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Could it mean that he was feeling something for her, as she felt for him? Was it possible that this crazy marriage could turn out to have a fairy-tale ending after all?
‘I have my work...’ she said, because a crazy idea still had to be met with a rational mind and she would be leaving Sally in the lurch at the worst possible time.
‘I wouldn’t expect you to drop everything and walk away empty-handed.’
‘It’s not about money.’
‘No, but money can make problems easier to sort out,’ he said, and she thought about the money that had got Sally and Steve to treatment in Germany.
‘I guess that’s true.’
‘We’ll work something out,’ he said, kissing her brow.
‘I haven’t said I’ll stay yet.’
‘You haven’t said you won’t.’
* * *
Rashid left Tora in his bed with a smile on his face. It was perfect. She was perfect. When he’d agreed to come to Qajaran, doubt had been foremost in his mind. Need he do this, could he do this? And he’d decided to stay, and a lot of it was all down to Tora being here, right beside him all the way. When he’d been consumed by doubt, she’d been the one who’d convinced him he could be the leader Qajaran needed.
And the thought that she was leaving filled him with dread. He didn’t want her gone. He wanted her to stay. More than that, when it all came down to it, he needed her to stay.
It was a strange feeling, this need. He’d never needed anyone in his life before, and if there was one thing his father’s sudden and short-lived blip back into his life had reinforced in him, it was that he didn’t need anyone else. That he was right to rely on his own devices and his desert brothers.
He knew for a fact his desert brothers would never betray him.
He’d never needed anybody else.
Until Tora.
His heart beat a little faster in his chest as he remembered how she’d looked when he’d left her. Sleep and sex tousled, her hair in wild disarray, and with a smile just for him, a smile that lit up his world.
He smiled to himself, even as he headed to work. Like the day of the ceremony, today had been declared a public holiday for everyone. Everyone, that was, who didn’t happen to be the Emir or his Grand Vizier who both had work to do. He would make time later to see off Bahir and Kadar and their wives and children, who were heading off to Istanbul together. Zoltan would join him for some final talks this afternoon, before he and Aisha and the twins returned to Al-Jirad.
His thoughts returned to Tora and how he might get her to stay. The people would be happy, they clearly loved her as their sheikha, and so would his desert brothers and their wives. But he would be happier than all of them, because he wanted and needed her right there by his side.
His footsteps faltered on the marble tiles as a thunderbolt jagged through him.
Was this what his brothers always talked about, when they had found a woman to share their lives with? Was this what love felt like? Was Tora the one?
He shook his head, simultaneously baffled and in awe.
He’d never looked for love. He’d never expected to find it.
Still in a state of wonderment, he entered his office and found the unfaltering Kareem already there waiting for him.
‘So, Kareem,’ he said, feeling more light-hearted than he had in a long time, ‘what do we have on the menu today?’
Kareem didn’t seem to share his good mood. Instead he looked more troubled than Rashid had ever seen him, and older than his years, and for a moment Rashid wondered if the endurance test of the coronation had worn him out. ‘Sire,’ he said at length, ‘I have news which may concern you.’
Rashid doubted it. Right now it would take a volcano to suddenly appear in the desert to concern him, and then only after it erupted. ‘What is it?’
‘A message was sent through the palace server. I did not wish to bring it to your attention yesterday. It’s from Sheikha Victoria to her cousin, a man called Matthew Burgess.’
Rashid remembered her talking about her cousins and how she didn’t have anything to do with one in particular—he was sure that one was called Matthew.
‘That doesn’t sound right. Was it definitely her cousin?’
Kareem looked tense. ‘A search proved it to be true.’
He told himself that it could still be innocent, that she might just have been informing him where to contact her, although why would Kareem consider that noteworthy?
‘And do I really need to read a private email from Tora to her cousin?’
