The Sheikh's Unforgettable Lover (The Sharqi Sheikhs Series Book 1) (8 page)

Kim rushed out of the Sharqi residence as fast as her clumsy legs could carry her. Saeed’s words kept echoing in her head and she knew that she had to leave that place immediately or risk saying something that she would regret. When she saw all those zeros on that cheque, a thousand thoughts ran through her mind.

She felt insulted. That was all Saeed saw her as; a materialistic woman that could be bought off just like that. It showed that Saeed did not believe that Kim had genuine feelings for Karim even though she truly cared for him and only wanted what was best for him.

For a split second, part of her considered taking the money and using it to keep the orphanage open. Those girls had nowhere else to go and the money would have gone a long way toward securing their futures.

She felt bad for considering the money but it was for a good cause. She was also unclear about how Karim felt about her. Maybe she was fighting a losing battle. Either way, she knew that if she took that money, then there was never going to be any hope for them.

As Kim was pulling her suitcase toward the car, she bumped into something and almost lost her balance. She looked up and saw Karim standing in front of her. “Where’s the fire?” he asked her.

“Sorry,” she apologised.

“Where are you off to? You stood me up when I asked you to meet me in your room.”

“I did not mean to.” Kim tucked her hair behind her ear in agitation.

“I waited and waited for you.”

Kim raised her eyebrows and then looked at the ground. When she had finally made it back to her room, he wasn’t there. She had not realised that he waited for her. She wished that she had gone to him as they could have enjoyed their last moments together before she left.

“I didn’t realise. I was prepping Amare and his friends for their exam,” she said quietly. Karim moved closer to her and touched her waist.

“Never mind, the damage is already done now. How will you make it up to me?” he asked her. The feeling of his hand on her waist made her shatter inside. She knew that she would never feel his touch again. She so badly wanted to walk into his arms and just cry on his chest.

“I am afraid I cannot make it up to you. You’ll have to forgive me,” she told him unable to look him in the eyes.

“You have to. You cannot leave me hanging like that and not try to make it up to me.” Karim pulled Kim closer and kissed her on the cheek expecting her to melt in his arms. While she would have liked nothing better, it made her realise how much she was going to miss him. 

“You are quiet today,” Karim said. “What is the matter?”

“I am going back home, Karim.”

“Home? What do you mean?” Karim looked down and saw the suitcase next to her. He looked back at her waiting for an answer.

“I am going back to the States. Your father does not want me around you, and he is right. We could never work.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you suddenly leave without talking to me first?”

“I was never going to stay here forever anyway. It’s best that I return now before we do something that we will both regret.”

“Kimberly, you are not making any sense!”

“Amare has learned a great deal. He will be fine without me here.”

“And what about me? Will I be fine without you here?”

Kim fought back the tears. She wished that she could stay there with him but she could not. He would soon find someone more appropriate to his status.

“You will be fine. We would have never worked anyway.”

“What does that mean? We would not have worked?” Karim placed his hands on his hips and waited for her response. Kim reached out and touched his face for the last time.

“We are too different. You are Arabic and I am not. You are a sheik, and I am a clumsy school teacher,” she said to him as she bit her lip to keep from crying.

“So what?” he asked.

“I am just a
spoilt American brat
. We can never be together, Karim.” Kim caressed his cheek with the back of her hand and then walked off leaving Karim standing there speechless, as his father’s words played in his head.

Karim watched Kim get into the car. He knew that he had been remiss in not sharing his feelings with her, but in truth, until he had lashed out at his father, he didn’t know how he felt about her and now, it may be too late. No, it can’t be too late! She was needed here. Amare still needed her to get him through his studies. And he needed her, at his side.

She had said that they were too different and it would have never worked. He liked the fact that she was different from all the women he had ever been with. He found her smart, funny and when she smiled at him, the whole room lit up.

A spoilt American brat.
The words echoed in his head. That was what his father called her. Karim frowned as he remembered their argument. He suddenly realised that his father had something to do with her sudden departure. Nothing else made sense.

The sound of the car’s engine snapped him out of his thoughts as he watche the car moving swiftly out of the driveway and Kim, out of his life forever.

“
Khara
!” Karim swore in Arabic. He started running after the car but it was too far away. “Kim!” he shouted as he ran after the car. It was right there in front of him. She only needed to hear him calling her name.

He dropped to his knees. This was it. Kim was gone and he had lost her.

Karim heard the sound of a car behind him. “Karim!” It was Amare’s voice. He turned his head and saw his brother and father pull up in a car. “Get in!” Amare shouted as Karim jumped to his feet.

Running around to the side of the car, he pulled open the door and slid into the backseat as his father put his foot on the gas before he had the door shut. Holding on, he reached for his seatbelt as he caught his father’s eye in the rear view mirror.

