The Sheikh's Irresistible Proposal (9 page)

FOURTEEN

Hannah’s performance at The White Rabbit ran over by an hour and Sadiq stayed for the whole thing. At the end, as Hannah came off to a roar of whoops and cheers, he walked to the stage and escorted her back to the limo.

“That was wonderful, Hannah! Probably your best show yet,” he said, meaning every word of it. She had sounded different that night, more soulful, like she was singing more from her heart than she ever had before.

Hannah thanked him and sat back in her seat. She felt like it was her best performance yet, too. And she knew why. She had been a bundle of emotion and nerves when she’d got on stage. She was feeling so many things that she couldn’t describe; the only way to express them was through song. When she’d started singing, all of her fears, worries, and anger had spilled out through the music.

“I think we might be best staying in town for the night since it’s such a long ride back,” Sadiq said.

After several hours traveling and performing, Hannah was spent, and readily agreed to his suggestion.

They drove around for a while looking for a decent place to stay, but could only find a small, basic hotel on the outskirts of town. Naasir pulled up to the main entrance and went in to ask about rooms, returning a moment later with a tight look on his face.

“Sir, they have only one room available. Shall I keep driving?”

Sadiq looked at Hannah. She thought about it a moment. She was so tired, all she wanted to do was get into a cool, air-conditioned room and fall asleep.

“No, it’s fine. We’ll let Hannah have the room,” Sadiq said.

“No, don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I’m sure there’s two beds. Why don’t you come up and you can sleep in there too?” For a moment, Hannah hoped the room only had one bed and that Sadiq would be forced to share with her.
Stop it
, she said to herself.
You’re too tired to be entertaining those kinds of thoughts.

“But where will Naasir sleep?” she asked.

“He sleeps in the car. I think he enjoys the peace and quiet in the back of limo once in a while.” Sadiq smiled at Naasir as he opened the door and they got out.

A few minutes later, Hannah and Sadiq entered the hotel room. Hannah was a little disappointed that it was nothing like the luxurious accommodations she had been enjoying for the previous six weeks, but it didn’t seem to bother Sadiq. Hannah supposed that having grown up with the finest things, slumming it was probably an adventure for him.

They walked in and closed the door behind them. Sadiq flipped on the light, and that’s when they saw it. The room only had one bed. Hannah wondered if her wish had come true. She turned to Sadiq and was about to tell him he could share with her when she noticed he was already at the sofa, moving pillows around.

“Perfect,” he said. “I’ll sleep right here. Will the bed be okay for you?”

Hannah smiled weakly, feeling a twinge of disappointment. “Yes, it’ll be fine,” she said. She threw her bag on the bed as Sadiq fiddled with the air conditioner.

Hannah walked into the bathroom to change into her causal clothes. She heard Sadiq saying things to the air conditioner and then heard a loud rumble as a burst of cold air flooded the bathroom.

When she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, she found Sadiq standing by the window with his shirt open. She almost dropped her washbag when she saw the ripples of muscles on his stomach and his dark, broad chest.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, noticing the bewildered expression on her face.

“Um, no, um, I mean, what’s up with the window?” she asked, quickly darting to the bed and averting her gaze.
Oh my, he looks even better without his shirt.

“The damn thing isn’t working. I called the office but they don’t have a maintenance person on call tonight. We’ll just have to sleep with the window open.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, unable and unwilling to look at him again for fear that she might just throw herself at him. Instead, she tossed her washbag on the chair next to the bed and slipped under the covers. She turned the light out and listened as Sadiq washed up. When he came out, the bathroom light lit up his broad outline as he stood in the doorway, and Hannah wondered again if he would walk to the sofa or over to the bed, and her.

A moment later, he flipped the light off and walked over to the sofa. She heard him sit down on the cushions and then finally settle down.

“Goodnight, Hannah,” he said softly.

“Goodnight,” she said, unable to say his name out loud.

Hannah lay there, trying to sleep but unable to keep her eyes closed. She could hear Sadiq’s breathing from across the room and wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he was thinking about her. Maybe he was wondering if he should join her in the bed. Maybe…

“Is it really hot in here?” Sadiq asked.

Hannah grinned. “Yes, I thought it was just me.”

Sadiq smiled to himself; she was hot, all right. He sat up and scratched his head, trying to think. He looked out of the window and saw the palm trees moving slightly in the streetlight.

“Hey, what do you say we go up on the roof? It will be cooler up there. I can bring the blankets and we can sleep on the rooftop.”

Hannah smiled. She sat up and looked at Sadiq’s dark figure.

“Why not?” she said.

***

A few minutes later, Sadiq and Hannah were up on the rooftop, sprawled out on a pile of blankets under a canopy of stars.

