“There are. But there is no reason to do so. It would be cost prohibitive, for one thing. And who would live there? There are nomads, but the people who are accustomed to the cities would never go.”
“Have you been there?”
He didn’t speak for a long moment. “I have. There is an oasis midway. It was once part of a trade route across the desert. I went as a boy. It was part of my training as an al-Hassan.”
She could imagine this harsh, dark man out there now. But as a child? It seemed so dangerous and uncertain. “I’ve never been to a desert before. I’ve never been anywhere but the Caribbean. Until now, I mean.”
He looked at her. “Are you more comfortable now that you have a television and internet access?”
“It helps. But I’m still used to doing more than I have the last day. I like to be busy.”
“Consider it a vacation.”
“That would be easier if it actually were.”
“Miss Sloane—”
“Sheridan. Please.” Because she felt so out of place when he called her Miss Sloane. She needed him to acknowledge her as more than a random stranger. Because, regardless of whether or not there was a baby, they’d shared something incredibly intimate. Even if it had been clinical.
“Sheridan.”
She shivered at the sound of her name on his lips. Why? Because it sounded like a silken caress. “Thank you,” she said.
“I was going to say that I realize this is not easy for you. It is not easy for me, either.”
“I know.”
He turned to look out at the city lights and she watched the play of the wind in his hair and the soft glow of moonlight on his profile. He was a very beautiful man. And a lonely one. She didn’t know why she thought he was lonely, but she did.
“I have decided to give you what you’ve requested,” he said, and her heart thrummed. “I want your stay to be pleasant. If it pleases you to talk to me, then I will grant it.”
She was surprised and pleased at once. “I appreciate that very much.”
They stood there in silence for a long moment. “It is an extraordinary length to go to, to have a baby for someone else.”
She felt a touch defensive. “It’s not just for anyone. Annie is my sister.”
“I am aware of this.”
Sheridan sighed. The night breeze whipped up then, just for a moment, and she shivered. “She and Chris have tried and tried. They’ve seen doctors and been through one treatment after another. Nothing seems to work.” She gripped the railing tightly, staring off toward the flickering lights of the city. “There was one doctor who mentioned an experimental treatment in Europe. Annie wanted to do it, and Chris would do anything for her. But the cost... Well, it’s a lot. And there are no guarantees. They would have to sell everything and then hope...” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I offered to step in before they went deeper into debt.”
“So you would put your own life on hold to have this child for your sister. And then you would hand him or her over as if the previous nine months had happened to her instead of you.”