Kitabı oku: «Her Desert Knight»

One

Going to her favorite bookshop in Salalah was like stepping back into a chapter of Arabian Nights. To get there, Dani had to walk through the local souk, past the piles of carrots and cabbages, the crates of dates and figs, winding her way through knots of old men wearing their long dishdashas and turbans just as they must have done a thousand years ago.

Then there was the store itself. The double doorway of time-scarred wood was studded with big metal rivets, like the entrance to a castle. Only a small section opened, and she had to step over the bottom part of the door into the smoky darkness of the shop. The smoke was incense, eternally smoldering away in an antique brass burner that hung in one corner, mingled with pipe smoke from the elderly store owner’s long, carved pipe. He sat in the corner, poring over the pages of a thick, leather-bound tome, as if he maintained the shop purely for his own reading pleasure. It was entirely possible that the store was a front of some kind, since there rarely seemed to be any customers, but that didn’t diminish Dani’s enjoyment of its calming atmosphere.

The books were piled on the floor like the oranges in the stalls outside. Fiction, poetry, treatises on maritime navigation, advice on the training of the camel: all were in Arabic and nearly all were at least fifty years old and bound in leather, darkened by the passage of many greasy fingers over their smooth, welcoming surfaces. She’d found several gems here, and always entered the shop with a prickle of anticipation, like someone setting out on a journey where anything could happen.

Today, as she stepped over the threshold and filled her lungs with the fragrant air, she noticed an unfamiliar visitor in the picturesque gloom of the interior. The light from one tiny, high window cast its diffuse glow over the tall, broad-shouldered figure of a young man.

Dani stiffened. She didn’t like the idea of a man in her djinn-enchanted realm of magic books. She didn’t like men anywhere at all, lately, but she gave the shop owner a pass as he was quiet and kind and gave her big discounts.

She resolved to slip past the stranger on her way to the stack she’d started to investigate yesterday: a new pile of well-thumbed poetry books the shop owner had purchased at a bazaar in Muscat. She’d almost bought one yesterday, and she’d resolved overnight that today she wasn’t leaving without it.

The interloper was incongruously dressed in Western clothing—jeans and a white shirt, to be exact—with expensive-looking leather loafers on his feet. She eyed him suspiciously as she walked past, then regretted it when he glanced up. Dark blue eyes ringed by jet-black lashes peered right into hers. He surveyed her down the length of an aristocratic nose, and the hint of a smile tugged at his wide, arrogant-looking mouth. A younger, stupider Dani might have thought he was “cute,” but she was not so foolish now. She braced herself in case he had the nerve to speak to her.

But he didn’t. Slightly deflated, and kicking herself for thinking that anyone would want to speak to her at all, she headed for her familiar pile of books. Only to discover that the one she wanted was missing. She checked the stack twice. Then the piles on either side of it. In the dim, smoky atmosphere, it wasn’t easy to read the faded spines, the gold-leaf embossing worn off by countless eager hands. Maybe she’d missed it.

Or maybe he was reading it.

She glanced over her shoulder, then jerked her head back when she discovered that the strange man was staring right at her. Alarm shot through her. Had he been watching her the whole time? Or had he just turned around at the exact same moment she had? She was annoyed to find her heart pounding beneath the navy fabric of her traditional garb.

“Are you looking for this book?” His low, velvety male voice made her jump, and she cursed herself for being so on edge.

He held out the book she’d been searching for. A 1930s edition of Majnun Layla by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, with a faded green leather binding and elaborate gold tooling.

“You speak English.” The first words out of her mouth took her by surprise. She’d intended to say yes, but her brain short-circuited. She hadn’t heard anyone speak English since she’d come back here from New Jersey three months ago. She’d begun to wonder if she’d ever use her hard-won language skills again.

He frowned and smiled at the same time. “Yes. I didn’t even realize I was speaking English. I guess I’ve spent too much time in the States lately. Or maybe my gut instinct told me you speak it, too.”

“I lived in the U.S. for a few years myself.” She felt flustered. His movie-star looks were disconcerting, but she tried not to judge a book by its cover. She cleared her throat. “And yes, I mean, that is the book I was looking for.”

“What a shame. I was about to buy it.” He still spoke in English. His features and coloring looked Omani, but his Western clothing and ocean-colored gaze gave him a hint of exoticism. “You were here first.” She shrugged, and tried to look as if she didn’t care.

“I think not. If you knew it was here and were looking for it, clearly you were here first.” Amusement danced in his unusual blue eyes. “Have you read it?”

“Oh, yes. It’s a classic. I’ve read it several times.”

“What’s it about?”

