A Week Later
Qadir turned from where he was talking with his brothers and Father in the family room when his mother and Aimee entered. His breath caught in his throat. Even Junayd and Jameel, who had not yet met Aimee, and Tarek were speechless.
Aimee looked like a royal princess from a fairy tale in the brilliant royal blue evening gown with crystal beads flowing down from the bodice and along the folds of the gown. The scooped neckline with a long scarf hanging over her right shoulder showed off a tantalizing view of her creamy breasts. The memory of them bare in his hands, his lips suckling on her rosy tips, caused him to shift uncomfortably.
He flushed when he caught his mother watching him with amusement. Aimee’s long black hair was braided with tiny white flowers woven throughout. He itched to release the silky locks and wrap them around his body. His two youngest brothers eagerly stepped forward and greeted her, and he couldn’t stop himself from growling under his breath.
“You’d better watch them. They may try to steal her from you,” Tarek murmured with amusement.
“Never,” Qadir replied.
Aimee’s delighted laughter followed by his brothers’ caught his attention, and he scowled. Junayd and Jameel were acting like two love-sick puppies. He turned when his father cleared his throat.
“She reminds me of your mother when I first saw her,” Melik said.
“She is a very special woman,” he replied.
Melik nodded. “She told me of her upbringing. It was… very unusual,” he commented.
“I don’t care about her upbringing. It made her who she is today. She’s a warrior at heart,” he replied.
“I can see why you are enchanted with her,” his father reflected with a proud smile.
Qadir watched his father walk over to his mother. It was surprising—or perhaps he had just never noticed—how in love his parents were with each other. He wondered if he looked at Aimee the same way as his father looked at his mother. He hoped so, because Aimee deserved nothing less.
He walked over to Aimee and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Shall we go?” he asked.
Junayd laid a hand on his shoulder and leaned closer. “If Father insists you marry someone else, I’ll be happy to console Aimee for you,” he joked.
“And I’ll be happy to slit your throat,” he retorted.
“No threats of mutilation before dinner,” his mother chided.
Aimee giggled. “I feel like I’m back home,” she said.
Qadir held Aimee closer as she joked with his brothers and mother. It was impossible to miss his father silently watching the exchange with a pleased expression. Aimee sent his father a beaming smile that lit up the entire room.
The gala event was to celebrate the announcement of Qadir and Aimee’s betrothal. Dignitaries from around the world had been invited for the event. Their wedding would take place soon. More security would be there to make sure nothing spoiled the festivities.
Tarek fell into step on his left while Junayd kept Aimee distracted to his right. The moment they entered the main ballroom, Jameel stepped forward, bowed, and begged Aimee for a dance before Qadir hogged her all night. He reluctantly released his grip as his twin brothers argued who should get the first dance.
“Have you discovered anything about Anderson?” he asked.
Tarek nodded. “An injured man was seen stumbling out of the Northern Territory near the border with Simdan. The farmer gave the man water and sent his son to notify the nearest outpost. The man disappeared before they arrived. It is suspected he made it over the border,” Tarek replied.
Qadir flexed his fists. “I want them, Tarek,” he growled.
“I’m following a lead,” Tarek answered, sipping the drink he had plucked from the tray of a passing waiter. “How are things going with Bronislav?”
“His stocks have crashed, his business partners are fleeing, and there are only three of his bank accounts that we have not frozen—yet. He is no longer listed as a billionaire,” Qadir replied with a smirk.
“Good,” Tarek said, draining his glass and handing it to Qadir. “Now, if you will excuse me. I see someone I’d like to speak to.”
Qadir frowned when he saw his brother heading for a tall woman with sun-kissed skin the color of mocha. He remembered the woman as a friend of Aimee’s from the nightclub they had visited. She was the singer.
He gazed at Aimee. She was glowing and attracting the attention of far too many men in the room, in his opinion.
Placing his brother’s empty glass on the tray of a passing server, he walked out onto the dance floor. Jameel and Junayd grinned at him and went off to find another target to torture. The music changed to a slower tune, and he held his arms out. Aimee flowed into them, and he pulled her close.
“I have a surprise gift for you,” he murmured.
Aimee tilted her head back and laughed. “Like this isn’t a big enough gift?” she asked with a wave of her hand.
He looked around. The room was filled with people he knew, but so far, he’d only spotted one person who Aimee knew, and he suspected she hadn’t seen Idella yet. He was about to whisper his surprise to her when a voice yelled from across the room, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Hey, Wheels!”
The chorus of voices were filled with a mixture of happiness, awe, and love. Aimee gaped in surprise and pulled out of Qadir’s arms. Standing in a tight group at the entrance to the ballroom were her friends from her old neighborhood. Stanley spotted her first and made a beeline for her, followed swiftly by the others.
“Stanley? Mr. and Mrs. Yang?” she exclaimed in shock, before looking back at Qadir in disbelief. “You brought Biggie and his grandma over here?”
“I thought you would like to invite them to the wedding,” he said.
She burst out laughing and nodded. “This is the best wedding present ever,” she confessed, turning as Idella began to sing. Tears burned her eyes. “This is the absolute best.”
Qadir twirled her on the dance floor one last time before they were mobbed by her friends. “Only the best for you, Aimee,” he tenderly said.
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Book 2 of the Girls from the Street series?
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