They sat in silence for several minutes after Patrick stormed from the room. Eloise had no idea what to say, and by the looks of things, neither did Masoud. She made eye contact with him several times, but kept looking away. It had occurred to her as Patrick was leaving the room that Masoud might have dealt with him dishonestly. Patrick would deserve it, but where would that leave her?

Finally, she dared to speak. “Is that letter real?”

“It is,” Masoud said. “I tendered my resignation this morning, as I said. As of now, I am not longer affiliated with Khan Capital.” He smiled. “I told you I would find a way. Gainsborough can’t blackmail me when I have no pull within the company.”

“But you love that company,” Eloise protested. “It means the world to you. It was your father’s legacy. You told me…”

“I told you my father meant everything to me,” Masoud corrected her. “I told you I couldn’t see my way clear to stepping aside and turning things over to the board after he died. But letting Gainsborough take advantage of Khan Capital is far more objectionable than allowing it to be run by a board of directors. Besides, they’ve given me their word that they aren’t planning to dissolve the company. My father’s legacy will go on. I don’t need to be a part of it for that to happen.”

“I can’t believe this,” Eloise said softly.

“My father was a wonderful businessman,” Masoud said, “but first and foremost, he was a loving parent to me. He always made sure I knew how important I was to him, not as the future leader of his business, but as his son. I can’t think of a better way to honor the things he taught me than to be a good parent to my own children.”

“You really want to be involved?” Eloise asked.

“I really do. If you’ll let me.”

“Of course I will.” Eloise felt tears welling up in her eyes. “I want my babies to have their father.”

Masoud nodded. “Eloise, I want that too. I want that more than anything. But I don’t want them to spend their childhood commuting between America and Al-Zhera to see us. I don’t want them to have to take overnight plane rides every time I want to spend a weekend with them.”

“I don’t, either,” Eloise admitted. “But I don’t see another way.”

“Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“We could be a family, Eloise.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“I care for you,” he said quickly. “Truly, I do. I wouldn’t ask this if it was just for the sake of the children. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the day we spent together.”

“Neither have I,” she admitted. “I care for you too, Masoud.”

“Is there any way you would consider moving here?” he asked. “I’m sorry to ask so much of you, but as a member of the royal family, I can’t live out of the country without causing an uproar. But if you would move to Al-Zhera, move in with me, we could try being together. We could raise our children together. We could really be a family.”

He reached across the table and took her hand.

“Think about it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful? Walking through the old town with our children, taking them to the zoo on the weekends, cooking meals for them together?” He leaned closer. “Spending every night together?”

Eloise thought about it. Did he know what he was asking? The way Masoud described being a family sounded like playing house. What about the children’s educations? What about her own parents? Would she work, or would she just sit around the house all day? There were so many unanswered questions, so many details that made his proposition difficult to accept.

But the idea of spending every day with Masoud, here in this foreign paradise, was so beautiful that she found herself unable to deny its appeal. They could figure everything else out. She would get a job and continue sending money to her parents. Masoud had been educated here, so he would know how to make arrangements for the children. And in the meantime…spending every night together.

She couldn’t say no.

The tears she’d been trying to hold back finally spilled over as she took Masoud’s hand with her free one and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Yes? Really?” A look of utter happiness spread across his face.

“Would we live in your apartment?”

“No,” Masoud said. “It isn’t big enough for a family. But we could live here.”

“Here?” she gasped. “The palace?”

“Do you not like it?” His face displayed his concern.

“I love it, Masoud. But…we can live here?”

“Why not?”

“It’s too beautiful.”

He smiled. “We could turn this room into a nursery,” he said, gesturing around them at the mahogany office. “It’s been boarded up for too long. My father would be thrilled to see it used for such a wonderful purpose.”

Eloise closed her eyes and envisioned her twins lying in bassinets in this very room. It was a beautiful image, almost too much to wrap her mind around.

“Can we really do all this, Masoud? I don’t want to barge in here and change everything your family has built.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, I…I’m an outsider. I don’t even know if I have a right to be here. Shouldn’t you be involved with a princess or something? Someone important?”

Masoud stood and drew her into his arms.

“You’re the mother of my children,” he said, brushing a lock of hair back from her face. “No one in this world is more important, Eloise.”

He kissed her and took her by the hand, and by the time they had made their way to a bed, Eloise had forgotten all her reservations.