“It’s a tragic love story.” How could he not know that? Maybe he didn’t even read Arabic. He had a strange accent. British, maybe.

“Sometimes I think all love stories are tragic. Does anyone really live happily ever after?”

“I don’t know. My own experience hasn’t been very encouraging.” As soon as she spoke she was shocked at herself. She’d resolved to keep her private torments secret.

“Mine, either.” He smiled slightly. “Maybe that’s why we like to read a tragic love story where everyone dies in the end, so our own disastrous efforts seem less awful by comparison.” The light in his eyes was kind, not mocking. “Did you come back here to get away from someone?”

“I did.” She swallowed. “My husband—ex-husband. I hope I never see him again.” She probably shouldn’t reveal so much to a total stranger. Divorce was rare and rather scandalous in Oman.

“Me, too.” His warm smile relaxed her. “I live in the States myself but I come to Oman whenever I need to step off the carousel and feel some firm ground beneath my feet. It’s always reassuring how little has changed here while I’ve been gone.”

“I found that alarming when I first came back. If it wasn’t for the cars and cell phones we could still be in the Dark Ages. My dad and brothers don’t like me leaving the house without a male relative to escort me. What a joke! After I lived in America for nearly nine years.”

He smiled. “The culture shock can be jarring. I’ve been living in L.A. for the last four years. It’s nice to meet someone else who’s in the same predicament. Would you like to go down the road for a coffee?”

She froze. A man asking you out for coffee was a proposition. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? Do you think your father and brothers would disapprove?”

“I’m sure they would.” Her heart pounded beneath her conservative dress. Some mad reckless part of her wanted to go with him and drink that coffee. Luckily she managed to wrestle the urge under control.

“Let me at least buy you this book.” He turned and headed for the shop owner. She’d forgotten all about him, ensconced in his own world in the farthest corner of the store. He showed no sign of having heard their conversation.

She wanted to protest and insist on buying the book herself, but by the time she pulled herself together the store owner was already wrapping it in brown paper and it would have been awkward. She didn’t want to make a fuss.

“Thank you.” She accepted the package with a pinched smile. “Perhaps I should buy you a coffee to thank you for your generous present.” The book wasn’t cheap. And if she were paying, it wasn’t a date, right? She was twenty-seven years old. Hardly a blushing girl. She could share a coffee with a fellow English speaker to pass a dull afternoon. Her pulse accelerated as she waited for his response, torn between hoping he’d say yes, and praying that he’d say no.

“That would be very kind of you.” His gaze wasn’t very wolfish. He couldn’t help being so handsome. Women probably misinterpreted his perfectly ordinary gestures of friendliness out of wishful thinking. She wasn’t so foolish.

They stepped out into the fierce afternoon sun and walked down a long block to a row of modern shops, including a fairly new café. It had hip westernized décor, which was strangely reassuring and made her feel less like she was about to commit a massive social faux pas.

He pulled out her chair and she settled herself into it, arranging her traditional dress. Then she realized that she didn’t even know his name. She glanced about, wanting to make sure no one could overhear her. The attendant was gathering menus by the bar, far enough away to be out of earshot. “I’m Daniyah....” She hesitated, her ex-husband’s last name—McKay—on the tip of her tongue. She suddenly decided not to use it anymore. But using her father’s last name, Hassan, which she’d given up when she married against his will, didn’t feel right either. “But you can call me Dani.”

“Quasar.” He didn’t say his surname, either. Maybe it was better that way. They were casual acquaintances, nothing more. And he was even more fearfully good-looking in real daylight, with a strong jaw and tousled hair that added to his rakish appearance.

She glanced away quickly. Her blood heated just looking at this man. “I’ll have a coffee with milk.”

He ordered, in expert Arabic, without looking at the menu. “Me, too. Though I suppose we should be drinking it black, with some dates, now that we’re back in Oman.”

She laughed. There was something about the way he said it that made her feel like his coconspirator. “It’s terrible. I find myself longing for a burrito or a foot-long sub.”

“Are you going back to America soon?”

His question took her by surprise. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’m doing.” It was a relief to be honest. Maybe because he was a stranger, she felt she could let down her mask a little. “I came here in a hurry and now I seem to be becalmed.”

“Becalmed?” He tilted his head and surveyed her with those striking gray-blue eyes.

“It’s an old-fashioned term for a ship that’s stuck out at sea because there’s no wind to fill her sails.” Maybe Quasar was the wind she’d been waiting for? This afternoon was already the most excitement she’d had since her arrival three months ago.

“So you need a bracing gust to set you on your way again.”

