Road to Casablanca (15 page)

I am here to have an adventure, nothing more!
 
I can’t fall for this guy!

Chapter Thirteen

Impressed at how well Erick acted the part of perfect gentleman as he held her hand, Cindy couldn’t help but smile as they shared a glass of wine and watched as the sun dipped below the horizon.

“This is absolutely beautiful, Erick.”

“Yes, you are.”

The growl of her stomach broke the spell of the moment and they both burst out laughing.

“Sorry about that!”

“Hungry?”

“Yes, actually, I am.”

Erick looked at his watch and around the patio.
 

“The Jibades should be here any moment.
 
If you want, I can go ahead and order an appetizer or something for you.”

Cindy smiled and lifted her glass.

“I can live on this for a bit longer.”

“Okay, but five more minutes and we’ll get something, okay?”

“Fair enough.”

“Having a good time?”

Cindy nodded, but before she could give her response, she was interrupted by the approaching couple.

“Mr. and Mrs. Redmund.”

Mr. Jibade and his wife bowed, as was custom, and Cindy followed Erick’s lead by rising and bowing until they could all be seated together.

“How are you since our game this afternoon?”

“Just fine, Mr. Jibade, although I think my wife and I are getting hungry.”

“Yes, Dalila was saying the same.”

Jibade clapped his hands and instantly two servers were by their side.
 
He spoke to them in the local tongue and in less than a minute, a large platter of traditional fare was in front of them.

“Enjoy.”

“Thank you.”

Cindy wanted to reach in, grab a potato and inhale it, but she held her breath and waited until Erick could serve her.

“How are you enjoying
Morocco
, Mrs. Redmund?”

Cindy could hardly stand being called Mrs. Redmund.
 
It wouldn’t be half bad if that were true, but the game was getting more than ridiculous by the minute.

“I am enjoying it very much, although I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight.
 
I look forward to seeing more of the area in the next few days.”

“Was it hard for you to get away from your home and children to be here?”

Mr. Jibade and Dalila smiled at Cindy, who tried not to choke on her potato. She was completely blindsided by the question; her lunchtime rehearsal hardly prepared her for this.

“Uh…”

Erick, unfortunately, took the liberty of filling in the blanks for her. “We’re still trying. We don’t have any children yet.” He smiled as he reached over and squeezed Cindy’s knee.
 

If Cindy’s mouth hadn’t been full, she would have screamed.

“Oh, I see,” Mrs. Redmund said. “So who is watching your home while Mrs. Redmund is not there?”

Cindy nearly choked at the question.

“Actually, nobody ever does that because I work.
 
I have a job.”

Erick kicked her under the table. “She works for now, but certainly when the baby arrives, she will stay home.”

“Oh, so when is your baby due?”
 
Mrs. Jibade assumed her husband misunderstood what was said earlier.

“I…”

“In the summer of next year.
 
We just found out Cindy was pregnant last week.”

Cindy fought to keep her jaw from dropping to her dinner plate.

This dream was quickly turning into a nightmare
.
 
She wanted more than anything to correct Erick and tell these nice people that this guy was a complete fraud, but somehow she couldn’t do it to him.
 

She was just as much a part of this international nonsense as he was. It was called “guilt by association,” and Cindy knew it.
 
That thought made her feel nearly as queasy as she had on the flight over.

Erick held Cindy’s hand and gently put his arm around her, smiling as he made his phony announcement.
 
They certainly looked like a young couple in love, and their obvious affection towards each other did not go unnoticed by their hosts.

Dalila smiled at Cindy and, much to her dismay, began offering unsolicited motherly advice.

“You certainly seem to be so much in love.
 
I can remember when Haji and I first met.
 
It was exactly the same, and with your new baby on the way, it is an exciting time in your relationship.”

The hole Erick had dug for them was getting increasingly deeper, and Cindy had no idea how to get out, so decided she was better off keeping her mouth shut.

“Uh…yes, we do love each other very much.”

As she continued to perpetuate the lie, Cindy felt a flush go from her heart to her head at the words, the queasiness turning into full-blown nausea she was certain she could not hide.

Dalila looked at Cindy with concern. “Are you feeling ill?
 
