Mina stifled the urge to roll her eyes. The air was thick with testosterone, the two very alpha males each determined to stand their ground.
‘This won’t take long.’ Mina ignored the pang of regret she felt at that, and sent a pleading glance to Ghizlan. ‘Then I’ll come and join you.’
After a searching glance Ghizlan nodded. ‘We’ll finish this later.’ Not just the choice of jewels, but, she made clear, a conversation about Alexei Katsaros.
Wearily Mina nodded. She owed Ghizlan an explanation even if it was a truncated version of the truth. For no matter how she’d tried, since arriving in Jeirut she hadn’t been able to hide the fact that something was terribly wrong.
Her sister took Huseyn’s arm. For a moment he stood, unmoving. Then he nodded. ‘Very well. We’ll be in my study.’ His tone held a warning as if daring Alexei to step out of line.
‘Your family is very protective,’ he said when the door closed.
‘They are.’ Sometimes overprotective. But there was comfort in having family who cared.
‘I’m glad. You deserve to have people who care.’
Surprised, she shot Alexei a wary glance and was snared by those green eyes she’d tried to avoid.
It was impossible to look away, no matter how she ordered herself to do so. It was as if he drew her to him, compelled her against her will.
No, not against her will. That was the problem. Despite everything, Mina couldn’t eradicate her weakness for Alexei. All she could do was pretend it didn’t exist. Itshouldn’texist. They’d only been together for a week. Far too short a time to fall in love. What she felt was infatuation.
A lump rose in her throat as she fought to stifle her feelings. She felt so wretched, not like herself at all. Once she’d have lost herself in work no matter what was going on around her. Now work took second place to the pain she carried like a layer beneath her skin.
Mina propped her hands on the table, grateful for something to lean on. She hadn’t thought he’d come. Whenever she thought of that last day his words burned her soul. She’d told herself he’d spoken in the heat of the moment. That he didn’t really believe what he’d said. But maybe he had.
After days of thinking herself at her lowest possible ebb, Mina knew she’d finally hit rock bottom. Shame, outrage and, yes, sheer hurt, scraped every inch of her flesh, making it smart. She tore her gaze away, pretending to tidy the gems that blurred before her eyes.
‘I know because you’re standing there, unscathed, you didn’t suggest to Huseyn that you owed him a fee for taking my virginity.’ She spat the words out, hating their acid taste. ‘So let me reiterate, once and for all, I don’t need your wealth. Nor does my family. There’s no fine to pay.’
In the old days it would have been called a bride price and the suitor would have been ushered into a hasty marriage. But Alexei was no suitor. He despised her.
Mina clasped her hands, projecting as much calm as she could when her heart pounded like the hoofs of a runaway stallion. ‘So there’s no reason for you to stay. I can arrange for you to be on the next flight out.’
‘I didn’t come for that, Mina.’
His voice didn’t sound right. She was used to lazy cadences, the mellifluous sound of a man confident and at ease. Her senses quickened at that too-tight timbre, as if something squeezed his voice box. Till his meaning sank in.
There was only one other reason for Alexei to come.
Another scrape of pain, this time so deep Mina was surprised she didn’t see blood.
She lifted her head and met his eyes. The shock of what she saw reverberated through her. He looked gaunt and strained where minutes ago he’d looked solid and strong. His olive complexion was a sickly grey that made his eyes look sunken.
The alteration was so profound she actually moved towards him, then stopped mid-step.
‘If you’ve come to check if I’m pregnant, you can relax.’ Her voice was harsh. ‘Those condoms did the trick. No inconvenient accidents to worry about.’
To her surprise Alexei recoiled as if from the lash of a whip.
‘Are you sure?’ His voice held a husky quality that reminded her too much of his words of praise and encouragement when they’d made lo—when they’d had sex. ‘I assumed your supposed period was a sham.’
Mina’s fingers pressed tight together. ‘Absolutely sure.’
She’d been amazed to find herself fighting tears when she arrived in Paris and discovered her period really had started. She should have been relieved, shewasrelieved there was no pregnancy to complicate things. Yet it had been final confirmation that the fantasy was over.
‘I’m sorry, Mina.’
She blinked and realised he’d closed the space between them. Instantly she stiffened. ‘Sorry there’s no baby? I can’t believe that.’