Sold To The Sheikh: His Indecent Proposal (An Interracial Sheikh Romance Novel) by Holly Rayner Page A

doctor said, keeping her
voice level and calm.
     
    “But—but I don’t want to
just give up,” Mia told Dr. Farber and Rami, more tears flowing
from her eyes in spite of her desire to keep them in.
     
    “We’re not giving up,”
Rami said, reaching out and gently patting her shoulder. “It’s just
a break. These cycles have been tough on you.” Mia blew her nose
again, snatching up another tissue to mop at her face.
     
    “I don’t want you to think
you’ve wasted all this money.”
     
    “It’s not a waste,” Rami
told her firmly. “We’re doing practice runs. What have I told you
about investments?”
     
    “But what if…what if I
can’t conceive at all?”
     
    Dr. Farber cleared her
throat. “I think a break is in order, for a month or two at least.
Once your system is clear of all the hormones and you’ve had a
chance to rest up, we can look at some ways to optimize your IVF,”
Dr. Farber said. “Even if you’re perfectly healthy, even if you
could normally conceive just fine naturally, it can be very
difficult to make IVF happen.” Mia swallowed the lump she could
feel in her throat and nodded.
     
    “Of course I’ll keep
paying you—this break is part of the process,” Rami said. Mia shook
her head quickly.
     
    “No—no, if I’m taking a
break, I can live off of what you’ve already given me. I’d feel
terrible taking your money while I wasn’t really doing
anything.”
     
    “Well, let’s compromise,
then. At least let me pay you for the month,” Rami said. Mia
sighed.
     
    “I know you’re going to
insist and I’m so tired I can’t argue,” she said. “I just feel so
terrible, like I’ve wasted everyone’s time.”
     
    “ Not at all, Mia, you’ve
put in so much effort, and I really am grateful,” Rami said, giving
Mia a little smile.
     
    “Have some water and take a
moment to get yourself together a little bit. I’ll settle things
with Rami and we’ll set a date for you to come back in and begin
the next attempt, okay?” Mia took a deep breath and nodded at the
doctor. She stepped out of the office and went into the hallway,
sitting down and closing her eyes. Grief washed through her in
waves as she thought of all the time, all the money, stress and
effort that had been put into the project of getting her
pregnant—and nothing had come from it. What if I can never get pregnant on my own, either? Sure I
could adopt, but I wanted—so wanted—to have a baby of my own, too.
I didn’t want to be like my birth parents. I wanted to be a
committed and present mother, from conception onwards. Tears slipped from beneath her eyelids and Mia
focused on breathing, struggling to regain some of her
composure.
     
    A few minutes later Rami
left the office and found Mia in the hallway, bringing with him the
purse she had left behind. “It’s okay, Mia, really,” Rami said as
they walked down the hall together.
     
    “I know,” Mia said. “I’ll
be okay, it’s just that right now—I’m really tired, stressed out,
and I feel terrible.”
     
    “Do you want to come to
lunch?” Rami offered. “I could make arrangements for you to get a
massage, maybe a pedicure?” Mia smiled weakly and shook her
head.
     
    “I think what I really
want is to be alone for a little bit,” she said. As they left the
building, she turned to Rami and offered her hand. “I’ll be in
touch in a couple of weeks, and we can…talk about the next steps, I
guess. I just kind of want to focus on helping mom and not think
about babies for a few days.” Rami smiled, and instead of shaking
her hand he pulled her into a quick hug and kissed her on the
cheek.
     
    “I totally understand. A
couple of weeks. And if I don’t hear from you, you’ll hear from
me,” he said, releasing her from the embrace. “Don’t let this get
you down, Mia.” Mia summoned another smile and nodded.
     
    “I’ll try,” she said. She
turned away from him and found her keys in her purse as she