She kept hearing her mother’s last words ringing in her head. ‘Get her out of here! You’re nothing but a little killjoy. You always spoil my fun!’
Her mother had been a victim and Millie was anything but, she reasoned, and she had to be strong for both of them. But that wasn’t easy when her feelings were in turmoil, and the past kept rolling over her like a storm that threatened to engulf her in grief and guilt. The Sheikh had the knack of putting everyone at ease, she noticed. She also couldn’t help noticing that he looked amazing. He had no need of royal robes to point up his blistering masculinity. Dressed casually in jeans and a shirt, he was every fantasy hero made real. Tall, tanned, hard-muscled and obviously super-fit, he radiated undeniably compelling sex appeal.
The biggest shock of all came when she bumped into her friend Lucy. It was a double shock to identify Lucy’s stunningly good-looking companion.
‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’ Lucy exclaimed as they hugged.
‘You’re on a date with the Emir?’ Millie whispered back.
‘Don’t sound so alarmed. We met dockside. He’s a man, I’m a woman. What’s wrong with that?’ Everything and nothing, Millie thought as Lucy added, ‘How are you and the Sheikh getting on?’
‘There is no me and the Sheikh. I already told you, I’m here to make up the numbers and nothing more.’
As if sensing their interest in him, Khalid, who was some distance away, turned to look at Millie and frowned. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was surprised to see her at the party. Was she supposed to go home until the hour was up and then come back? He’d invited her, and she’d rather be here, dicing with danger, than fretting about all the questions she wanted to ask him, back at home.
‘He shouldn’t be allowed to wear robes—’
‘Sorry?’ She glanced at Lucy, who had been having a one-sided conversation, Millie realised now.
‘The robes?’ Lucy pressed. ‘They hide his body. Sheikh Khalid owes it to the world to only ever wear snug-fitting clothes, like the ones he’s wearing now.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Millie said vaguely.
‘You’re not listening, are you?’ Lucy teased. ‘What’s a nice girl doing staring at the Sheikh?’
‘I’m not staring at the Sheikh,’ Millie defended. ‘It’s what’s inside the package,’ she murmured distractedly.
‘Depends on the package,’ Lucy put in. ‘Personally, I can’t wait to unwrap Tadj.’
They said laughing goodbyes, and as Lucy walked off Millie reassured herself that they could both look after themselves, even in the company of these devastating-looking men.
‘Are you ready to talk now?’
She almost jumped out of her skin, hearing Khalid’s voice so close behind her.
She could handle this.
‘Has an hour passed already?’ she asked lamely as his heat invaded every inch of her body.
‘I thought you would have been eating by now.’
‘But...’ She looked at the dining table and frowned. His guests were only just sitting down. ‘The canapés did look delicious,’ she admitted, thinking he must mean the trays of bite-sized appetisers the stewards had been handing round, ‘but I didn’t want to spoil my dinner.’
‘Quite right,’ he said, but now it was the Sheikh’s turn to frown.
What was going on? He’d invited her to supper.
Leading the way through his guests, he greeted everyone who wanted to speak to him. He even introduced Millie as an old friend. An old friend? she thought as they mounted the companionway to a higher deck.
‘It’s a beautiful night,’ he remarked as he paused at the top.
It was. The rain had cleared, and it was crisp and clear with stars glittering overhead. A magical night, Millie thought.
And on just such a night, her mother had drowned in this same marina.
‘I want to show you something,’ he said, distracting her before that thought had a chance to take hold. A dart of apprehension still struck her hard. Maybe it was his tone of voice. Following him to the stern, she followed his stare and frowned. ‘A lifeboat?’ she queried.
‘This is the last place I saw your mother alive.’
Millie’s fingers tightened on the cold, steel rail. She must compose herself, and must do so fast, or lose any hope she had of getting to the bottom of this.
‘Are you okay?’ the Sheikh asked.
‘Yes,’ she managed in a clipped tone. She didn’t trust herself to say anything more. ‘What was my mother doing here in a lifeboat?’
‘Sleeping,’ he said.
Sleeping it off, Millie thought, but she was glad he hadn’t said that. It hurt to hear her mother criticised, even now. Her mother deserved respect, though she’d had none for herself.
‘You let her sleep?’ she said, trying to get a picture of what had happened that night.
‘But with a guard watching over her,’ he said.
‘What happened next? What went wrong?’ she pressed. ‘You said she slipped away. Didn’t anyone miss her? What about your brother? Wasn’t he expecting my mother to sing for his guests?’
‘My brother—’
‘Your brother what?’ she cut in impatiently, unable to hold back as her emotions surged out of control.
‘I can’t answer for my brother’s whereabouts at each precise moment during that night.’
‘You must have some idea,’ she insisted. ‘And if you can’t tell me, I don’t know why I’m here—’
The shock when he seized hold of her arm, as she was about to walk off, flashed through her like a lightning bolt. ‘Let go of me!’ Wrenching her arm out of his grip almost threw her off balance, and she had to hold onto the rail with both hands to steady herself. It felt cold and as unyielding as he was. How he had to be, she thought. He’d had to handle the authorities at the time, and give his lawyers a story they could run with. He was hardly going to tell her another story now.
But still she wondered... Did my mother touch this rail? Did she cling to it and try to save her life?
‘Did she fall here?’ she asked at last. She turned to face him, her grim expression demanding the truth.
‘Your mother had had too much to drink. I was surprised she was even capable of moving.’
‘Something must have prompted her to climb out of the lifeboat.’ Millie shook her head. ‘It had to be something so urgent she found the strength.’ She glanced over the rail, and her head swam as her imagination supplied the detail: the scream, the splash, the struggle, and finally silence.
‘No.’
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she barely heard the single word, and only slowly turned to face the Sheikh. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me,’ she said.
‘This has been a shock for you.’
‘That’s no answer,’ she said tensely.
Happy sounds from the party rose all around them, mocking her state of mind. This was bizarre, tense and horrible. Learning details about that night, while she was battling feelings she shouldn’t even have for this man, left her swamped in sadness and tortured by guilt. She couldn’t stop thinking that if only she’d been older and more authoritative at the time of her mother’s death, maybe she could have saved her.
‘My brother could always find women to entertain him,’ Sheikh Khalid was saying. ‘It’s not surprising that he lost interest in your mother’s whereabouts.’
‘As you did,’ she flared.
‘I put guards on watch,’ he reminded her.
‘They couldn’t have been much good,’ she observed acidly.
‘Your mother asked to use the facilities, and of course they let her go.’
‘In a drunken state on board a yacht without following her?’ Millie exclaimed. ‘That sounds like gross dereliction of duty to me.’
‘You weren’t there,’
the Sheikh interrupted. ‘Therefore, you’re in no position to pass judgement on my staff. I’m satisfied they did all they could.’
‘How can you say that?’ Millie demanded hotly. ‘I’ve been followed every step of the way since I boarded the Sapphire, yet you’re asking me to believe my mother could wander at will.’
‘As I’ve tried to explain, times were different, and there were no witnesses.’