“Something like that.” She let the gleam in his eyes light a little spark of...something in her chest. The way he looked at her suggested that he found her attractive. Was that even possible? People used to tell her she was pretty, but her ex made her feel like the ugliest loser in the world. Right now she felt odd and frumpy in the loose dress and pants she’d worn to look modest and tasteful, but Quasar didn’t even seem to notice it. He related to her as easily as if she were in her familiar jeans and T-shirt. “Why are you here?” she asked.

“Visiting my brother and his family. And trying to reconnect with my culture. I don’t want to stay away too long and have my roots shrivel away.” His wry grin was disarming. Just looking at him, seeing the way his white shirt and jeans showed off a powerful physique, was stirring feelings she’d almost forgotten existed.

“If you want to reconnect with your roots, you should wear a dishdasha.” She could barely picture him in the long, white traditional garment, with its knotted sash and ornamental dagger at the waist.

He raised a brow. “Do you think I’d look better in one?” He was flirting.

She shrugged. “No. I’m only wearing this because I don’t want to scandalize my family. I’ve done that enough already.”

Curiosity flared in his gaze, as she’d predicted. “You don’t look like the type to cause a scandal.”

“Then I guess my disguise is working. I’m trying to fit in and fly under the radar.”

“You’re too beautiful to ever do that.” He spoke softly, so the waiter couldn’t hear him, but his words shocked her. She blinked at his bold flattery.

“Even traditional clothing allows your face to show,” he said. “You’d have to hide that to go unnoticed.”

“Or just never leave the house, which is what my father would prefer. He has no idea I’m out here right now. He thinks I’m at home writing poetry in my childhood bedroom. I’m twenty-seven and divorced, for crying out loud, and I have to sneak around like a naughty teenager.”

Quasar laughed and looked as if he were going to say something, but just then the waiter brought their coffees. Dani watched Quasar’s sensual mouth as he sipped his drink and she cursed the shimmer of heat that flared under her voluminous clothing.

“I think you are ready for that breeze to catch your sails,” he said at last.

“I don’t know what I’m ready for, to be totally honest. My divorce just became final.”

He lifted his coffee cup. “Congratulations.”

She giggled. “That sounds so wrong, but it does feel like something to celebrate.”

“We all make mistakes. I’m thirty-one and I’ve never been married. That has to be a mistake of some kind. At least that’s what my two happily married brothers keep insisting.”

“They think you should find someone and settle down?”

“Absolutely. In fact I’m not sure they’ll let me leave Oman until I’m legally wed.”

She laughed. Since his brothers would not be likely to encourage him to marry a divorcée, this put them on a “friends only” footing that was rather reassuring. She could admire him without worrying that anything could come of it. But sadness trickled through her at the realization that she was damaged goods, and safely off-limits. “How do you feel about the idea?”

“Petrified.” He looked rueful. “If I was cut out for marriage, I’d probably have plunged into it by now.”

“You just haven’t met the right person yet.”

“That’s what they keep telling me.”

“It’s better to wait for the right person than to have to extricate yourself after you’ve chosen the wrong one.” He must have no shortage of women trailing after him. In fact two girls had sat down at a table near them and she could see them glancing over and whispering to each other.

Then again, maybe they were whispering about her. She didn’t know how much had gotten out about her...situation. When she’d first arrived she assumed that no one would remember her or care what she’d been doing, but she’d forgotten what a small town Salalah could be, at least when it came to gossip.

She stiffened, and sipped her coffee. “What kind of business are you in?”

“Any kind of business that grabs my attention.” His gaze stayed riveted on her face. The way he stared at her was disconcerting. She wasn’t used to it. “I love to jump into a new field and be one of the first to stake out unknown territory.”

“You make it sound like mountain climbing.”

“Sometimes it is. Three-dimensional printing technology was my most recent fascination. Printers that can render a solid object. It’s going to revolutionize manufacturing. Just imagine, you could design and print out a new pair of shoes right in your own home.”

“That sounds fun.”

“The technology is even being used to print human tissue for operations like skin grafts.”

“Very cool.”

“That’s what I thought, so I invested in a start-up and helped them develop the technology. I just sold my share.”

“Why? It sounds like a fascinating industry.”

“I was ready to move on. Try something new.”

“You’re restless.”

“Always.”

So that’s why he wasn’t married. He got bored easily, then moved on to someone new and more exciting.

“What do you do?” He leaned close enough that she imagined she could smell his scent. But she couldn’t. The aroma of coffee was too strong. Why was she thinking about the way he smelled? She must be attracted to him. That would explain the quickening of her pulse and the way she was growing warm all over.

This was breaking news. She didn’t think she’d ever be attracted to a man again. At least that part of her was still alive, not that it was likely to do her much good.

