LITMIR.BIZ

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her eyes and breathed slowly, in and out. She felt dizzy.

      She had to get a handle on this. And she would. The physical had never mattered to her, and it wouldn’t start mattering now.

      It couldn’t.

      Sayid needed a cold shower. But he had a call to make first. He paced the length of his office and punched in the speed dial for Alik Vasin.

       “Da?”

      “Vasin?” Sayid knew his friend’s voice, but wanted to get confirmation anyway. A formality that was necessary when a man did the sort of work Alik did. Or at least, had done. He knew the ex-mercenary wasn’t for hire anymore, not in that capacity. At least, not officially.

      Sayid had hired him for his last job of that kind, and an unlikely bond had grown from there. Especially since Alik had been the one to spearhead the mission to get Sayid out of the enemy camp. Since Alik had been the one to find him, to keep looking when everyone else had given up.

      “Da.” There was music in the background, a woman speaking a language Sayid couldn’t place, and then the sound of a door closing and the noise ending.

      “Thank you for finding him.”

      “It is nothing. Easy.”

      “For you.” Alik was Sayid’s closest friend. A brother in many ways, more than Rashid had been even.

      “For anyone. She was practically in the phone book.”

      “She wants to stay.”

      “With the boy?”

      “Yes.”

      Alik let out a short grunt that could have meant approval, disapproval or something completely neutral. “I didn’t figure she would want to stay because of you. And what did you tell her?”

      “If I am to keep Rashid’s secret, having her here could be problematic.”

      “Yeah, it could be.” There was a pause. “You are avoiding my question which only piques my curiosity. What did you tell her?”

      “I asked her to be my wife.”

      His friend laughed, genuine, filled with humor. He wasn’t sure how Alik did it. How he had lived through all of the things he had, seen and done the things he’d seen and done, and emerged with a smile. Alik lived fast and hard. Honor falling far behind pleasure on his list of important things in life.

      Sayid envied him sometimes. Envied the ease with which the other man lived. That he was able to somehow be invincible, and a man, at the same time.

      “That’s a bad idea, comrade. There is nothing worse than a wife.”

      “Have you ever had one?”

      “No. And not by accident.”

      “Then how do you know?”

      “I know because there is a blonde in my room tonight, and last weekend there was a brunette. Tomorrow, who knows? You cannot have that if you’re married.”

      “Some men do.”

      “Then what is the point of making vows? I never made a vow I didn’t keep.”

      “You don’t make many vows.”

      Alik laughed again. “No. No, I don’t.”

      “You made one to me.”

      “I did. And I did not make it lightly. You have my loyalty. Whatever you need, consider it done.”

      “And you have mine. There will be a wedding. A small one, out of observance for Rashid’s death.”

      “You need security,” Alik said.

      “Naturally.”

      “You want me.”

      “Of course.”

      “Is this your version of asking me to be best man?”

      The corners of Sayid’s mouth twitched, the closest thing to a real smile he’d managed in too many years to count. “Best man with a handgun.”

      Sayid heard a door open on the other end of the line, the music, the woman, again. Then finally, Alik responded. “I’ll do it.”

      For the second time in her life, Chloe watched her life change through a news story. It was all over the TV. An announcement that interim ruler of Attar, Sheikh Sayid al Kadar, was taking a wife. The hero nanny who had disregarded her own safety to protect the miracle prince.

      She felt her jaw go slack as the story played across the screen. As a picture of her flashed onto it. Then a picture of Sayid. She cringed at the sight of herself, squeezed into the only dress she had. She still wasn’t used to her fuller figure, and she could hardly call herself a fan of the look.

      The female anchor was making eye contract with the camera, and talking about Chloe. A surreal experience for sure. “The stoic regent of Attar has announced his engagement to the heroine of the people, Chloe James, a part-time nanny and science student from Portland, Oregon. The wedding will be a small affair, appropriate for a nation still in mourning, and will take place a week from Saturday.”

      “Ugh.” She groaned and turned the TV off, then turned around to face her whiteboard again. She’d been working an equation as part of her course work for half the morning while Aden lay on a blanket on the floor, kicking his feet in a slow, jerky fashion.

      She leaned in and put her pen on the surface, trying to wipe the images on the screen from her mind, which was completely impossible to do. Completely.

      She looked back at Aden, tugging her glasses off. “What am I getting myself into?” she asked. She got nothing from him, his blue eyes scanning the room, his fist finding his mouth.

      Chloe blew out a breath. “No advice?”

      “Why exactly do you need advice?”

      She turned and saw Sayid striding toward her with purpose and that maddening self-assurance of his.

      “I just saw my engagement announcement on the news,” she said. “Along with the information that our wedding is less than a week away. Imagine my surprise.”

      “Why wait?”

      “I don’t know. There’s no reason to, I suppose.”

      He shook his head once and reached into his pocket, producing a small box and holding it out to her. “I had my family’s jeweler take a gem from the Crown Jewels and set it into a ring for you.”

      She flipped open the top of the box. “From the Crown Jewels?” She examined the piece. It was gorgeous, utterly perfect and unique.

      A garnet, deep and clear, set into bright yellow gold, fashioned into vines that held the stone in place like a glittering flower.

      “This is a little… much, don’t you think?” she asked, touching the jewel with her fingertip. It struck her then, that no one had ever given her a gift. A strange realization, especially when this wasn’t a gift, but a piece of the facade.

      It felt like one, though. And not just any gift, something extravagant and beautiful. Something special. The sort of thing her parents never would have done for her because she was simply an afterthought.

      It was embarrassing to realize how badly she wanted to put it on. How badly, in that moment, she wanted it to be special. How badly she wanted someone, even if it was Sayid, to think she was special enough to deserve something so incredible.

      She closed the lid on the box. On the feeling.

      She didn’t need that. Aden was her family. The only family she needed.

      “Do you like it?” he asked.

      “Of course. But I don’t need a piece of the Crown Jewels.”

      “You do. Because every

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