Her Desert Knight (12 page)

She was even more impressed that she’d managed to stay strong enough not to call him herself. Her mind and body ached with missing him. At night she craved the feel of his arms around her—even though she’d never felt them around her at night, only during snatched sojourns in the heat of the day.

Taking time apart from him allowed her to breathe. To think. Now that she had time to ponder, she was glad she hadn’t run away with him. They barely knew each other and what she knew about him was alarming. If she’d accepted his “grant,” she would have basically been an expensive mistress, which wasn’t how she wanted to start out her new life. She thought he’d soon get over their whirlwind affair and move on. She’d be just another in a long line of women he’d earnestly adored and left behind.

But discovering that he wanted to give her father a piece of land worth millions put an entirely different spin on the situation. It proved he was serious. Even if money was virtually no object for him personally, he’d had to persuade his brother to shelve his hotel plans—which couldn’t have been easy—and he’d gone to the trouble of having the legal paperwork drawn up.

She looked up at her father. “Are you going to sign it?”

“Do you think it’s a trick?”

“I don’t know.” She tried to focus but all the small print on the contract blurred in front of her eyes. “It certainly seems real. You should have a lawyer look over it.”

“I don’t trust those Al Mansurs. It could be some kind of trap. If I sign this paper allowing them to transfer the land to me, it will be like admitting that I never owned it in the first place. I’d be giving up my claim that I currently own the land.”

“But if the contract is genuine you’d be giving it up in return for outright ownership of the land. Ten rials is a lot cheaper than the thousands of rials you’d have to pay to your lawyer to take your claim all the way through the courts.”

“That is certainly true.” Her dad rubbed his mustache with a finger.

“What would you do with the land?” Now that ownership of the property was within reach, her father seemed oddly lackadaisical about it. Which was strange, since he’d been gnashing his teeth over being “robbed” for as long as she could remember.

“Sell it, of course.” His brows lifted, probably as he contemplated how much he could get for it.

“Maybe you could sell it back to Salim Al Mansur.”

Her father’s brows lowered. “Why would he give it to me for free only to buy it back? Maybe there’s something I don’t know. Maybe he’s contaminated the land. He could have buried toxic waste on it. It seems too good to be true.”

Like her relationship with Quasar. Too sudden, too easy, too fabulous, too far, too fast. She sighed. “I’m not sure we can ever truly understand other people’s motivations. You just need to decide if you still really want it, and if you do, then get in touch with a lawyer and make sure all the documents say what they are supposed to say. If they do, then sign them, take your fishing rod to the land and catch some fish.” She attempted a half smile. It couldn’t really be that easy, could it?

No way. Nothing ever was.

* * *

Quasar didn’t want to go back to the United States. His visit to Oman was stretching into its third week, but now that Dani wasn’t coming with him, the prospect of moving to Boston and exploring the intriguing business opportunities there had palled. For one thing he’d miss these jovial breakfasts on the hotel veranda, where the whole family gathered together to start the day. Elan and Sara still showed no signs of returning to their home in Nevada, and he felt the same way about leaving.

He watched Celia’s long fingers deftly wind a hair tie around the bottom of Kira’s fishtail braid while the little girl munched on a blueberry muffin. Would he ever have children of his own to take care of? Since he’d met Dani, he’d thought about the prospect more than once.

Celia glanced up. “Salim told me about the land deal. When are you going back to propose marriage?”

Quasar ripped a croissant in half. “It’s not a done deal yet. Dani’s father has had the contract for two days and I haven’t heard a word. Maybe he’s so difficult he’ll refuse to take the land back as a gift because he’d rather win it in court.” His chest tightened as he thought about it. Could he lose his chance of a lifetime with Dani due to her own father’s stubbornness?

So many pieces had to fall into place for this to work.

“It may well be a done deal, brother. A courier left a big envelope at the front desk for you this morning,” Salim said.

“What?” Quasar leapt from his chair. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just did.” Salim smiled enigmatically.

