‘I CAN’T BELIEVE that after all this time we still haven’t found Gemma.’ Polly sighed and shot a pained glance at her sister, Ellie. ‘I mean, it’s been months and we still know next to nothing about our long-lost sibling!’
‘Well, we know that she had a tough childhood and she has no roots to cling to,’ Ellie argued in a more measured tone. ‘We can also assume that she moves around a lot because we never seem to catch up with her and we know she works in really dead-end jobs. That’s a lot more than we knew about Gemma starting out.’
Polly nodded reluctantly. ‘True...but what if she doesn’t want to know about us?’ she asked worriedly. ‘We’ve advertised in the papers, notified social services that we’re looking, informed everyone who has known her in the past that we want to find her—’
‘We have to be patient,’ Ellie cut in firmly. ‘And that’s not a trait you possess although, heaven knows, you possess everything else.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Polly prompted.
Ellie rolled her eyes. ‘Movie-star-handsome King as husband—check. An adoring population who think you can walk on water—check. Constant sunshine overhead, royal palace—check. Loving grandparents—check. An adorable baby son... Yes, I’m talking about you, you little darling!’ She stopped to speak to Karim, who crawled across the rug to his aunt to grab the toy she was extending. ‘I suppose you’re already planning on extending the family?’
Polly flushed. ‘Not just yet. I’d like Karim to be a little older before we try again. I’m not a baby machine, Ellie. I mean, look at you, you don’t even date—’
‘I’m too busy working. Between my shifts and the hospital and the exams I don’t have time for a man. Anyway, most of them are a waste of space,’ her red-headed sister contended. ‘No, I like my life just the way it is. I eat what I like, go where I like, do as I like and that’s important to me. The minute a man enters the equation, all your choices start disappearing—’
‘And you still have no plans to look into your background?’ Polly pressed.
Ellie sighed. ‘Actually I’m taking a couple of months off once I complete my residency and I’m planning on heading to Italy and doing a little discreet detective work—’
‘Oh, that’s great!’ Polly gushed approvingly. ‘Will you tell me your father’s name now?’
Ellie groaned. ‘The reason I didn’t tell you the name before is that I got given two names—’
Polly’s eyes widened. ‘Two?’
‘Yes,’ Ellie confirmed drily. ‘Two names. Obviously our mother didn’t know which man fathered me and, sleaziest of all, the men were brothers. I’ve done some research. One of the men is alive, the other dead. The living one is a wealthy retired art collector who lives in a palazzo outside Florence—his brother passed away years ago.’
Polly stared at her sister in consternation, belatedly grasping why the younger woman had been so silent on the topic of her own unknown father and background. ‘Oh, dear... I’m so sorry—’
‘No, you got the fairy tale...the military hero father who married our mother...and I got a pair of deadbeat dads,’ Ellie mocked with wry humour. ‘I’m glad it worked out that way. I can handle messy reality better than you can.’
‘I could come to Italy with you!’ Polly proffered in dismay. ‘Be your support.’
‘No, you’d wilt like a flower out of water deprived of Rashad and Karim,’ Ellie forecast drily. ‘And that’s if your husband would even let you go—’
‘Rashad doesn’t tell me what to do—’
‘No, but he hates it when you’re away even for a couple of days,’ Ellie reminded her wryly. ‘You came over to see me at Christmas and Rashad was on the phone every five minutes. You actually fell asleep talking to him one night. Having you to stay was like separating a pair of lovelorn teenagers. It’s unhealthy to be so attached to each other...’
Polly simply laughed, knowing that Ellie had never been in love. Nothing came between Ellie and the medical career she adored. But Polly had never had that burning ambition for a career and her wants and needs were satisfied by her family circle and her public role as the Queen of Dharia. She was always very busy, particularly since the birth of their son a year earlier. They had a nanny to help with Karim’s care but both Polly and Rashad spent a great deal of time with their son. Polly wanted Karim to know how much he was loved and Rashad was determined to play a daily part in his child’s routine.
