In Too Deep_ Husband Material & the Sheikh's Bargained Bride - Brenda Jackson [33]
The smile on the woman’s face appeared genuine. “I am truly happy for you two, but you know everyone will want details and facts.”
Carmen threw her head back. “Sorry, but some things we plan to keep secret and sacred.” She refused to spill the beans about their plan to have a private ceremony on the beach here in the Hamptons this weekend. The first person she’d called was Rachel who had been supremely ecstatic.
“Matthew, will Carmen star in any future Birmingham movies?”
Matthew glanced down at Carmen and chuckled. “Ardella, Carmen can do anything Carmen wants.”
Ardella beamed. “I will take that as a yes.”
“You do that,” Matthew said. And, knowing that Ardella probably had her secret camera ready, with the profound tenderness of a man who was in love, he pulled Carmen into his arms and kissed her.
No one would understand the emotions flowing through him at that that moment. They were the heartfelt emotions of a man meant to cherish the woman he loved. A man who’d recently realized that he really was husband material.
Carmen’s heart was just as full and later, as she and Matthew sat beside each other watching the polo match, she couldn’t help but wipe a tear from her eye. They had talked and together had promised not to let anything or anyone come between them again.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
Carmen glanced up at Matthew and nodded. “I couldn’t be better.” She paused and, still holding his gaze, whispered, “I love you.”
A smile touched his lips. “And I love you.”
She leaned closer to him when he tightened his arms around her shoulders. She was happy about the future that lay before them. He wanted to try again for a baby and so did she. But right now she looked forward to being Carmen Aiken Birmingham again.
She smiled, liking the sound of that and deciding to show him just how much when they returned home later. Life was good but being with the man you love, she decided, was even better.
THE SHEIKH’S BARGAINED BRIDE
OLIVIA GATES
To the many fabulous ladies who made this novella and this exciting miniseries come to life.
My senior editor, Krista Stroever, for the wonderful premise and the unstinting guidance, and authors Brenda Jackson, Yvonne Lindsay, Catherine Mann, Katherine Garbera and Emily McKay for all the fun and helpful collaboration.
It was a great experience working with you all.
I can’t wait to do it again!
One
Three weeks ago, Sabrina Grant married the man of her dreams.
Sheikh Adham ben Khaleel ben Haamed Aal Ferjani was a prince—literally—who’d charmed and captivated her from the moment she’d set eyes on him. He was everything a woman couldn’t be creative enough to hope for. She loved him with every fiber of her being.
And she’d never thought she could be so miserable.
How had she ended up like this? Alone, discarded? This was the last thing she’d imagined when she’d said “I do.”
But then, she couldn’t have imagined anything that had happened in the six weeks since her father’s heart attack.
It had been late May, less than a week after she’d finished her postgraduate courses, and she’d been about to go home with two master’s degrees in hand, when she’d been hit with the terrible news. She’d hurtled to his bedside, struggling with her anxiety as well as his, while fielding those who’d come to pay tribute to her father, Thomas Grant, multimillionaire vineyard and winery owner. The stress had almost wrecked her…until his best friend had come to visit, accompanied by the most incredible man she’d ever seen. Adham.
She was bowled over. And to her stunned delight, he seemed as taken with her. The best part was that she was sure his interest had nothing to do with her father’s fortune. Beyond being second in line to the throne of the staggeringly rich desert kingdom of Khumayrah, he was the owner of the largest horse farm in the States, with a fortune that made her father’s look like change.
Adham started coming every day, enthralling