by Holly Rayner
There was something not quite right about the place, though. It felt like a museum, or a hotel. It was too big to live in, or maybe it just felt that way because of the décor. Hallie realized she did want to see more, hoping for some insight into this man she hardly knew.
“Yes, that would be lovely.”
“Wonderful,” Sadiq said. He seemed pleased to have her there, but he continued with his direct and businesslike address. Sadiq was not a man who minced words or played games, and that was something Hallie instantly liked about him.
He held out his arm, elbow out. “If you’ll accompany me,” he said, jest in his eyes.
This was it. This was the moment where she could turn back, have a nice, comfortable flight back on that Dreamliner and leave the situation where it was. Gazing into Sadiq’s eyes, Hallie realized that that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. She delicately wrapped her hand around his forearm, relishing the warmth of his skin as he faced her toward the three arches.
“Choose your destiny. What door shall we pick first?”
Hallie stared at each archway. All she could see was tiled wall, though she could tell that hallways led somewhere perpendicular to those dead ends. So which was the path she would choose?
“That one,” she said, pointing to the arch in the middle.
Sadiq grinned. “Excellent choice.”
He led her to the hallway, towards a destination she could hardly begin to imagine.
When they turned the corner, Hallie shrank back, holding tightly onto Sadiq’s arm.
There, in a massive enclosure, were a pair of tigers, their teeth bared.
“What in the…?” Hallie demanded, and Sadiq looked down at her with a quizzical expression.
“What’s the matter?”
“Um, you keep tigers in your home? You don’t see an issue with this?”
Sadiq shrugged. “All men of wealth house exotic animals. It is a show of status.”
“It’s horrid,” Hallie breathed, watching the animals as they turned back toward a hunk of meat and began fighting over it. She gripped Sadiq’s arm harder. “Make them stop!” she cried.
Sadiq looked over his shoulder and, as if by magic, a servant appeared. He said something to the man in Arabic—or Farsi, maybe—and he disappeared, only to return shortly with another large hunk of meat. The man made a strange noise with his mouth to get their attention, and one of the animals looked his way. Tossing the fresh meat into the cage, the man walked out as the second tiger left the first in peace, and the two enjoyed their meals separately.
“Why don’t we try another room?” Sadiq said, concern etched across his brow.
Hallie nodded, trying not to think about those poor tigers in captivity—reduced to status symbols. If she were to ever consider a future with Sadiq, that would immediately have to change. If status mattered to him more than love, she wouldn’t be the right fit for him anyway, no matter how many nice planes he owned.
Sadiq steered her out of the room toward another one of the archways. “This I think you will like,” he said with a satisfied look on his face.
When he opened a door, they were suddenly transported to another world—a nightclub. Sadiq waved a hand around the room, which was dark as night and pulsing with music and flashing lights. Hallie was shocked to see people dancing and drinking, and when Sadiq entered, everyone cheered and held up their glasses to him.
“What on earth?” Hallie said, gazing around in wonder. Why did Sadiq have a rave club in his house?
Sadiq frowned at her tone. “You don’t like this? But why? People are able to enjoy themselves at any time or day or night, and the lighting makes it so that the party never has to end.”
“Do you really enjoy partying that much?” Hallie asked, watching his expression carefully.
Sadiq frowned, thinking. His gaze traveled around the room before he looked back at her. “I don’t know. It’s something my friends enjoy, so I created it for them. I can see them any time I want, and they enjoy having a place to go where the atmosphere is exquisite and the party never stops.”
“But you don’t like it. So let them have their own club, and you can have a house you actually want to live in.”
Sadiq looked at Hallie like he’d never heard anyone talk to him like that before—with honesty. He took a breath. “Okay. I can see you’re not a clubbing kind of girl, but I think you’ll like what’s behind door number three.”
“Will I?” Hallie asked, unconvinced.
Sadiq’s grin was mischievous. “I believe so,” he said, holding out his hand for her to take.
She hadn’t realized that she’d dropped his arm after the tiger enclosure, and after a pause she took Sadiq’s hand. Her fingers tingled as he laced his through and pulled her out of the club, leaving behind the loud techno beat and the sound of a hundred cheers sending them off.
Even that small amount of exposure to the music had Hallie’s ears aching as Sadiq led her through a long hallway. When they got back to the main atrium, they faced the third archway, but instead of going through it, Sadiq stepped to the side and pressed a small, teal-colored tile.
A small door cracked open in what had, until that moment, looked like flat, tiled wall. Now that was cool.
“Wow!” Hallie gasped, and Sadiq smiled.
“Aha! I’ve found something that impresses you.”
Hallie crossed her arms. “The door impresses me. If you have an indoor ostrich racing ring on the other side, I am going to be less than thrilled.”
