looked as if he wanted to disagree, but he merely pressed his lips together as he scanned the menu. ‘That was then, this is now.’
‘Very true.’ And now was going to be a whole lot of different.
‘The past doesn’t matter any more, except in relation to Sam.’
Which was her cue to ask what his intentions were. But before she could summon the courage to so much as open her mouth, a waiter materialised by Malik’s elbow. ‘Your Highness would like to order?’
‘Yes, I’ll start with the langoustine and Miss Jones will have the oysters on the half shell.’
‘Very good.’
Gracie listened, open-mouthed, as Malik ordered her entire meal without consulting her once. He handed the menu to the waiter and, with a pointed look he completely ignored, Gracie handed hers over, as well.
‘I obviously didn’t need that.’
Malik looked nonplussed. ‘Need what?’
‘The menu. Since you were going to order for me.’ She didn’t bother to keep the pique out of her voice. ‘What if I don’t like oysters?’
‘Have you had them before?’
And now she was caught out. ‘No,’ Gracie said after a moment, ‘but that’s not the point.’
‘Isn’t it? I’d like you to have new experiences, Grace. Adventures. Isn’t that what you once wanted?’
Gracie took a few scattered seconds to formulate her reply. ‘I’d like to choose my own adventures, thank you very much.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Malik said in a tone that suggested he would do no such thing. And what adventures was he even talking about? What kind of future was he referring to?
‘Malik...’ Gracie licked her lips, her mouth turning dry. Just saying his name made her feel strange. Made her remember. ‘Why have you come here? What...what do you want with Sam?’ She released a low breath, relief and trepidation warring within her. At least it was out there now. He had to answer, surely.
But Malik didn’t speak for a long moment. His eyes were fathomless and opaque, like pools of silver ice, glacial lakes. His mouth pursed and then relaxed as he sat back in his chair, one hand toying with the stem of his empty wine glass. ‘It is natural, is it not, to want to meet your own child? Until three days ago, I had no idea I had a son. Of course I would come.’
Not necessarily, Gracie wanted to say but didn’t quite dare. Not considering how his grandfather had reacted, or how Malik had pushed her away that wretched morning after. ‘So...’ Gracie began carefully, ‘you want to meet Sam?’
‘Of course.’
‘And then...?’ As she held her breath, she realised she didn’t know what she was hoping for. For Malik to say he’d return to Alazar and leave them alone? But Sam would be crushed to meet his father and then have him disappear. And yet...what was the alternative? For Malik to be a part of their lives? The thought of him setting up some kind of house or life in Addison Heights was absurd.
Her mind spun in circles, coming up against dead ends at every turn. What did Malik want?
‘And then,’ Malik said, his voice as calm and unruffled as a summer sea, ‘you and Sam will come with me to Alazar.’
HE HAD TO PLAY this very carefully. Malik watched as Gracie’s lovely eyes widened and her jaw dropped. For a few seconds she didn’t speak. The sommelier took the opportunity to come forward with the very expensive bottle of wine Malik had ordered. He poured a generous mouthful into Malik’s glass and Malik drank, his eyes on Gracie as she snapped her mouth closed and stared at him, flummoxed and fuming.
‘Very good,’ Malik said, dismissing the sommelier. The other staff retreated to a discreet distance. Gracie leaned forward, her hazel eyes glinting with both shock and outrage.
‘We can’t just come to Alazar.’
Malik bit back the autocratic retorts that sprang so quickly to his lips. Since hearing about his son he’d wanted to do nothing more than drag Gracie and Sam onto the royal jet as quickly as possible and get them back to Alazar, safe and secure. He’d been tempted more than once since coming to America to do just that, and damn Gracie’s finer feelings. Fortunately he’d learned both restraint and discretion in ten years of managing warring Bedouin tribes. He needed to play a long game now, and for the moment, at least, he needed Gracie’s cooperation.
‘Why not?’ he asked.
Gracie’s fair eyebrows rose. ‘Why not?’ she repeated, as if she could scarcely believe the question.
Malik nodded. ‘Yes. Why not?’
It was a simple question, and yet still she boggled. ‘Because...because he has school and I have a job and friends and a life...and we just can’t.’
She was afraid. Malik saw it in her eyes and the way her hands clenched on the tabletop before she hid them in her lap. But what exactly was Gracie afraid of? Did she suspect what he intended? She must, at least a little. Surely she had to realise the life she’d been living no longer existed. Nothing could be the same for her ever again. Judging from what he’d seen of her life so far, that was not necessarily a bad thing.
‘I think you can,’ Malik said smoothly. He kept his voice low, pleasant and mild. He felt almost as if he were taming one of the Bedouin’s wild Arabians. The halter he would slip on later, when it was too late for her to bolt. ‘It is almost the summer holiday, is it not?’
‘Yes...’
‘So Sam will be out of school and you will be free from work.’ She said nothing, and he continued, deliberately gentling his voice, ‘Why not have a two-week holiday? Give Sam the opportunity to discover his roots and get to know his father?’ A tremor went through him at that thought, but he masked it. ‘Surely that is a reasonable request, Grace.’
She gazed down into her wine, clearly battling against the idea. ‘What happens after that?’ she asked in a low voice. ‘You can’t just breeze in and out of Sam’s life.’
‘I have no intention of doing that,’ Malik returned evenly. No intention at all. He paused, not wanting to lie to her face and yet knowing she could in no way handle the truth at this point. ‘I intend to be part of Sam’s life from now on. How that manifests itself remains to be seen and is subject to both of our agreement, of course.’
Relief flickered through her eyes, followed by dawning fear. ‘You mean...a custody arrangement?’
Malik spread his hands. ‘Let us use these next two weeks to decide together the best way forward.’ He paused for only a moment before continuing, ‘This could be enjoyable for all of us, Grace. An adventure, yes? A chance to show Sam some of the world and to experience it yourself. Why resist?’
* * *
Why resist? It
