EPILOGUE
“What do you think? Are you enjoying yourself, Azeezi?”
Olivia turned to her husband, the man she’d barely been able to speak to all day, and let her happiness show through the beaming smile she gifted him. “Enjoying myself?” She murmured, blinking up at him with a small shake of her head. “This is quite possibly the most elaborate first birthday party in the history of humankind.” Her eyes drifted to the two high chairs that were set up across the garden. The team of nannies that were a Talidarian necessity for royal babies hovered needlessly, seeing to spilled food and drinks.
“They are our little prince and princess,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “What fuss do they not deserve?”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “But a party for a thousand delegates, more food than we could ever eat. It’s a little extreme.”
“It is barely the size of our wedding,” he pointed out logically.
“I know,” she laughed. “But our wedding was insane. Honestly, Tamir, sometimes I think you forgot that you married common ol’ me.”
His expression sobered instantly. “I haven’t forgotten. And I have never forgotten, either, how fortunate I am that you loved me enough to forgive me my obstinate treatment of you.”
Olivia linked her fingers through his, and squeezed his hands. “Forgiven and forgotten, a thousand times over, my love.”
He shook his head. “The children look happy.”
Their twins, Ali and Liane, had chubby little smiles despite the enormous day of adoration they’d endured. As the festivities continued to swirl, the children sat as marvellous little matching centrepieces. Still dressed in their finest hand-made outfits, which they’d worn for the official first birthday photographs, they looked as adorable as they were cheeky.
“They are showing a far greater predilection for public life than I feel, even now,” Tamir agreed.
“It’s just been such an extravagant party,” Olivia remarked, encompassing the formal topiaried garden that had been transformed into a fairy lit paradise for the occasion. “I think you should have taken my suggestion and taken us all to the beach for a quiet weekend of relaxing family time.”
Tamir’s laugh was a gentle caress, and somehow, despite the number of well-dressed guests in their midst, Olivia felt almost completely alone with him. “We will do that too, Azeezi. I have made arrangements for us to leave first thing tomorrow.”
“Oh, Tamir,” she squeezed his hand even tighter. “You have?”
“You said it was your wish, and so of course.”
“Oh, I’m so glad!” Her smile lit up her whole face. “The days have been so hot. I would have thought that two years in Talidar would have cured my English tolerance for heat – or lack thereof. But I find these summers as hard as ever to manage.”
“Then we shall move to the beach,” he teased, whispering in her ear. His nearness sent her pulse tingling, rushing like fire through her veins.
“The palace is here,” she pointed out logically.
“Yes.” He nodded. “But I can fly back whenever I need to.”
Olivia’s smile almost fell from her face. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”
Tamir felt his heart turn over. “No. The house is built. It has taken over two years, but it is finally ready for us.”
“I don’t understand,” Olivia exhaled in surprise. “You are suggesting we leave Liya?”
He nodded. “From the moment we first travelled to the beach that day, and I saw the way your whole mood shifted, I have known it would suit you. I know I promised to talk to you about important things, but I wanted this to be a surprise.”
Olivia’s heart was racing. “I had no idea it was even an option.” She gripped his arms, scanning his face. “You have to be here. You’re the Sultan.”
His laugh was thick with affection. “And you are my wife, and your happiness is the most important thing to me. Many of my meetings can take place at our new palace. And I will travel as necessary. But you will be happy, and the children will grow up with more freedom than the capital allows them. Please allow me to do this for you, Olivia. I need to.”
She shook her head slowly. “Why do you say that?”
“Atonement?” He said with a small shrug.
“Atonement? Oh, Tamir. You have nothing to atone for. You have given me a future so much brighter than I could ever have hoped for.”
“Yes, but I will always regret the way our future came about.”
“Don’t.” She lifted a finger to his lips, and her smile was overbright. “For the rest of our lives, which I hope are long and splendid, I never want to hear another word of regret. I married you because I loved you. I love you because I realised I couldn’t live without you. And here we are.”
“Yes, here we are.” He looked around the room, still swarming with guests. With one small nod, he laid the groundwork for his next surprise. “There is one last part of the birthday celebrations.”
“Oh, no.” She closed her eyes. “The twins will be getting tired.”
“And the nannies will take them inside shortly,” he promised. “This is for you. The woman who brought them into being.”
She frowned. “What is for me?”
A curtain lifted, revealing a small orchestra, and at its front, Liam Marsh himself.
“Oh, Tamir, what have you done?” She asked, askance.
He put a hand beneath her elbow, and began to lead her to two chairs at the front of the lawn. “I missed the entire concert because I could not keep my eyes off you. I would rather like to enjoy it with you, this time. I want to enjoy it with you by my side.”
She shook her head on a small laugh. “It’s too much.”
“Nothing for you is too much.” He waited until she’d sat down, then moved to the seat beside her. He leaned closer so that he could whisper, “You do not know how jealous I was of Jack that night. The way you laughed at him and smiled at him. I wanted to be the only man who could bring that level of happiness to you.”
Her chest thumped with sensation. “You are.”
“I know.” He grinned, and laced his fingers through hers. “And you are the only woman who has ever driven me almost crazy with love. What do you think, Azeezi? Are we a good match?”
She nodded wordlessly. “A perfect match.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
The music played, and they enjoyed it together. But it was not the brilliant songs that made her smile shine with the power of ten thousand stars. No, only the man next to her could do that. She smiled, as she knew she would, for the rest of her life.
THE END