A shiver ran up her spine as he looked at her. Since her tour had started, their relationship had remained rather ambiguous. There had been times when he had put his arm around her in the limo, and others when he seemed to want nothing to do with her. Now was one of those times.
“I was just wondering what type of business you are always running off to during my performances.” There. I’ve said it. Hannah looked at him and held her breath.
Sadiq watched her as she waited nervously to see his reaction. God, she was gorgeous. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her when she was on stage, singing, moving so slowly in those dresses. And when they were alone in the limousine, the scent of her hair, the warmth of her breath, it was almost too much to bear.
He had to be careful. He knew that getting involved with Hannah would be playing with fire. He didn’t want a relationship. And yet, he was finding himself more and more attracted to her every day.
Hannah waited, hoping he would finally tell her what was really going on.
Sadiq opened his mouth and was about to speak when Naasir slammed o
n the brakes and the car screeched to a halt, sending Sadiq and Hannah flying forward.
“Oh no!” Naasir’s voice rang back from the front seat. “Are you all right? Sir, Miss?!”
“We’re fine, Naasir,” said Sadiq as he found his way back on the seat. He looked over at Hannah and realized that he had his arm wrapped tightly around her, holding her in place. She hadn’t been shaken or injured; in fact, not a hair on her head was out of place.
She looked at him and he looked at her and she knew; there was something he wasn’t telling her and he certainly wasn’t going to do it now. He had been so close to opening up to her, but Hannah knew the near crash had jolted him back to reality, and whatever courage he might have mustered was gone.
“I’m sorry, sir, the car in front of me, it just…”
“It’s okay Naasir. We’re fine. Are you okay?”
“Yes, sir. I’m fine. We’re moving again now. I’m so sorry, sir.”
“Naasir, it’s fine. Now please, just drive.” Sadiq pulled his arm away from Hannah, sat back against the seat and turned to face the window.
A few minutes later, the limo pulled up to the back door of the club and Naasir opened the door for Hannah. She stepped out without looking back at Sadiq. It wouldn’t have mattered. He never turned to face her either.
When she got on stage, Hannah looked out to discover that Sadiq hadn’t come in at all. On the ride home, she decided to ask Naasir what was really going on.
“I don’t want you to betray his confidence, of course,” she said. “I just feel like I deserve an explanation. I kind of feel like I was brought here under false pretenses.”
Naasir drove without looking back at her. “Miss Green,” he started. “Have you ever done something that your parents didn’t want you to do?”
Hannah furrowed her brow and looked at Naasir in the mirror. “Of course. Everybody does. Why?”
Naasir flashed a quick look at her and then focused back on the road. “Well, that is exactly what His Highness struggles with.”
Hannah sat back and thought about that. “Like, struggled with when he was a kid? Or struggles with now?”
“Both,” said Naasir.
Hannah sighed in exasperation. “Naasir, you’ve got to help me out here; I feel like he’s mad at me or something. I don’t understand.”
Naasir looked at her quickly again. “Miss Green, our culture is very different than yours.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. The whole back door thing.”
Naasir smiled. “Yes, but even more than that. Having a woman performer is culturally unacceptable to many, if not most people.”
Hannah looked out the window and thought about what Naasir was trying to say without actually saying it. Parents, breaking rules, unacceptable. Oh my God. “His parents don’t know I’m here, do they?”
Naasir shook his head.
“And he can’t tell them, can he?”
Naasir shook his head again.
Wow, Hannah thought. Their cultures really were different. It made sense now. Sadiq had never spoken about his parents, and she now thought she understood why. Perhaps they wouldn’t agree with what Sadiq was doing with Hannah. Perhaps they wouldn’t agree with his taste in western music, never mind western women.
Hannah had heard enough for one night. She realized that despite her feelings for Sadiq, whatever was happening between them could never go anywhere, as much as she secretly wanted it to. Their cultures were just too different. Besides, she couldn’t allow herself to be with a man that didn’t respect her enough to use the same door as her. Nope. She had to abandon any hope that something might happen between them. In that moment, Hannah made a promise to herself to dedicate the rest of her time in El-Shakanish to business and business only.
TWELVE
Over the next few weeks, Sadiq tried to distance himself from Hannah as much as possible. He had known he felt something for her the moment he first saw her perform. He had thought then that it was just the sensual sound of her voice, but since bringing her to his country, and spending more and more time with her, he had come to realize that it was much more than that.
Sadiq hadn’t just come to love the sound of her voice; over the past few weeks, he had fallen in love with her smile, her laugh, the twinkle in her eyes in the evening light, and the way she crinkled her nose when