You do not look well,” she observed.

“I’ll be fine, thank you.”

The music played on, and the late night entertainment hadn’t yet started when Cindy began to yawn.
 
At first she tried her best to stifle them, but soon she couldn’t stop, and it was happening frequently enough that Erick couldn’t help but notice it too.

“Are you tired, my love?
 
Are you feeling okay?”

Erick certainly knew how to play it up—and right into the hands of their hosts.

“I’m okay; I’m having a wonderful time.”

“It looks like your wife is tired, sir, you better take her to bed,” Mr. Jibade said.

“You’re right, sir; I think we’d best go on, if that’s okay.
 
I don’t want Cindy and the baby to get tired out.
 
Thank you again for meeting us.
 
We enjoyed it very much.”

Erick held Cindy’s hand all the way to the elevator and after the doors closed behind them.

“You can stop now.
 
We’re alone.”

“What if I don’t want to stop?
 
I want to hold your hand.
 
I actually like it, if that’s okay.”

Cindy yawned and nodded.
 
She wanted to yell, but jetlag was quickly taking over.

“I’m sorry I’m so exhausted.
 
It’s from the jetlag and all of that mess in
London
, but when I wake up tomorrow I’m going to have a bone to pick with you about this baby business.
 
You are a pathological liar, Erick!
 
This has gone too far!”

Erick’s laugh was becoming annoying, Cindy noticed.
 
If she weren’t about to fall over, Cindy would have slapped him for being so brazen about the entire situation. As it stood tonight, she was far too tired for any more drama.

“It’s not a big deal.
 
It could actually work to your advantage if you don’t want to hang out and attend any of our boringly stuffy meetings. You can just tell people you’re tired and they will understand. It will also explain why you got sick on the plane, should anyone find out mention it later. I don’t think they will, but it’s a good excuse, just in case.”

Cindy yawned again. “But I thought you said this festival would be so glamorous and exciting that I wouldn’t want to miss a single minute.
 
Were you making that up, too?”

“No, sleepyhead, of course I wasn’t.
 
It will be a very exciting event, but not every single minute of every single day will be like a
Hollywood
party.
 
There will be times when Mr. Jibade and some of our other partners will be in meetings. You’re certainly more than welcome to come, but…”

“But I’m really not invited.
 
That’s fine; I’m too tired to care.”

 
“I didn’t say that.
 
I just meant it won’t be that exciting for you.
 
Plus I’m doing business and my negotiations are very important.”

“Erick, I get it; I’m not always invited.
 
That’s okay.
 
I’m a big girl, and I can certainly entertain myself.
 
I know my purpose as your lucky charm – to be seen and not heard.”

“That’s not true…”

“That’s fine. We don’t need to keep rehashing it, okay? And about tonight; you can go on to the party without me if you want. I just need to go to bed. Baby or no baby, I am truly exhausted.
 
I won’t be able to stay awake another five minutes, if that.”

“Okay.”

As they stood outside Cindy’s door and she turned the key in the lock, Erick peeked longingly inside.

 
“Do you need me to tuck you in?”

“Very funny, and no, not tonight.
 
I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m exhausted.
  
But thanks. I really did have a great time tonight, and at lunch today.
 
It was uh…neat, to say the very least.”
 

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, many parts of the trip were turning out much better than expected, despite all the lies.

“Glad you enjoyed it.”

Erick leaned in for another of his lengthy gropes, but Cindy stopped him with a palm to the chest and quickly kissed his cheek.

“Goodnight…have fun.”

Cindy pushed him away and quickly closed the door behind her. Quickly, she slipped out of her gown and fell into bed.

Chapter Fourteen

It was nearly one in the morning when Cindy opened her eyes, sat up and looked around her room, panicking at the sight of the strange rounded archways, inlaid tile floors and the canopy surrounding her.

Where am I?

As soon as she asked herself the question, the answer came floating to her forefront of her mind.
 
Morocco
.
 
She’d traveled around the world to date a sexy stranger, and now here she was, unable to sleep.

She pulled back the red canopy and took a quick look at the clock, realizing she had no idea what time it was in
Texas
right now.
 

It must be about time to get up and go to work.