“This is my fault and I plan to fix this,” his father told him as he drove.

Holding tight to the side of the car, Karim couldn’t remember the last time his father drove as he always had a driver to take him places. He coughed to mask his yelp when his father hit a large pothole.

“Sorry, didn’t see it,” his father said cheerfully as he smacked his hand on the car horn and swerved around slower cars as the drivers waved their fists in anger. Waving merrily at them, “Truth be told, I haven’t had this much fun in decades,” he commented as he laughed. The brothers looked at each other in shock wondering who this strange man was masquerading as their father.

“Taleb is not going to believe this,” Amare said over his shoulder as they bounced over another pothole.

“What won’t Taleb believe?” Saeed asked as he turned to look at his son.

“Father, the road!” Karim called out in alarm as Saeed quickly straightened out the wheel.

“My son, I was driving long before you were born,” his father chastised him as he drove.

“Yes, but now the cars have engines,” Amare shot back as his father turned to glare at him. “Watch the road,” Amare called out in alarm as he tightened his hold on his seatbelt.

Taking the next rise a bit too fast, the car bounced heavily on the asphalt as the airport came into view. As his father sped down the hill, they could see that all the gates already had planes waiting for passengers.

“Which one is it?” Karim asked as he worried that the plane would take off before they get there.

Tapping at his phone, Amare found which flight was taking off for the States as he pointed the plane out. “That one!” he shouted as his father drove toward the runway.

“Father, the parking lot is that way,” Karim pointed out as his father kept driving.

“Look!” his father pointed. “The passengers are already walking to the plane. We won’t make it if we park the car.” Speeding up, he began wildly honking the horn as he headed for the service gate. A guard came out and was madly waving his arms, but Saeed sped up and crashed through the barrier as the guard dove for cover. “Send me the bill,” he shouted out the window at the frightened guard.

Driving toward the plane, Saeed finally slowed down as the car rolled to a stop. Leaping out of the car, the brothers ran toward the passengers calling out Kim’s name.

“Kim Atkins!” they shouted. “Kimberly Atkins!”

As the passengers turned to stare at the two men, they finally saw her head pop out from inside the plane, as she stared at them dumbfounded.

“Kim! Kim!” Amare shouted. “You must come down here!”

The passengers stepped aside in bemusement as Kimberly slowly walked down the stairs toward the brothers who were laughing and clapping each other on the back.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered unsure if her voice would be steady if she spoke in a normal tone. Many of the passengers had pulled out their phones and were taking videos of them.

Karim walked towards her and took her hands in his. Kissing them both, he looked into her eyes, “Don’t go,” he said simply. Kim gasped and stared at him. She did not know what to say or to do. She just stood there wide-eyed staring at him.

“Don’t go back, not now. Not before we’ve had a chance to see if we will work.” Looking at her face, he realised that she had been crying and his face softened as he rubbed her cheek. “Please stay. At least for a little while longer,” he pleaded.

In her heart, Kim wanted to say yes, but she needed answers.

“But your father…”

“Is an old fool who needs someone like you around to remind him what it’s like to be young and in love,” Saeed said as he walked around the side of the car toward her.

Shaking her head, Kim rubbed her eyes and looked back up, as Saeed grinned at her. “Yes, even an old dog like me can mend his ways.”

Suddenly remembering what he had just said, she looked at Karim, “Love?”

Nodding his head, Karim looked at her, “Love.”

Staring at him, Kim still couldn’t comprehend what was going on. “So, you, love me?” she asked.

Nodding his head again, “Yes, I love you, Kimberly Atkins.”

Shaking her head, Kim stepped back wondering if this was some sort of cruel joke. How could he love her? Realizing that she didn’t believe him, he stepped toward the passengers who had clustered around them to watch.

Pointing to her, he looked at them, “Evidently, she doesn’t believe me,” he told them as they nodded in agreement. “I seem to have a reputation as someone who was adamant that love did not exist. That love was for the weak.” Clutching his hands to his heart, he looked at Kim, “Well, if that is the case, then I can think of no better woman to lose myself to than Miss Atkins over there.”

Wiping the tears off her face, she still refused to walk to him. “You don’t believe in relationships.”

Waving his finger in the air, he looked at the passengers again. “Now that was once true. Like love, I thought that relationships made you weak because it would mean depending on someone else. But it also means that they will stand by your side through the good
and
the bad. Unfortunately, I find that I am in love with the one woman who isn’t eager to jump my bones,” he told them conspiratorially. “What am I going to do about that?” he asked.

