“No, thanks. I have no interest in getting married for the sake of it. With Nadim, I was looking for security. Now that I don’t need that, I’m going to avoid men. All men.”
They walked down the stairs to the main level and heard the crowd of waiting guests before they saw them. Victoria pointed toward a side door.
“Go through there. You’ll find Qadir and the rest of the wedding party. I’ll see you at the reception.”
Maggie opened her mouth to protest that she wanted to stay with her friend, but Victoria gave her a little push. Maggie walked toward the door, then opened it and went through.
Members of the royal family were gathered around. Maggie recognized a few of them, while others were unfamiliar. She saw Qadir’s aunt who was now Queen of Bahania, along with Qadir’s brothers. The king was there, as well.
She circled the room, avoiding the monarch, looking for Qadir. Maybe she could explain it would be easier for everyone if she simply sat with Victoria.
A servant walked by with a tray of champagne. She shook her head as she eased back into a corner. Seconds later Qadir found her.
“Why are you hiding?” he asked by way of greeting.
“I’m not hiding, exactly.” She looked around. “I don’t belong here. I’m a fraud.”
“Perhaps, but you are my fraud.”
“You’re not taking this seriously.”
“Because you are taking it too seriously.” He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You look beautiful. Elegant and unapproachable. Yet I know the woman inside, the one who cries out my name.”
She cleared her throat. “Yes, well, that woman is busy today. I’m here in her place.”
“I find this one charming, as well.”
“Good to know.” She looked around. “I’ve never been to a royal wedding before.”
“They are much like others you have attended. Long and filled with tradition.”
Would his wedding be like this? she wondered. When he finally found the woman he wanted to marry? Speaking of which…
“Jon and Elaine have left,” she told him.
“I had heard that. All is well?”
She nodded. “They’re still together and in love. Jon and I haven’t figured out what we’re going to do about the baby, but he no longer thinks we have to get married. We’ll figure out the details later. Maybe weekends or summers. At least that’s what we discussed. I was wrong to suggest he give up his child. I think that freaked him out. He reacted in the only way he knew how.”
Kateb approached. “Ms. Collins, how nice to see you again.”
Qadir frowned. “How do you know Maggie?”
“We met in the garden,” she told him.
“I am not sure I approve.”
What was it with these imperious men? “I’m not sure I care about your approval.”
Kateb laughed. “It is too bad you are not involved with this one,” he told his brother. “She has much to recommend herself.”
Maggie knew Kateb meant his words as a compliment, but they still cut through her. The reminder that this was all a game to Qadir hurt more than it should. Not that she was surprised to be the only one who had fallen in love.
The orchestra had come from London, the flowers had been flown in from around the world. The church itself, a cathedral built in the 1600s, seated at least six hundred. Maggie sat next to Qadir in a hand-carved pew that dated back over five hundred years.
While she wouldn’t want to admit it to anyone, she’d imagined her own wedding many times. For years she’d assumed she would marry Jon in a short ceremony, with her father giving her away and people she’d known all her life around them. She’d wanted a summer wedding so the days were long and the nights warm. She’d wanted to dance until she was exhausted, then drive to a secluded cabin in the woods for a week-long honeymoon.
Simple dreams, she thought now as they rose in anticipation of Kayleen walking down the rose-petal-covered aisle. Dreams that had been altered by so many unexpected turns. The loss of her father. The ending of her relationship with Jon and now falling in love with Qadir.
She might be foolish enough to fall for him, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think anything would come of it. The prince and the mechanic? Who thought that was possible?
She looked down at the dress she wore. It was beautiful and expensive. Nothing she would have picked for herself. It was part of the role she played, as Qadir’s girlfriend. But it wasn’t who she was. She was Maggie Collins, who wore jeans and didn’t bother with makeup and expected an ordinary life.
But what happened when a regular woman fell in love with an extraordinary man? How could she find happiness?
Under different circumstances she might have tried to talk herself into making things real with Qadir. But he was in line to the El Deharian throne and she was pregnant with another man’s child. What was the point in telling him the truth? He would only pity her.
The first of the three girls Kayleen and As’ad had adopted stepped into view. The girls were pretty and obviously thrilled to be a part of the ceremony. They walked slowly, one after the other. Then the bride entered the church. A veil covered her face, but it was sheer enough for Maggie to see the love shining in her eyes. A radiant bride, she thought. Love made everyone beautiful.
Kayleen continued down the aisle, where an equally smitten As’ad waited.
Maggie’s heart ached. She wanted this for herself. Not the fancy wedding, but the love. She wanted someone to love her forever, to hold her and never let her go.