Quasar felt like punching him. Salim still hadn’t cashed the damn check, either, which made the whole deal feel rather illusory since the contract gifting the land was between Quasar and Mohammed Hassan. He dialed the front desk and asked them to bring any mail to him. He glared at Salim. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Enormously. Who’d have thought that my baby brother would be so madly in love with a woman that he’d part with fifty million dollars for the chance to win her favor.”

“It is adorable.” Sara smiled and smoothed a cowlick in Ben’s hair. “But then you Al Mansurs are the biggest romantics once you finally fall in love.”

One of the front-desk staff brought the envelope to the table and Quasar ripped into it with his heart pounding. There was the contract—signed and notarized—and a letter from Mohammed Hassan thanking him for recognizing his long-held claim to the land and returning it to its rightful owner. Quasar smiled. “It’s all signed, sealed and delivered.”

Salim shook his head. “I’ve never seen anyone so happy about parting with fifty million dollars
and
a prime piece of oceanfront real estate.”

Quasar winked. “Thanks for making it possible.”

“So now you can go back and propose.” Celia looked at him down the length of her elegant nose.

“Not so fast!” Sara exclaimed. “Dani just extracted herself from a miserable marriage. It might be quite some time before she can be persuaded to go down that road again. If ever. Why does marriage have to be such an important part of every relationship? It’s as if you can’t enjoy being a couple until there’s some legal paperwork saying you own the rights to each other in perpetuity.”

Elan laughed. “See what I have to deal with? I did finally persuade her to marry me, though.”

“How?” Quasar couldn’t hide his curiosity.

Sara leaned forward. “By proving to me, day after day, that he really wanted to be with me, and enjoy my company, and share a family with me, not own me and control me and run me. You Al Mansurs may be successful but you’ve been raised with some bad habits that can need breaking.”

“I don’t want to own Dani or run her life.”

“You don’t think you do, but you do expect her to fall neatly into your plans. What if she wants to stay in Salalah rather than moving to Boston?”

He frowned. “I’m pretty sure she wants to move back to America.”

“But if she didn’t you’d be willing to stay here with her even if it means giving up on that biotech company you’re all excited about acquiring?”

He thought for a moment about the considerable sacrifice required, then answered with conviction. “Yes. I have a strong feeling about it. Call it intuition, or a hunch, or maybe even destiny, but I truly believe Dani and I are meant to be together.”

Elan leaned forward and clapped him on the back. “Then take your time and make sure you don’t screw it up like I nearly did. Sara scared me so good I waited through her entire pregnancy with our son, and half of our first year as parents, before I even dared ask her again.”

Sara looked at him lovingly. “Luckily by then I was ready to say yes.”

“How soon before I can try to buy the land back?” Salim cocked his head. “I have plans drawn up and was waiting to resolve the title issues before submitting them for approval.”

“If I can hold my horses, brother, you can, too.” Quasar let out a sigh. “Patience may not be our strong suit but it builds character for us to apply it.”

“Finding the right woman is what builds character most of all,” Salim said quietly. “I was bulldozing my way through life trying to get everything so perfect that I almost destroyed my one chance at happiness. I consider myself the luckiest man alive that Celia was able to find it in her heart to forgive me for being such an utter ass.”

Celia laughed. “The whole situation was character-building for me, too. I kept your daughter secret from you because I was too afraid you’d tried to seize control of her.” She squeezed Quasar’s arm. “But as you can see he managed to win me over, so hang in there and keep your goal in sight.”

Elan leaned back in his chair. “It certainly sounds as if you’ve found a woman strong and steady enough to handle you, so take her needs seriously, and don’t blow it. What do you plan to do next?”

“Propose to her.”

* * *

Quasar guided his silver Mercedes through the now-familiar streets of Dani’s quiet neighborhood, past the silent houses with their shuttered windows. Unfamiliar trepidation quickened his heartbeat. The next step was a big one, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. Since he wasn’t used to such uncertainty, the effect was decidedly unsettling.

