Claimed by the Desert Sheikh: The Sheikh and the Pregnant Bride / Desert King, Pregnant Mistress / Desert Prince, Expectant Mother. Susan Stephens

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      Yet he found himself caring and that reaction was so unexpected, he wanted to know what it meant. So he wasn’t going to let her go. Not yet.

      “A month,” he told her. “Stay a month. You can finish the car. If acting as if we are dating is still too difficult, you can leave and I will pay you the full amount for both jobs.”

      She started to speak, then stopped. He wondered if she was going to refuse the money. If she could. He knew there were money troubles in her past. It would only take him a few minutes to get someone to find out her exact financial situation. But he chose not to violate her privacy that way. Not until he had to.

      “I’ll finish the car,” she said at last. “I want to do that. It means a lot to me.”

      “And the rest?”

      “I can’t figure out why you’d want to continue to pretend to date me, but it’s your call. For now, I’ll agree.”

      That night Maggie curled up on the sofa in Victoria’s suite and sipped the herbal tea her friend had made. Her friend’s rooms were similar to hers, with a stylish living room and French doors leading out to the balcony that wrapped around the palace.

      But unlike Maggie, Victoria had added little touches to make the place her own. There were a few prints on the walls, a throw that added color. Colorful masks formed a centerpiece on the dining room table.

      “They’re beautiful,” Maggie said. “Where did you find them?”

      “The local bazaar. They mostly sell food, but a few times a year they feature work from local craftsmen. I always try to go. I’ve picked up some beautiful jewelry, as well. There’s supposed to be a place in the desert where they make the most exquisite gold. Beautiful woven patterns, like nothing you’ve ever seen. I have a pair of earrings I—”

      She started to stand, then sank back onto the sofa. “Sorry. You’re not interested in my earrings.”

      “Not even on my best day,” Maggie admitted with a smile. “But I can pretend.”

      “No need. I forgot the purpose of our meeting.”

      “That’s right. I’m expecting you to fix my life.”

      “I’m not sure I’m up to that,” Victoria told her.

      “I know. It’s kind of beyond fixing.” Maggie set down her mug and pulled her knees to her chest. “I feel so awful. Not physically,” she added quickly. “I’m fine. In fact if I didn’t know better, I would swear I wasn’t pregnant. Nothing’s different. Shouldn’t I be throwing up or something?”

      “That can come later,” her friend told her.

      “Something to look forward to.” Maggie sighed. “I just can’t get my mind around the fact that I’m going to have a baby. I’ve been distracted the whole day, thinking about it, but it’s just words. I don’t know how to make it mean anything.”

      “You have time.”

      “Nine months less six weeks,” Maggie said. “I know the day it happened. The exact day.”

      “The last time you were with Jon.”

      Maggie nodded.

      “So you’re confused,” Victoria said. “That’s not a surprise. You weren’t expecting to end up pregnant. But beyond confusion … is there anything else?”

      Maggie tried to probe her heart. What did she feel? “Terror,” she admitted. “I’m not like you. I don’t know how to be a mother.”

      Victoria held up both her hands. “Hey, I’m about the least maternal person you know. I can’t keep a plant alive.”

      “But you’re so feminine and girly.”

      “Knowing how to buy shoes on sale has nothing to do with being maternal. You’re confusing your definitions of feminine. From what you’ve told me about your past, you’ll be a great mother.”

      Maggie stared at her. “Why?”

      “Because you had a great father. He was totally there for you. He loved you and supported you and only wanted what was best for you. So you know how to do the same. No baby is going to care if you actually knitted the blanket or bought it at a store. What he or she will care about is being loved. And you’re gonna love your baby.”

      Maggie felt a twinge of something inside. Something hot and fierce and powerful. A baby. Was it possible?

      “Thank you,” she said. “You’ve made me feel better. So that’s one problem down and four thousand left. I’m pregnant.”

      Victoria smiled. “I know.”

      “This is a huge complication.”

      “It usually is.”

      “I’m going to have to deal with Jon at some point.”

      “True.”

      “This isn’t going to make him happy.”

      “You’ll figure something out.”

      Maggie wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t want to think about Jon just then. “I felt bad about that picture being in the paper. It was incredibly humiliating for me, but I also felt awful about Qadir. That he got dragged into this.”

      Victoria sipped her tea. “An interesting way of looking at things. A case could be made that he dragged you into things by offering up the deal in the first place.”

      “He didn’t know I was pregnant. He never would have said anything if he had.”

      “Agreed. My point is that he started things going by wanting to pretend to date you.”

      “Maybe. I just hate that now he has to deal with my problem.”

      “Because you like him.”

      “Of course I like him. He’s a great guy. He defended me to the king.”

      Maggie still couldn’t believe how Qadir had stood up for her. While she hated to cause trouble in the family, she couldn’t help feeling safe and protected, even just for the moment.

      “I find it fascinating that he still wants to see you,” Victoria said. “Even after knowing you’re pregnant by another man.”

      “I know. I don’t get it, either. I told him we should break things off. That the public would totally understand him dumping me.” She shivered slightly. “I’ll admit I hated the idea of being branded a slut in the press, but I’m responsible for what I did, so it was only fair that I was the one who got stuck. I said I really wanted to finish the car, but nothing else.”

      “He didn’t agree.”

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