Sadiq chuckled at that. He hadn’t let go of her hand yet, and Hallie found herself glad of this. She held on tight as he looked back at her with an impish smile.
“This is something no one else appreciates. Maybe you will.”
Sadiq pushed the door open and led the way inside. When Hallie walked through, the door closed behind her, and she found herself tucked inside what appeared to be a very cozy personal library. The walls were filled with dark wooden bookshelves that were filled to the brim with antique-looking books. She released Sadiq’s hand, the better to see what his collection housed.
In spite of her reputation as a gold-digging airhead, Hallie had started her career in publishing because she knew books. She loved books. Books had been her whole life. She realized that Sadiq had been right in what he’d said a few minutes before; no one could appreciate that particular room like she could. She held her breath as she pulled out a copy of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. When she opened it, she released her breath when she saw it was a first edition.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered, as though she were in a church. Unable to resist, she ran her fingers along each shelf as she perused every copy, nearly fainting at the amazing first editions he held in the collection. “This is amazing,” she said.
Sadiq was standing in a corner near a low, cushioned bench. He sat on it as he watched her, his expression filled with interest. “This is my favorite room in the entire house. You like it?”
Hallie cast a glance at him before her eyes darted back to his collection. “Like it? Books are my entire life! Well, they were, before…” She trailed off, not really wanting to get into her baggage so soon after arriving.
Taking the cue, Sadiq didn’t press for answers. “You can come back here any time you’d like. As for right now, I would love it if you could join me for lunch.”
After the extensive walking around the palace, Hallie found she was more than ready for lunch, and she gladly accepted his invitation.
There was another door leading out of the room, and when Hallie walked through it she found she was in a sitting room that looked completely natural—cozy, even.
“How fascinating,” she said, gazing around.
“What’s fascinating?”
“You,” she said, turning to look him over.
Sadiq looked momentarily uncomfortable at her comment, but he allowed her to stare at him as she worked to puzzle him out. Hallie loved puzzles, and Sadiq was no excep
tion.
“You put on this blatant front of wealth and decadence, and yet that’s not who you really are at all, is it?”
“You’ve been here all of two hours, and you’ve already figured me out, haven’t you?” Sadiq said. There was no heat to his question. In fact, he seemed pleased.
Hallie opted for honesty, since it was all she really had left to give of herself. “I can’t pretend to know you, or why you’ve asked me to come here, but I can tell that you are more than you appear to be on the surface, and I’d like to get to know that man rather than the one who parades his tigers and nightclubs for everyone else to enjoy.”
“I see,” Sadiq replied softly. A moment of heavy silence passed between them before he gestured toward a terrace. “Our lunch will be served out here.”
“Won’t it be too hot?” Hallie asked.
Sadiq shook his head. “We have air conditioning and misters around the space so that we can enjoy the outdoors even in the heat of the day.”
“That sounds kind of wasteful.”
“You’re very forthcoming in your disapproval of my lifestyle, Miss Richards. Do you mean to tell me that if money were no object to you, you would not do as you pleased?”
“Do you mean to tell me that while you do have the world at your fingertips, you do as you please? Is any of that really what you want?”
Sadiq stared at her, his expression inquisitive. He was clearly not used to be challenged or questioned, and Hallie felt a sense of pride in the fact that she was able to knock him down a peg.
“You are much deeper than the papers make you out to be, Miss Richards.”
Hallie bristled. “So you do know who I am. Is that why you brought me here? Because you believe what they say? You think I’m here for the money, to be some trophy wife?”
Sadiq held up his hands in a defensive gesture. “I know better than anyone not to trust tabloid news. My interest in you was entirely genuine, and I promise that I only found out about your story after I asked you to come join me. So why don’t you come tell me who you really are, while we enjoy something delicious?”
Hallie’s gaze was guarded, but Sadiq had said the right thing; it was refreshing to hear someone say they didn’t believe everything they read in the newspapers.
She followed behind him as he led her to a terrace overlooking the sprawling desert landscape. A small table laden with half a dozen different dishes stood between two comfortable-looking cushioned chairs, and Hallie gratefully took a seat, sinking into the silky fabric. When Sadiq had said the air was conditioned, he had meant that there were several palm leaf fans cooling the air around them, and Hallie reluctantly enjoyed the breeze. Mist gently fell from concealed pipes in the ceiling around them, and the terrace made Hallie feel almost as if she were at an exclusive Disneyland.
“You don’t indulge much, do you?” Sadiq noticed.
Hallie shrugged. “I haven’t had the luxury to do so,” she said, breathing in the delicious scent wafting from the food on the table. Sadiq explained to her what everything was before they filled their plates and began to enjoy their meal together.
