Chapter Two #3
Their eyes met again and it was dizzying for a second—as if her very soul was being examined. And, what’s more, she was examining his. Even to herself she could not articulate what she saw there, and then she tore away her gaze and the dizzying feeling halted.
‘Maybe I am in the wrong world.’ She gave a soft laugh. ‘Anyway, I need a date for the ball.’ Now she blushed. ‘I didn’t mean…’
‘I know you didn’t, and as much as I would like to help with your predicament, for one thing I don’t date and for another, tomorrow I return to my land.’
‘Your land?’ She frowned at his odd turn of phrase.
‘Al-Zahir,’ Rafiq said.
She nodded, deciding it was more polite than admitting…
‘You’ve never heard of it.’
She gave a little laugh as he read her mind.
‘It’s close to Al-Nawar—have you heard of there?’
‘No.’ But then she thought for a moment. ‘Maybe, they have a lot of rare flowers, don’t they? I only know because we had some orchids flown in for a photo shoot.’
‘That’s the one. Well, Al-Zahir is more famous for its pearls and pearl diving, oh, and its desert.’
‘It sounds beautiful,’ she said, and would have asked to hear more about it but the intercom crackled into life informing them they were at the end of the line.
‘I’ve missed my stop,’ Liliana yelped. ‘By miles!’
‘We’ve missed every stop.’
They had been so engrossed, so locked in conversation, the time had flown.
‘It’s the middle of nowhere.’ She stood reading the timetable, and given they were way out of London, the tubes were not so regular.
‘I know where we are,’ Rafiq said. ‘We’re near Haven Manor—I went to an art viewing there a couple of years ago.’
Haven Manor was a gorgeous Jacobean manor that had once been the residence of a lord who had managed the surrounding land and tenant farms. Now it had been turned into a luxurious hotel and was also used for exclusive events.
Liliana knew it too.
‘I’ve been too.’ She nodded. ‘I went there for a photo shoot, but we were mainly on the grounds. The old manor’s beautiful.’
‘Would you like to go now?’ Rafiq suggested. ‘We could have a drink, something to eat.’
‘Oh!’
She must have looked so surprised or so shocked that he immediately moved to reassure her.
‘Liliana, I didn’t mean to cause alarm. I’m not asking you on a date or anything.
I’ve already told you I don’t do all that.
I just…’ He met her eyes then, and perhaps he too was a little surprised by things. ‘I was enjoying talking to you.’
‘And me,’ she agreed and nodded and then gave him a nice smile. ‘I’d love to go for a drink.’
Just a drink, mind—she certainly couldn’t afford to eat there!
‘It’s a bit of a walk—I’ll arrange a car.’ It wasn’t just the distance; Rafiq ought to let Salar know where he was. But then he thought of his security detail scrambling to get here and did not want the invasion and was thankful when she declined his suggestion.
‘No need for that,’ Liliana said. ‘I just have to change my shoes.’ She dived into her huge bag and held on to a bench as she switched her stilettoes to flats. ‘Remind me to change them back before we go in.’
They were soon walking up a long lane with just the occasional vehicle swishing past and still they spoke, about nothing much at first, and then about so many things.
‘Does your father have other children?’
She nodded. ‘I’ve never met them though.’
‘Would you like to?’
‘No, and I’m quite sure they don’t want anything to do with me. It all got rather messy. Do you have siblings?’
‘A brother,’ Rafiq said, and it properly dawned then that she didn’t know him. Usually people he met, even for the first time, knew his status, but with Liliana he had a clean slate. He didn’t have to reveal anything, yet so pleasant was the company, he did. ‘Khalid. He died quite some time ago.’
‘Oh,’ she looked up. ‘How old was he when he died?’
‘Twenty-five.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Liliana blinked. ‘Were you close?’
People really didn’t delve into his private life, not even lovers. His status or sometimes a glare was enough to hold them back, but Rafiq discharged neither bullet. ‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘I thought we were close, but…’
When he didn’t finish answering Liliana looked up, taking in his pensive features, wondering what had happened but choosing not to pry. ‘You miss him?’
And from anyone else and on any other day, that question might annoy him but he stopped walking for a moment and so did she.
Her not knowing Khalid, and her lack of assumption helped.
Did he miss him?
For the first time he could almost separate the memory of his brother from Khalid’s betrayal…
‘Yes.’
Rafiq missed him dreadfully. He missed Khalid and his matter-of-fact ways. Missed texting him with his times when he completed a race. And he missed teasing him, because Khalid, who had been so unsentimental about the edicts and marriage, had fallen so deeply in love.
God, how he missed him.
It was why he’d headed out, why he’d been riding the tube, why he was now walking in drizzling rain just to forget…
First though, Rafiq knew, he had to remember.