Modern Romance May 2017 Books 5 – 8. Louise Fuller

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      ‘So planning weddings is your dream?’ he asked.

      Gabi nodded. She told him about when she had been a little girl and the flour and sugar that had driven her mother wild. ‘I would pick flowers at the park for the bouquet and spend the whole day making sure that everything was perfect.’ She thought for a moment. ‘I was so worried about this wedding. It was so incredibly rushed but when I saw James and Mona dance last night I knew that they’d be okay.’

      ‘How did you know that?’

      ‘You can tell,’ Gabi said. ‘She was a very difficult bride, but together they seem so happy.’

      He liked hearing that, for Alim wanted happiness for his brother.

      It was not something he sought for himself.

      Alim did not believe in happy marriages. He had been raised with the model that marriage was a business arrangement and a duty, and that happiness was sought elsewhere.

      Things were different, of course, for James for he did not have the burden of being his father’s heir.

      Yes, he admitted in that moment, at times it felt like a burden.

      Night was fading but there was no real thought of sleeping as they lay together chatting, Gabi idly running her fingers in circles on his chest.

      And for Alim it was very relaxing, too, as well as a bit of a turn-on. He liked her curiosity about his body and her conversation made him smile as she moaned about Bernadetta, and the hell of getting this wedding sorted. But then Gabi crossed the line.

      ‘The groom’s mother is paying.’

      ‘Gabi!’ he scolded.

      ‘What?’

      Alim was considering her for a very senior role, yet she dropped confidential information like a shower of rain.

      ‘You should not discuss such things.’

      ‘Oh, come on,’ Gabi said. ‘I’m not down at the bar talking about it, I’m in bed with the boss. And it’s you she’s paying, so you must already know.’ And then she smiled and it was like a rainbow and Alim found himself smiling back.

      ‘Okay,’ he conceded, and he pulled her in so that she lay with her head on his chest.

      ‘It is odd, though,’ Gabi said, though she was more thinking out loud, and it was so easy to do so with his hand stroking her hair. ‘Usually it’s the bride’s parents who pay, or half and half...’

      Alim shrugged. ‘Perhaps Mona’s parents are not wealthy.’

      ‘Perhaps.’ Gabi yawned. ‘Though Fleur clearly is. She intrigues me.’

      ‘Who?’

      ‘Fleur,’ Gabi said. ‘The mother of the groom.’

      Alim said nothing.

      ‘I can’t work out if she’s divorced or widowed or just single like my mother.’

      ‘Does it matter?’ Alim asked.

      ‘Probably not.’

      Of course it did, Alim thought. Or it soon would.

      He knew how the staff gossiped and very soon Gabi would know his title and it would be clear that the royal guests in residence tonight were related to him.

      Or perhaps it would be the wedding photos that would be his undoing when Gabi saw them, for they had made love now and had stared deep into each other’s eyes.

      Alim knew he was a darker version of James.

      Gabi might well see it too.

      She was perceptive enough that soon she might work things out.

      Alim did not enlighten her now, though.

      There would be time for all that tomorrow.

      It was more than one night he wanted, yet he was aware that he needed to think things through carefully.

      And anyway, for now, Gabi was sleeping.

      The more he tried to talk himself out of the plans he was making, the more sense they made. With his father unwell, the months ahead would be trying—that much Alim knew.

      He could not put off marriage for ever, but he could certainly delay things.

      And what nicer delay than this?

      Alim did not expect Gabi to be at his beck and call as he carried on in the usual way; he would be faithful.

      A year, perhaps.

      It would work for both of them.

      Alim’s assessment was based on practicalities. Away from Bernadetta, her career would only flourish, he would see to that. And, during this difficult year, he could come back to Rome and to Gabi. There would be no scandal for the palace to deal with, particularly when he began taking a more prominent role while his father sought treatment.

      Alim was arrogant enough to assume that Gabi would have no issues with what he was about to propose; after all, women never said no to him, and he was offering more to Gabi then he had to any woman in his life before.

      Aside from his commitment to his country, it was the biggest pledge he had made and Alim made it in the still of the night as she lay sleeping.

      The sky was grey and silver as the sun rose on a very cold Rome and he thought of her dress on the floor in another room and the soft warm body he held.

      Gabi felt the roam of his hands as she awoke and turned her face for a glimpse of Alim asleep but it was denied to her, for Alim was already awake and looking at her.

      He watched her eyes flicker open and her face turn to him. He wondered if he would see a grimace or a startle of panic as she recalled their night, but instead he watched as a smile stretched her lips and her sleepy eyes met his.

      ‘Best night,’ she said.

      It had been.

      And those were exactly the words he wanted to hear, for there was no tinge of regret in her smile and no confusion in her eyes.

      Only desire.

      And Alim still felt the same.

      During the hours Gabi had slept, Alim had been thinking.

      Yes, he still wanted more than one night.

      ‘Fleur did not pay for the wedding,’ he said, and watched her frown at the odd choice of topic, wrapped as they were in each other’s arms and a breath away from a deep morning kiss.

      She did not get yet that this was the most intimate conversation in the whole of Alim’s life.

      ‘It was my gift to Mona and James.’

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