‘It’s so beautiful here,’ Ellie remarked dreamily, contemplating the star-shaped pool into which water flowed endlessly. Lush trees and luxuriant foliage softened the carved stone arches and pillars of the palace walls that surrounded the courtyard. ‘You saw this place first, didn’t you? Maybe that’s why you fell for Rashad.’
‘You are such a cynic, Ellie,’ Rashad declared with amusement as he joined them.
Karim loosed a yell and crawled at speed across the tiles to greet his father. Rashad chuckled and bent down to scoop up the little boy and kiss him with an unashamed love that touched Polly’s heart. The man she had married had slowly learned to loosen up and show his true colours. His passion in bed was now equally matched by the depth of his affection. He said that she had changed him but Polly believed he had changed himself. He was happy now and it showed in the ease of his brilliant smile and the burnished glow of his dark eyes.
‘Well, was it the palace that cast a spell over you...or me?’ Rashad teased, gazing down at his wife as she moved to his side.
‘If you two are going to turn all lovey-dovey, I’m going upstairs for a shower,’ Ellie announced in a deflating tone.
‘Lovey-dovey?’ Rashad queried, walking Polly out of the courtyard with an arm draped round her shoulder and Karim tucked below the other.
‘Drippy...mushy,’ she translated. ‘Ellie hates that stuff.’
‘Are we...drippy?’ Rashad enquired with a pained look.
‘Probably sometimes,’ she said fondly. ‘Who cares as long as we’re happy?’
‘I am not drippy,’ Rashad proclaimed with distaste as Polly removed Karim from his arms and settled their son in his cot for his nap.
Karim howled as if he had been abandoned in the street and Rashad hovered worriedly.
‘He’s fine. He always does that. He’s just like you, very resilient and he tries it on sometimes. Don’t let him think you’re going to lift him again,’ Polly warned as she dragged Rashad out of the nursery again.
‘Tough love...right?’ Rashad guessed, wincing as Karim kept on crying.
‘Wait,’ Polly instructed in the corridor.
When he was deprived of an audience, the crying stopped and their son began to talk to himself quite happily.
Rashad smiled, much relieved by the development.
‘Yeah, you’re really drippy!’ Polly teased with satisfaction, walking into their bedroom.
‘I’m not. I’m a concerned parent who doesn’t like to hear my child cry,’ Rashad argued.
‘And I’m what? The evil mother who left him to cry?’
‘No, you’re the wonderful wife who is giving me an hour of alone time with you before dinner,’ Rashad said with a wicked grin as he began stripping off his clothes with alacrity. ‘This is yet another reason why I love you so much.’
Polly ran appreciative fingers up over his rock-hard abdomen and watched his muscles ripple, dry-mouthed with admiration. ‘I’m greedy... I always make time for you.’
He crushed her lips beneath his with a heady moan of pleasure. ‘You taste so good, habibti.’
Her body was sparking like a fizzing firework, eager for the ignition point of his. No, they hadn’t lost their passion for each other. Admittedly her pregnancy had slowed them down a bit in the final months but she had rediscovered her energy after Karim’s birth and the nanny had helped by doing the night feeds. They rolled across the bed kissing and exchanging sounds of mutual love and longing and, as always, it was amazing. They lay together afterwards, wrapped in each other and temporary satiety.
Rashad ran his fingers through her hair, stared down at her peaceful face with true devotion in his gaze. ‘You really are the best thing that ever happened to me,’ he told her gruffly. ‘When I wake up in the morning and see you beside me, my heart lifts and I feel that I can cope with anything.’
‘I love you too,’ Polly whispered with shining eyes.
And he kissed her again and dinner was served late and Ellie gave her sister a withering glance.
‘And you looked at me when I said you were like teenagers?’ she quipped.
‘Wait until you fall in love,’ Polly urged.
‘Not going to happen. I’m too sensible,’ her sister assured her confidently.
* * * * *