His eyes glittered with amusement and for a frightening second she wondered if he could read her mind. “Is your occupation a secret? Do you work for the CIA?”

Her face heated. She’d been so busy noticing her brain’s reaction to him that she’d forgotten he asked a question. “I’m an art historian, and most recently worked at Princeton. The ancient Near East is my area of expertise.”

“Am I right in guessing that Oman counts as the Near East?”

She nodded. “It’s a large area, and was the seat of many great civilizations.”

“Mesopotamia, Sumer, the ziggurats at Ur-Nammu.” Tiny smile lines formed at the corners of his wide, sensual mouth.

“Most people think of ancient Egypt.”

“Do I sound like a show-off?”

“A little.” She fought a smile. His arrogance and confidence had an effortless quality that was oddly appealing. “But I won’t hold it against you.”

“Thanks. You should see the museum my brother’s put together. He built a hotel on the site of an old Silk Road city.”

“That sounds like an art historian’s nightmare.”

“You’d like it! There wasn’t much left, just a few stumps of walls out in the middle of an old oil field, and he’s recreated it as a luxury retreat, preserving as much as possible of the original.”

“Your whole family sounds rather unusual.”

He laughed. “Maybe we are. We all march to our own beat. The archaeologists who excavated the site found some pottery and small figurines. You might find them interesting.”

“I’m sure I would. Do you know what era they’re from?”

“No clue. Maybe we can visit the place together. It’s only a short drive outside Salalah. We could go tomorrow.”

She froze. There was no way she could go for a drive anywhere with a total stranger. Even a seemingly handsome, charming and educated one. She didn’t really know anything about him. For all she knew, he could be making everything up. And besides, her father and brothers would forbid it. “I can’t.”

“Maybe another time, then. Let me give you my phone number.”

She glanced at the two girls at the nearby table. Their dark eyes were still darting to her and her companion. They’d be sure to notice. But what harm could come of it if she never called him?

Her heart pounded while she watched him write the number in an assured hand on the back of the blue paper napkin. “I’m staying at my brother’s hotel here in Salalah. It’s right on the beach. Where do you live?”

She swallowed. This was getting dangerously personal. “Not far.” No one knew she was here, which was by design. “I really should be getting back.” She shoved the napkin into her pocket.

“I’ll walk you home.”

“Oh, no. There’s no need. You stay here and relax.” She put down some cash to pay for the coffee. He thrust it back to her with a shocked expression, and she decided—once again—to avoid a scene by accepting his hospitality. “Thanks for the coffee.” He rose when she did and for a split second she had an insane thought he might try to kiss her. Her whole body braced as adrenaline rushed through her. Then he thrust out his hand and she shook it. “And thanks for the book.”

“Call me. I’d like to go see the artifacts with you.”

She picked up her new book, then turned and walked out of the café as fast as she could. Most likely the tension and excitement was all in her head—and her body—but she couldn’t be sure. Either way, it was exhilarating and she felt more alive than she had in months. Years, even. And all because of a man she had no business even talking to.

She walked home quickly. Her dad wouldn’t get home for a while but she wanted to arrive before her brothers came back from their respective schools. Her younger brother, Khalid, usually came straight home to do his homework, but her older brother, Jalil, often stayed late in the technical college library to pore over the designs for his latest engineering project. She liked to make them a snack before they returned, but today she wouldn’t have time. In fact she barely had time to put her new book in her bedroom and shove the napkin with Quasar’s number into a drawer before the front door opened and Khalid crashed in and flung his book bag down in the hallway before heading into the kitchen.

“I took a nap,” she fibbed, as her brother’s eyes scanned the empty kitchen counters. Maybe they were growing too dependent on her. She didn’t plan to be here forever.

“A nap? In the middle of the day? You’re going soft.”

What would he say if she revealed that she’d let a strange man buy her a book—and a coffee? He’d probably question her sanity.

She read her new book for a while before she heard her father’s distinctive rap on the door. Even though the door was open he liked someone to let him in. She pulled back the latch, forcing a bright smile. “Hello, Father.” She kissed his cheek. As usual he brushed it off as if she were a fly. “How was your day?”

“Same as usual.” His gruff voice and glum expression rarely softened. “Too many fools in this business. Always looking for new cheaper ways to do things that have worked just fine for decades.” An engineer, he was often irritated by new technologies and methods. He asked her brother about his schoolwork, as usual. He never asked her about her day, which was a plus today since she couldn’t have said anything truthful about it.

“Help Faizal prepare an excellent supper tonight, dear.” Faizal was the cook who came over to make dinner every night. Her father fixed his beady gaze on her. “A friend of mine will be joining us.” He looked her up and down in a way that made her stomach muscles clench.