“Incoming!” Amare shouted moments before he felt Kimberly slam into his back sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Rolling onto his back to catch her, he laughed as she joyously kissed his face.

“I love you too, Karim Sharqi,” she shouted as the passengers began to clap and cheer.

The sound of sirens in the distance had Saeed Sharqi looking over his shoulder.

“Oh dear, I think those are for me,” he said calmly.

“Wait, what?” Kim asked.

Laughing, “Yes, father crashed through the security barrier so we wouldn’t miss your flight,” Amare told her.

“So, if you don’t mind, could we please keep an old man out of jail and get out of here?” Saeed asked plaintively as everyone laughed. “Come on, I’ll drive,” he offered as he walked toward the driver’s side.

“No!” the brothers shouted in unison.

Two months later, Kim sat in the courtyard with Saeed; teaching him how to use a computer as he eagerly scoured the current news feeds for stock information. He chuckled with glee over a human-interest piece about him saving the orphanage.

Karim stood at a distance and watched her tutoring his father. It was crazy how things had changed so much in such a short time. Six months ago, he was working out right there in the courtyard while Kim had been spying on him from above. He had known that she was watching him from the moment she rustled the curtains and he had stayed out there far longer than he normally would. So much so, that he was sore the next day, but it was worth it.

While he would not have readily admitted his attraction to her, it pleased him that she found him desirable more than any other woman had and it had taken him months finally to understand why. Without intending to, she had managed to get under his skin in ways that no other human had ever done and now, he couldn’t imagine it any other way.

***

The last two months had been very eventful for Kim. She was actually spending time with Saeed and teaching him how to use the computer. Kim and Saeed slowly built a relationship as she worked to show him that not all western women were bad.

Thankfully, he came to realise his mistake and even told Kim that she was good for Karim. He had changed for the better because of her. Amare had also passed his exams with flying colours and was amongst the top ten in the country.

Saeed was so grateful to Kim for Amare’s high marks that he had offered her a large bonus, but instead of taking the cheque, she asked him to save the orphanage instead. Her response caught Saeed off guard, as he didn’t expect her to be so generous. Picking up the phone, he called the director to find out exactly how much they needed and he readily agreed to cover all their financial needs. 

“I believe I misjudged you gravely,” he told her as he read the article about the orphanage. She smiled and shook her head.

“That is all in the past now,” she said to him, pressing her hand into his.

“I am glad that we have this second chance to get to know one another.”

Kim was also pleased to have the opportunity to know Saeed. Even though he was a strict and traditional man, deep down he cared for his sons and wanted what was best for them. In the last two months, he had showed Kim kindness and he saved the orphanage.

“Me too. And, I am grateful for the donation you made. I can’t begin to express how much it helped the girls who have no one else.”

“It’s alright, my dear. I am just touched by your actions. Most people would have taken the money for themselves.”

Kim smiled. She looked around, wondering where Karim had disappeared. She was sitting in the very spot where she had seen him working out all those months ago and the thought of it made her smile, as she remembered how shocked she was when he winked at her.

The past two months with Karim had been great for Kim. She had really gotten to know him and found that he was unlike the man she thought he was. He was so caring and fun. She had never been so happy in her life. A part of her still worried that this was all some lavish dream and any moment, she would wake up.

Claire had teased her, telling her that she was never coming back. She honestly did not feel like returning. Life with Karim brought her joy and her volunteer work at the orphanage made her feel fulfilled. Amare walked out onto the courtyard.

“Hello all,” he said as he sat down at the table. He picked up Kim’s glass and drank her iced tea.

“Amare!” she chastised. “I was still drinking that.”

“Thanks, I was really thirsty,” he said with a cheeky grin and put the glass down on the table. Kim frowned at him. 

“I did not give it to you,” she told him before she hit his shoulder in mock anger. Saeed just laughed and shook his head.

Suddenly they heard the warning alarm for a coming sand storm. Looking at each other, they quickly rose and walked inside. Realising that the alarm was coming from in the house, instead of outside, they followed the sound around to the entryway where they came upon some of the girls from the orphanage standing there holding letters to form a sentence.

They all smiled at her as they held their letters up. Kim read the sentence aloud, “Will… you… marry… me?”

Karim was standing with them. He walked towards Kim and dropped to one knee as he took her left hand in his.

“Kimberly Atkins, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?” he asked her. Pulling a velvet box out of his pocket, he opened it and presented it to her. Kim gasped when she saw the huge blue sapphire mounted on a platinum band. There were tiny diamonds around the sapphire that twinkled in the sunlight.

“Yes,” she said to him as she wiggled her fingers impatiently while he slid the ring on. “Of course, I will marry you.” Rising to his feet, he swept her up into his arms and kissed her deeply as everyone cheered