His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,70
probably the youngest of the men partaking of the pipe, the others watched him as if he were the most important man in their camp. The role of a sheik was a revelation to her and it was clear that it wasn’t just a title; it was an important position and Jumal enjoyed his time here. It seemed like a “time out” from the day-to-day routine back in the city. No matter what she might have wished for the future, it was evident that Jumal would always be needed here.
They stayed for over an hour and she spent time showing the younger children how to sketch with a pencil. It was something that her mother had taught both her and Matt when they were younger. In turn they showed her the soft leather bracelets they made to sell in the local market. Eventually, Jumal motioned that it was time to leave. After offering her thanks she followed Jumal and they waved at a young boy who was shepherding goats back into their pen.
“Thank you for bringing me, Jumal. That was truly amazing, certainly one for the scrapbook memories,” she said, as he guided her back towards their car. She turned to take another quick photo with her phone.
“You’re welcome. I love—” he paused briefly “—er, that you wanted to see it and share it with me. Thank you,” he added softly, before lightly running his fingers over her cheek and touching her scarf. “You look beautiful by the way.”
As they strolled back to the car he gazed down at their joined hands and said, “I suppose I should at least be grateful that I landed on my right side.”
She looked over and shielded her eyes from the low setting sun with her free hand. “Why’s that?”
He dropped his eyes again to their joined hands. “So I can hold your hand while you drive us around,” he explained, as if this was perfectly obvious, before looking up to meet her eyes and adding mischievously, “chauffeur.”
After another twenty minutes or so of driving, during which Jumal had held her hand over the middle console, he instructed her to pull the car over and park alongside four other four-by-four vehicles.
Pip looked out the window at the surrounding darkness. “Where are we?” she asked, confused.
“You’ll see,” he teased vaguely, opening his door and coming round to open hers. “Shall we?” Jumal asked, as he chivalrously offered her his left arm. Pip took it happily and allowed Jumal to walk her towards what looked like a cave with a dim light radiating from inside.
“We’re eating here?” she asked sceptically, peering out the side window.
“Hmm-hm. Trust me. If I know you at all, you’ll love it.”
Pip let out a sharp breath as they entered the large cave. Her mouth dropped open with surprise. It was an actual restaurant, although unlike any she had ever frequented, and they were escorted to a bar area and seated with menus and drinks. It was a genuine cave, warmed in the day through the absorption of the sun’s blistering heat in the rock. She could smell the warmth of the sandstone. She kept gawping around the area to take in the unique setting. There were only five tables in the intimate restaurant area, which was set lower in the cave, down several stone steps carved into the cave floor. The cavernous room was lit with only natural candlelight from table candles, larger candelabras scattered around the floor and torches mounted on the cave walls. It created a romantic, otherworldly feeling, like something from the pages of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; she half expected their waiter to be Puck.
Pip was so content she felt like she should be curled up on Jumal’s lap purring rather than concentrating on her driving. The meal had been wonderfully romantic; she’d eventually stopped noticing the sideways glances from the other guests. They had giggled as they shared their food and more stories of growing up and right through to her university studies and his setting up his own successful business.
She felt sorry for the young boy who’d been sent off to university in England, his every action supervised and controlled by minders employed by his father. Even though most of his friends were enjoying the freedom that usually came with tertiary education, Jumal had to focus on his studies almost all the time. He’d told her how he’d found it difficult to settle at first; he felt swamped and overawed by all the people and