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She’d thought she was ready but she found herself wishing that floors really opened and swallowed people. And she’d thought she’d known social attention as Thomas Grant’s daughter. She’d known nothing. Now she was Sheikh Adham Aal Ferjani’s bride, she had a feeling this was just the tip of the iceberg.

The next thirty minutes was a maelstrom of introductions to hordes of beautiful and high profile people. She tried her best to be as gracious as Adham in accepting the tribute everyone was paying her as the bride of their most valued guest and invaluable sponsor. She had a feeling she was doing a miserable job.

Most of the women around gobbled him up with their eyes. Many ignored her, making blatant offers of availability. It was only because Adham looked at them as he would bales of hay that Sabrina’s chagrin was held at bay. And then she realized she’d better get used to it. After all, what woman could be around Adham and not lose all control?

It was only when Adham took her to meet his core group of friends and associates that her mood improved.

There was Sebastian and his fiancée, Julia Fitzgerald, with Sebastian’s partner, Richard Wells, and his fiancée Catherine Lawson, Adham’s horse trainer. They were accompanied by Nicolas Valera, a renowned Argentinean polo player and model who played on Adham’s team, the Black Wolves.

After a stretch of small talk, Julia said, “Tell us about your vineyards and winery, Sabrina. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even know that Long Island had vineyards.”

“Many people don’t know. My father was among the first to realize that the microclimate here was similar to that found in Bordeaux. He released his first wines in 1975. During the last three decades, the Long Island wine industry has expanded—today there are dozens of vineyards planted on thousands of acres. The vines yield high quality grapes similar to those used by the French and Californian winemakers. Grant Vineyards produces world-class merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.”

“Wow!” Catherine exclaimed. “You sure know your business. Did you start working with your father when you were young?”

A vise clamped Sabrina’s heart as she remembered her frustration at her father’s misguided overprotection. “Actually, he didn’t want me to, but I insisted on learning everything about the vineyards and winery. I have master’s degrees in business and administration, and brewing and winemaking. I was determined to help him run the business, and take over for him when he decided to retire. But he didn’t get the chance to….”

Her words faltered as her eyes filled with tears. Julia and Catherine reached out to her, empathy etching their faces. Sabrina felt solace pouring from them but it was Adham’s tightening hold that eased the anguish.

Responding to Adham’s subtle prompt, Nicolas changed the topic, engaging Adham in a verbal game as exhilarating and bruising as any of their polo matches, which had the ladies dissolving in laughter. Seeing the intention behind Adham’s maneuver, Sabrina felt herself stumbling deeper in love with him.

But though she enjoyed his friends’ company, after an hour, the need to get away rose. She needed to be with him, alone, to settle her mind about their situation.

She was trying to figure out how to let him know that without sounding like a clingy, demanding wife, when he again seemed to sense her need. He suavely thanked his friends on her behalf for their fabulous welcome, and slipped her away.

He took her to the far end of the tent, and she blurted out the first thing that came to her, unable to say what she truly wanted to say. “So, you told me what makes a good polo player. What makes a great one?”

He looked at her for a second, then said, “Apart from having thoroughly trained ponies, and an ability to read them, it’s focus.”

“If that’s what it takes, I bet you’re the greatest.”

He smiled down at her, clearly amused by her adulation, and—pleased, too? Even touched? “I don’t know about the greatest. But I am one of the few who’ve been