Sheikh's Pregnant Lover by Sophia Lynn, Jessica Brooke Page B

regardless of where they sat. The place was packed with guests sipping drinks and enjoying hors d’oeuvres, but a scan of the room told her that Zayid wasn’t inside.
    He’s probably outside, she thought, her eyes drawn to the terrace, which was similarly packed. A smile tugged at her lips at the idea of sitting outside with him, high up in the air as they enjoyed their drinks and the stunning view. It reminded her of when he’d taken her all the way up to the top of the Burj the night that they’d met. A warm flush spread through her body as she remembered the way his hard body had pressed against hers, how his hot breath had fluttered against her skin as he’d teased her with gentle, intimate caresses. He’d made her so hot for him that she hadn’t thought twice about jumping into bed with him in one of the hotel rooms. And now here she was, thinking about doing it again.
    But when Madeline walked out onto the terrace, she froze, all the warmth in her dissipating as she caught sight of Zayid standing by the balcony’s edge. Next to him was a tall, curvy redhead wearing a wispy grey dress that skirted the edges of propriety. She flashed her white teeth as she laughed, her delicate hand on Zayid’s shoulder, and Madeline’s blood boiled as she saw Zayid’s hand on her chest, perilously close to her breast.
    I can’t do this.
    Heart pounding, Madeline turned away from the scene. She wasn’t going to sit there and have drinks with Zayid while he had another woman by his side. Why did she think that this would ever work out? Clearly Zayid was not a one-woman man, and he never would be—not with his good looks, charm, and boatloads of money that attracted every woman within a mile radius of him.
    As she turned away, she thought she saw Zayid’s silver eyes catch sight of her. She strode back inside quickly, refusing to acknowledge him. With any luck, he would lose her in the crowd if he decided to pursue her.
    She made it to the elevator without incident, but rather than feeling relief as the doors closed behind her, she only found bitter disappointment and despair at the fact that he hadn’t come for her after all.
     

Chapter Ten
     
     
    As Madeline walked up the street to the café two blocks away from her job, her phone rang in her pocket. Irritated, she pulled it out to see that it was Zayid calling—again. Gritting her teeth, she pressed the “end” button on her phone and shoved it back into her pocket.
    Thirty minutes after she’d left the hotel the previous night, he’d called her to ask where she was and if she needed a ride. She’d told him that she was just fine and that she hoped he was enjoying the redhead, then hung up the phone before her anger and tears got the better of her. She’d then turned off her phone for the night and buried herself beneath her bedcovers with a bottle of wine and a book, refusing to acknowledge him.
    The next day she’d been forced to keep her phone on, and Zayid had barraged her with phone calls and text messages demanding to let him explain. She’d ignored them all again, but the calls had been a tremendous distraction, She’d had a lot of trouble focusing on work, so she’d ended up turning the phone on silent. She’d been prepared for him to come to the lab and confront her directly…but he hadn’t. He’d gone silent halfway through the afternoon and she hadn’t heard from him since. Perhaps he had given up.
    Yet here he was, calling her again.
    I’m not going to think about this anymore, she told herself firmly as the café came into view. She had a lunch date with Vanessa today, and she was damned if she was going to let Zayid ruin their girl time. Pulling out her phone again, she put it on silent, then walked into the cute French café to find her friend.
    Sure enough, Vanessa was already there, seated at a table by the window and sipping a cup of Turkish coffee. She beamed as she caught sight of Madeline. As she rose to greet her, Madeline