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“Give me the key.” His voice was husky. His words were accented. She felt a swirling of remembered affection. She ignored it.
“No.”
His laugh was a thick sound from the base of his throat. “It is not a request.” He held his hand out and she turned now, her eyes sparking with the depth of her feelings.
“How dare you?”
“Exactly my thoughts.” He took the key from between her fingers, and she was so afraid of touching him, that she let him slip it from her grip. “But I would prefer to discuss this with you privately.”
“I don’t want to discuss anything with you at all.”
He sent her a look of derisive impatience and stalked away. Olivia belatedly galvanised her legs into action. “Hey! Give me back that key.” But Zamir was handing it to one of his servants, waiting in a black SUV on the other side of the drive.
“He will drive the car back to town. You will travel with me.”
“Like hell I will.”
“You could, of course, go back to my brother.”
Nausea rolled in her gut. However much his accusations hurt, that he believed them hurt worse. She knew that she’d never trust him again, but she wanted him to know how wrong he was. “Fine,” she agreed stonily. “You can drive me home.”
He held the door open for her and Olivia climbed in. There were no servants in the car. Nor was there a Marook. It was just her and Zamir.
He took the seat behind the wheel and flicked the engine to life.
“Can you even drive?” She demanded, rubbing the egg and wincing.
He saw the action and thought of asking if she was okay.
Only he didn’t want to. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he cared for her.
In response, he pointed the car down the drive and floored the accelerator. She gripped the handle of her door. “Okay, fine. Point made.”
He slowed down and concentrated on setting the car towards the city. It was a long drive, and he intended to use it to his advantage. “So you are in love with him now?”
“No.”
“The doctor tells me you visit Ra’if every day. Why?”
She turned her face so that she could stare out of her window. It hurt too much to look at him. “Why do you think?”
“On the flight over, I ran through many different possibilities. In the end, I could not decide on one only. So you tell me.”
She closed her eyes. “Because.”
“This is not an answer.”
Olivia yawned. “Because you went away.”
He made a scoffing sound. “And so you substituted my brother for me?”
“No.” She forced herself to turn and look at him. “I substituted me for you. I thought he would be lonely. I thought he would find the days impossibly long to pass without your visits. And so I started to fill your shoes.”
Of all the possibilities Zamir had considered, that had not been one of them. His chest was tight, as though a band were wrapped around it. It spoke of kindness and compassion. He knew Olivia had both of those qualities in spades. But was it really her motivation? “You did not know my brother. Why would you care?”
Her smile was so sad that it touched even his heart of ice. “Because I thought I loved you. And that meant I cared for your family, too.” She turned away from him again. “I didn’t really think it through. I just felt like I had to be here.”
Zamir gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles glowed white.
