Free The Sheikh's Green Card Bride by Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter Page A

just processing this. Nicole, I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”
     
    Her stomach sank. She could hear the hurt in his voice, and wanted to make it better, but she knew she couldn’t. Instead, she tried to explain herself.
     
    “We didn’t want anyone to know because of who he is,” she said, trying to decide what else to say.
     
    “Who he is? Why? Are you marrying Brad Pitt?”
     
    Nicole laughed, though the sound was forced. “I’m pretty sure Brad Pitt’s been married for quite some time, Ry. No, actually I’m marrying my boss—Bahir Al-Jabbar.”
     
    More stunned silence. This conversation was going pretty much exactly as Nicole had expected it would, which was why she had waited until the end of the day to make it.
     
    “Bahir Al-Jabbar? The man who’s made your life a living hell these past six months? The one you’re desperately trying to escape? Hey, aren’t you being considered for another law firm? Nicole, what’s going on?”
     
    “Nothing! It…it was all just a front. I didn’t want people to know that we were romantically involved, so I played up my dislike of him a little…”
     
    Nicole hated lying through her teeth. As a lawyer she had been taught how to bend the truth to serve her own purposes, but this was different. This was her brother—the one friend she could always count on—and it killed her to hear the disappointment in his voice.
     
    “You lied because you didn’t want people to know you were dating your boss, and now you’re marrying him this weekend? Where? How did this happen?”
     
    “It was, uh, a spur of the moment decision. We’re in Dubai right now and decided it would be fun to elope on this secluded island not far from here. I just wanted to tell you before it happened, in case the papers find out. I didn’t want you to find out that way.”
     
    “OK…” Ryan said, drawing out the word. “Well now I know. Do you want me to tell Mom and Dad, or are they going to be kept in the dark, too?”
     
    Nicole cringed at his tone. Ryan was angry and disappointed in her, and he had every right to be. Nicole told herself that she would make it up to him by getting him an amazing job and a chance to live his own life. Someday he would forgive her for this. It would all be worth it in the end.
     
    “You can tell them,” she said, sighing. “Look, Ry, I didn’t want to upset you guys. Just know that I love you and I plan on having a big party to celebrate when we get back. We’re just having some trouble with Bahir’s visa right now, but as soon as it gets sorted out we’ll be home to celebrate together, OK?”
     
    “You never told me he was having trouble with his visa,” Ryan said.
     
    “Do I tell you everything that’s going on in my work life?”
     
    “No, but you don’t think it looks fishy that he can’t get back into the States and all of a sudden you’re in love and getting married in a foreign country without telling anyone?”
     
    Damn him and his perceptiveness .
     
    Nicole turned defensive. It was the only realistic response to his insinuation, which just happened to be exactly correct.
     
    “I love him, OK? That’s all you need to know. I know what it looks like, but that’s not it at all. Bahir is a good man with a good heart, and I intend to love him until the day I die,” she said.
     
    It might have sounded a little melodramatic, but for some reason she wanted to lash out at her brother and his caustic tone. She wanted to feel justified in what she was about to do. She wanted him to stop sounding so damn suspicious and disappointed. Nicole was capable of living her own life, even if her decisions didn’t make sense to those she cared about. At least, she could tell herself that, for the moment.
     
    “Really?” he asked, after a brief pause.
     
    Nicole sighed. “Really. Now go do something productive with your day before I have to fly back and kick your butt out of bed myself.”
     
    She’d hoped her