alternator belt has snapped and I suspect there’s a hole in the radiator. So unless you have an extra motor belt and some soldering materials in that saddle bag, I don’t think there’s much you can do, but I appreciate your offer.” She tried to be brave and hold the man’s gaze, but he was just too tall, too intimidating and just too darn handsome. She glanced down at her clothes, wishing she was wearing something more sophisticated than jeans shorts and this plain tee-shirt. Even her hair was probably flat after having traveled most of the night on a cramped plane. Her only excuse was that it was going to be a hot day and she’d been traveling all night.
Rashid had no idea what an alternator belt was and he suspected that the soldering materials would do something to fix the radiator, but wasn’t sure how. “I’m afraid I don’t have either of those, but if you tell me where you’re going, I can help you find that location.”
She smiled at his formal words which were softened by the melodic accent but, coming from the United States, she suspected that perhaps most of the people in this country were pretty formal. His accent didn’t sound British, though. It was foreign, but she couldn’t place it easily and her mind wasn’t functioning in top form right at the moment. Her heart sped up crazily when he smiled that incredible smile at her and she had to glance away again, although she peeked back up at him when she found a spare bit of courage.
When his eyebrows went up, she realized that he’d asked her a question and she jumped slightly. “Oh, um…yes…location.” She slammed the hood of the car closed and pulled the map off of the roof of the car. She’d spread it out earlier in an effort to try and find out where she was and how she could reach her destination. She looked back down at the map she’d been trying to figure out and pointed to her desired location. “I’m visiting a friend and I know she’s here,” Sidra said, pointing to a place on the map she’d identified at the airport, “and I think I’m here. But nothing seems to be making any sense.”
Rashid looked at the map spread out on the car’s hood and, without cracking a smile, turned the map so that it was oriented properly, which meant that it was no longer upside down. With a long finger, he pointed to where she was. “If you follow this road back around,” he explained, smothering his amusement at her groan of frustration, “then you’ll be to your destination in about five minutes.”
Sidra smacked her forehead and shook her head in embarrassment. “I’ve been driving around in this ridiculous rental car for the past hour! And now you’re telling me I’m only five minutes away?”
“It would appear so,” he said and one side of his mouth turned up with the amusement he couldn’t hide any longer. “It’s a common mistake,” he lied, trying to make her feel better. She looked annoyed with herself but her pretty hazel eyes were looking back up at him so he tried to hide his laughter, but it was difficult.
Sidra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, feeling ridiculous in front of this incredible stranger who probably never had trouble reading a map. “Go ahead, you can laugh. I’m a directional idiot but my only excuse is that I’m not used to reading a map. I generally just plug in the location of wherever I want to go and my car’s GPS tells me to turn right or left.” She grimaced and looked away, “Or make a U turn and try again when I miss a particular turn.”
Rashid laughed softly and folded her map. “Since the storm is approaching quickly and your vehicle doesn’t appear able to participate in the endeavor, perhaps you would allow me to help you reach your destination?”
Sidra looked around him, staring at the giant horse, then back up at the handsome man. “I think I’ll just phone my friend and tell her where I am. She can pick me up in a few minutes. Surely she can out-drive that storm,” she said as she glanced back over her shoulder at the approaching dark clouds.
Rashid chuckled at her obvious fear of his horse. She was cute in a sexy, kittenish kind of way as she looked warily at the large animal. “Nonsense,”