“This is much better,” Sadiq said, pulling the sheet around himself. “I can actually breathe up here.”

“Yeah,” Hannah agreed. “And the stars are amazing.”

They lay in silence for a while, relaxing in the cool air and the comfort of each other’s company.

Hannah couldn’t take it any longer. “Sadiq,” she said quietly.

“Yes,” he answered, still looking up at the stars.

“What do you want to do with your life?”

Sadiq let out a long breath and let his hands rest on his bare chest. He was glad she wasn’t asking him about why he had left so many of her shows. He didn’t know if he could go down that road right now; he didn’t want to ruin such a perfect night.

“Well, I don’t really know,” he said. “Sometimes I look at people like you and I’m jealous.”

“What? Why would you be jealous of me? You’re the one with a driver, a palace, more money than you could ever spend.”

“But you know exactly what you want to do with your life, Hannah. You know what makes you happy. I don’t.”

Hannah thought about that for a minute. Sadiq was right. She did know exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to sing. She had known that for as long as she could remember.

“I guess you’re right,” she said, realizing for the first time just how lucky she was. “But I’d still take the palace, the driver and the money. That would be cool.”

Sadiq laughed and Hannah looked over at him, watching his face soften as he smiled. She let her eyes trace the profile of his strong jaw, his straight nose, his defined chin. Her gaze traveled down to his broad, bare chest and his taught stomach. Then he looked over at her and she quickly turned her face back toward the sky.

Sadiq smiled, knowing exactly what Hannah was looking at.

“But there’s got to be something that you’ve always liked doing, right?” Hannah said.

He looked over at her and watched her lips move as she spoke. Her long red hair spilled out over her shoulders, onto the crisp white sheets. He could stare at her all night. He wanted to pull her in close, breathe her in, kiss her and tell her how he felt about her.

“Music,” he said nonchalantly as he turned to face the stars again. “I’ve always loved finding new talent and helping up-and-coming artists get discovered. I met a few hip-hop acts out in California and made some introductions for them. I did it as a favor really, but I found that I really enjoyed being the middle-man. So I guess that would be—”

“An agent, or a manager!” Hannah said. “That’s exactly what they do. They take talent and producers and put them together!”

“Well, maybe that.”

“So why don’t you just do it? You’ve already got the money to get started. And you certainly have the connections—you could even start your own record label!”

Sadiq let out a sigh. “Maybe, I’m just not sure…”

“Not sure of what?” Hannah asked.

Sadiq propped himself up on his side and looked at her. “Not sure I’d ever find anyone as talented as you again.” Sure, it was cheesy, but he smiled as he watched her face light up.

“Well, I’d have to agree with you there. But don’t give up, Sadiq. That’s what my dad taught me. Never give up. I’ve always had a fear of being poor. We grew up with some money and then lost it, so ever since then, I’ve been afraid. But I don’t let that stop me. In fact, I work harder because of it.”

Sadiq laid back down and thought about what Hannah had said.

Hannah rolled onto her side. “So, I say you go for it. What’s holding you back?”

Sadiq looked up at the stars and blinked. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. He had never talked like this with a woman before. In fact, he had never talked like this with anyone before. He felt so at ease with Hannah.

“I guess I’m scared,” he said softly. He was afraid Hannah might judge him, but when he looked over he saw she was looking at him with nothing but kindness and compassion.

“I’m scared of failing,” he said, finally letting go of the words that had held him hostage for so long.

Hannah knew that wasn’t an easy thing for Sadiq to say. She watched his face as he let the words go. His eyes welled up with tears and she wanted to lean in and kiss him more than anything. But she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of them. She only had three more nights left in El-Shakanish; she was so close to going home without crossing that line.

“Yeah, I get that,” she said, falling back on the sheets. She reached over and found Sadiq’s hand and took it in hers. He smiled at her and pulled her in close and they closed their eyes, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

FIFTEEN

Hannah spent the next two nights playing back-to-back gigs at clubs in towns not far from the palace. Sadiq arrived at both performances after she did and left before she finished, and whatever closeness Hannah had felt between them that night at the hotel appeared to be gone. Or, she hoped, Sadiq was just scared of getting too close, especially since she would be leaving in a few days’ time.

The night before Hannah was scheduled to fly home, Sadiq made plans for the two of them to enjoy a celebratory dinner on the rooftop of the palace. Hannah accepted the invitation and spent the evening wondering what to expect. Sadiq was so hard to read, hot one moment and cold the next. There were so many things about him that she didn’t understand, and she just wished he would trust her enough to confide in her.

