The Sheikh's American Daughter (17 page)

***

Olivia lay on the sofa; numb from the pain of leaving Joseph. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. She tried telling herself that Joseph probably did not feel about her the way she felt about him. However, it was not working. She could not stop crying.

“Have something to eat,” Daya said to her as she walked into the living room with a plate of food. As soon as Olivia had called, Daya rushed over and spent the night trying to comfort Olivia but it was not working.

“I should have left the first time I said I would leave,” said Olivia. Daya sat on the sofa next to her and rubbed her back.

“Don’t try and blame yourself. All of them are evil.”

“The same thing that had happened to my mother is happening to me. I understand her now. I see why she left and never looked back.”

“I can’t believe that Joseph was willing to give it all up for you. He really loved you.”

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Olivia almost jumped out of her skin. “Tell them to go away,” she said to Daya.

“Could it be the postman or something?” Daya mumbled as she rose to her feet. Olivia heard Daya open the door and then gasp really loudly. “Joseph!” she breathed. Olivia sat up immediately. She saw Joseph walking into the room.

“Joseph? What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Same thing I want to ask you,” he replied as he approached her. He kneeled down on one knee and took her hands into his. “How could you leave me like that?” he asked.

“I had to.” Olivia started crying. “I couldn’t let you just give up on your company like that.”

“That means nothing to me without you.” Joseph searched Olivia’s eyes.

“It was all too much. I thought I could handle it, but I could not. It was hard living with Daaliyah and her daughters. It was hard knowing that your mother hated me, and now she wanted you to marry Hudah. It was all too much for me.”

“I get it,” said Joseph. “I hadn’t been fair. I said I would protect you but I failed.”

“It’s not your fault. You did the best you could do.”

Joseph shook his head. “I don’t want to marry Hudah. I don’t want to inherit the company at the price of losing you. I don’t want to lose you, I can’t, Olivia. I need you.”

Olivia could see sincerity in Joseph’s eyes. She needed him too.

“Joseph,” she whispered. She held his face in the palm of her hands.

“I love you, Olivia Grant. You have taught me what it means to love someone and to be loved. If my parents can’t accept that, then I don’t care. I can settle down in Atlanta and start my life here, with you.”

“What will you do?” she asked him.

“I don’t know but at least I will be with you.”

“Joseph, you cannot just up and leave your life. You cannot give up on everything just for me. I will not allow you to do that,” she yelled.

“I can and I have. I love you, damnit, and no one will stop me from marrying you. I am not going back home just to marry a woman I do not love. I am not going anywhere without you. So you are just going to have to deal with it,” he said. Olivia started laughing and sniffling. He started laughing with her too.

“Okay,” she said and laughed. “I love you.” He was the first man she had ever said those words to.

“I love you too,” he said and kissed her. She was so happy that he had come for her. She had not expected it at all. Daya laughed and clapped.

“The pair of you are so odd but adorable,” she said with her hand on her heart. Olivia smiled and laid her head on Joseph’s shoulder.

“I am so happy,” she said.

“I actually miss my father, and even Jacob,” Olivia admitted to Joseph. Although she had stayed in contact with them, it was not the same as seeing them. Her head lay on his rock-hard chest. They were both on the settee, lying on their backs and staring at the ceiling.

“I’m surprised to hear you say that,” Joseph replied. Olivia smiled. Not too long ago, she couldn’t even refer to Sheikh Solomon as her father.

“Don’t you miss your family?”

It had been two weeks since Joseph had left his family. Olivia had tried to convince him to return back to Lebanon but she failed completely. Joseph
was determined to stay with her.

A loud knock on the door stopped Joseph from answering Olivia.

“Are you expecting someone?” Joseph asked her.

“No,” Olivia said, getting up from the settee. She headed over to the front door. It was not a long walk. She had a small apartment.

Olivia gasped when she opened the door. Mrs. Boutros stood before her, finely dressed in expensive clothing and pearls as usual.

“Mrs. Boutros, what are you doing here? How did you even know where to find me?” she asked. Stupid question. Obviously a person with money could hire a private investigator and run a background check on someone like Olivia.

