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The limo started to slow. They had arrived back at Grace's apartment block.
She wondered how tomorrow's meeting would go. It had been arranged for the afternoon, so she was relieved she might get a chance to get some sleep. She needed to rest, needed to think about what she'd just done.
There was one good thing about seeing Qazim so soon after their breakup. She'd get to establish the new rules and she'd see just how he intended to handle everything in the harsh light of day.
Grace thanked the driver and stepped out of the limo. She made her way up to her apartment and undressed quickly. Her body still felt tender, her muscles tense. She took a quick shower.
It occurred to her that she might be trying to wash away the scent of Qazim, that she might be trying to cleanse the memory of him out of her body.
She stood beneath the torrent of warm water and closed her eyes. All she could see, all she could feel was Qazim. His touch, the way he had looked at her, the feel of him inside her.
She groaned at the memories and stepped out of the shower and dried herself quickly. She lay down on her bed, feeling the harshness of being alone.
It was such a contrast to earlier, back in Qazim's apartment. There, she had lain in his arms, briefly forgetting what she had intended to do. There, she had allowed herself one last experience of lying with the incredible sheikh who had taken her to the limits of her pleasure.
And now it was all over.
All she had to do was see out the remainder of her time in Qazhar. Then she would get back the States and life would go on.
It all seemed so simple.
It had been what she'd wanted.
Hadn't it?
She told herself that it had been for the best. That it had been inevitable. That she had done the right thing. At least she would always have the memories of her time with Qazim. Even if she would be left with nothing more than that. It had been just physical passion and there would be no consequences.
So, how come, as she turned onto her side, she told herself that she had probably just acted like a complete and utter fool.
CHAPTER FIVE
EIGHT WEEKS LATER
"Miss Collins, the doctor will see you now."
Grace looked up at the nurse and nodded. She felt nervous, but was determined to hide her unease. It merely added to the mild nausea she'd been feeling the last few days.
She stood and followed the nurse down the corridor. Grace was returning to the Medical Center, as instructed by the doctor, this morning for her results. She'd come the day before because she hadn't felt well. She had a flight to catch tomorrow, and she needed to be sure she was fit to fly.
But there was more to this visit than just simply preparing for her return to the States. The vague thought which had been tormenting Grace these last few days, tugged insistently at her again. She pushed it away, just as she had done so many times these past forty-eight hours since the sickness had started.
The way the doctor had looked at Grace yesterday when she had come to the Center hadn't calmed Grace's nerves one bit. Grace was sure the doctor had already guessed the reason for Grace's symptoms.
And so had Grace.
Every time she thought about that,, her heart sank a little.
Surely that couldn't be true, she told herself for the one hundredth time that day. If her suspicions were about to be confirmed, then things were about to get very complicated. Her footsteps echoed down the long white corridor.
The last eight weeks had passed in a frenzy of meetings and, as Grace had predicted, none of it had been easy. That first afternoon meeting after storming out on Qazim had been awkward, but Grace had kept her cool.
And so had Qazim, slightly to Grace's surprise.
Qazim's attitude during the first meeting after their breakup had been similar to his stoic reaction as she'd walked out of his apartment. It had almost seemed like indifference. Even arrogance, Grace had told herself. As if he was holding something back.
At one point Grace had thought Qazim had been playing some kind of elaborate game with her. Maybe women storming out of Qazim's life was entirely normal, she'd told herself. Perhaps this was something he was completely used to.
The other members of Grace's team had been blissfully unaware of the tension in the room on the afternoon of that first meeting. After the meeting had concluded, Qazim hadn't even come to Grace and tried to talk to her. There had been no attempt at reasoning with her. Instead, he had politely thanked Grace and her team for coming to his office, and left without so much as a glance at Grace.
