A Marriage of Convenience (Married to a Prince) (5 page)

“Really?” She met his icy stare with one of her own, “You are holding my son hostage. I can’t leave with him and I don’t have a job to support him here. Anything I want or need, I would have to beg for.” She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly in a failed attempt to control the trembling that overtook her. “So while you sit there in all your righteousness, tell me again how your intention is not to hurt me.”

* * * *

Yousef raked an angry hand through his hair. How had she managed to make him sound like such an ogre when he was the wronged party? “You have other choices.”

“Of course there’s always my father, but then that’s just the kind of added stress he needs in his condition, right?”

“That is not what I meant.” Frustration washed over him in waves. This was not how he’d planned to tell her. When she, once again, reminded him she was leaving, something snapped. The assumption that he would be content to be one of those dead-beat fathers so prevalent in her country, made him seethe. After the year they spent together, she should have known him better.

“So what did you mean, Yousef?”

Damn! Did she have to cradle the child co close, as if she thought him a threat to their safety? “Would you sit down so we can discuss this civilly?”

“Forgive me if I don’t want to sit down with my jailor.”

“You’re blowing this out of proportion, Honor. First of all, our son is a Nadiarian national, which gives both you and him all the legal rights of anyone born here. If you want to work, you can work. With your degree, you’ll have no trouble finding a position. If you don’t want to work, then you are still entitled to free health care and a monthly pension that all non-working mothers are entitled to.”

Her blue eyes widened in surprise.
“All mothers?”

“Contrary to what you may think about our country, we consider motherhood the most difficult and most important full time job there is.”

She didn’t look happy, but at least she didn’t glare at him in utter contempt any longer. “For how long?”

“For as long as you choose not to work.”

Slowly she lowered herself into a chair across from him. “I meant, for how long do I have to stay? Certainly not forever?”

She wasn’t yelling.
She didn’t even look panicked anymore. He had been so sure that she would adamantly refuse, that he just blurted out the first answer that came to mind. “One year.”

“And then?”

“Joint custody.” He wanted a hell of a lot more, but for now, he wasn’t going to push his luck. She could have called his bluff. He didn’t have a court order in his hand. “What do you think?”

She rose and paced around the room.
“Do I have a choice?”

Yousef clasped his hands behind his head. “It’s your choice as to whether we work out some sort of compromise or it becomes a bitter battle.”

Her blue eyes shimmered. She fidgeted with collar of Joey’s tiny outfit while she mulled over his offer. “And that’s it? One year and then we arrange some kind of joint custody?”

“No. There’s something else I want.”

She arched her delicate eyebrow suspiciously. “What?”

“I want Joey to have my family name.
He is entitled to his heritage and he won’t be acknowledged as my son without my name.” He didn’t mention that his own rights regarding his son would greatly improve as well.

She glanced at the baby, now asleep in her arms.
A sad smile touched the corners of her mouth. “I guess that’s not unreasonable.”

Yousef ne
arly fell off the chair. He figured that would be the most difficult sticking point. Perhaps Honor wasn’t as aloof towards him as she pretended to be. He stood and crossed the distance between them. “All right. I’ll arrange for our marriage as quickly as possible.”

“What?” she squeaked out.

“I thought you understood. The only way he can have my name is if we are married.” By the look of shock on her face, it was clear she hadn’t understood that at all.

Chapter Four

Honor shook her head to clear the fog that had settled over her brain. “I didn’t say anything about marriage.”

Yousef took Joey from her trembling arms before she woke him.
“How did you expect him to have my family name if we aren’t married?”

“I thought... I mean, I figured you would have a lawyer arrange it.”

“It doesn’t work like that here.”

She twisted her fingers together until her knuckles cracked.
Marriage? Was he crazy? Nothing between them had changed since last year. Except they had a child now. And Yousef had a heart full of resentment towards her. Could she afford to put herself in a vulnerable position, even for the sake of her child?

“You would marry me just to insure Joey’s inheritance?”

His strong, angular jaw set in determination, he met her questioning gaze. “What would you do to protect him?”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Why? The instinct to protect is not wholly female.”

“I know.
But you’ve only known him a day.”

“How long after his birth before
you loved him?”

The question was unfair, and Yousef knew it.
She had carried the baby for nine months. Her love began long before Joey’s birth.

She inhaled deeply and shook her head.
“I need to think about this, Yousef.”

“What is there to think about? After our kiss this morning, you can’t say we aren’t still physically attracted to each other.”

Trust a man to think sex was a bargaining chip. Not that she wouldn’t be tempted if there wasn’t so much hurt and anger between them.

What was she thinking?
Sex wasn’t enough on which to base a marriage. Even a temporary marriage. “There are other things to consider.”

“You’re going to be here f
or a year, anyway. It will be easier for you as well, to have the protection of my name.”

She hadn’t even thought about how the cultural differences might affect her.
In the States, a single mother no longer carried the stigma of a
fallen woman
. However, in the Nadiarian society that still practiced arranged marriages and chaperoned dates, leaving Joey with a bastard status might be worse than Youssef’s offer of a loveless marriage for the sake of her son.

