Sheikh's Pregnant Lover (12 page)

Madeline’s lips twitched despite the worry brewing in her stomach. “Alright, miss huffy. Let’s go and draw some blood.”

Madeline took her out into the lab, where she sat Vanessa down on a chair, wrapped a band around her arm, and drew the blood using one of the phlebotomy syringes they kept on hand. Vanessa practically hummed with anxiety as Madeline ran the test through her machine, and Madeline had to take deep breaths to hide her own fears.

A little while later, the results were confirmed. “You’re pregnant.”

“Oh my God!” Vanessa squealed, jumping up and throwing her arms around Madeline. Madeline did the best she could to return the hug. “You are the best, Maddy! I’m going home right now to tell Adir. He’s going to be thrilled!”

“Congratulations!” Madeline called as Vanessa rushed out the door. But as soon as her friend was gone, she grabbed a clean syringe and prepared to take another blood sample.

***

Zayid walked into the lab at six o’clock, armed with a bouquet of flowers and a set of concert tickets to seduce Madeline away from her desk. They didn’t have a date tonight, but he missed her, and things had been going so well between them that he was confident she would accept.

Ever since she’d decided to try out a relationship with him last week, things between them had been ridiculously smooth. They’d gone camel riding over the weekend and had camped out beneath the stars. They’d gone shopping and he’d showered her with all kinds of clothes and trinkets. They’d frolicked in the waves at the beach (and had some amazing sex behind a rocky outcropping where nobody had seen them), and had spent nearly every night in bed together. He’d thought that by now he might have gotten tired of spending all this time with her…but instead, every time they were apart he longed for her presence, and he found himself thinking about her at all hours of the day.

Allah help him, but he had a feeling he was in love.

The lab was empty, so Zayid strolled into Madeline’s office, figuring she would be in there wrapping up her work for the day. She wasn’t, but her purse was, so he settled into her office chair to wait, figuring she was probably somewhere else in the building and that she’d be back.

As he waited, his gaze casually flicked to her computer screen, which was still on. Her web browser was open, and the headline on the article scrolling across the screen read: ABORTION—IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU? Frowning, he sat up straight and leaned closer to read more. Why on earth would Madeline be reading about abortion? Did it have something to do with the IVF procedure she was working on?

He quickly discovered that it was not. After reading through the article, he opened up her browser history and found articles regarding pregnancy, abortion and adoption, as well as some ads for biochemist jobs in the United States. His blood boiled as his mind put two and two together. How could she do this to him?

“Zayid!” Madeline exclaimed as she walked in. Surprise and wariness warred on her beautiful face as she stared at him from just inside the doorway where she was frozen in place.

Zayid rose from the chair, his hands clenched into fists. “Just when did you plan on telling me that you were pregnant?”

Madeline’s face paled, but to her credit, she lifted her chin instead of backing down. “I only just found out a few hours ago.”

“And within those few hours you’d already decided not to keep the baby?” Zayid demanded, crossing the room to stand toe to toe with her. “I can’t believe you would do such a thing without even consulting me!”

“I hadn’t decided anything!” Madeline shouted, throwing up her hands. “I was just looking into options! I had no idea whether or not you would want a child, and I certainly wasn’t planning on having any kids at this moment in time, so I wanted to weigh all the options! Is that such a crime?”

“No.” Zayid gritted his teeth as he ran his hands through his hair. “But I’m insulted that you would even think about giving up my baby for adoption. He or she would be a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, and you don’t do that with royal children.”

“Oh.” Madeline’s face flushed guiltily. “I guess I hadn’t thought of that.”

“It doesn’t seem like you thought of anything beyond your own feelings.”

Madeline scowled. “That’s not fair, Zayid. I just found out, and I’m still processing everything. I would have eventually come to the conclusion that I needed to discuss it with you.” Her eyes flickered away, to the flowers sitting on her desk, and her expression softened. “Are those for me?”

“They are.” Zayid cupped her cheek. “I wanted to surprise you, to take you out tonight. I guess I just didn’t expect to be the one surprised.”

Madeline sighed a little, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I guess that makes two of us, then.” Her eyes searched his. “If we’re going to have this baby together, I have to know that you love me, Zayid, and that this isn’t just a phase.”

“I do love you.” He kissed her. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved any woman. I want to have a family with you, Madeline—you and no one else.”

Tears sprang into her eyes, and she smiled. “I love you, too. And for the record, based on how well you’ve taken care of me these past two weeks, I think you’d be a great father.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” He kissed her again, then reached behind him and handed her the flowers. “Now let’s go have dinner and talk about the amazing future we’re going to have together.”

She grinned, taking the flowers and the hand he offered. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Epilogue

Nine months later

“If you tell me to breathe one more time, I’m going to kill you!”

Sweaty and exhausted as she was, Madeline couldn’t help but grin as she heard Vanessa screaming at Adir right across the hall. The two of them had gone into labor within hours of each other, and had both been rushed to the hospital in the same ambulance as they’d been having afternoon tea at the Burj. Vanessa had demanded that she and Madeline be put in the same birthing room, but there hadn’t been an available space, so they’d had to resort to calling out to each other from across the hall until their husbands arrived.

