His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,42

mother ship had finally called her home…

By the end of the seventh chukker the match was still even at two each and it was now sudden death. The excitement of the crowd was thrilling as the next scorer would take all. Pip had been remarkably reserved so far, only drawing a warning glare from Jumal on a couple of occasions.

She and Jake had taken up a position at the fence in the middle of the pitch, which afforded the best vantage. “So guess what?” Jake asked, leaning over to speak into her ear over the cheering. Pip smiled back, her eyes wide. “I’ve been contacted by the head honcho at Goldbergs in New York.”

“Yeah?” she encouraged. “How come?”

“They’ve apparently decided that it was short-sighted of them not to offer me the apprenticeship and—”

“No way!” Pip interrupted while grabbing his forearm, animated.

“Way,” he carried on, returning her grin. “And they just can’t do without me,” he joked. “They want me to transfer back over there immediately. Can you believe that?” he asked, appearing genuinely shocked by his good luck.

“Oh Jake,” she beamed, hugging him. “Well done. I’m really pleased for you.” She pulled back. “But I’m gonna miss you. Apart from Melina you’re the only person who gets me. We need to make that trip over to Dubai before you leave. Gotta see if you’re as good a snowboarder as you say.”

“You’re on, girl; it would be a pleasure to show you my backside rodeo,” he teased before reaching into his jacket pocket. “Oh by the way I—”

“Pippa?” She turned her head back towards the deep male voice.

“Kahlid,” she greeted, kissing his cheek. “Good to see you again. Let me introduce you to my friend Jake. Jake, this is Kahlid.” The men shook hands. Pip continued, “Jake has just landed a super-duper job in the world of commerce in New York,” she said to Kahlid, “and Kahlid works for the Dubai government in the department of defence,” she explained by way of introduction. “And he knows loads of great jokes,” she added mischievously.

What the hell? Jumal gritted his teeth in fury.

He’d purposefully stayed away from the office all week in a desperate but futile attempt to rid his thoughts of Pippa—for all the good that had done. He’d simply missed her more, getting increasingly frustrated. She was like an addiction. He’d spied her as soon as he’d arrived at the venue. She looked perfect. She was wearing a perfectly feminine fifties-style polka dot dress—reminiscent of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but much shorter…with brunette hair. Scratch that, he’d thought, Julia Roberts had nothing on Pippa Darling.

Now, she was chatting happily with that bloody kid from the bar. The one he was sure was responsible for drugging her, although he still had no such evidence. The CCTV from the hotel had proved to be next to useless. Still, Jake was supposed to be in New York after Jumal had called in a long-overdue favour.

He cursed as he missed a shot, distracted by the image of Pippa smiling and grabbing at the kid’s arm. He held up his arm, shouted an apology to his teammates and tried to get his head back in the game, not wanting to give Yves any more of an advantage. The next goal would win. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm and shouted more directions and encouragement as his role as captain demanded. Jumal urged his horse into position as he raced to block Yves from reaching the ball, which had spun towards the centre of the pitch. Jumal caught sight of Pippa again, her long hair lifted in the breeze as she turned around to greet another man—Kahlid. Jesus how many more men could the damn woman attract?

He scowled as he saw her rise up on her toes to kiss the slimeball on his cheek in greeting. Blood rushed to his head and the game vanished from his thoughts as he fought the need to gallop over and grab her, lift her up onto his mount and finally disappear with her. Purely for her own protection. Shouting pierced his thoughts as he looked up to see Yves and his mount charging down on him. Bloody hell, he thought, bracing himself for the impact. This was going to hurt. He was vaguely aware of a woman’s scream before all went black.

Pip screamed as she saw Jumal fall heavily from his horse and land awkwardly. She started to race towards him but was pulled back