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That left Laura, Raheem, Jessenia, and a trio of women she’d not met yet. She assumed at least one of them was Raheem’s sister, since they all shared similar features. The oldest of the trio stepped forward with her hand extended.
“Hello, I’m Cala, Raheem’s older sister.” Her smile was sweet and her dark eyes flashed with sincerity. “Well, not as old as Jess, but still older than Raheem.”
Jess gave a snort then waved the other two girls over. They both looked to be in their teens and, as Laura looked closer, she recognized the one girl from the security tent the night before.
“You were in the tent last night, working with the computers,” Laura said, shaking the girl’s hand.
“Yep, that was me. I’m Najma, Raheem’s younger sister.” She was about four inches shorter than Laura’s own five-five and a bit curvier. “I’m pretty much a tech geek. I can hack anything and I’m not afraid to try either.”
Laura chuckled at the girl’s chutzpah. Smart and sassy. Always a good combo.
The youngest girl stepped forward, pink streaks highlighting her midnight black hair. She was tapping away on her cell phone and barely glanced up at Laura. “Hey. Razi.”
Jess gave her youngest sister a hard stare then shook her head. “Razi’s only interests these days are boys, clothes, and makeup. She’s a complete heathen and spoiled rotten, but we love her anyway.”
Razi rolled her eyes as only a teenager can then wandered off again
, still texting away.
“Right.” Raheem stepped forward to take Laura’s arm and guide her toward a third hallway branching off from the round foyer. “If you come this way, I’ll have the servants show you to your quarters where you can freshen up before the breakfast.”
They headed down a long marble hall lined on one side with precious antique furniture and paintings and on the other with large windows looking out over a central courtyard and lavish gardens. It was all quite lovely and quite overwhelming. Raheem took a right and led her into the interior of the palace before stopping before a rather plain white door.
“I shall leave you here to rest and rejuvenate. Please feel free to make use of anything you find in your room. I will send someone in an hour or so to fetch you for the breakfast.”
After a quick bow, he walked away, leaving Laura to stare at the door alone.
She held her breath as she walked inside, unsure what to expect. Part of her felt like a kid on Christmas morning. The other part of her had read far too many Sheikh romances as a teen and feared she’d been kidnapped for the evil prince’s harem of sin. Seriously. There had to be something wrong with Raheem and his family, right? They couldn’t be as wonderful and nice as they seemed, could they?
Her quarters, though, were just as spectacular as everything else she’d seen thus far in the palace, with a huge four-poster mahogany bed strewn with emerald green velvet duvets and pillows, a separate changing area, enormous walk-in closet, and tiny sitting area complete with a cozy fireplace. But for all its luxury, there was still a hominess about it, a feeling of refuge and comfort. It was lovely.
Laura strolled through the room and headed for what she assumed was the door leading to the en suite bathroom. Sure enough, the lights clicked on as she entered, revealing a spa fit for a queen. Large, sunken Jacuzzi tub, separate travertine tile shower with multiple showerheads, granite vanity countertops and the thickest towels Laura had ever seen.
Wow. Just wow.
She walked back into the bedroom and found a garment bag laying on her bed. That hadn’t been there before, but she hadn’t heard anyone enter or leave either. Tentatively, Laura walked over and picked up the note attached to the garment bag.
Thought you could use a clean change of clothes. We’re about the same size, I think.
Najma.
Laura unzipped the bag to reveal a lovely silk ensemble in shades of gold and deep red that wouldn’t clash with her redhead coloring. She ran her fingers over the precious material, savoring the cool soft fabric against her skin. There was a set of palazzo pants, a flowing top, and a scarf for around her head, all traditional Arabic garb. She hated to impose on Raheem’s sister’s hospitality, but a quick look down at her sandy, dusty clothes showed they weren’t fit for the grocery store now, let alone an important breakfast filled with dignitaries from all over the globe.
Before getting ready though, she tried her cell phone one last time and at last found a signal, though her battery was dangerously low. Not wanting to risk a lengthy phone call at this point, she shot off a quick text to her boss instead.
Got lost and spent the night in the desert.
At royal palace now. Will explain later.
L
Once she hit Send, Laura clicked off her phone and laid it on the desktop charging pad on the nightstand, then shrugged out of the wrinkled clothes she’d worn for two days and headed for the bathroom. An hour wasn’t long to make herself presentable and she wanted to make sure she was ready when Raheem’s staff arrived to take her to the breakfast.
5
Raheem was busy greeting guests and schmoozing officials when Laura finally arrived. It was the strangest thing, how every cell in his body seemed to come alive whenever she was near. Damned inconvenient too, given that if things worked out and she accepted his assignment to help with his tourism project, they’d be working together. And he had a firm no-sleeping-with-co-workers policy. Not that she’d given him any indication that she was interested in him romantically anyway.
Still, as she stood in the doorway to the massive state dining room, looking around uncertainly for a familiar face, Raheem couldn’t ever remember seeing a more beautiful sight. Her long red hair was pinned atop her head and she’d worn a deep red scarf around her neck. The scarf matched the rest of her outfit and the rich scarlet hue set off her creamy complexion and sparkling green eyes to perfection.