Despite his brothers’ experiences, he’d decided that Dani was obviously uncomfortable with the idea of accompanying him to America with her status in his life uncertain. So it was important to clarify that status. Which meant proposing marriage.

And since this was Oman, he also needed her father’s permission. Right now he had no idea how either of them would respond to his proposal.

He parked his car directly in front of the house, announcing his arrival to anyone who happened to glance out a window. He half hoped someone would open the door and say something, so he could avoid the suspense of climbing the doorstep and knocking. He still remembered how badly his last visit had gone.

The difficult part was that he had to ask Dani to marry him first. He’d deliberately chosen to come here in the early evening, when her father and brothers were home, so everything would be proper and aboveboard and he couldn’t be accused of sneaking around or trying to seduce her into bed. The snag was that if her father answered the door, how did he explain his purpose and ask to see Dani without either giving the game away or getting thrown out on his ear or...both?

It would take some cunning.

* * *

Dani had been at her computer since lunchtime, typing letters. Buoyed by her positive experience at the American school—from which a job offer seemed almost certain—she’d decided to broaden her horizons. She’d polished her resumé and written letters of introduction to five different universities with art history or history programs that featured a strong interest in Near Eastern art. She was putting the final touches on them and intended to sleep on them and, if she were still feeling bold enough, to email them out tomorrow morning. One of them was to a department at Harvard. Unlikely as it seemed, she was opening the door to going to Boston all by herself.

And all the activity kept her from thinking about Quasar, who had somehow engineered the return of her father’s land.

She missed him so much that her belly ached. The urge to text him, just to say hi, was almost irresistible. She yearned to hear his deep, rich voice in her ear, even if it were only through her phone speaker. She wanted to speak with him about her plans and get his opinion of her letters. She craved his encouragement and support even as she told herself she could get along fine without it.

He’d been true to his word and let her go. And right now she felt like a complete idiot for letting him.

“Dani!” Her brother’s voice accompanied his sharp knock on her door. “Dad’s calling you.”

She frowned. Why didn’t he just come get her? Why send her brother? “Coming.”

She saved her document and closed it. She’d been so busy and wrapped up in her plans she hadn’t noticed it was nearly dinnertime. She washed her hands and smoothed her hair and tried not to laugh—or cry—at her lovelorn expression in the mirror. Two tiny dark smudges had formed under her eyes, making her look like a mournful maiden from an ancient miniature. Or a zombie. She sighed. Sooner or later she’d get over Quasar and the dark rings would go away again. She probably just needed more exercise.

“Dani, what’s keeping you?” Her father’s gruff voice startled her out of rubbing her fingers on her face and pinching color into her cheeks.

“I’m on my way. What’s the rush?”

“We have a visitor.”

“Who?”

“Come here.” Maybe her aunt Riya had stopped by to say hello.

She turned into the hallway, and saw a tall silhouette just inside the door. Her heart started to pound. It was Quasar.

“Hello, Dani.” That familiar, rough yet smooth voice sent excitement coursing through her.

“Hello, Quasar.” She tried to sound cool and noncommittal as her blood heated several degrees. Why was he here? Should she be mad at him for breaking his promise to stay away, or thrilled that he cared enough to come back?

A broad smile widened her dad’s mouth and his body language suggested that Quasar was an old friend rather than a sworn enemy with undesirable designs against his daughter. Apparently the priceless gift of oceanfront property had earned him a place in her father’s heart. Had he done that for her?

“Come, Khalid and Jalil. Let’s leave them in peace.” Dani stared as her father ushered her brothers out into the garden, leaving her and Quasar alone in the house.

“What’s going on?” She blinked, suddenly confused. She’d forgotten how tall he was, and how broad his shoulders were. The sight of him, blue eyes flashing, was enough to dazzle her completely.

“Dani.” He took her hands, enveloping them in his. As usual, this action had a disturbing effect on her entire body. “I know you told me to stay away from you, and I did for as long as I could possibly stand. Now I’m going to ask you something very important and I want you to think carefully about your answer. What you say now will affect both of our lives, one way or the other, so take your time.”