It was a far cry from his own upbringing.
‘And the man you planned to marry? What about him?’
As soon as he said it, Salim realised he’d destroyed the relaxed mood. Rosanna stiffened, her hand poised in mid-stroke over the dog nestled in her lap.
‘Phil? He’s no longer in my life.’
‘How did you meet?’
‘At work. I was employed to recruit senior staff for a major financial institution. He worked there and we hit it off.’
Salim watched her mouth flatten and felt inordinately pleased that there was clearly nothing now between her and her ex-fiancé. Not that it was any of his business.
‘You were together long?’
She shrugged. ‘Long enough to think of marriage.’
‘So you were obviously compatible.’
Rosanna shot him a look from under lowered brows. ‘I thought so but I was mistaken.’
It was clear she didn’t want to discuss this and Salim should do her the courtesy of stopping. Yet he needed to know more. Because if he wasn’t mistaken, that was pain he read in her expression and he didn’t like the way that made him feel.
‘He hurt you?’
She looked away. ‘I trusted him and he betrayed me, so yes, he hurt me.’ She turned back, meeting his gaze almost defiantly. ‘I’m more wary now. I thought I knew him but I was wrong and that undermined my confidence. But I’ve adjusted my expectations. I won’t make the same mistake again.’
Her lips turned up in a smile that didn’t meet her eyes and she began talking of the dogs, of how hard it would be to choose between them.
Salim listened but with only half an ear. He was far more interested in Rosanna’s revelations and what they told him about her.
Her ex had betrayed her. With another woman?
The man had poor taste. How could he want another woman when he had Rosanna?
Salim thought of her professionalism and competence and wondered how she’d coped when her ex undermined her confidence. She never gave any indication that was the case, standing up to Salim and challenging him to be realistic in his requirements. That only strengthened his admiration.
But what made him most curious was her statement that she’d adjusted her expectations. Had she closed off her heart, not believing she could trust a man after that betrayal?
That saddened him. This woman deserved more. She deserved not just honesty but a man who would devote his life to her.
Salim’s thoughts turned to whathe’doffered her. A week’s carnal pleasure. A chance to gratify his yearning for her before they returned to the capital and he set her to work finding him a wife.
Suddenly his actions seemed not pragmatic but selfish. Not clear-sighted but crass. Even after their affair ended, to expect her to help him choose a bride...
Distaste churned in his belly at the idea he’d taken advantage of a woman who’d already had her hopes and expectations destroyed by a man.
Salim should have treated her better. Not that Rosanna complained. But the very fact that she’d agreed to his proposition, and that she responded so fully and generously to him, made him feel less than the man he wanted to be.
But what else could he have offered her? It was this short affair or nothing.
And despite what honour urged,nothinghadn’t been an option. He was a man of strong self-control but even one more day together in his palace and he wouldn’t have been able to keep his hands off her.
Salim watched Rosanna smile as she stroked the silvery puppy that he feared would always remind him of her beautiful eyes. He thought of the day, soon, when she’d return to Britain. He’d never see her again unless she attended his wedding to the nameless woman who would hopefully meet his all-important criteria, because his country needed her.
Strange. In the past he’d thought of his bride with the resignation of a busy man who saw her as another job to be ticked off.
Now he actively disliked that faceless woman.