“Hello, Olivia,” said Mrs. Boutros.

“Hello.” Olivia was confused. Joseph’s mother had never greeted her before.

“Is he here?”

Olivia nodded and let her into the house.

“Mother.” Joseph rose to his feet. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to get you,” she replied as she approached her son.

“Why? Nothing has changed.”

She reached out and touched his face. “I don’t like the fact you are living out here alone.”

“I am not alone,” he said curtly.

“You are living a life that you are not used to and it worries me.”

“I am fine.”

“Your father and I were surprised when you left and did not return,” she said. “So we thought it was best to allow you to marry Olivia and still inherit the company as you were meant to.”

Joseph raised his eyebrows. Olivia stood in the doorway feeling rather awkward.

“What happens to Hudah?” Joseph asked.

“You have shared custody of the baby,” said Mrs. Boutros. She turned and approached Olivia. “I apologize for my behavior towards you. I hope that we can start afresh.”

“I… um…” Olivia was shocked by the sudden apology. She never saw it coming.

“I realize that you are not an opportunist.”

“No, I truly love your son whether he is rich or poor.”

Mrs. Boutros nodded and rubbed Olivia’s shoulders. She then turned to face Joseph. “Will you both return with me?” she asked. He walked over to Olivia and took her hand into his.

“Will you come with me?” he asked.

“I’ll go wherever you go,” she said with a smile. Joseph brought her hand to his lips and pressed a small kiss on it. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

“You can’t change your mind.”

Olivia giggled. “I won’t.”

Mrs. Boutros smiled. “We will start planning the wedding as soon as we arrive,” she said.

Kate Goldman’s Readers Club

Want to be FIRST to learn about new releases, 99-cents promotions and
FREE
BOOK GIVEAWAYS? Sign up for my exclusive readers’ newsletter!

CLICK HERE

The Sheikh’s Girlfriend

By Kate Goldman

Free preview next page

Chapter 1

Tara coughed from all the dust and sand in her mouth. She looked outside and saw nothing but sand; they were in the middle of the desert. She turned to her left to see if her sister Tami was alright. The two of them had flown from the U.S. for a holiday in Omani. It was Tara’s graduation present to Tami. Her younger sister had just graduated with an accounting degree. She was so proud of her. They had no one but each other. Their father died when their mother was pregnant with Tami. Their mother had passed a few years ago.

“Tami, are you okay?” Tara asked her sister who was still sitting next to her. The plane had just taken a rough landing.

“I am okay,” Tami replied.

Tara looked around the plane, some of the passengers were injured but it did not seem like anything fatal. Tara tried to unbuckle her seatbelt but it seemed jammed. She swore under her breath as she tried to set herself free. “Tara, look,” Tami said, pointing at the front of the plane. Tara looked in the direction her sister was pointing, she saw a group of men entering the plane. They were dressed in black clothes and red head scarves.

“Nomads,” Tara said to Tami. She had read about them but never seen them in real life. “They must be here to help,” she added.

The men stood at the entrance scanning around. The passengers were calling out for them to help. One man spoke in Arabic and jerked his head to the side. The other nomads started searching the passengers and taking their valuable things. The passengers were asking them why they were taking their things but the nomads did not reply.

Tara gasped when she realized that the nomads had weapons on their waists. They had swords and knives. She immediately felt scared. This did not seem like a good situation. No one knew what they would or could do. What was the reason for them to carry such weapons?

Some of the nomads cut the seatbelts, releasing the female passengers. They carried them out of the plane. Any man that tried to help was either kicked or punched. Tara noticed that they were taking the younger women. “They’re kidnapping women,” Tami said and immediately got into panic mode. Tara held her hand. She wanted to tell her to calm down and that everything was going to be okay but she too was frightened. She had no idea if they were going to be okay, she had no idea what was happening or why.