At seven, Naasir came to Hannah’s door at to escort her up to the rooftop. He smiled at her, complimenting her again on how pretty she looked. Hannah blushed at his kindness and curtseyed to acknowledge the compliment.

Hannah’s actions made Naasir smile even more. With laughter in his eyes, he reached his arm out to her and the two of them walked down the palace hallway to the elevator that led to the roof. Once at the elevator, Naasir pressed the button and patted Hannah’s hand.

“Well, Miss Green, enjoy your dinner,” he said as the doors swooshed open.

Hannah looked at him, surprised. “What? You’re not coming up with me?”

Naasir shook his head. “No, ma’am. I am not. Now go, enjoy yourself.”

He scooted Hannah into the waiting elevator and smiled kindly as the doors closed, leaving her alone with her nervous thoughts. When the doors opened again, Hannah stepped out into the evening air and looked at the scene waiting for her.

The table they had eaten at before had been transformed into something out of a romantic movie. Tea lights hung from the large sun shade, making the underside twinkle in the light breeze. The table was covered in a royal blue cloth and sparkling silver and white place settings. Two large glasses filled with bubbling ginger ale sat next to their plates. And standing to the side, wearing tailored suit pants and a fitted dress shirt, open at the collar, was a smiling and adorably handsome Sadiq.

“Welcome to your end-of-tour dinner,” he said, with a smile on his face.

Hannah held her hands to her mouth in shock as she walked over to the table. Her skirt flitted around her knees and the ruffles on the cap shoulders of her shirt danced in the breeze.

Sadiq was in awe at how stunning she looked. It was as if all of the hard work of the past six weeks had washed away and she was finally able to fully relax. His heart ached a little, wishing she could stay longer. He would love to spend more time with her without work interfering. But, he was still afraid, of so many things. Sadiq shoved the thought out of his mind and focused on Hannah and the dinner that awaited them.

“Miss Green,” he said as he pulled her chair out for her.

Hannah looked up and smiled at his gorgeous face. She sat down and caught a whiff of his musky cologne as he put his arms on the chair behind her and pushed it in gently.

She looked down at the empty plates in front of her and then to the side where a large serving tray awaited.

“Maala isn’t serving us tonight?” she asked with curiosity.

Sadiq walked over to the cart and opened it, revealing mounds of food and delicious smells that tickled Hannah’s senses.

“No, she isn’t. She didn’t cook for us tonight, either.” Sadiq lifted Hannah’s soup bowl off the table and brought it over to the serving tray.

Hannah watched with amusement. “You mean to say, you cooked this?”

Good-looking, rich, funny, and he could cook? He was killing her, now. Hannah was glad she was leaving in the morning, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to resist her feelings any longer. She was barely holding on as it was.

“Well,” she said, trying to keep things light. “Aren’t you the mysterious one. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?”

Sadiq placed the piping hot soup in front of her and Hannah inhaled deeply. A mixture of curry, ginger and other spices filled her senses, warming her from the inside out. She picked up her spoon, dipped it into the soup and brought it to her mouth, savoring the rich, full flavor as she closed her eyes.

Sadiq filled his bowl and sat down across from her, watching with anticipation. “Well?” he said. “What do you think?”

Hannah opened her eyes and looked at him as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Are you sure Maala didn’t make this?”

The Sheikh cocked his head to the side. “Ha, yes I’m sure.”

Hannah gave him a half smile and then filled her spoon again. “It’s delicious. Really, Sadiq. I can’t wait to try whatever’s next.”

They talked about the tour and how successful it had been as they ate the meal Sadiq had prepared. Towards the end, as he cleared away the dishes and poured coffee from the carafe, she felt herself beginning to get sad. The evening was winding down and that meant her trip was, too.

“Now, before you go,” Sadiq said, for the first time making reference to the fact that this would be their last evening together. “I have something for you.”

Hannah felt her heart skip in her chest.
Did he buy me a gift? Did he get a huge diamond ring designed especially for me and now he’s finally going to tell me he loves me?

He reached down under the table cloth and pulled out a flat, square package, wrapped in gold foil paper and tied with a simple white ribbon. On top of it was a piece of paper folded in half.

Hannah scrunched her face up as he handed it to her. Was it possible to get a huge diamond ring in a box like this? She doubted it.

“Open it,” Sadiq said with childlike enthusiasm. He was smiling from ear to ear.

Hannah took the package and pulled the piece of paper out from under the ribbon. She unfolded it and sat up straighter in her chair, looking down at the check with unbelieving eyes as she read the amount it had been written out for.

Sadiq watched her reaction and smiled even wider.

Hannah looked up at him with the largest eyes he had ever seen. “Sadiq?”

“I told you the tour was a success. You were a success. And you are worth every penny.”

