Sold To The Sheikh: His Indecent Proposal (An Interracial Sheikh Romance Novel) (2 page)

Right when she would have
pulled through the four-way stop, Mia heard a squeal behind her—far
louder than her brakes—and looked in her rear-view mirror in time
to see a hulking, neon yellow sports car bearing down on her.
Before she could even think of taking evasive action, the car
lurched, and Mia jolted forward, the seatbelt slamming into her
chest, reeling her back hard enough to make her teeth snap together
in her head. Mia let out an involuntary yelp, her hands tightening
on the wheel as the car shook from the force of the impact and her
heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline flooding through her
body.

She shook as the movement
of the car stopped, her blood roaring in her ears, her breaths
coming fast and short. “What the hell?” she said to no one at all.
Shaken, Mia quickly took an inventory of herself; she couldn’t see
blood anywhere, so at least she hadn’t been seriously injured. Her
neck felt strange, but she didn’t exactly hurt. She was
lightheaded, a little disoriented, but otherwise she thought she
was okay.

“Stupid bitch! You ruined
my car!” The words cut through her shock and Mia realized that the
driver that had slammed into her from behind was already out of his
car. The impact had driven her car through the four-point stop, but
just barely. With shaking hands, Mia unbuckled her seat belt and
turned the key in her ignition to shut the car off. Looking in her
rear-view mirror, she saw someone—presumably the other
driver—stalking back and forth, throwing his hands up in the air
every so often. The adrenaline surged in her system once more as
she reluctantly opened the door. She swallowed against the
tightness in her throat and stepped out of her car.

Gathering up the tatters
of her courage, Mia stepped cautiously towards the rear of her car.
The driver of the car behind her was still striding around in
almost-circles, muttering and occasionally shouting in anger at no
one in particular. He was tall and slim, his black hair brushed
back from his forehead, and in at a glance, Mia thought the man had
had at least one parent from an Asian country. He was dressed in a
sharply tailored suit that was probably worth more than her monthly
pay, and up close the car he had slammed into hers—barely
dented—was even more obviously expensive than she had originally
thought. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice cracking
slightly.

The man wheeled around.
“Am I okay? You destroyed my car you fucking idiot. Do you have any
idea how much it will cost to fix this?” The man gestured at the
barely tended front end of his car. Mia cringed, glancing at the
much more damaged back bumper of her own car. The turn signal had
shattered, and her trunk would never be the same again.

“You’re the one who hit
me!” she said, anger stirring up inside of her.

“I hit you? What were you,
asleep at the wheel?” the man was moving around in fast, agitated
circles, pacing in front of his car, shaking his head. “It wasn’t a
light, it was a damned stop sign, all you had to do was look and
then go!”

“For your information,”
Mia said, her anger increasing as the man’s tirade became more and
more irrational, “there are almost always cops at this intersection
and they ticket anyone who doesn’t come to a complete stop!” She
looked around, wishing that those very same cops had taken the
opportunity to be there to witness this particular incident. “It’s
not like I can afford a freaking ticket!”

“Can you afford to fix my
car?” the man glanced at Mia’s sedan, scowling. “Your maximum
probably won’t even cover the deductible on getting this
fixed.”

“You. Hit. Me,” Mia
countered. “If anyone is going to pay for this, it’s going to be
you.” She was shaking, adrenaline surging through her veins, making
her heart thunder in her chest. She could feel tears prickling in
her eyes and willed them to stay where they were at least until she
had gotten out of the unpleasant man’s presence; the last thing she
wanted was for him to see her crying.

“I’m going to pay? Bitch,
I have more lawyers than you probably have cats at your house…” Mia
was still looking forlornly at the incredible damage to the back
end of her car when the man’s voice came to a stop.

“I don’t have any cats,”
Mia said absently.

“No, no of course not.”
Mia glanced at the man; where just moments before he’d been
yelling, stomping along the side of the road, explosive in his
anger, now he was watching her with a strange look in his eyes.
“Look, I overreacted, I’m sorry.” Mia stared at the man in
unabashed amazement at the sudden change in his demeanor—and the
apology that came with it.

“It’s—I mean, I can
understand you’re probably shaken up,” Mia said,
shrugging.

“No, no, it’s
unforgiveable,” the man insisted. “It was all my fault; I wasn’t
paying attention, and you’re right about that stop sign.” Mia
blinked.

“I just…” she cleared her
throat. “I’ve seen a lot of people pulled over right here.” Mia
swallowed. “So I try to make sure not to give them an
excuse.”

“That’s smart of you,” the
man said. “How rude of me, I didn’t even get your name.” Mia shook
her head, trying to jolt herself out of the multiple shocks she’d
sustained in the last several minutes.

“Mia,” she said, extending
her hand cautiously towards the man. “Mia Campbell.” The man shook
it.

“Rami al-Hassan,” the man
replied, bowing over her hand and giving it a gentle, barely-there
kiss. “I want to apologize again for ruining your evening with my
stupidity.” Mia extracted her hand from his grip, smiling
nervously.

“It happens,” she said as
graciously as she could. She couldn’t understand what had come over
the man.
Maybe he’s just one of those
moody kind of guys. Maybe he’s having a bad day and this is what
he’s usually like, not the way he was before.

“I insist that you let me
take care of this,” Rami said, gesturing from his car to Mia’s. “It
was my fault, and I should take responsibility for it.” Mia’s eyes
widened as she felt a little wave of relief wash through
her.

“I think that would be
okay,” Mia said, blinking in surprise.