Tara looked through the window. There were plenty of horses outside. She figured that they had come on horseback. One of the nomads approached Tara and Tami. He immediately started searching them. “Take what you want but please leave us alone,” Tara said. The man looked up at Tara and saw her necklace. He ripped it off her neck. Tara screamed for him to return it to her. It was the only thing her mother left her.

The man who gave the orders at the beginning shouted something to the nomad that had taken Tara’s necklace. He quickly nodded and cut Tami’s seatbelt. Tami started screaming for him to put her down. Tara held onto Tami’s hand and screamed for him to leave her. He shouted something in Arabic. “Please let her go or take both of us,” Tara pleaded with him. He slapped Tara as she was not releasing her sister’s hand, then picked Tami up and ran out of the plane with her.

Tara tried desperately to get out of her seatbelt. She groaned loudly with anger and frustration when she could not get out of it. The nomads ran out of the plane. Tara could see them through the window. They got on their horses and rode off. The female passengers they had taken, including Tami, were forced onto the horses with the nomads. Tara started crying for her sister. She did not know why Tami had been taken or if she was ever going to see her again.

Not long after, a few jeeps drove up and parked up beside the plane. A group of Middle Eastern men jumped out. Tara creased her eyebrows. More men? she asked herself. Were they coming to kidnap the rest of them? It seemed that the nomads had taken the female passengers that appeared to be in their early twenties. The men from the jeep got on the plane. The passengers immediately started screaming and shouting.

“Please do not panic. We are here to help,” one of them said. He was very tall and muscular. He had jet-black hair and a day-old beard. He said something in Arabic. The other men went to the passengers and helped them out of their seats.

Tara hesitated at first when one of them approached her. He looked at her and nodded, as if to ask her to trust him. She let him help her out and he helped her into the jeeps along with other passengers. “We help,” he said to them and nodded. He returned to the plane to help the remaining passengers.

Some of the men drove the passengers to a campsite and returned to get the rest of the passengers. Other men stayed guarding the plane. They had to take a few trips until all of the passengers were safely evacuated from the plane.

The campsite they were taken to had plenty of tents set up. There were plenty of people there and some horses. The injured passengers were receiving medical attention. Luckily no one was badly injured. The injuries were all minor cuts and bruises from when the plane crash-landed. Tara stood there holding herself, gazing at the area. Was she really safe there? she asked herself. She decided to find the man that came on the plane first and spoke. He seemed to be the one in charge.

Tara started regretting the trip. It was her idea to go somewhere interesting and exciting. She really wanted to do something for her sister’s graduation. She did not want it to be an ordinary gift or dinner. She saved up her money and paid for the trip. Tami was excited about it. She was really happy. The two of them had never been outside the U.S. This was their first trip and then this happened.

Tara finally found the man after searching for a while. The campsite was pretty massive. He had been standing with other men speaking in Arabic. “Excuse me, please,” Tara said as she ran her hand through her hair. They all stopped talking and looked at her.

“Yes?” the man replied. His voice seemed much deeper and more relaxed this time. He was quite tall. Tara had to look up while she spoke to him.

“Thank you for helping us,” Tara said.

“It’s fine,” the man nodded. Tara sighed as she fought back the tears.

“Some passengers were kidnapped.” She wanted to ask him so many things. She was not sure where to start.

“I am aware. We have been having issues with those nomads for a while.”

“Are we safe here?”

“Yes.”

Tara wanted to believe him. She silently prayed that they were safe. “What about the passengers that were taken, will they be okay?”

He was not sure how to reply to her. Those nomads had been causing problems in the desert for a while. They mostly robbed people but on some occasions they kidnapped women. He was not sure for what reason. “I hope so, we will do our best to find them.”

Tara wanted a more reassuring answer but if they had been having issues with them for a while then it did not seem good. She just nodded. “Okay,” she said. Her voice went as small as a child’s. She was trying her best not to cry.

“Someone you know was taken?”

“My younger sister.”

He nodded and expressed his sympathy. He told her once more that he was going to do his best to reunite them. Tara nodded and walked off. The tears were really burning her eyes. She never cried in front of people, so she held them in until she was away from him.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE ENTIRE STORY ON AMAZON