Page 35 of Hiding in the Sheik's Arms

“Intolerable,” Raj finished.

Khal shook his head, then jerked it warningly towards the still-open door. All three brothers went silent, continuing to listen as Tasha worked her magic on their sister.

Chapter 30

“How does he handle that kind of…intrusion…into his life?”

Tasha shrugged. “He’s mentally strong. He de-stresses with workouts in the palace gym that would terrify a normal person.” She paused when Marianna laughed. “And he believes that what he’s doing is helping.”

“That…is important to him? Doing the right thing?”

Tasha nodded. The two sat down, side by side. “Do you really want to skip your last year of high school so that you could go to university?”

Marianna sighed, again staring down at her fingernails. There was a long silence and Tasha waited, understanding that the girl needed to work through something in her mind.

Finally, she said, “I bought some hair dye.” It wasn’t an answer to Tasha’s question…but it sort of was. She reached down and pulled a box out of a fabric bag sitting next to the sofa. “I don’t know how to fix this mess though.” She pulled a lock of pinkish hair away from her forehead. “It’s a mess.”

“You wanted to be noticed,” Tasha whispered, nodding her understanding. “You needed people to actuallyseeyou, right?”

More tears streamed down Marianna’s cheeks, further messing up her makeup. “I guess.” She sniffed. “Now it just looks stupid.”

Tasha took the box of hair dye, setting it on the bedside table. “Why don’t I arrange for a professional hair dresser to come to the palace and fix your hair? Do you think you could give me a couple of hours to arrange that?”

Marianna’s eyes turned hopeful. “You would do that…for me? Even though I’ve been such an obnoxious brat over the past few days?”

Tasha smiled, nodding. “I would be honored to help you. But only under one condition.”

“What’s that?” the girl asked warily.

“Maybe, just think about it, but maybe, you could consider giving your brothers, all three of them, a chance to get to know you. On your terms. Whatever you think they deserve to know, you decide to tell them.” She paused, letting that suggestion sink in.

After several moments, Marianna looked at her. “Will they…share information about themselves with me as well?”

Tasha smiled, relieved by the girl’s hopeful tone. “I think that’s only fair, don’t you?”

Marianna laughed softly. Nodding. “Yeah. That seems fair.”

“Another decision you can ponder,” Tasha continued, standing up and gesturing towards the doorway. “You could consider if you’d like to attend high school here in Lativa, have a private tutor, or maybe even attend university.”

There was a shimmering glimmer of hope in Marianna’s eyes now. She stared at Tasha with wary longing. “How…?” She paused, then continued, “Do I really have that kind of choice?”

Tasha laughed, hugging the girl gently. “You would be surprised at how much power you have, Marianna. You are smart and determined. A woman can do anything if she sets her mind to it.”

Her mouth twisted into a grimace. “I can’t bring my mother back.”

Tasha’s heart ached for this girl. “You’re right. That’s one thing that you can’t do.” She sighed and hugged Marianna closer. “But you can channel your mother through you. You can make her proud. You can use the intelligence that she helped you develop to make a difference in the world around you.”

Marianna wiped away another tear, but she nodded. “Yeah. That…” she stopped when her voice choked again. “I really want to get rid of this ugly hair!”

Tasha laughed, but she was a bit teary herself. “I can definitely help with that!”

Khal, Joran, and Raj all stared silently at each other, out in the hallway. She’d done it. Tasha had gently broken through their sister’s pain. There would still be a lot of work to do in order to help her with her grief over her mother’s passing, but it sounded like Marianna might…possibly…join their small family.

Chapter 31

“Ms. O’Connor?” one of her assistants called out, poking his head into Tasha’s office.

Tasha’s fingers paused on the keyboard and she looked up, smiling at the man standing in her doorway. “Yes?”

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