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‘Then don’t stand here,’ he said, quietly, his words cutting her like glass. ‘Our business is concluded. Please leave.’
She bit down on her lip, his scathing dismissal undoing a part of her soul. She stared at him, trying to find a trace of the man she’d spent the night with—and failing. He was cold, completely unfamiliar. Part of her wanted to run out of the room immediately and never think of this night again, but at the same time she couldn’t live with him believing what he did of her! She’d only slept with one other man—her boyfriend at the time. She was just about as far from being a call girl as it was possible to get.
‘I work for an escort agency, yes, but the work is strictly professional. Events like last night, that begin with the client meeting me in the lobby and end in the same way.’
His eyes flashed with contempt. ‘Unfortunately, I know Ethan better than that. I have no doubt that if we had not met, you would have spent the night with him instead of me.’
‘You’re wrong,’ she said, numb. ‘Being with you was a spontaneous, out-of-character thing for me. I don’t go home with men I’ve just met. I don’t make love to people I barely know.’
‘And yet you were so very comfortable with it.’
Because you were different, she wanted to scream at him.
‘The innocent act worked last night, but I know better now,’ he pointed out with quiet, stupid logic. ‘All I can hope is that no one managed to catch that ill-conceived kiss at the bar on their cell phone. If it were to go viral that I took a woman like you home, it would be the death of my father.’
‘Then it’s just as well I have every intention of forgetting this whole night ever happened.’
His lips were a grim line. ‘As do I, believe me.’
The dress she’d worn was discarded on the floor. She scooped it up and pulled it on quickly, scanning for her shoes and handbag—which were blessedly near the front door. She slid her feet into the heels, swallowing back a sob, and thrust her handbag under her arm. She didn’t even turn around and look at him; she couldn’t. Her mind was all over the place, her pride in tatters. She waited until the door had slammed shut behind her before breaking into a run, sprinting the length of the hallway and pressing the button for the lift. India desperately wanted to put the whole sordid ordeal behind her, but even as she swore to herself she’d do exactly that, she felt terrified of how difficult it would be. Last night hadn’t been an ordinary event—it was the kind of night that imprinted on a person’s soul, and she knew, even as she desperately pushed him from her mind, that she would never forget Sheikh Khalil el Abdul.
He watched her leave with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was so angry with her! So angry with Ethan! So angry with the world, if he were honest. But he was especially angry with India, because she’d made him forget every promise he’d made himself after Fatima. When he was with India, he’d felt as if the world was good again, he’d felt as if he could smile, for the first time in years. He’d enjoyed himself, and his grief and loss had been so far away.
Discovering it was all part of her job description chipped away at an essential part of him, so he didn’t—couldn’t—stop to think if there was even a chance he was wrong.
Would he have felt so vehemently if not for Fatima? Would his rage have been so quick to spark? Or might he have given her more of a chance to explain herself? He couldn’t say, but with every minute that passed in the wake of her departure, he felt a mix of shame and disappointment, frustration clipping through him.
Ethan had thrown her identity in his face, and the other man had his own reasons for wanting to hurt Khalil. But what about the website? What about the fact she did in fact work for an escort agency? Was there any chance she was telling the truth?
He ground his teeth together, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling.
And what did it matter? Even before he knew this, they’d agreed it would simply be one night. His life was in Khatrain, and it was time for him to get on with it. He simply had to forget India McCarthy ever existed.
