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He, Merida decided there and then, had no fear of missing out.
‘Well, as I said, Reece is currently headed to Egypt. There he’ll meet with Aziza...’ Merida explained as they walked over to the first display. ‘She’s the designer of these exquisite dolls’ houses.’
Shoot me now,Ethan thought.
Having found out that his father was unwell, and would tomorrow be undergoing surgery, Ethan had flown from Al-Zahan to Dubai and then home—albeit on his own luxury jet. Still, he didnotwant to be looking at dolls’ houses—even if the wallswerelined with hieroglyphics in gold.
Perhaps he should have some champagne—but that would only prolong things. He was running on empty and the jet-lag was really kicking in. He just wanted to cut the chatter and get to the amulets. But in order to glean as much as he could about the running of this gallery for Khalid he let her prattle on.
Well, notprattle, he conceded. Her voice was pleasant, in fact—prim and English—and her words were delivered with a throaty husk that made the topicalmostbearable.
‘These dolls’ houses were kept for religious purposes,’ Merida explained. ‘They were never meant to be used as toys—certainly not for playingmummiesand daddies.’
He didn’t smile at her tiny well-worn joke, and even though he listened quietly she could tell that he was as bored as a three-year-old in church as they moved on.
They came to an exquisite silk rug—made, Merida explained, by Bedouin artisans using the vase weave technique.
‘Ubaid, who oversees the making of every intricate piece, is a fierce protector of the craft.’
She started to explain about the natural dyes and the intricate patterns, and the endless hours that went in to creating such a masterpiece, but Ethan cut in.
‘Next.’
EthanPhilistineDevereux, she silently named him.
He certainly wasn’t the first dismissive or bored client that Merida had taken through the gallery. Often people came to private viewings under silent sufferance—perhaps sent by their place of work or as a bored partner tagging along. And then there was the type who justhadto have been and seen.
Yet he was alone—and it was he himself who had insisted on this viewing.
Merida ploughed on, but his impatience was palpable. So, as she showed him a jewellery exhibit, she toned down the details somewhat. Perhaps not enough, though, because as she showed him a ring Ethan yawned.
And not discreetly.
‘Excuse me,’ Ethan said.
He knew he was being rude, but he was genuinely exhausted. It certainly wasn’therfault that he had zero interest.
Or rather, zero interest in the displays.
The gallery assistant really was gorgeous.
Gorgeous.
There was an uptight quality to her that rather intrigued him, and something told him that despite her confident demeanour she was not quite as together as she seemed.
Her eyes were a deep mossy green, and as the tour progressed he noted how they repeatedly refused to hold his gaze.
She was slender, and her limbs were pale, with a dusting of pale freckles that had him wondering where the subtle golden trail led.
And as for that hair... It was like two of his favourite things—amber and cognac combined—and he tried to picture it free of its confines.
‘And now to my favourite display.’
She smiled an enigmatic smile that made him wonder. Ethan could usually read women exceptionally well, and yet he could not quite readher.
‘Which is...?’ Ethan asked.
‘The Amulets of Al-Zahan. We’re extremely fortunate to have them on loan to us.’