“You’ve asked me why I wanted to bring you here,” Sadiq said, as though they were at a business meeting.
Hallie nodded, savoring the chicken in spicy sauce—it was exquisite.
“The truth is, in my country a man is not considered respectable until he has a wife. Experience has led me to believe that there are many women out there who would marry me on the basis of my name alone, but I find that is not who I am. I want a woman who can match me intellectually, who cares about the man behind the wealth, and I believe, Miss Richards, that you might be that woman.”
“Why are you calling me Miss Richards?” Hallie asked, processing. He was talking about marriage. Was that something she could consider, truly?
Sadiq shrugged. “I thought it was more respectful.”
“But you could call me Hallie when you didn’t know who I was—a stranger on the internet.”
“I suppose so. At the time it seemed a little unreal.”
“But I am real. And I’m here. So tell me what your real motivation is for this.”
She stared hard at Sadiq, trying to catch a lie in his eyes. She couldn’t find one. He met her gaze head on, and she tried not to melt into those chocolate brown depths. Did he have to be this attractive?
“You are under no pressure to stay in Al Shayam, Hallie. But I would ask that you stay with me for a few days, at least, to see if we might have a connection worth exploring. If we do not, I will send you home in the same style that you came. If we do, I would hope that you’d consider becoming my wife.”
Hallie stared at him. He was completely serious.
“You realize this is nuts, right? People don’t just test their relationship for a few days and then decide on marriage. That’s not how it’s done.”
“Maybe not in America. Here, it’s actually quite common. I will tell you this, Hallie. In the hours I have known you, you have already shown me more character and wit than any woman I have spoken to in years. That alone qualifies you to be my wife—not to mention the fact that you are beyond beautiful.”
Hallie blushed at the compliment. The fact that he had placed her personality and intellect before her physical beauty spoke volumes. Perhaps there was more to this man than she originally thought, and she wanted to keep digging. If it didn’t work out, they could part as friends, and she would have gotten the vacation of a lifetime.
“All right,” she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. “I will stay and see if we might have the connection you’re looking for. I want you to be completely honest with me though, Sadiq. If you lie to me, even once, it’s over. My reputation was destroyed because of men’s lies, and I won’t have it happen again.”
Sadiq’s gaze was thoughtful as he started at her, measuring her words. He grasped her hand and held it firmly. “I promise you, I will be honest with you. My intention is not to hurt you. I plan on showing you just how wonderful life can be, and perhaps you can teach me a little something about it as well.”
“Perhaps I can,” she agreed, and released her hand.
There was a gaping emptiness as Sadiq pulled his hand back, and Hallie found that she wished she hadn’t let go. The palace around them was beautiful. Stunning, even. But none of it held a candle to the feeling that rushed down Hallie’s spine as Sadiq gazed at her.
When they’d finished eating, Sadiq rose. “Would you like to show me to your quarters now?”
Hallie grinned. “Only so long as there are no wild parties or wild animals in there. I do enjoy my sleep.”
Sadiq smiled back at her, gesturing a hand toward yet another door. Hallie realized then that it would take a lifetime to figure out how to navigate his palace…if she so chose to spend a lifetime there. In that moment, she tried to picture living in that place as its owner. In its current condition, it was an impossible thought.
The Sheikh led the way down several corridors before he opened up a large, heavy door and allowed her to walk in ahead of him.
Looking around, Hallie found herself in an enormous bedroom. The ceilings had to be at least twenty feet tall, and there were rounded princess windows all along the walls. She could see a massive four-poster bed with silky bedding, and avoided looking at it while Sadiq was standing right there. She didn’t want to think about what it would be like to have him in it, and utterly failed.
Sadiq seemed oblivious to the path her thoughts were taking. He stepped back towards the door. “You’ll find your suitcase by the bed. Feel free to unpack and get comfortable. I can have some dinner sent up, or, if you’d like we can dine together later in my rooms.”
“I’d like that,” Hallie said.
Sadiq’s mouth twitched. It was obvious he would like that, too. That alone made Hallie’s heart flutter.
She tried to press the sensation down; it was too soon to start developing feelings for this guy. Hadn’t she done that before, with di
sastrous consequences? Her heart refused to listen, especially as her eyes hungrily took in the handsome features of Sadiq. He was a billionaire, clearly, and yet that was the one thing about him she didn’t particularly like. Wouldn’t the tabloids have a field day with that? The gold digger who finally found her pot of gold?
“Until then,” he said, gently taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.
Hallie’s skin tingled where his lips had touched, and she fought the urge to tackle him and kiss him. After all, they were supposed to be being honest, right? And if they only had a few days to get to know one another, what would the harm be?
