Wasn’t he?
Sidra had to acknowledge that she didn’t know him well enough to state whether he was truly angry, or simply annoyed. Both expressions looked similar to her uneducated mind.
The second woman laughed and shook her head. She was younger by several years and looked similar to the older one, but much softer with light brown eyes and a glow to her that made Sidra feel pale in comparison. “Rashid, be nice. You’re scaring your lady. Let us take her away and give her some advice on how to handle you. We’ll return her with good information and she won’t look like we’re all crazy.”
Rashid took a warning step towards the second woman but she didn’t back down even an inch. “Zarah,” he growled toward her but her only response was to smile wider, then turn to Sidra. “Ignore him. He’s just a beast until he has his morning coffee. And since he hasn’t had that yet, he’s just being a grouch. Once he’s had his brew, you’ll be able to manage him like a puppy dog.”
Sidra looked from the woman, to Rashid and then back again. Rashid looked disgusted and shook his head. “Zarah, get out of my private quarters. Sidra hasn’t eaten yet and she’s not going anywhere until she and I talk. A conversation I was just having with her before both of you decided to barge in unannounced. And uninvited,” he warned.
Isla shoed his comments aside. “Why hasn’t she eaten? You know she’s supposed to eat small meals all day long in order to keep that nausea away.” She looked alarmed and walked to the side of the bed where Sidra was perched. “Come with me. I’ll make sure that you have something good to eat. You also need vitamins. I’m sure Doctor Hamid has those ready for you to take as well. Don’t worry. He’s a wonderful doctor and you’ll have the very best of care,” she was saying as she took Sidra’s hand and pulled her out the door.
Sidra had no choice but to follow and Rashid was busy talking with the big man that had kept her from leaving the suite earlier. As she was pulled out of the bedroom and into the living area, she noticed that the breakfast food had been cleared out of the way and her stomach rebelled.
She was starting to feel weak and angry and knew it was all due to her lack of food. These women were very nice, but Sidra had been trying to get some food for what seemed like hours and nothing was forthcoming. “Excuse me, but is there any way I could just have some breakfast?”
Zarah laughed and pulled her along after her. “Of course you can! We’re taking you to the family dining room. The chef can make you anything your heart desires. He’s fabulous!”
The three of them walked out of the room, Zarah and Isla eagerly asking Sidra questions to which she couldn’t answer because as soon as one was answered, the next was posed to her. Both women introduced themselves as Rashid’s sisters but she was confused about all the rules Debra had given her before Sidra had boarded the plan, terrified of what she and Rashid had been discussing only moments before this crowd had barged in and all she wanted to do was hide away in a hole and find a place to cry. And eat. She definitely needed to eat large amounts of food!
Despite the confusion, introductions and long, mind-boggling hallways, two things were uppermost in her mind. She was pregnant and she was getting married. Or more specifically, Rashid had told her she was getting married. The pregnant part made sense now that she put all the pieces together. The lack of a period should have been her first clue, but since she’d been so distraught over Rashid’s abandonment, she hadn’t really thought through the consequences of her lack of a menstrual period.
The two beautiful women led her down one more long hallway and finally into a formal dining room. There was a table with approximately twenty chairs on both sides and a side table filled with various breakfast foods. Sidra was encouraged to go first since she was so hungry and pregnant. But when she simply stood there staring at the various foods, the young and enthusiastic Zarah took control and started heaping foods onto the plate, explaining all the various foods, most of which were Rashid’s favorites.
She also explained the various ways to irritate their older brother by spicing up one dish or the other with pepper or jalapenos. He liked spicy foods, she explained, but only on some things. Other things, he liked the traditional way, and on and on. This woman obviously loved Rashid and, from the things she was saying, Sidra naturally assumed that Zarah was one of Rashid’s sister that he’d mentioned. Isla was probably a sister as well since she piped up and offered other suggestions on ways to irritate the man who ruled their country.
“But seriously, we’re all very excited to have you join our family. When we first realized that Rashid was smitten with someone he’d just met, we were all eager to find out more about you. That’s never happened before. Rashid has always been very casual about relationships before and never, ever brought any of them back to the palace.”
Sidra stared down at the plate that was now heavy with all of the food Zarah had insisted she try. “How did you know Rashid was smitten? And why do you assume that this person is me?” she finally asked, filling up on eggs and fruit, her eyes wide as she took in all the information.
Isla laughed. “Because he came back from England in an all fired up hurry to quell some stupid temper tantrum from Johan, a tribal leader up in the north who was just trying to get some concessions from Rashid for an oil license,” she explained. “Rashid refused to give it to him and Johan won’t be poking the bear any time soon,” she winked at Sidra and Zarah laughed, even the body guards at the door smiled in amusement. Apparently all of them knew what had happened to Johan but Sidra was still in the dark.
“Anyway, he tore back through the palace after putting down that skirmish and headed right back to England, ignoring all the other state business. And when he came back several days later in the grouchiest mood we’ve ever witnessed, tearing at his guards to try and find someone, we started to put things together and figured that Rashid had finally met a woman who was important to him. That’s how we knew that the woman he’d fallen for had come from there. But he couldn’t find you.”
Zarah leaned forward. “He had everyone looking for you! It was pretty tense for a while.”
Isla shooed her sister away again. “She’s right. He was livid when you’d disappeared.” She was beaming at the memory of her older brother being so upset. True siblings, she thought, thinking of Ryan and how he loved to irritate her over small things just to get a reaction out of her.