Hannah didn’t know what to say; she couldn’t believe that she was holding onto a check for a million dollars, twice the amount she had been promised.

She set the check down on the table and sat back in her chair, her mind spinning. A million dollars. The things she could do with that kind of money. She could pay off all her debt, get a real apartment, with a real terrace, focus purely on her art without having to worry about paying the bills. No, wait, she could buy a studio and record her own songs. She tried to think clearly but the rooftop started to spin.

“Are you okay?” Sadiq said.

“Yes,” Hannah said as she put both her hands on the table to steady herself. “I’m just…”

“Here,” Sadiq said, walking over to her and filling her water glass. “Drink this. I know, it’s a lot to take in. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Hannah just nodded and took the glass into her shaking hands. She drank down a few gulps and then set the glass back on the table. The rooftop was coming back into focus and she could almost see clearly again.

“Better?” Sadiq asked as he knelt by her side. She could smell his cologne and thought yes, that alone made it better.

She looked over at him and nodded, before realizing that her hand was resting on the square package that the check had been tucked into. She held it up and looked at Sadiq with a questioning face.

“Oh no,” he laughed. “There’s no check in there. This one’s safe.”

Hannah nodded slowly, then pulled the package close and began to open it. She pulled off the ribbon and slipped her finger under the foil paper, ripping it open gently to reveal a CD case with a picture of herself, in the maroon mermaid dress, on the front. She turned the case over and saw all of the songs from one of her sets listed on the back.

He had recorded one of her performances and made a CD of it just for her. No one had ever done that for her before. She had been recorded in the past, of course, but normally it was by audience members on their cellphones. No one had ever taken the time to take a picture of her, a darned good picture at that, and put it on the cover of what looked like a professionally-produced album.

Hannah was speechless. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She looked over at Sadiq. His face was soft and kind and his eyes were filled with happiness. She reached over and touched his face, then leaned in and kissed him on both cheeks, although she wanted to do so much more. He held her hand against his cheek for a moment and then abruptly pulled away.

Sadiq was thrilled he had been able to make Hannah happy. That was all he wanted to do. But her reaction to the gift, her touch, her lips, they were all just a little too much for him, and he knew he had to take a step back. After all, she would be leaving tomorrow. And he still wasn’t sure how she felt about him.

Hannah noticed his reaction and realized that she had crossed a line. They were, after all, just business associates. Two professionals working together, nothing more. But there was so much more between them, and Hannah knew it. She knew what she felt for him, and she was pretty sure he felt something for her, too. She could tell by the way his lips would linger on her cheek, the way he stroked her hand when he held it. She could see it in his smile, in his eyes. And yet, for some reason, he couldn’t say it.

Hannah sighed, realizing that this was it. The night was drawing to a close and she would be leaving in the morning. She was grateful to have had the experience, and overwhelmed with gratitude at Sadiq’s generosity, but above all, she was sad. Here she was, with a professional recording of herself, an all-expenses paid trip one of the most beautiful places on earth, and a check for a million dollars, and still she was unhappy.

She let out a long breath and got up from the table. “Thank you,” she said as she gathered up her gifts. “For everything. For the opportunity, for your company, for the dinner, for this,” she said, holding up the CD. “Really, I am so very grateful.”

Hannah looked so upset. Sadiq couldn’t leave her like that. He ran to join her as she walked toward the elevator.

“Hannah,” he said when he caught up with her. “Let me walk you back to your room, please.”

They could both sense the awkwardness between them. She looked up at him with mournful eyes and nodded. The elevator doors opened and when they got out, they walked down the hall to her room in silence.

Fatima was waiting at the door, but when she saw the two of them approaching, she disappeared down the hall into another room. Hannah stopped in front of her door and turned to look at Sadiq.

“So,” she said, unsure how to end things. “Will you be joining me on the ride back to the jet?”

Sadiq shuffled his feet and looked down for a moment. Then his eyes met Hannah’s again and she knew the answer before he spoke.

“Oh, of course not…” she said.

“Hannah, it’s just—”

She cut him off before he could say another word, shaking her head and looking down. She wanted to run into the room and slam the door behind her. She wanted to put something solid between them. Standing this close to him was just too much.

“Please,” he said, knowing this was his last chance to see her smile. He wanted to explain why he couldn’t go with her in the morning. He wanted to tell her that his feelings for her were just too strong. He wanted her to know that if he got in that limo and drove her to the jet, his heart would break if he had to watch her leave. He wanted to tell her all of those things, but he couldn’t. All he could do was reach in to kiss her cheek.

That was it. Hannah couldn’t take it another second. Here he was, coming in for a goodnight kiss, after all his aloofness and coolness?