“I don’t?”
“No,” he replied, frantically reaching for some reason, any reason, for her to stay. “There are other research assignments. You know I could use your help here in Izara.” Hell, he would love to keep her in his life! But if she didn’t want him, he’d come up with some excuse for her to at least be near to him. If she continued working here, perhaps there was some way he could continue to see her, maybe convince her that they could manage a personal relationship.
There was hope for a moment, but then it shattered. Her lashes lowered and she stared at the floor.
“My job…” she started and stopped, swallowing hard. “My job starts in a few weeks. I need to get back and…” she turned away and he saw her shoulders tremble. “I have to go,” she turned on her heel and fled.
Her job. She was leaving to go back to her job.
For a long moment, Amit considered going after her. He could make a phone call and every flight leaving the country would be grounded.
But he didn’t do that. He didn’t call his guards to stop her from leaving. He didn’t call the airports and tell them to stop outgoing flights.
Instead, he turned and stared blankly out into the courtyard.
A long time later, the door to his office opened. He didn’t bother to turn around. It wasn’t Harper and anyone else, he didn’t care about.
“I heard a rumor that Harper left. Is that true?” Tarin asked.
Amit turned, his face carefully blank. “Yes. The report I hired her to do is on my desk.”
Tarin stared at Amit and, because he didn’t actually want to hit his younger brother, Amit ignored him and left the office.
Tarin didn’t get the message and followed. “Amit, I thought that…I thought there was something there between you and Harper.”
Amit continued down the hallway, heading for his suite. Without even glancing back, he said, “You were wrong.”
Gaelen joined them. “Hey, someone told me that Harper was heading out. Why is she leaving?”
Amit gritted his teeth, then pushed his fury down. When he was alone, only when he was alone, would he take his anger out and deal with it. Right now, his family needed him to be strong. His nieces needed him to be strong! He didn’t have time to rage. Not yet, anyway. “She has to get back to her job.”
Both brothers froze as Amit continued forward. Gaelen turned to his younger brother. “What the hell is going on?”
Tarin shrugged. “I have no idea. But I think someone seriously messed up.”
They stared down the hallway where Amit had disappeared, but neither went after him. They knew by their brother’s silence that he was in a great deal of pain. The only way Amit dealt with that kind of pain was to shut down and keep moving forward. Amit didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in his pain. He had to keep going.
Chapter 19
Twenty-hours later, Harper dragged her suitcase through the door of her tiny apartment and looked around. Everything looked just as she’d left it so long ago, although, there was a lot of dust. But the magazines she’d intended to read over the summer months were still on the corner of her coffee table. The dry cleaning was still hung over the back of the chair. Her bed was made, but the tee-shirt she’d dumped beside the bed that last morning was still there, mocking her.
She was home.
Yes, she was home, but her heart had been left behind in Izara. And she was cold! So darn cold that she could barely stand it!
With a sob, she dropped her suitcase and sank into the chair, curling up into a ball of misery. She hadn’t allowed herself to cry on the flight. But now that she was alone, Harper didn’t try to hold back the tears.
He’d offered her a job and she’d wanted his heart. But did the man have a heart? Could he ever love her? Probably not. He had so much responsibility on his shoulders and…just like Elsa and Ellora, he’d most likely buried his emotions deep down inside of himself.
She had no idea what time it was or even what day it was. Vaguely, she remembered the flight to Izara, the heat when she’d landed that had felt like a boulder across her shoulders. Everything was the opposite now. She’d grown used to the heat, craved the sunshine! It was grey and dreary here, with the humidity like an oppressive blanket that she couldn’t throw off. She wanted the dry desert heat and not this icky mess of humidity!
Instead, she cried. She cried because she was lonely, because she didn’t want to sleep without Amit and because he hadn’t said the three little words that she needed to hear. She would have thrown her whole life up in the air and stayed if he’d just said those words. But he didn’t love her! He wasn’t capable of loving anyone!
Damn him! Damn him for being so wonderful and making her love him when he couldn’t love her back!
For a long time, she cried curled up in the chair, not able or willing to move. She should get some food, but the idea of going to the grocery store made her ache. It was easier to just sit here and cry.
A long time later, she remembered that she’d promised to call Elsa and Ellora. When she knew it was a good time, a break in their schedule, she dialed into the palace line. It took over a half hour, but eventually, she was able to speak to the girls just before they went to bed. They were excited to see her, but because she already missed their adorable faces so much, the conversation was painful. The girls told Harper everything that they’d done with Amit that day and it hurt her so much that he’d just gone on with his life without her when she felt as if every moment, she was walking through shards of glass.
Fortunately, it was late in Izara and they had to go to bed, so the conversation didn’t last too long. Harper promised to call them again soon. But she wasn’t sure when that would be.
By the time the sun rose the following morning, Harper knew that she had to pull herself together. She needed to get some food and coffee. Her head ached and her stomach growled. She was miserable.
“What advice would I give my patients?” she thought. So, instead of curling up into a miserable ball, she got in the shower and cleaned herself up, brushed her teeth, then grabbed her car keys and headed to the grocery store.