“Please give me your phone
number so I can make the necessary arrangements,” Rami said,
smiling down at her. Mia frowned, trying, in her addled state, to
remember her number. After a moment it came to her and she recited
it, smoothing her hair and clothes nervously. “Do you think you can
make it the rest of the way home?” Mia looked at the damage to her
car; it was all in the hind end, away from the machinery that made
the car run.

“I should be able to make
it,” Mia told him, giving herself a little shake.

“I’ll call you once I’m
able to get some details about having your car fixed,” Rami said,
smiling at her again. “Please let me know if you have any pain or
injuries. I’m so sorry, again.” He took a few steps back and Mia
took her cue to get back into her car. Mia shook her head again as
she walked to the driver’s side door.

She got in and put the key
back into the ignition, still marveling at the sudden change that
had come over the man who’d hit her. “This has been some day,” Mia
muttered to herself as she started the car. Rami’s tires squealed
on the pavement and she watched as his sleek, hulking sports car
darted around her and moved off down the road. Mia shook her head
again, unable to quite believe the whole situation that had just
unfolded, and pulled onto the road proper, making sure she didn’t
end up getting hit a second time as she turned the car—a little
shaky, but still operational—towards her block, and her
home.

TWO

The next afternoon, just as
she was getting ready to leave the school again, Mia’s phone
vibrated in her purse. She pulled it out furtively, glancing around
to make sure none of her students were hanging around outside the
classroom; if one of them saw her talking on the phone they’d no
doubt give her a hard time about it, since she constantly had to
confiscate phones because of the school’s policy about using them
in class. The number that flashed on the screen was completely
unfamiliar and Mia felt a low dread, thinking that it was probably
one of her mother’s debt collectors, calling to follow up on one of
the medical bills.
I thought we had them
at least current—not more than a little late. Didn’t we work out a
payment plan?
Mia took a deep breath,
preparing herself for an aggressive and angry threat about what
would happen to her and to her mother if she didn’t arrange for a
payment.

“Hello?” Mia closed her
eyes, half-cringing already.

“Is this Mia Campbell?” The
voice was strangely familiar, in a surprisingly polite tone.
Well, if it’s a bill collector, at least they’re
going with a polite and friendly opening.

“It is,” Mia said
cautiously.

“I’m so glad to hear your
voice,” the person on the other end of the line said. “This is
Rami—the idiot who ran into you yesterday.” Mia sank down into her
chair, relieved. “Are you still there, Mia?”

“Y-yes, I’m still here,”
she said quickly. “Sorry, I just…it’s been kind of a long day. Did
you need some information from me, something for the claim?” Mia
frowned, reaching into her purse for her wallet; she was sure she
had her insurance ID in there.

“No, no,” Rami said. “I
wanted to let you know that I’ve made arrangements to have your car
repaired.”

“Really? That was fast,”
Mia said, staring down at her desk in surprise. “You must have
great insurance.” On the other end of the line, Rami
laughed.

“Not my insurance,” he
said, and Mia thought she could hear him smiling. “I’ve got a
mechanic downtown who said he would be able to take care of your
car. It’ll be on me—no need for either of us to deal with insurance
companies.” Mia felt a flicker of doubt; her father had cautioned
her, before he passed away, against ever letting someone talk her
into not going through insurance companies.

“Are you sure that’s a
good idea? Isn’t that illegal?”

“No, not at all, just
expensive” Rami said. “But I can afford it, and it makes my life
easier. I’ve already made arrangements for the bills to come to
me—you can call the mechanic to confirm it.” Mia caught her bottom
lip between her teeth and worried it, considering.

“Well, if you’re willing
to pay for it,” she said finally. “I guess I can call the
mechanic.” Rami gave her a phone number and Mia wrote it down on
the inside cover of her notebook.

“I was thinking,” Rami
said, as soon as Mia confirmed that she had the number and would
call the mechanic after they finished talking. “It might take him a
few hours to get your car sorted out. I’d hate for you to be
bored.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me.
I can bring a book,” said Mia hurriedly. “Or—or I’m sure I’ll have
work to do while I wait, it’s no big deal.”

“Or…” Rami said, his voice
wheedling, “I could pick you up, take you out for coffee?” Mia
frowned. That wasn’t what she had expected to hear from the man who
had yelled at her for being an idiot just the day
before.

“I wouldn’t want to put
you out,” Mia said, looking around the classroom as she felt her
cheeks beginning to burn with a blush. “I mean, I’m sure I can
entertain myself fine.”

“It wouldn’t put me out,
not at all,” Rami said. “I’ve a window in my schedule, and I feel
so terrible about berating you yesterday. It would be a pleasure to
buy you a coffee.” Mia swallowed, pressing her lips
together.

“You know,” she said
finally, “I—I think I’ll probably spend the time with my mom. I’ll
have her pick me up at the shop. I’m sure she probably needs me to
help her with errands anyway. But I appreciate the offer, and I’m
so grateful you’re willing to pay for the repairs.”

“Well, if you change your
mind, you have my number now,” Rami said, and Mia was taken aback
at how confident he sounded, despite having just been turned
down.

“I do, and I’m sure that
if I do get bored, I’ll—I’ll call you. Thank you again, Rami, for
taking care of this so quickly.”

“You aren’t in pain, are
you? No sign of injuries? I can speak with a physician, if you
think you need one.”

“No, no,” Mia said,
feeling more than a little uncomfortable. “I’m fine, just a little
bit sore. Nothing a hot bath won’t cure.” She took a breath. “Thank
you again, but I really should call that mechanic to book in before
they close for the day.”

“Of course, of course,”
Rami replied. “I’ll leave you to it. Remember, if you change your
mind…”