Honor crossed the room and stood by the window.
She was tired and hungry... and utterly confused.

W
hen she had returned to the school after summer break last year to find she was pregnant and Yousef had returned to Nadiar, her world fell apart. But she picked herself up, finished her student teaching and got on with her life. She never reconciled her feeling for him because she had too many other problems pulling her in a hundred different directions. Until she could think clearly, she couldn’t make such a life altering decision.

She took an elastic band from her pocket and tied back her unruly hair.
“I can’t give you an answer right now.”

“Why?”

“I have enough worries about getting through this dinner tonight.”

“Why?
My family is not...”

With a wave of her hand, she cut off his defensive retort.
If his father was anything to judge by, his family would be gracious, welcoming and polite. “Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, I am not passing judgment on people I have yet to meet. But let’s face it, Yousef. I’m an unmarried mother. It’s a pretty safe bet that some of them have passed judgment on me.”

His expression softened.
“If you understand nothing else about Nadiarian culture, know this. I am the one they have passed judgment on. The woman is always blameless.”

This society might hold him accountable but she would be less than honest if she placed all the blame on him.
Their affair had been by mutual consent. He’d never once asked her to do something she wasn’t ready or willing to do. In truth, she had not been able to keep her hands off him. He’d always had the better self-control of the two of them. A warm flush infused her cheeks as she remembered her behavior.

Would she now be able to live with him as his wife, knowing he had put a one year time limit on the duration of their marriage?

She cleared her throat. “Should we make our way to dinner?”

With Joey cradled in his arms, and looking very much the devoted father, Yousef asked, “Will you please give me an answer now so I know whether I will spend the evening defending myself or redeeming myself with my family?”

His words were so honest that she lost the will to fight. Maybe it was the hunger. Or the heat. Maybe it was the way her son curled his tiny fingers around Yousef’s thumb. Whatever was responsible for her momentary lapse of weakness, had changed the course of her life once again. She found herself nodding without conscious thought.

He exhaled in relief.
His dark eyes even lost their icy glare and held the first trace of warming. She remained herself that his emotions were directed towards Joey, not her. She still needed some assurances of her own place in this marriage.

“With conditions,” she said.

“Right.” He placed one arm across her back and led her towards the door. “We’ll work them out later. We have to get to dinner.”

Yousef obviously wasn’t going to give her a chance to change her mind.
Well, if she was making a big mistake by marrying in haste, she would have a year to repent at her leisure. Because, before she even had a chance to meet the members of his extended family gathered in the elegant dining hall, he vocally-- and publicly— announced their upcoming marriage.

* * * *

After dinner Yousef made his way to the drawing room with the other men.
His mother and sister had commandeered Honor and the baby to make plans for the wedding. He noticed the slightly panicked look on her face as they led her away but he wasn’t about to bail her out by forcing himself to attend the gathering too. Compared to what he had to do, Honor got off easy.

To
Yousef’s dismay, Sean had been uncharacteristically silent through dinner. In fact, Sean hadn’t spoken more than a few words to him since Honor’s arrival. Was the older man angry? Sean had been like a second father and the thought that he was disappointed in Yousef, bothered him. Their family owed an enormous debt of gratitude to Sean. Most of the oil wealth that poured into Nadiar in the past twenty-five years had been indirectly due to both his expertise in geology and his loyalty to the royal family when dealing with the oil companies.

In the corner of the room, Sean struggled with the controls of the wheelchair he obviously despised using. He gave up and turned the wheels with his hands.
“So, Yousef. That was quite an announcement you made at dinner.”

Yousef sat on a
shulta, a traditional floor cushion, across from Sean. “You’re upset.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I should have asked your permission first.” At the very least, he should have given Honor a moment to tell her father. He had been so intent on making sure she couldn’t change her mind, that he had disregarded common courtesy.

“You and Honor are both adults.
You don’t need my permission.”

“But I would prefer to have it.”

Sean shrugged. “If my daughter agreed, then I have no objection.”

“But you’re disappointed.”

“On the contrary, Yousef. If Honor is happy, then I am very pleased.”

“She agreed,” he said.

“I know. And I know how persuasive you can be. That’s why you are a good negotiator.”

Guilt ricochet
ed through him. He didn’t normally resort to emotional blackmail in his business negotiations. “It’s best for Joey.”

“I know.
But I’m her father, and I am also concerned about what’s best for her.”

“You think I am not right for her?”

Sean shook his head. “That’s up to you.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“I had hopes for you and Honor, I’ll admit that. I also remember how angry you were when you returned last year, although to your credit, you never said an angry word about my daughter to me.”

“And?”

For a long moment he didn’t speak as if carefully choosing his words. “You’re like a son to me so let me give you some fatherly advice. Hurt the mother and you hurt the child. I learned that the hard way. If this is really about what’s best for Joey, then I don’t have to worry about my daughter’s happiness, do I?”

The question cut, even though Sean was well within his rights as her father, to ask.
“No, you don’t have to worry.”

“Good.
So when is the big day?”

“As soon as it can be arranged.”

Sean’s booming laughter broke the tension. “Oh, please, Yousef. This is Nadiar. It could be arranged yesterday if you wanted.”