Chapter 20
“Oh my! That’s a beautiful drawing of you!”
Harper looked up, once again blinking back tears, and focused on her boss standing in her doorway. “I’m sorry?” It had been so long since she’d left Amit, and it hadn’t gotten easier. She still felt as if she was constantly on the brink of tears.
Her boss, Leslie Meyers, stepped further into her room and pointed to the picture pinned on the board behind her. “That picture,” she started, admiring the lines and shadows. “It’s stunning. You look…” Leslie tilted her head slightly. “You look like you’re in love with whoever drew that portrait.”
Harper turned and looked at the picture, unaware of her fingers reaching out to touch the drawing. “It was…”
“The guy from Izara?” Leslie probed, a softness to her voice that was rare in the no-nonsense leader.
Harper turned away and blinked hard. “Yes. He drew it.”
“Is it true?” Leslie asked, bringing Harper’s attention sharply back to her. “Is he in love with you?”
For a moment, her heart thudded happily in her chest. Then she remembered Amit’s expression when she’d told him that she was leaving. It had been blank. No expression, no love, no anger. Not even irritation that she’d interrupted his day. Harper sighed, the sadness seeping through her bones. “No. He…doesn’t really feel anything but…well. No. He’s not in love with me.”
Leslie sat down in one of the chairs. “What about that lesson plan you put together last year, about the various languages of love?”
There was a burst of laughter and Harper realized that it came from her. “Um…yes. Each person has a love language. A way of showing another person how they feel when…” Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying.
Leslie filled in the blanks. “When they can’t verbally express themselves effecti
vely?”
There was a long silence as Harper took in what her friend and boss had just revealed. “Yes,” she croaked, turning back to the picture. Her image! She looked in love and Harper knew that she’d love Amit until the day she died. For the past several weeks, she’d hoped and prayed that this sharp stab of pain every time she thought about the tall, ruggedly handsome, mostly silent, intimidating, and generous lover would ease. But it hadn’t. For so long, she’d told herself that she just needed time. Time to get over him. Time to heal. Time to get back to her normal routines.
But so far, time hadn’t worked its usual magic. In fact, the more time she’d spent away from Amit, the more painful everything became. She wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted to press her face into his chest and feel his hands on her back, in her hair, along her…!
“His language of love is drawing and…” she stopped, blinking at Leslie with a startled expression. “And touching!”
Leslie smiled. “I can’t even imagine what that tall, gorgeous hunk of masculinity was like in bed,” she said, then laughed when Harper glared at her. “Sorry, not going there. But seriously,” she forcefully wiped the smile off her face, “if he loves you and,” she glanced behind Harper at the picture again, “you obviously love him…and that picture indicates that the subject is madly in love with the artist because that is obviously drawn by the hand of a man madly in love…why are you here?”
Harper swallowed, fighting back tears as well as the acid taste of failure at the realization that she’d messed up royally. “Because my job, my life, is here. This is what I do, Leslie. I’ve worked too hard to create my life and my reputation to throw it all away.”
Leslie shifted in the chair, huffing a bit. “Harper, you’ve worked for this agency for what…three years now?”
“Three and a half,” Harper corrected, wondering where her boss was going with this.
Leslie waved away the additional six months. “Fine. Three and a half years. So obviously, you worked somewhere else before this, right?”
Harper blinked. “Of course!”
Leslie smiled gently, leaning forward as she continued. “Honey, my point is that you can work anywhere. Your skills transfer. So I ask again, why are you here?” she asked, emphasizing the last four words.
For a long moment, Harper couldn’t answer. Why was she here? Why had she left the man she loved? Staring at the picture, her heart hammered painfully in her chest. When she turned back to her boss, she opened her mouth but Leslie cut her off.
“Go!” she laughed. “You are extremely talented and your patients will miss you. But go! Take your own advice and take care of yourself! I can see that you are absolutely miserable, you’ve lost weight, and I haven’t seen you smile since you returned.”
“I just…” she stopped, her eyes filling with tears again. “I should go!”
Leslie laughed. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll find someone to replace you. You’re very good, so it’s going to be hard. But go!” Leslie stood and headed out of the room. “I want an invitation to the wedding!” and then she was gone, although Harper vaguely heard her boss laughing as she walked down the hallway.
Chapter 21
“This is crazy!” Harper whispered to herself as she stepped off of the plane. The airport terminal was busy and she wasn’t exactly sure where to go. The last time she’d flown into Izara, she’d flown via a private jet. There had been no need to wait for her bags or to find a taxi service.
Sighing, she hefted her tote bag higher onto her shoulder and looked at the instructions on the ceiling. They were in Arabic, but underneath, they were repeated in English. With relief, she walked down the long corridor, following the instructions and the flow of people with the assumption that they were heading toward the baggage claim area.
“I should have left most of my stuff at home,” she muttered as she reviewed the arrivals board. Thankfully, it was easy to determine where to get her luggage and, even better, the extremely efficient airport baggage handlers had already unloaded the bags. It was simple to spot her own black suitcase and collect it.
