The Sheikh's Secret
Page 57
“You are.”
“One trip I want to make before the baby comes,” he told her. “I want to go to Cape Soúnion, to the temple there.”
“Poseidon’s temple?”
He nodded. “I’ve always felt a pull to that spot,” he explained. “So, I think it’s time to take my family there and introduce them to Poseidon.”
Eirene didn’t respond immediately and Simon was worried that he’d upset or offended her. “Eirene?”
She looked up, and there was something in her eyes that made him feel as if she was his home. “You are the most remarkable man I’ve ever known,” she told him. “I’ll get my coat.”
Simon watched her climb the stairs, his heart more full than he had ever thought possible. How had he been so fortunate? How had a foolish wastrel like himself become a decent man?
There were no real answers, he supposed, so no reason to search too hard. For now, it was enough to thank the universe for his good fortune, and promise to be a better man with every opportunity he was given.
Before they left, Simon went down to the wine cellar and snagged a bottle of champagne to share with the sea.
The Sheikh's Chase
Chapter One
“Ada! Ada, what the hell are you doing in there? I called you, what, ten minutes ago? Fifteen minutes ago? How long are you planning on keeping me waiting in here?”
“Clara, calm down, ok? Just calm down. I’m coming. I just had to answer a couple of emails. If I don’t stay on top of them they just pile up and pile up until the whole thing gets entirely out of control.”
“Oh,”she said in a sulky tone that came off as surprisingly childish for a woman who was almost thirty, “I thought you had just forgot about me.”
“Forgot about you? How could I forget about you? I don’t think there’s a person on the planet who could forget about you even if they wanted to.”
“Well that’s true,” she said with a little laugh that allowed Ada to clearly visualize the smile that was surely playing across her beautiful face, “I guess I do make an impression. Look, will you just hurry up and get in here? We’ve got some things to go over, and it’s not like this is the only thing I have going on in my life right now. I’ve got so much going on right now. Honestly, Ada, I don’t know how I do it.”
“Simple,” Ada thought to herself with a little bit more venom than she was comfortable with feeling, “because I do all of the stuff that isn’t much fun.”
“Ada? Are you still there? You know I hate it when you just duck out on conversations like this. Sometimes you’re such a space cadet.”
“No, I’m here. I’ll just finish up the one I’m working on and be right there. Give me two seconds.”
“Ugh. Fine, two seconds, but don’t make me wait longer than that. You know how much I hate to wait.”
Clara hung up the phone without waiting for a reply and Ada looked at it incredulously. It wasn’t like Clara hadn’t hung up on her before. God, if she had a dollar for every time Clara had hung up on her since they were young, she would be a full blown millionaire. Clara Witt, Ada Witt’s older sister and business partner. Ada had seen Clara make employees cry with just the raising of one perfectly arched eyebrow, had watched her send a bottle of water away because she thought it tasted too “old,” but to her, she was still her well loved and often times bratty older sister. The two of them had grown up in Texas, on a sprawling farm right outside of Austin, TX. Clara had been the first born to the Witts, Ada coming two and a half years later. They had been happy, Clara being of a more delicate (some might have said prissy if you had caught them on a day when they weren’t feeling particularly charitable) nature while Ada had been far more of a tomboy; always with holes in her jeans and dirt on her face, skinned knees and knots in her hair. They were different, unbelievably different, and in many ways. The differences in their personalities was almost as acute as the difference in their appearance. Clara was so breathtaking that, when they were both still quite young, Ada had half convinced herself that she was actually a fairy changeling child left on their parent’s doorstep in place of a real human baby girl. She had impossibly fair skin that always seemed to have a pink glow pulsing right below its surface and thick hair such a light shade of blonde it almost looked white in certain light. Her eyes were big and blue and screaming out to be loved by anyone and everyone who peered into them. Ada was different. Not any less beautiful, in fact there were people who would have said without question that she was the lovelier of the two, just different. Where as Clara’s hair looked like it had been made out of literal gold, Ada’s hair was dark, dark, dark, almost a dark enough brown to be considered black (although in the right light there was an auburn hue that shone from that head of hair that made her look like she might also be a child not entirely from this world). She had wide honey colored eyes that always