Page 29 of The Sheikh’s Christmas Present

“Then hang on to it. I’m sure you’ll find the right person for it tomorrow.” He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Come to bed?”

“Sure, but I don’t think you’ll find any privacy. We’re bunking with Tess.”

“No, we’re not.” He grabbed her hand and led her gently outside. The torches were slowly burning down. As he led her around the tents, she looked up at the night sky and smiled.

“The stars are so beautiful.”

“Just like you.”

Snorting, Maria shook her head. “You’re lucky I’m so tired.” Leaning against him, she snuggled under his arm, walking awkwardly until they stopped. When he pulled the tent flap back, she stiffened.

“What is this?”

“I wanted some privacy with you tonight, so I got us an extra tent.”

“An extra tent?” Maria felt the anger wash over her. “And how much did you pay for this?”

“Maria,” Jarik said quietly.

“Why? For sex? Are you kidding me?”

“No.” He reached out and grabbed her. “Not for sex. To talk. Damn it, Maria, why are you behaving like this? I’m here to help you, but you’ve been fighting against me since we arrived.”

Maria drew in a shuddering breath. “I’m not fighting you, Jarik. I’m fighting your money.”

Ushering her inside, he rubbed his head in irritation as he began to pace. “Why? You know nothing about me, yet you persist in judging me based on your own misguided perceptions about money. It’s a tool, Maria. Money is a tool. I use it to get things done. There’s nothing wrong with that—especially if I use it toward good ends.”

“It’s a weapon. You use it to make people do things that they wouldn’t normally do. You hold it over their heads.”

“No,” Jarik growled. “The only person who has been holding money over anyone’s head has been you. I swear, I can’t even think about reaching for my wallet without you making a big deal about it, which is completely ironic given that you run a charity that depends on donations in order to survive. Tell me this. If you despise the rich so much, why would you choose a charity that we would embrace? So you could decline the donations because it came with expectations? Life is filled with expectations and money is a means to meet them.”

Maria was tired. She was tired of trying to get him to see her point of view. She was tired of fighting about the money. And most of all, she was tired of fighting her feelings for him. There was one way to make all the fighting stop.

“Well, you’ve upheld your end of the bargain. I got you here, and you spent your time working in the camp as promised. I’m sure you can find a flight out tonight to get you to your final destination, wherever that might be.”

Jarik narrowed his eyes. “So this is it? We’re done?”

“Done? You make it sound like we’re breaking up.” Maria tried to sound casual as she headed to the tent entrance. “There’s nothing to break upfrom.This was never a relationship—it was just a fling. We had fun, but this was never meant to last.”

He suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm. “You’re not serious.”

“I’m very serious. I told you that I don’t do commitments.” She jerked out of his reach and stared at him. Her chest ached, but she wouldn’t give up her ground now. “It’s not a big deal, Jarik.”

“It’s not the charity. It’s not the weather. It’s not your brother. It’s you,” he whispered.

“What’s me?”

“Your unhappiness. You’re doing such great things, but you won’t let yourself enjoy life. You’ve got a wall around you, Maria.”

“No. I’m not having this conversation. I can’t.” Turning from him, she tried to ignore the pain that washed over her. Jarik’s words hurt, and she wanted that pain to bloom into anger, but as she stomped from the tent, she only wanted to cry.

The next morning, he was gone.

* * *

The car ride back to the airport was miserable in more ways than one. Jarik sat in stony silence as he listened to Halil’s report. Melka and Samir had separated, and Melka had yet to return to the palace. He vaguely heard Halil talking about Kashif, but his mind was back in the camp. He knew he’d gone too far arguing with Maria, but he was sick of her constantly chastising him for spending money. “You need to come back,” Halil said gruffly, interrupting his thoughts.

“I will. As soon as I’m done with Kivi.”

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