His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,19
never been happier. She honestly wasn’t jealous of her brother and his new family, never that, but he’d always been there for her, particularly after their parents’ deaths. However, she couldn’t keep relying on him and assuming he would be there to pick up the pieces as she raced through life like a whirlwind. She needed to gather her inner strength and assert her independence once again—make a stand on her own. Even if the very thought of a new environment with new work colleagues in a foreign land and unfamiliar culture had made her nauseous and brought back the panic and dread of her earlier life experiences.
“Afwan! Oops sorry, oh pardon me, sorry, afwan! Oh heck was that your bag? I’m so very sorry—agghh—”
Pip sighed heavily and blew her fringe out of her eyes as she finally dropped down into the window seat of the heavenly air-conditioned Metro Rail, letting her bags fall to the floor. She knew she was still blushing and had already apologised profusely to the man sitting next to her in the aisle seat and whose lap she’d sat on as the metro started to depart with a sudden jerk. She was pretty sure she’d also clobbered him on the head with her fully packed lunch box.
She’d had to run for the bloody tram as, being sleep deprived, she’d forgotten the report for Jumal on her first attempt to leave her apartment earlier and had to double back.
She took a deep calming breath and looked out of the window to the long stretch of sun-drenched beach and sparkling deep blue sea. She smiled longingly at the children laughing and running away from the breaking waves. It was a game she and her brother had played on many happy holidays when they were children, before he’d grown too old for such childish games and instead discovered girls and got his driving licence. She loved this journey to and from work on the metro and chose to take it despite having the car.
She was still captivated by the warm colours of the island set in an enviable position just off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. There were pockets of perfectly manicured greenery amongst the cool high-rise glass jungle metropolis but the main colours of the land were the warm reds, browns and burnt orange of the mountains and dunes, which set the perfect contrasting natural backdrop to the business district of central Dubain. The dry heat had hit her like a solid wall when she’d first stepped out of the air-conditioned airport but she’d quickly acclimatised and now shivered when she thought of the bitter, hard winters of her home in the isolated Yorkshire moors—although she did miss the greenery. The people of Dubain were welcoming in the extreme and smiled encouragingly at her when she tried to speak Arabic with mixed success. She rested her forehead against the window.
She was distantly aware of her neighbour clearing his throat. “I’m Jake by the way.” Her napping was interrupted by the sound of an American accent. She turned and met a friendly smile and shook his offered hand.
“Oh hello. I’m Pippa. Pip.”
“Nice to finally meet you,” he said before continuing, “I’ve seen you quite a few times on the tram. I think we must live and work near each other. I’ve been meaning to work up the courage to introduce myself. When you fell into my lap I thought it was as good a sign as any that I should finally say hello. So, hello.”
She felt herself blush again. “I really am sorry about that. I think I fell over that lady’s bag,” she said, nodding over the aisle.
“No worries. Sadly, it’s not every day that a beautiful woman falls into my arms.” He offered her a boyish grin.
“Well, thanks for catching me. So you’re American?”
“Yep. Born in upstate New York. I’ve just moved over here and started work at Goldbergs as a trader; I tried for a New York post but they wanted more experience so I thought I might as well gain it here.”
“Well, welcome to Dubain. I’ve only been her a few months too, so I know it can be quite daunting and difficult to meet people our age.”
As they continued to chat, Pip tried to keep an eye out for her stop. Having nearly missed the tram, there was no way she was going to miss her stop, but she was enjoying Jake’s easy company.