looked to be on the verge of either a question or a contradiction and she seemed to have been born with an unfortunate knack for getting herself into trouble. She was smart, though (sometimes her sister would compare her to the bookish princess from the Beauty and the Beast movie they had watched when they were little), and when Clara managed to get herself into NYU to study fashion, Ada followed her to New York as soon as she was old enough to go to college herself. As luck would have it, she had a knack for business. She may have grown up on a farm and she may have loved that growing up, but her head was made for numbers and business tactics. Between her and her sister, who was quickly becoming arguably one of the prettiest women in New York, they developed a business that took off like a shot. A fashion magazine from which you could order all of the products if you had the mind to. It made them both incredibly successful, giving both sisters something they dearly wanted. For Clara, she got to be the center of attention, put in a position where she got to model whenever she wanted to for whatever she wanted to and tell everyone around her what to do along the way. No, Ada thought to herself as she shook her head sadly and somewhat disgustedly to herself, that wasn’t fair. She knew Clara better than anyone else on the planet did. She knew her shortcomings, but she also knew that her heart was good. Basically, deep down, she was still a sweet girl who just hadn’t ever really learned how to be told no. It didn’t really matter, not in the end. Ada got something she couldn’t live without as well; she got a life of excitement and stimulation where the only boss she had to answer to was herself. Nevermind that Clara sometimes seemed to forget that. Ada could let her bark her orders. It was pretty much the same as when they were kids so she had a lifetime of experience under her belt with how to deal with it.
“Um, Ms. Witt?”
The sound of the voice intruding into her thoughts was enough to pull Ada out of her own head and she glanced up over the tortoiseshell glasses Clara was forever begging her to take off (never mind that she could hardly read without them; some things were worth the sacrifice) to see who had entered her vast, glass encased office. It was only Penelope Swan, her sweet and just a little bit too timid assistant coming into her office so quietly that she hadn’t even heard the door open.
“Come in, come in, it’s alright. I’m not even working anymore. It’s pretty much just daydreaming at this point.”
“Thank you, I’m sorry to just barge in this way, it’s just the other Ms. Witt—”
“Clara sent you to get me, is that it? Ok, ok.” She said with a laugh half amused and half annoyed, “I get it. I’m coming. You can go. In fact why don’t you just head out for the weekend. It’s got to be seven o’clock, right?”
“Seven fifteen.”
“Then it’s the weekend. Go! Go and have a good time. Go find some trouble and then tell me about it on Monday.”
“Thanks! And who knows, maybe you’ll find some trouble, too? That way you could tell me a story or two for a change.”
“Seems unlikely, but I guess anything can happen.”
Penelope smiled a sweet smile and practically ran out of the room. She was a good assistant and probably the closest
thing Ada had to a good friend (if you didn’t count Clara, that was, which sometimes she did and sometimes she didn’t). Seeing her excitement almost made Ada want to go out and do something wild just so she would have a story when the weekend was over. But that wouldn’t happen, she could almost promise that. There was too much work to be done and as much trouble as she had gotten herself into when she was young, those days were over for her. She had work. After she went to see what Clara needed. She knew from experience that Clara didn’t stop until she got what she wanted.
“Jesus, it’s about time! What the hell have you been doing? I’ve been waiting for you for like, a century. What the fuck is with you?”
“Well hello to you, too, Clara. You know, for such a pretty girl you certainly do have a foul mouth on you.”
“God,” Clara said inspecting her perfectly manicured nails and rolling her stunning blue eyes, “you sound just like mom when you say things like that, you know that?”
“Ha! God, I think you’re right. But Clara, you’ve got to stop trying to order me around. You know you aren’t my boss, right? You know I own this company with you. More of it than you, actually. You can’t try and boss me around the way you did when we were kids.”
Clara yawned and stood up, her long legs jutting out of a skirt so short it could hardly be called a skirt anymore, her long hair tumbling in soft waves over her shoulders. Good lord, who went to work dressed that way? It was any budding fashionista’s dream, but it didn’t seem all that practical. But Clara must have seen her slight (but all in all good natured) disapproval and she glanced don at herself and laughed.
