‘Don’t bother.’ He surged to his feet, unable to sit still. He watched her gaze trawl over his bare body and felt a flare of satisfaction at the interest she couldn’t hide, but not enough to temper his mood. ‘There’s no need to pack. Stay the rest of the week as planned and have a holiday. A car will come for you in a couple of days. I’ll have a shower and be on my way in ten minutes.’
He turned and strode to the bathroom. Because he knew that even now there was a danger he’d weaken and haul her into his arms.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ROSANNAHADBEENback at the capital for four days when she realised something was wrong.
At first she thought she was imagining things. Since the evening Salim had left so abruptly she’d struggled. Every action, every conversation, took so much effort, but nowhere near as much as it took to conceal her hurt.
She’d watched him walk out that night without so much as a farewell kiss and realised she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.
Once she’d assumed that had been trusting Phil, the man who’d duped her. But that paled into insignificance compared with the disaster of falling in love with Salim.
Totally, irrefutably in love with Salim.
The man who’d seen her as a convenient sexual partner till their passion ended. Now he presumably expected her to find him the perfect wife.
Not that he’d deigned to see her since she’d returned. She’d tried and failed to schedule an appointment. As if she were an importunate petitioner instead of a valued worker. Or ex-lover.
Rosanna snatched a fractured breath and told herself hearts didn’t really break. Yet she grabbed the doorjamb of the office she’d been assigned as she swayed. Her knees had gone soft.
Like her heart and her head.
Because even when Salim had left abruptly, even when he’d thanked her formally for their time together, she’d waited for him to add something. A promise of time together back in the capital, for after all they’d only had five of their seven days. Or some sign that their intimacy had been special to him.
She’d waited in vain.
Five days with Salim had enmeshed her deeper in her feelings for him, while it appeared that he’d been cured of his desire for her. Just as he’d predicted.
Their time together had ended his desire but nearly destroyed her.
That’s how she felt, lost and hurting. Unable to work because Salim didn’t have time to see her. And because she didn’t have the heart to find more possible brides.
Now, on top of that, something else was wrong.
The palace employee who’d just brought her afternoon coffee and pastry, a woman she knew and usually enjoyed chatting with, had blushed and stammered when Rosanna spoke to her. She hadn’t met Rosanna’s eyes and had scurried away so fast Rosanna wondered if she’d offended her.
This morning something similar had happened with another staff member. She’d wondered if word had leaked out about her affair with Salim. She’d sought out Taqi and asked if she’d done something wrong but he’d refuted the idea.
She firmed her lips. She might be in limbo waiting for Salim to see her, but she could at least get to the bottom of this mystery. Ignoring the tantalising scent of coffee wafting from the tray on her desk, she left her office. Taqimustknow what was going on.
Moments later Rosanna pulled up short at the large waiting room outside the sheikh’s offices.
There on the other side of the room was one of the secretaries who worked with Taqi. Walking beside him in a flowing gown of lustrous amber was Zarah, one of the potential candidates for Salim’s attention. The one who, it had turned out, was niece to the Minister for Finance. And there was the Minister, entering the sheikh’s office with his niece, a satisfied look on his face.
Rosanna withdrew a couple of steps, putting her hand on the cool decorative wall tiles beside her, needing support.
Salim had halted the matchmaking while he was away with Rosanna. He’d insisted she couldn’t resume her work until she spoke to him and he decided how they’d proceed.
Yet here was one of the marriage candidates being ushered, with a member of her family, in to see the sheikh.
Had Salim grown impatient working with Rosanna? Had he decided that, given their intimacy, he couldn’t trust her to continue her work?
Obviously he had. He was meeting Zarah without discussing it with Rosanna.
A storm of emotions bombarded her. She told herself not to jump to conclusions. Perhaps Zarah was here for some other reason.
Yet Zarah’s work as a photographer wouldn’t bring her in contact with Salim. She didn’t do portraits. Besides, if they were discussing her work why was her uncle here?