So now here she was trying to capture the bundle of energy that was her daughter because both of them would have to get ready. They would be driven to his father’s palace where she would meet Abe, who would come straight from the airport.
The thought of seeing Abe again after only a couple of days without him filled Georgie with excitement. It felt as though he had been away for months,years. She had chosen what she was going to wear carefully and, yes, she knew what was expected of her on the sartorial front, but she also knew what he liked and she had gone for a deep burgundy dress that framed her slender body like a glove while remaining perfectly decent, because the figure-hugging, contoured sheath was superimposed under layers of transparent, pale pink voile and silk that floated around her in an extremely flattering manner.
Two weeks ago, she would have been a bag of nerves but that was then. Now, things had subtly changed.
She grabbed Tilly, subjected her to a series of kisses and tickles and frogmarched her to the bathroom, where she bribed her into the bath with a selection of toys and her favourite bubble bath.
She chatted and sang and played but her mind absently darted across the landscape that had become her life, against all odds.
The confusion and panic she had felt when she had first arrived in Qaram had ebbed away and in its place was a contentment she had never expected to feel. She wasn’t an outsider, but someone who had been welcomed into a country that was not her own. She had had to rely on Abe and he had been true to his word. He had guided her every step of the way, slowly integrating her into his way of life.
She had been dogged for so long by fear of change. Life had changed for her when her mother had died but, over time, that void had been filled by her dad, the crack in her life papered over, but then he had died, leaving her on her own, and although she had jumped ship to go to Ibiza, in an attempt to lose herself in something new and different and challenging, she had never stopped craving stability.
Having Tilly had propelled Georgie into a life where no chances were taken because someone else had been depending on her, relying on her not to guide her into unsteady waters.
So Abe, coming back into her life like an invading storm, had filled her with trepidation.
Every step she had taken had been difficult as she had been edged away from her bone-deep desire for security into a world where she no longer knew the rules.
She need not have worried because Abe had been there for her. Was it any wonder that she couldn’t think of him without smiling? They were perfect together. They were perfect in bed and they were perfect out of it as well.
So there were no loud declarations of love. That just wasn’t his style. She had seen enough to hope that he cared for her as deeply as she cared for him, whether he realised it or not. She was also hoping that the two days spent apart might have awakened some recognition in him of what he felt for her.
Had he missed her? He certainly seemed to show a keen interest in how she was spending her time in his absence. He had told her to do whatever she wanted to the villa, to make whatever changes she wanted, so that it would feel like home.
At the moment, they were still living in the palace, but as soon as they were married they would decamp to the villa, and he was keen that she had a hand in kitting it out. She had felt a flair of excitement at the thought of that. She had already started planning on redoing and expanding the kitchen, and maybe even putting in a studio, because the light pouring in from the ocean was fantastic for painting. Who knew? Perhaps she could resurrect her vanished career as an illustrator for kids’ books... At any rate, she could illustrate for a book for Tilly, which would be nice.
Tilly would miss the vast playroom with the miniature village, but there would be a pool and walks on the beach at sunset. Like Cornwall. At a stretch.
She managed to dress Tilly in an outfit not of her choosing, the fairy confection sidelined in favour of a far more subdued dress and sandals. Fatima whipped her away to give her some dinner then, leaving Georgie an hour and a half to get dressed, which she did slowly and carefully.
A long, luxurious bath and then make-up and then the outfit. It was a little after six and the driver would be delivering them to Basha’s palace for six forty-five. Abe would be there and she was fired up to see him, already looking forward to a night of heady passion after the party.
She slipped her feet into delicate, strappy sandals that elevated her height to a very respectable five-eight and she and a very excited Tilly were ready and waiting for Abe’s driver, Sid, to arrive for them.
She felt good. She felt excited. She felt like a woman in love, and the little voice in her head that had kept repeating that that was a very foolish way to feel had become fainter and fainter over time.
There would be children of Tilly’s age there to play with. A few she had already met. Like most young kids, and perhaps because she had become accustomed to the sociability of being in a nursery from a very young age, Tilly had no qualms when it came to making friends.
They arrived at the palace and Tilly could barely contain her excitement at seeing two of the kids she had met only recently. Georgie knew what the routine was likely to be. All the young children would be proudly paraded in front of people for a short while and then whooshed off to one of the rooms in the palace where they would be supervised until, one by one, they eventually fell asleep.
The palace was decorated lavishly, especially considering the very short notice.
But then, an army of people could go a long way when it came to making sure the details were all picture-perfect even though time was limited.
There were small lights blazing on all the trees that led to the courtyard in front of the palace. The palace itself shone as bright as a Christmas tree and the front doors had been thrown open and were guarded by a uniformed man on either side. High-end cars were parked neatly to one side, disappearing into the darkness at the back, and people were entering, formally dressed, many of the men in traditional outfits.
Georgie felt a pang of intense nerves but excitement at the thought of seeing Abe overcame whatever anxiety she was feeling.
The door was opened for her and Tilly flew out but then stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of everyone and turned to Georgie to be lifted up.
So that was how Georgie entered the palace, as people fell back to let her through and one of the members of staff hurried forward to guide a path straight to Abe—with Tilly wrapped up in her arms, wreaking havoc with the dress and ruining the classy entrance she had hoped for, where Abe would turn to look at her and wouldn’t be able to look away.
There was no music but there was a lot of laughter and talking and buzz. Dozens of waiters were working the crowded room, serving drinks and nibbles on huge circular platters.
Georgie was stopped so many times along the way that she lost count. She’d personally met very few of the guests but Qaram was small and, now that she and Abe were officially pronounced a couple in the eyes of the world, everyone was keen to get to know her.
She smiled and nodded and chatted and felt more at ease than she’d expected. English might not have been the first language for many there, but they were all fluent in it and they all seemed to share the same keenness to put her at her ease.
