Clutching the letter in her hand, she walked to his office, only to find the door locked and the lights turned off.
He was gone. It shouldn’t surprise her, but the lack of respect was too much for her.
Slipping the letter under his door, she burst into tears.
13
Mila, Liyah, and Amira all stood silently around her bed as she packed. Sahaar had no doubt called them, but they weren’t pleading for her to stay. In fact, they had even given her a hand with her preparations to leave.
“Katie,” Liyah said softly as she perched on the edge of the mattress. “We want you to be happy. And if going back home makes you happy, then we’ll support you—as long as you promise to come back and visit us.”
“Thanks.” Katie swallowed hard.
“The problem we’re having is that it doesn’t look like going home is going to make you happy,” Mila chimed in as she started to pace. “You look miserable, and I can’t figure out why! Is working with Khalid really all that bad?”
Amira shook her head. “She’s not just working with Khalid. She’s fallen in love with him.”
Her observation rocked the small group.
“She’s right, isn’t she?” Liyah breathed. “I didn’t even see it. Oh, sweetheart.”
“You’re sleeping with him?” Mila frowned. “How could you not tell us?”
With a shuddering breath, Katie collapsed on the bed. Relief swept through her. She hadn’t considered her relationship with Khalid a secret, but now that it was out, she realized how heavily the burden had weighed on her.
“At first, I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like a planned seduction. It was just frustration and passion, and I didn’t even know that it was going to be a thing, but then it turned into a thing.”
On a roll, it all came out, and she got up and started to pace. “But what could I say? He was hot and cold. He acted all passionate and loving, and then he was distant and rude. He doesn’t have feelings for me, and I couldn’t tell you guys because while you’re my friends, you’re his family!”
“Oh, you’re making me dizzy.” Liyah reached out and grabbed her hands to force her to stop pacing. “Katie, Khalid is our family, but so are you. If you wanted a confiding ear to talk to, we would have listened. But that’s neither here nor there right now. You can’t run away just because an affair went south. You didn’t come here to find love, did you?”
“No.” Katie shook her head. “I came to find my roots. To make a difference in the art world.”
“And have you done that?” Mila inquired.
Katie smiled softly. “Honestly, I feel more at home here with you ladies than I ever did at home. I feel accepted—and I thought I was getting somewhere at the gallery, but that doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Of course it matters!” Amira suddenly burst out. “Just because things aren’t working out with Khalid doesn’t mean that you should run away. My brother is an idiot, Katie, but you have to believe that he doesn’t get involved with women like you.”
“What?” Katie cocked her head and stared at Amira. “And what do you mean by that, exactly?”
The gorgeous woman pushed herself off the dresser and shook her head. “I mean a woman of substance. For years, Khalid has hidden behind women he can use and toss aside with little effort. It’s easier for him. To get involved with you broke every ounce of his self-control, and that means something!”
Katie’s lips curled in disgust. “I’m used to men losing their heads around me. I just thought that he saw more than a pretty face when he looked at me.”
“He does.” Amira shook her head. “This might be hard to believe, but Khalid was so different when he was painting. He was free. He joked and teased and knew how to have a good time, but when Father gave him the gallery to run, he changed drastically. He stopped painting. He became cold and withdrawn.”
Katie let that sink in. As much as she wanted to tell Amira that she would stick it out and see if Khalid changed, she knew that she couldn’t take much more of this back-and-forth. “I appreciate what you ladies are trying to tell me, but I already bought a plane ticket.”
Seeing their reaction, knowing that they were going to argue, she tried to sound as solid as possible as she explained her plan. She didn’t think she could hold back the tears for too much longer. “I’ll go in to work in the morning and finish up the paperwork, and then I’m going back to the States. Maybe I’ll be back one day, but I don’t think I can continue to work in Dubai’s art world and pretend that I don’t have feelings for Khalid. I do love him, but it’s never going to be enough to keep us together.”
“I think you’re making a mistake,” Amira said quietly.
“Nevertheless,” Mila interrupted quickly, “we are your friends, and we’ll be here for you. At least let us take you out tonight for one last hurrah?”
Katie nodded. “I would like that very much.” She would have so many good memories about Dubai, and she would treasure every moment spent getting to know these three wonderful strong women.
She only wished that she was half as strong as they were.