Her own child fussed at the sound, and Madeline cooed, shifting her newborn daughter in her arms to snuggle her closer. Melinda rubbed her tiny, pink face into Madeline’s chest, and Madeline’s heart melted at the sight of her gorgeous baby girl. She’d been preparing for this day for nine months now, and yet it was still so surreal that the little being she’d carried in her womb was finally here.

“Oh, for Allah’s sake,” Zayid groused, walking back into the room with a Styrofoam cup of coffee for himself and a bottle of water for Madeline. “The two of you went into labor at the same time. Why is Vanessa’s taking so much longer?” He crossed the room then opened Madeline’s bottle of water before he handed it to her.

Madeline shrugged a little as she shifted slightly to accept the beverage. “Everyone’s different.” She’d been simultaneously lucky and unlucky. Melinda hadn’t been due for another two weeks, so she shouldn’t have gone into labor already. On the other hand, her baby had been born safely and her labor had ended over an hour ago, while Vanessa was still going strong. “I wish I could go and see her.”

“I’ll take you in there after the baby’s born,” Zayid promised, leaning down to kiss her sweaty forehead. “For now, you need to rest as much as possible. You just gave birth yourself, you know.”

“I do know.” Madeline watched as Zayid’s silver eyes shifted from her face and down to their baby. Her heart swelled again as she saw the absolute adoration in his gorgeous eyes. Barely an hour after birth, Zayid was just as madly in love with Melinda as she was.

“Let me hold her for a moment,” Zayid murmured, and Madeline adjusted her arms so that Zayid could take the baby. Melinda fussed a little, but she quieted almost instantly as Zayid cuddled her to his strong, warm chest. As Madeline lowered her hand, the diamond on her ring finger winked, and she grinned again. Zayid had convinced her to marry him a few months into her pregnancy, when she’d begun to show, and it had been the best decision of her life. He took care of her without smothering her passion for biochemistry, and he allowed her to continue to work at the lab—at least until the final month of her pregnancy, anyway. If her boss hadn’t insisted she take off work, Zayid would have browbeaten the lab into giving her an early maternity leave, anyway.

Just as Madeline was taking a swig from her water bottle, she heard Vanessa give an ear-shattering scream, followed by the high peal of a crying baby. She heard the doctor murmuring something, and then Adir shouted, “Wait. It’s a
boy
?”

Zayid and Madeline exchanged glances. The doctors had predicted a girl.

“We have to go see that baby now,” Madeline demanded, struggling to her feet. Zayid moved to help her, but then he remembered he was holding the baby, so instead he shouted loudly for a nurse.

Ten seconds later, when Madeline was halfway out of the bed, one came rushing in. “What are you doing, miss?” she gasped, grabbing Madeline by the arm. “You shouldn’t be trying to get up on your own yet!”

“I want to see my friend’s baby now.” Madeline braced herself against the woman’s shoulder, refusing to take
no
for an answer. “She’s right across the hall.”

“Very well.” The nurse sighed, realizing that there was no point in arguing, and led Madeline across the hall, with Zayid and Melinda in tow.

The doctor was just handing the newborn back to Vanessa when Madeline walked through the door, with Adir standing right by the bedside and looking so proud that she thought his chest would burst. The baby was already swaddled in a blanket, but Madeline had no doubt Adir’s announcement was correct that it was a boy.

“Well you look like a hot mess,” Madeline said, grinning as she approached Vanessa. Her best friend’s face was blotchy and flushed, her blond hair was a tangled mess, and her blue eyes were still a little wild.

“You’re one to talk,” Vanessa said, but she didn’t even look up at Madeline—she was too busy staring down at the little baby in her arms.

“A boy,” Adir murmured, shaking his head a little. “Of course I was happy with a little girl, but the fact that we have a boy so soon…”

“Congratulations.” Madeline embraced him. She knew that Adir needed a male heir, and how much it meant to him that his first child was male. “I’m very happy for you.”

“And you.” Adir tore his eyes away from his wife and child to smile at her, and then Zayid as he approached holding Melinda. “Your baby is beautiful.”

“Bring her here for a moment,” Vanessa said, looking up to smile at Madeline. “I want to see them both together.”

Madeline took the baby from Zayid, then sat down next to Vanessa on the bed so that both babies were only inches from each other. Swaddled in pink and blue blankets, their tiny faces peaceful in sleep, the two of them looked like little angels.

“They’re going to give us hell when they’re older, aren’t they?” Vanessa remarked fondly. “With the two them growing up together, and with our temperaments, I’m sure they’re going to get into all kinds of trouble.”

“Oh, you can count on it.” Madeline laughed, and then snuggled her baby against her chest again. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The End!

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Chapter One

Amanda Sinclair kept her head held high, ignoring her fellow reporters’ wolf whistles.
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Or, better yet, they could shove it up certain orifices that shall remain nameless.

Her best friend, Margery, offered her a small smile and a thumbs-up, even as the rest of the office seemed to part for her like the Red Sea. Her best friend was also on Metro, but she’d been content to cover the ins and outs of DC infrastructure. Margery covered which public school was getting an overhaul or a new construction deal, but Amanda was trying to work her way up to the top beat. Those were the reporters that permanently covered Capitol Hill, and if she made it there, it could hopefully net her a Pulitzer nomination. Her masterwork on Senator Jackson was supposed to get her there. But now…