“That’s great. Is he a friend from work?”

“Not from the firm, no. He’s a supplier. Rivets and nuts.” He squinted at her for a moment. “Wear a color that suits your complexion more.”

She glanced down at the navy blue she’d worn all day. “Why?”

“That blue is rather draining on you. Something brighter would be more attractive.”

Dani stood speechless. This was the first time her father had expressed an opinion on her clothes. Was he planning to set her up with his friend? She wanted to ask but didn’t dare.

She’d assumed he saw her as such a social pariah that it wouldn’t be worth the bother of trying to marry her off again. Maybe he’d grown tired of having her under his roof and hoped to find someone who would take her off his hands. She hurried to her room, wondering if she could find an even less flattering color to wear.

Quasar hadn’t thought she looked washed out in the blue. The way he’d looked at her had made her feel as if she’d been glowing like a spring flower. His daring gaze made her feel desirable—and it made her feel desire. The memory of it made her blood hum.

Alone in her room she let herself dream about him for a moment. What would it be like to accompany him to his brother’s hotel/museum or whatever it was? People had said her ex-husband was good-looking—she’d thought so herself until she grew to understand his true character—but he had nothing on Quasar’s dramatic features and playful charm.

Of course, the man she’d just met was undoubtedly used to women drooling over him. He was probably shocked that she refused his suggestion that they meet again. If she were in America, without traditional rules to consider, would she have said yes?

No. She had to be honest. She wouldn’t have accepted an invitation from a strange man who gave every impression of being a playboy dilettante of the worst kind. Let him go charm someone else into making a fool of herself with him. Dani Hassan wasn’t making any more mistakes in the man department.

Changing into a dark forest-green dress with silver edging, she went back to the kitchen to help the cook prepare a traditional chicken dish with rice and vegetables. She wasn’t sure how the elderly Faizal felt about her assistance—Dani suspected he’d just as soon she butt out and leave him to his business—but joining him in the kitchen gave her an activity to look forward to, when there was precious little to do around the house all day.

She arranged the meal in the dining room, on the carpeted floor, Omani style, with more attention to detail than usual—artfully folded napkins, the prettier glasses—and waited with grim curiosity for her father’s “friend” to arrive. When he finally did, she hung back and waited in her room with headphones on, pretending to listen to music, until her brothers had been introduced and one of them was sent for her. The sight of her prospective beau made her heart sink.

“Daniyah, I’m delighted to introduce you to Mr. Samir Al Kabisi.” He was at least sixty, with thinning gray hair combed over a freckled scalp and a bulbous nose like a misshapen potato. His eyes were yellowish and his teeth crooked as he spoke the traditional greeting.

He didn’t extend his hand, so she bowed her head and attempted a smile. Did her dad seriously consider this man a potential partner for her? He must have a very low opinion of her worth.

On the other hand, maybe she had too high an opinion of herself. She didn’t know this man at all. He could be perfectly nice and here she was judging him entirely on his looks—or lack of them. Wouldn’t a kind and sensible man with a homely appearance be better than a gorgeous and dashing jerk?

She’d prefer the company of a good book.

“Do come in and have some coffee.” She kept her smile fixed while she served the fragrant hot drink in the ornate brass urn they kept for visitors. Her father engaged their guest in riveting conversation about the nuts and rivets industry, and he responded with brief comments in the rasp of a heavy smoker.

Dani wished she could go hide in her room. They stumbled through dinner with innocuous conversation about the city and a recent burst of new construction. After dinner her father leaned forward and pinned her with his gaze. “Mr. Al Kabisi was widowed seven years ago.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Uh-oh. Seemed like her father was finally getting to the point.

“He’s mourned his wife for many years but I’ve persuaded him that perhaps it is time to set the shroud of grief aside.”

Dani swallowed.

“Boys, come out into the garden with me for a few minutes.” Her brothers looked perplexed for a moment, especially Khalid, who probably wanted to go play with his Xbox, but they got with the program and followed her dad out of the room.

Alone in the room with this man more than twice her age, Dani had no idea what to say. He stood and cleared his throat. “I see no shame in a woman divorcing a man who is cruel to her.”

Her heart clenched. He must know her humiliating story. “That’s kind of you.” Now what was she supposed to say? She did see considerable shame in marrying a man old enough to be her father, whom she had less than nothing in common with, out of desperation. And she had no intention of doing so.

“I own my own business and my house. My three sons live and work in Muscat with their families, so I am all alone here. My income is—”

A desperate need to interrupt his sales pitch overcame her and she rose to her feet. “You’re very kind but I really don’t think—”