“Not exactly office clothes, are they?”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but—”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t wearing this all day. This is for tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yup! Tonight. That’s what I’ve been trying to get you in here about. I’ve got something hanging for you in the powder room. Put it on fast or we’re going to be late.”
“Late? Late for what? Clara, I have zero idea what you’re talking about.”
“What I’m talking is we’re going out and before you say no, don’t bother. It’s what I want and you know I always get what I want.”
Chapter Two
“See? What did I tell you?”
“You told me this place was going to be awesome.”
“That’s right, I did. And?”
“And it’s alright.”
“Uh uh. No. No ma’am. You aren’t going to get off that easily. Look around you, little sister. This is the hottest place in New York City. There are people lined up outside waiting to get in here who won’t step through the front door for months.”
Ada looked around at the swanky club Clara had somehow managed to drag her to. She had no idea how she had let her talk her into going, let alone how she had convinced her to put on the little black dress she kept having to fight the urge to pull down. Maybe it was the fact that right before she talked to Clara she had been thinking about how it would be nice to accumulate some crazy stories of her own. Maybe that’s how her resolve had been so quickly dissolved. Whether it was that or something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on, she was here and against her better judgement she was actually starting to enjoy herself. But only a little bit, she told herself, so she didn’t have to feel too weird about it. And Clara was right, this place was unreal! She could tell that everything in it was top quality, from the floor to the long bar top made entirely out of amethyst that was lit from within. It was a place that somehow managed to blend the most cutting edge and chic style with the kind of heartfelt vintage nostalgia Ada had always loved. Whoever was responsible for this place knew what they were doing and they knew how to do it well. New York may have been a city where businesses could open and close in what felt like the blink of an eye, but she had a feeling this place wasn’t going to be one of those. This club had all of the makings of a major success and she sipped the glass of champagne her sister had given her thoughtfully, really starting to enjoy herself despite her misgivings. That was when Clara started shaking her arm violently, spilling that very same champagne she was trying to drink.
“Hey! What’s the matter with you? I thought you wanted me to drink this!”
“Oh. My. God. Look!”
“At what? Do you realize how many people are in this building right now? I don’t have a clue what you’re asking me to look at.”
“Over there, behind the girls who look like they’re only twelve years old and then a little bit to the right. Do you see him? The super dark and handsome guy?”
“I think so.”
“Please, if you see him, you know you see him. Good god, he’s got to be the best looking man I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and that’s definitely saying something. Tell me you see him, Ada.”
“I see him.”
And she did. Yes, she most certainly did see him. She had seen him before Clara offered up her explanation, before she even said the stupid words “I think so.” She was right. That man, whoever he was, was the most outstanding thing she had ever seen. He was tall, even to her, which was saying a lot seeing as she was very nearly five foot eight. From where she was standing she had to guess he was at least six foot three, maybe even taller. He had skin the color of a cappuccino and thick black hair falling just below his ears. His teeth gleamed white with each easy smile that crossed his face and as he leaned casually against the wall behind him she could see (she shouldn’t see, shouldn’t even be thinking these things!) that he had the body of a highly trained athlete. What was he, some kind of a professional basketball player or something? She wasn’t exactly one to watch any kind of sports, but he certainly had the look of a superstar. What she knew for sure, despite her most valiant efforts to convince herself otherwise, was that from the moment she had laid eyes on him she had felt herself grow very hot. She knew the deep blush that still betrayed any intense feeling she had must be spreading across her face and down her neck, making her grateful for the dim lighting of the bar area. She felt flustered, didn’t know if she wanted to stay or make a run for it, and worst of all she felt completely foolish for all of the other (involuntary) reactions she was having. It wasn’t like any of it mattered. She could see by the look on her heartbreakingly beautiful sister that this man was something she wanted and as she so often reminded anyone who would listen, she got what she wanted. Always. She loved her sister, even liked her most of the time, but she knew what that look meant.
“Come on.”
“I’m pretty sure you can handle this one on your own.”
“Ada, come on. I want to meet him and I want you to come with me.”
“Why? You’ve never needed my help to approach a guy before.”
