Page 28 of The Sheikh’s Christmas Present

And she’d be able to get her hands on Sebastian. If he kept going the way that he was, she would have to choose between the charity and her brother.

Assuming there was any charity left to protect.

13

The flight to Syria was uneventful, but there was a knot in the pit of Maria’s stomach when there were no trucks to pick up the crates. Thanks to Jarik’s money and her temper, the airport organized a few trucks to unload the crates, but it took way too long. By the time they got to the camp, it was dusk.

And Sebastian was nowhere to be found.

“You made it!” Tessa shrieked as she ran to them. “I can’t believe you made it in time.”

Maria hugged her friend and laughed when she looked around. Despite the dire circumstances of the camp, Tessa had managed to make it look like a Christmas wonderland. “Tessa, you are seriously talented!” she sighed as she smiled. “This is beautiful!”

“Thanks, but I didn’t do it on my own. The kids here adore decorating. They did most of it. I gave them the decorations, and they went to town!”

“That’s fantastic. Okay, I have to unload the crates and organize the packages. Do you have a wish list from the parents? I want to make sure that everyone gets at least one thing from their list. Then we can dole out the rest based on need. Where is Sebastian?”

“Sebastian?” A strange look crossed Tessa’s face. “I assumed that he was with you.”

“Are you kidding me? He should have been here hours ago!” Maria raked her fingers through her hair and looked frantically around. What the hell was he doing if he wasn’t here?

“You talked to your brother?” Jarik asked softly. “You didn’t tell me that.”

Damn. She’d completely forgotten that he was standing there. “Yeah, he called me this morning while you were in the shower. He should have gotten here long before I did.”

She could tell that Jarik didn’t love that she hadn’t told him, but he didn’t push the situation. “Tessa, if you get me to the people in charge, I’ll make sure the crates are unloaded before dark.”

“Please don’t throw your money around, Jarik. Not here.”

He stilled and stared at her. “What do you mean ‘not here’?”

“This is a place for people who have nothing. It would be embarrassing if we just flung money around like it was nothing,” The words were out of her mouth before she thought them through, and she saw the hurt that flashed across his face. “Jarik, I didn’t mean it like that.”

He held up his hand. “It’s fine, Maria. I’ll see if I can get things done without flinging money around,” he growled. As he turned and stalked away, Maria closed her eyes and moaned.

Tessa grabbed her arm. “Sweetheart, what’s going on?”

“The world hates me,” she muttered. “Come on. I’ll tell you tonight.”

Jarik was tense while they worked to get the crates off the truck. She wanted to reach over and touch him, but being out in the open like this stopped her. And the one time that he touched her, she pulled away.

“Maria,” he muttered. “Don’t do this.”

Her back ached from moving the crates. Straightening, she gave him a tight smile. “Jarik, now is not the time.”

She expected him to storm off in a huff, but instead, he buried himself in the job. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she briefly closed her eyes. This morning, when she woke up, she had been happy. Now, she could barely keep anything together.

How had the world shifted so quickly?

There was a large empty tent erected for them. One by one, they cracked the crates opened and pulled out the toys. Dolls. Stuffed animals. Books. Toy cars and trains. Puzzles. Most of them were cheap, but to these children, they would be precious. Everything was more precious to them.

It was a shame that not everybody could appreciate the joys in life as fully as these children did.

Finally, well after midnight, all the toys were sorted. She sat heavily at one of the tables and smiled in pride.

“One toy left,” Jarik whispered. Maria turned to see him holding the teddy bear that she had stopped to pick up from the toy store.

It was only a few days ago, but it seemed like forever. Slowly, she reached out and took the bear. “Everything is sorted. I don’t know where it goes.”

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