“Okay, now what?” she muttered, looking around. “A taxi.”
The taxi sign was easy to follow and, with relief, she stepped into the air conditioned vehicle. “I need to go to the palace,” she told the driver.
The man’s reaction might have been comical if she weren’t so nervous. He was already shifting into drive when she mentioned the palace, and did a double take. “The palace?”
Harper nodded. “Yes, please.”
And with that, she leaned back against the plastic covered cushions of the taxi.
Traffic was heavy at this time of the day, but she watched, fascinated, as the driver worked his way through the cars. It took forty-five minutes to reach the palace gates and the cost was more than she’d expected. “Um…would you mind…waiting for me?”
“No way, lady!” the cab driver stated after he took her money. “The guards won’t let me stay here.”
With that announcement, he stepped out of the driver’s seat and moved to the trunk, pulling her suitcase out and setting it down on the sidewalk. “Good day!” he said, waved in her general direction, then dove back into the taxi and drove away as if he might be arrested for lingering.
Harper looked around, not sure what to do next. She had a heavy tote bag and her cumbersome suitcase. “This is stupid!” she muttered.
“You can’t stay here, ma’am.”
Harper turned, seeing several guards armed with heavy machine guns. All of them glaring at her.
“I’m sorry, but I need to speak with Amit…um, I mean…Sheik al Raminar, please.”
One snickered, and the other three intensified their glares. “Ma’am, you need to move away from the gate,” the one in charge ordered.
Harper’s mouth fell open, and she stepped back. “I just…!”
“Ma’am, if you don’t move, we’ll be forced to take action.”
Harper gasped. “I…!”
“Harper!” a familiar male voice called out.
Harper saw the startled reaction from the guards, and spun around to see who had called to her. “Gaelen!” she breathed, her shoulders slumping with relief. “I’m so sorry to do this. I shouldn’t have shown up unannounced and…”
“Get in the car!” he ordered, scanning the area. She was surrounded by his body guards, her suitcase taken from her and deposited in one of the black SUVs.
Still, Harper hesitated, not sure what was going on.
“This way, ma’am,” one of the body guards urged, guiding her towards the SUV. Gaelen had rolled up the window but another guard was holding the door open for her.
Harper should have known better than to show up here unannounced. “I’m so sorry!” she blurted out as she stepped into the cool interior of the SUV. The door was immediately slammed shut and the SUV started moving. “I just…I need to talk to Amit.”
Gaelen leaned back in the leather seat, eyeing her oddly. Prince Gaelen could be just as terrifying as his older brother.
“Why are you here?” he demanded.
Harper sighed. “I realized something important. And I…” she wasn’t sure what to say.
“Are you here to mess with him again?”
“NO!” she gasped. “I love him!”
Shockingly, his eyes hardened with her announcement. “I know that. But you loved him before and still, you left.”
She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. “I know I love him. I love him with all my heart. But...” she stopped and lifted her eyes to him. “I messed up.”
Gaelen didn’t speak for a long moment. But he must have seen something in her eyes, because he nodded. “Fine.” A moment later, he barked orders to his driver. Harper looked out the window to discover that they’d been driving away from the palace. “Where were you going?”
“I was taking you home.”
She looked out the window, not sure about the direction but everything looked
strangely unfamiliar. “But…it looks like you were heading away.”
“I was. Until you said the right words, I was driving you back to the airport.”
Harper’s eyes widened, then she smiled. “What were the right words?”
“That you’d messed up,” he replied with a grin and a wink.
Harper laughed with him and relaxed back against the cushions. “You’re a very subtle man, Prince Gaelen.”
He chuckled as the SUV came to a stop in the underground parking garage. A guard opened the door and Harper stepped out, looking around for her suitcase. “I probably should have…”
“Go find him, Harper,” Gaelen said in a soft, rough voice. “He hasn’t said anything to us, but I know that he needs you.”
She looked into the big man’s hazel eyes that were so similar and yet, so different, from Amit’s. “I need him too,” she whispered back. “More than I realized.”
“Good. Go find him. I’m betting he’s in his office, pretending that he’s fine.”
She turned and headed for the palace doors. A servant stood there, waiting for her. “I will show you the way, miss,” and then the woman turned, heading deeper into the palace.
Harper wanted to ask questions, to find out why Gaelen thought that Amit wanted her here. But the servant was fast and Harper had to hurry in order to keep up with her.
And then she was there! Amit’s door was closed and his aide, the ever-faithful Rashid, looked as if he wanted to push her out of the way.
“I just need to speak with him for a moment, Rashid.”
The aide pressed his lips together. “He’s very busy.” His gaze dropped the tablet in his hands. “I can schedule…”
The heavy, wood door flew open and Amit stood there. Several months ago, Harper would have said that his face was expressionless, but she knew better now. She saw the emotions in his eyes and in the tension around his lips.
“Gaelen called, mentioned that you were here in the palace,” he said, his voice rougher than she remembered.
Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family Book 1) Page 14