“That isn’t just some guy. He owns this place. This place and a whole lot of other things as well. He’s like, a billionaire. He’s something called a Sheikh. I don’t know exactly what that is, but I know it’s powerful and I know I like that. Now come on, let’s go.”
As with most things, once Clara made up her mind about something, she was going to see it happen one way or another. It wasn’t that Ada couldn’t stand up to her; she could, better than Clara had ever suspected. It just didn’t seem worth it. So she had to go watch this beautiful guy fall head over heels for Clara; so what? It wouldn’t be the first time she had watched a thing like that. And once it was done, once he had eyes for only her and she for only him (for a week, maybe even six if the guy was particularly challenging), she could leave this fairytale club and go home. She could get back to work, which was exactly what she should have been doing all along. So she allowed Clara to take her by the hand and drag her across the room, prancing towards the owner of the club until they were only steps away. That was when he took notice of their approach, his perfect smile and deep, liquid brown eyes turning on them. Ada felt her heart stop when those eyes landed on her, felt her skin burn everywhere they fell, and she wondered if his ga
ze was having the same effect on Clara. Maybe she had been with too many beautiful men for this one to have that kind of effect on her. It was hard to tell. She was much to good at flirting for Ada to be able to read her expression on this matter.
“What’s your business with the sheikh?”
“Our business is to say hello.”
“Does he know you?”
“Does he have to?”
“Please, it’s ok. You don’t have to take everything so seriously, Green. This is supposed to be a party, after all. Or didn’t you get the memo?”
Clara giggled in a way that sounded completely phoney to Ada and she concentrated as hard as she could not to roll her eyes. She wasn’t sure Clara would even notice at this point, but she wasn’t particularly interested in taking the chance. Clara didn’t take kindly to anyone making her feel like she wasn’t being taken seriously. Ada looked at the floor for a moment, wanting to make sure she could keep herself under control, and then looked over at her sister. Clara was the perfect picture of a woman trying with everything she had to get a man’s full attention. She had one hand on her hip, which was pushed out to the side in what Ada assumed was meant to be a sassy stance, and the other hand was playing coyly with her hair. She really was pulling out all of the stops, Ada had to give her that, and the man whose attention she seemed to want so very badly was definitely letting them past his wall of a guard, but something wasn’t quite the way Clara wanted it. Because this beautiful man they had come to talk to wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Ada, full on and with an intensity that made her blush. Did Clara notice? Did she realize that this man was not displaying any kind of real interest in her at all? Embarrassingly, she didn’t seem to. It appeared that she was so engrossed in her own act, her own little show the purpose of which was to grab this man’s attention, lust, and desire, that she was blinded to the fact that it wasn’t really working. All of the sudden any kind of excitement or joy she might have felt upon entering this swanky place was gone. She felt uncomfortable, exposed in a way she wasn’t used to with men, especially when her sister was around to soak up all of the attention of any man within a five mile radius. This man, this strange and beautiful man who owned this club and was impressive enough to make Clara want to meet him so badly, was looking at her like there was nobody else there in the room with them. Truth be told, she wanted to just walk away, to go hail a cab and get herself back home and in bed. She had no patience for drama and just by looking at this man and the way he looked at her while her sister looked at him gave her a sinking feeling that the longer she staid, the more likely it was that drama was what she was going to get. Ordinarily she would have just done it, turned heel and walked out of the club without ever looking back, but something kept her standing in her place; something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It was like his eyes were holding her there, those mysterious eyes full of humour and something deeper, something far more tantalizing and impossible to name. Finally he pulled his gaze away from her for long enough to look at his massive bouncer/bodyguard (and what kind of a club owner needed an actual bodyguard) and motion for him to step aside. The mountain of a man glared at them for a moment longer before grudgingly stepping aside. Even after he moved, however, he remained hovering close enough to the two sisters to make his presence very much felt. Ada knew it was probably a very good thing that the guy took his job so seriously, at least assuming that the man he was protecting actually needed protecting, but she couldn’t help it; she started to laugh. It wasn’t a malicious laugh or anything like that, it was just that the situation she now found herself in felt so absurd. It was like she had tried to approach the president without knowing that she was approaching someone who had any kind of importance at all.