Three

  The Sheikh’s Tempting Nanny, 20 May 2021

  The Sheikh’s Contract Wife, 27 May 2021

  The Sheikh’s Pregnant Teacher, 3 June 2021

  PS: Do you love hot blooded Sheikhs? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Sheikh’s Stubborn Bride and The Sheikh’s Captive American.

  Thank you!

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  About Leslie

  Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.

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  BLURB

  As a way of apologizing to his sister for inadvertently ending her engagement, Kadir Oman agrees to let his matchmaking sister, Naziha, find him a wife, sight unseen. He needs someone who is unquestionably supportive, especially since he’ll be taking over as king of Al-Fatha when his father retires. His sister thinks American Stella Green would be perfect for him—and he agrees. Stella is smart, beautiful, and seems to love Al-Fatha as much as he does. And the chemistry between them is immediate and red hot. Unfortunately, he finds out too late that her vision of the country is far different from his modernizing plans. How can he stay with a woman who disagrees with him about his country’s path—no matter how much he’s starting to feel for her?