Untangling the Web

Chapter 23

The night of the gala had arrived and everything was in a flurry of preparation. It's almost time for them to make their appearance, so Emir goes to the room they set aside in the banquet hall as their dressing room to see if Reyhan is ready.

"Don't come in here!" Emir hears from inside the room and it makes him immediately want to do the opposite. He tries the door, but only finds it locked. So he begins to knock.

"Reyhan? Reyhan, is everything okay? Let me in, Honey," he pleads, still knocking.

He's surprised when it opens and one of the event coordinators slides out of the room.

"Slight change of plans," the woman says, shoving a new tie set at him. "You're wearing this instead."

"You look beautiful, I swear," he hears Suna say to Reyhan from inside the room. And he becomes even more suspicious.

"What's going on?" he asks. "I thought my outfit was supposed to be coordinating with Reyhan."

"Like I said ... slight change of plans." The coordinator looks covertly over her shoulder before nudging him a bit further away from the door. She lowers her voice to say, "Let's just say the babies had a bit of a growth spurt. The other dress wasn't quite working for us anymore."

"Oh," Emir immediately understands. He made the mistake a few days earlier in mentioning how her stomach had gotten so much bigger since they've been at the ranch. She wasn't happy with him. He's since learned his lesson.

"No worries. We came prepared for this possibility, especially when I found out you two are expecting twins. I know at this stage, things can be a bit unpredictable."

"No, no, no," Suna pleads. "Don't start crying now!"

Crying? That's more than Emir can take. He pushes past the coordinator and goes into the room.

"Everyone out," he orders.

Everyone quickly obeys, the make up artist attempting to give one last swipe of some kind of powder before getting a scathing glare from Emir. She follows everyone else out the door, leaving Emir and Reyhan alone.

"Deep breath," he tells her, grabbing her hands and giving them a squeeze of reassurance. "Just relax. It's just the two of us in here now."

"Emir, look at me," Reyhan sniffles. "I look ...."

"Beautiful," he interrupts her. "You look beautiful and amazing. I've always loved you in blue. This dress is incredible."

He pulls her into his arms and holds her for a few minutes until she calms down even more. When she pulls away, she has a slight smile on her face. She turns to the mirror and smooths the front of her dress with her hands, outlining her very visible bump.

"I guess we're making an announcement tonight," she laughs. "These babies refused to stay hidden any longer. People are going to definitely know we're pregnant."

He comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her, his hands joining hers on her belly.

"Your beauty will distract them," he says huskily. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath of her scent. "You smell incredible too."

"Emir," she warns him. "They're expecting us out there any minute."

Nevertheless, she leans her head to the side when he places a kiss on her neck. The small nibble to her bare shoulder sends shivers down her spine and she indulges him for another few seconds before a noise from behind them brings them both back to their senses.

They turn to see their now red faced event coordinator at the door, clearly embarrassed to have witnessed and interrupted the romantic moment.

"Ten minutes," is all she says before closing them in the room again.