Patricia Holiday refuses an invitation for dinner and
a thousand dollar bill from a stranger. As a Vegas dancer
Trisha has worked hard and strives to take pride in the
home and life she has made for herself. Making it through
the evening performance, it's all she can do to make it to
the parking lot before she passes out with a high fever.
As luck would have it, her rescuer was none other than the
Prince from Dubai who sent her the invitation earlier.
Spending his last 7 years at a California university, Prince
Malik Mohammed has completed school in the U.S., along with
his best friend and bodyguard, Rashid Zayed. Visiting Vegas
and instantly recognizing Trisha as "the one for him", Malik
is more than happy to rescue the beautiful woman. Before she
is nursed back to health, Malik is called back home. His
father, the Sheik, is dead from a fall from his horse, and
Malik is now required to step in as the Sheik.
Trish is pleasantly surprised when she is invited to spend
Dubai's national holiday at the palace. Both Trish and
Malik both know that they are meant to be together, and they
finally declare their forever love. Plans to wed are set
in motion with the condition that Trish must birth a child
within 5 years, or as the law dictates, they must be
divorced, and Malik will never again marry. In addition, she
is to receive five million dollars each year she is married
to him.
Nearing the 5 year stipulation, there is still no
child, and Trish is sad that Malik has pulled away from her.
Deciding to go home to Vegas to think things through, she
puts her money to good use, vindicating her sister Emma
who was left high-and-dry by her ex four years previous.
When Malik's secrecy is finally revealed to Trish, her
world is turned upside down, and she is forced to draw from
a strength she hadn't realized she had.
Fern Michaels never fails to deliver a heartfelt and
wrenching story of a love so deep and a loss so devastating
that a woman is forced to draw from an unknown strength.
A FAMILY AFFAIR is so captivating and fulfilling that I
could not put it down once I had started reading. A FAMILY
AFFAIR will capture your heart with the truly imaginative
plot and fulfilling love. Michaels always surprises with
unexpected twists and turns, and never fails to deliver. A
FAMILY AFFAIR is truly a wonderful and powerful read.
In a city built on dreams, Trisha Holiday makes her living
moving like one. But out of her dancer's costume, she's as
down-to-earth as they come. That's why she ignores the
admiring note-and the accompanying $1000 bill-that arrives
backstage after one of her ethereal performances. Yet the
sender, a wealthy foreign prince, isn't easily dissuaded.
Seven years living and studying in the United States have
made Malik long for the freedom to choose his own bride-and
the woman he wants is Trisha.
After a breathtaking visit to
Malik's kingdom culminates in a marriage proposal, Trish
attempts to adjust to an opulent new lifestyle complete with
servants, sumptuous surroundings, and vast wealth. None of
that matters to Trish as much as Malik's love. With Malik's
sister Soraya proving a trusted new friend, they plan a
lavish wedding surpassing anything she could have imagined.
Yet Trish's new life will have challenges too-adjusting to a
new and complex culture, to the myriad demands of Malik's
royal position, and to the expectations she faces as his
wife.
In the midst of her own major changes, Trish vows to
help her sister, Emma, whose marriage has ended in a bitter
breakup. And through it all, Trish will strive to stay true
to what matters most-love, true friendship, and the ties
that hold family together across the miles and the years.