‘It means I didn’t care how it looked or what people thought. I saw you hurting and I wanted to comfort you. Because watching you hurt caused me pain too.’ He paused. ‘And I wanted to protect you.’
That had been a revelation to him, though not a surprise.
‘You already protected me. You championed me. You made a government minister look like a snivelling bully.’
‘And so he is.’
It had taken all Salim’s discipline not to punch the man in his smarmy face. The fact that Salim had already been poleaxed by the sight of Rosanna marching towards him, sexier than ever and sparking with the latent energy of a lit firecracker about to explode, hadn’t helped. He’d wanted to hustle her away from all those avid looks and gossiping mouths. But it had been imperative he deal with the rumours first.
Rosanna opened her mouth and shut it again. For such a forthright woman it was a sign of either confusion or superhuman restraint. Salim suddenly found himself nervous, trying to gauge her reaction.
‘When did you find out about Phil?’
‘That he’d embroiled you in his crimes? Late yesterday.’
‘You heard the rumours and believed them.’
Rosanna’s downturned mouth was eloquent.
‘No. Taqi came to me with news the Minister for Finance and his staff were spreading rumours that you were a criminal who’d escaped justice on a technicality.’ He saw her turn pale and hurried on. ‘I knew it wasn’t true but had my staff dig for any details on the public record ready to refute the rumours.’
‘Youknewit wasn’t true?’
When he nodded Rosanna shuffled across to the sofa and collapsed onto it. She looked stunned.
‘I had no idea about Phil’s crimes,’ she murmured. ‘Not until everything fell apart.’
‘You don’t have to tell me.’ Salim wanted to know but not if it caused her more pain.
‘There’s not much to tell. Phil always had expensive tastes but when he changed jobs he started mixing with people who had serious money and liked to spend it. He was on a good wage but nothing to compare. He told me later that he’d taken the moneyfor us.’
Her mouth turned down in disgust. ‘He wanted a fancy wedding at the most expensive venue. A honeymoon at an ultra-exclusive overseas resort. To buy a prestige apartment. I kept telling him I was happy with what we could afford. We put a percentage of our incomes into a joint account to cover the wedding and save a house deposit but I didn’t check the balance. I thought I knew how much there’d be.’
She sighed and looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. ‘Meanwhile he developed a taste for high-stakes gambling with his friends. He lost and stole more in hopes of winning enough to hide what he’d stolen.’
‘And he got found out.’
Rosanna nodded. ‘I’d actually been going to call the wedding off. Phil had changed so much from the man I knew.’
Salim sank onto the lounge beside her. He longed to pull her close but held back.
‘Thank you for believing in me.’ Her eyes, dark as a stormy sky, held his. How he longed to see them glitter brilliant with joy. ‘I’m sorry to taint you with my past.’
He shook his head. ‘It’s a storm in a teacup.’ Or it would be once he was finished.
‘Nevertheless, I appreciate you standing by me.’ She paused. ‘And it did help when you held my hand. I felt a bit wobbly. Just as well it actually didn’t mean anything.’ Her gaze darted to his. ‘You didn’t really mean it about people thinking you’d claimed me.’
Salim reached for her hands. His chest constricted as he felt how unsteady they were. Deliberately he lifted them from her lap and threaded his fingers through hers.
‘Everything I said was true. By now half of Dhalkur knows you’re the woman I want in my life.’
Her eyes were huge and troubled but she looked too exhausted for outrage. ‘You mean, they know I’m your lover?’
‘Some will speculate. But I meant they’ll see the action as a clear token of my intention to marry you.’
Salim had been wrong about her exhaustion. Rosanna snatched her hands back and shot to her feet in a single move. But he was just as fast. He stood before her, toe to toe, forcing her to look at him.
‘Rosanna?’