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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      Maggie watched the clock, then at the appointed time, she picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. She and Jon had e-mailed back and forth to set up the call. She’d told him speaking with him was important but hadn’t said why.

      “Maggie,” he said when he answered. “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing. I’m fine.”

      “I’ve been worried.”

      “I said everything was okay.”

      “I know, but I couldn’t think of why you’d need to talk to me unless something was wrong. Is everything all right there? Do you need anything?”

      She needed to be able to turn back time and undo that single night, she thought sadly. Or did she? Although she was terrified about being pregnant and had no idea what the next seven and a half months would bring, she couldn’t bring herself to regret the baby.

      “I’m doing great,” she told him. “Work on the car is going well. I’m enjoying the country. It’s different but wonderful. Plus I’m living in a palace. How often does that happen?”

      “Are you sure? I could probably get some time off and come get you.”

      She frowned. “Jon, I can take care of myself.”

      “I’m not convinced.”

      Wait a minute. How long had he seen her as incapable? She sure didn’t like that.

      “You should be. I’m a big girl. All grown-up. Let’s change the subject. How’s Elaine?”

      There was a moment of silence. She wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to let go of how she might need him or if he was uncomfortable talking about Elaine.

      “She’s fine.”

      “You’re still going out?”

      “Yes.”

      “Come on, Jon. Details. Are things getting serious?”

      “Sort of.” He drew in a breath. “They are. She’s funny. She wants a cat. She’s wanted one for a long time, but her roommate was allergic. The roommate got married a couple of weeks ago, so Elaine has the apartment to herself, but she still hasn’t gotten a cat. I finally asked her why and she said she wanted to make sure it was okay with me. I told her it was her cat.”

      Men weren’t always as bright as they could be, Maggie thought humorously. “She wants to make sure you like cats, too.”

      “Yeah, I got that later. It was kind of cool, you know, that my opinion mattered that much.”

      “Is she getting the cat?”

      “We’re going to pick one out over the weekend.”

      “I’m glad.”

      Maggie said the words, then braced herself for a twinge. She and Jon had never gotten to the pet-sharing stage. But all she felt was pleasure for him.

      “Sounds like things are getting serious,” she said. “That’s good. I hope you two are really happy together.”

      “Maggie, I …”

      “Jon, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. We’re over. We were over a long time before we ended things. I wish we could have seen that. I know we stayed together because of my dad and while I’m sure he appreciated the gesture, we weren’t doing ourselves any favors.”

      “I don’t want to hurt you.”

      “I’m not hurt. We had a great few years and I’ll always be grateful but we’re growing in different directions.” She knew he liked taking care of people and hoped Elaine enjoyed being taken care of by him.

      Unfortunately things were not going to get easier for any of them.

      “I want to talk to you about that last time we were together,” she said, hating that she had to bring it up.

      “Maggie, don’t. We’re both to blame.”

      “Me a little more than you.”

      “I didn’t have to come over.”

      “I made a pass at you,” she said, wishing it wasn’t true. “I seduced you.”

      “I let myself be seduced. I guess we both wanted that one last time. My only regret is if it hurt you. Otherwise I’m glad we were together.”

      Maybe he had been, but all that was about to change.

      “You’re beating yourself up over nothing,” he continued. “Maggie, you have to let it go.”

      “I wish I could,” she said softly. “But it’s not that simple.” She drew in a breath. “I’m pregnant, Jon. After we stopped seeing each other, I went off the pill. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen, so why bother? I just never thought about it.”

      She paused to give him a chance to speak but there was only silence on the other end of the phone. She knew him well enough to imagine the shocked look on his face.

      She decided to say the little speech she’d prepared while he was trying to figure out what the hell had just gone wrong with his life.

      “I know this is totally unexpected,” she said. “Neither of us ever imagined this happening. But it did. I also know that you’re a total good guy and you’ll feel responsible. Jon, you’re not. I’m the one to blame and I’m the one who is going to deal with this.”

      Now came the hard part. “I don’t want anything from you. I mean that. You have a life, a great woman and a future. Having a baby with me will only mess that up. I told you about the baby because you have the right to know, but that’s the only reason. I have no expectations. What I’m really hoping is that you’ll walk away and live your life. You don’t have to be involved. We can find a lawyer to write up some papers. You sign away all your rights and I promise to never come after you for money. Considering what has happened between us, it’s really the best decision.”

      She paused again and there was still silence. She couldn’t figure out what that meant.

      “I know you need time to think about all this. You’ve been blindsided by something really huge. Fortunately we have time.” She sighed. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

      “I know that,” he said at last, his voice low and thick with emotion. “Dammit, Maggie, are you sure?”

      She winced. “I took three different pregnancy tests. They all came out positive. I’m sure.”

      “I’m not blaming you,” he said. “Either of us could have walked away. I meant what I said before. I wanted that last time with you.”

      “Just not the consequences.”

      “I didn’t say that.”

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