AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dragged into the conversation by her granddaughter, Amina offered a tentative smile. “Are you sure you want Zara’s fingers on that lovely hair of yours? She’s going to mess it all up.”
“Oh, I don’t really care, Amina. It’s not like I’m going to walk the ramp tonight and face a thousand cameras.” And yet, even the wildest, longest, hardest events of her career hadn’t caused this...constant flutter of butterflies.
Was she a fool to look forward to the party this much? Where were all the promises she’d made to herself that she’d treat Nasir as just another employer?
“You will look beautiful whatever Zara does to your hair,” Amina added, always wanting to have the last word, just like her son. “You’re leaving modeling, then?”
Struggling to keep her shock off her face—the older woman had the hearing of a bat—she said, “Give or take a decade, Amina. It’s not like I know how to do anything else.”
The words left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She had to stop with the negative talk. And yet, the fact that she’d not been successful yet in placing her children’s novel with an agent had left her in knots.
She wanted it so bad—this new, fluttery dream to be an author, to fill some child’s life with escape and adventure and love, as Nasir’s stories had done for her. But...she was terrified that she’d never make it. Never get it right. Never have what it took.
She could share the manuscript with Nasir and get his feedback and advice. And yet, the thought of him finding her talentless, or worse, laughing in her face, made bile rise up into her throat.
With Zara still on her hip, Yana moved to the huge vanity table that had been moved into the bedroom the second day of her arrival. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, and she had seen a lot of beautiful things in her life. With three different panels of mirrors, it was truly a princess’s possession. She had no doubt Nasir had acquired it in some rare auction, but she wondered every time she sat in front of it why he’d had it installed in here when she was still using his bedroom. “First, I’m going to do my makeup, okay? Something soft and...”
“No, Yana Auntie. Glittery... Pwincesses have glittery makeup.”
Everybody laughed and Yana groaned. “Oh, pumpkin, you don’t want your papa’s guests to make fun of Yana Auntie, do you?” she said, unable to keep the biggest fear that had been haunting her ever since Nasir had issued the invitation, out of her voice. More dictate than invitation, though, she thought wryly.
Whatever she heard in Yana’s voice, Amina came to stand behind her. “First rule of being a woman—never let men decide if you’re good enough for them.”
She gave the older woman a quick nod in the mirror and wondered if she’d imagined the glint of satisfaction in her gaze. “Well, let’s get started,” Yana said, truly excited now at the prospect of getting ready for the night ahead. “With this many fairy godmothers, I’m sure I’ll look beautiful tonight.”
Yana entered the dining room and came to an awed stillness.
An otherworldly quality permeated the room with its grand sweeping ceilings and archways leading off to yet more rooms, like it belonged in an old film with its brightly lit sconces, gleaming chandeliers and the black-and-white-checkered marble floor. Through a huge archway, the room segued into an open, airy ballroom, where a couple was already slow dancing. With jazz playing on a record player and a low hum of conversation, it looked like one of those intellectual soirees she’d never felt good enough for.
The hum died as every gaze turned to her.
A huge stone fireplace blazed on one side in contrast to the French doors opening into a wide terrace with a view of the mountains. Cigar smoke drifted in from the terrace through the doors and lingered, adding to the dark, mysterious atmosphere of the room. Along with smoke, cold fluttered in, making one side of her deliciously chilly versus the warmth on the other from the fireplace. It was as magical as she’d imagined.
First impressions bombarding her, she noticed that it was an intimate group of guests. That meant less chance of losing herself. Her nervousness grew, thrashing it out with the excitement she’d been feeling all day.
It felt like an audition she was entering to find herself worthy of Nasir’s highbrow group. And even if she didn’t fit in, so what?
Bolstered by those thoughts, she straightened her shoulders. Her gaze moved over four couples, finally landing on Nasir, standing next to the huge hearth. His gaze swept over her, gleaming brighter than the amber liquid in the decanters on the bar cart.
The bright pink chiffon cocktail dress she and Huma had agreed on showed off her tan perfectly. It dipped low in the front with a beaded corset hugging her breasts tight, leaving her back bare all the way almost to the upper swells of her buttocks. It wasn’t the most daring dress she’d ever worn and yet, maybe it was the most daring for this company.
It was cleverly held together by two straps tied at her neck, and that had reminded her of Nasir’s fingers on her nape as he’d reknotted her bikini strings, and the delicious sensations that had engulfed her.
She didn’t know how long they stood like that, gazing at each other across the room, quiet murmurs all around them while the jazz crooned to a soft, sinuous beat, and the sounds of the night drifted in from outside. All of it felt like an inspired, perfectly orchestrated soundtrack for this moment.
“So this is why you’ve been avoiding us, Nasir. You’ve got this beautiful creature hidden away in your castle.” A deep voice quipped from her side, breaking the pulse of tension between her and Nasir. For a fanciful moment, she wondered what kind of vision she’d need to see it arc between them like a rainbow, fizzing with electricity, tugging them closer.
A second voice chimed in. “Our Mr. Hadeed is not as conservative as he’d have us believe.”
Yana turned to face the two men, their arms around each other, both stunningly good-looking in completely different ways. She nodded, her mouth curving into a smile at the easy camaraderie they offered.
Nasir was moving closer. Only years of faking a snooty haughtiness helped her swallow the awed gasp that rose to her lips.
Dressed in a casual black jacket, white shirt and black trousers, he looked like one of those larger than life heroes of the silver screen. Hair slicked back, that long beak of his nose standing out, a cigar dangling from his fingers, there was a magnetic quality to him that made her greedy for every detail.
Yana let herself look to her heart’s content, let herself feel the sensation of desire drench her, let her senses fill with the sheer sexual appeal of the man. She could live for a hundred years, and she knew she’d never find a man more attractive to her than he was.
