Her youngest brother stared, openmouthed. The other one stared at her through slightly narrowed eyes as if afraid he'd be blinded by what he was witnessing.
"Has he proposed marriage?"
"No." There wasn't really anything she could add to make this sound better. By Omani standards he probably should have proposed before they even kissed, certainly before they moved in together. She could say they were "just friends," but that would be a lie and she didn't want to make things worse by lying.
"How will you support yourself over there? Are you to be a kept woman?"
She wanted to mention the grant, but on reflection that probably would make her a kept woman. "I have enough savings left to get there. Then I'll find a job. Maybe not my ideal one, at first, but I'll find something."
"While living with this man?"
"I'm not a virgin, dad. I was married before."
"To your discredit." His bushy eyebrows lowered. "And now your own opinion of yourself is so low that you plan to willingly live in sin?"
"It's not like that in the States. It's quite normal for adults to live together for a while before they marry. To test each other out, really. If I'd done that before I married Gordon I probably could have saved myself a world of grief."
"I don't know you. I don't know who you are." He stood there, panting slightly. "You are not the daughter I raised."
His words cut her to the quick and she felt tears rise in her throat. "I'm just trying to do what's best for me. I don't even know if I should move to Boston. I'm thinking it through."
"You should move to Boston." His voice was calm and firm. "There is no place for you here. You are a bad influence on your brothers."
She glanced at them. Mute and horrified, they didn't even meet her gaze. Was she really a bad influence on them? With one failed marriage behind her and an illicit affair going on under their noses, she could hardly recommend herself as an example to follow. Her hands were starting to tremble. She wasn't ready for this. She'd meant to ponder her options, to plan and prepare and gear herself up for any inevitable showdown.
Right now she felt as if her life were exploding in her face and she needed to get out of here. She turned back to the door and slipped out, before the conversation could spiral any further downhill. There was no sense talking to her father when his temper was running so high he couldn't think straight. If she stayed he might do something drastic, like lock her in her room and take away her phone. It was better to escape while she still could.
Moving to Boston wasn't such a crazy idea. Her father had given her almost no choice. Although she realized there were risks inherent in going with Quasar-he readily admitted that he got bored easily, and he had a playboy reputation-if she could get her career going again she'd be fine by herself if the relationship fell apart.
Not sure where to go, she headed first for the familiar bookshop where she'd met Quasar. Thumbing through the soft pages of an old history book soothed her nerves. It was now late afternoon and since her father was already mad at her she had no reason not to go to the party.
She walked along the quiet streets with a growing sense of resolve. Her time of rest and recuperation was nearing its end and she was ready to get back in the swim of life.
The walk to the hotel took almost half an hour and it was odd walking through the grand hotel gates on foot, rather than arriving in a luxury car, but the staff welcomed her almost as if they recognized her-maybe they acted like that with all the guests?-and she soon found herself in the large, music-filled central courtyard surrounded by at least three hundred people, including jugglers, sword swallowers, even a snake charmer. Excited children darted about in their smartest party clothes, and their parents laughed and talked and watched them fondly.
The festive atmosphere further boosted Dani's mood and she looked eagerly about for Quasar. He'd be thrilled that she'd decided to come to Boston with him. Maybe they could even talk about booking the tickets and some of the logistics of the move?
She scanned the area around the fountain-which bubbled right now in a rainbow of LED colors-looking for his face in the crowd. At last she spotted Sara walking with Elan, who carried a sleepy little Hannah in his arms.
Dani greeted them with relief. "I'm looking for Quasar. I can't seem to find him."
Sara glanced at Elan. He cleared his throat. "Hmm. I'm not exactly sure where he is." He looked around the sea of partygoers. "Would you like me to go find him for you?"
"Oh, no. I'll find him myself, eventually. I can always call him on my phone as a last resort." She patted the phone in her pocket. Elan glanced at Sarah again before they smiled and moved away. Dani got an odd feeling from the way they looked at each other. Almost as if they were trying to communicate without her figuring something out. Suddenly the music seemed louder and the bustle and thrust of people rather disorienting.
She drew in a breath and headed for the other side of the courtyard, where tables were set up to serve drinks. She accepted a glass of pinkish lemonade from a waiter and was about to turn back to the crowd when she spotted Quasar under a colonnade off to the side of the courtyard. He appeared to be talking to someone who was hidden by a carved stone column.
A smile spread across her face as she headed toward him. But her enthusiasm cooled when she noticed the serious expression on his face. His gaze was intently focused on the person in front of him. Dani's pace slowed when she realized that he was talking to a woman who gripped both his hands in hers. She could see gold bangles on her wrists, and gold rings on long, elegant fingers.
Her gut crawled with unease. She paused and sipped her lemonade. Maybe she shouldn't intrude. She could just wait until he was done with this conversation. She tried to tug her attention away from him and back to the festivities, but her eyes kept swiveling back to the shadowed arches of the colonnade where he stood with the strange woman. It was odd that he hadn't glanced up and seen her yet, considering all the nervous energy she must be sending in his direction. His attention was riveted on this woman, who still clutched him like a life raft.
Keeping her eyes on a nearby knot of children watching a magician pull a string of colored scarves from his mouth, she moved a few steps closer, ears straining to catch some of Quasar's conversation.
"Oh, darling, you always kill me with that mysterious Arabian charm of yours." The woman's voice was rich and full, confident, too.
"I'm not Arabian. I'm Omani." He said it with a smile.
"I know that, silly. I'm here in Oman, aren't I? Crazy long flight, too. You know how that airplane air dries out my skin, but I did it all for you."
Dani glanced at them in time to see one of the ringed hands rove up his forearm, reaching over the cuff of his elegant shirt. She froze. Now she could see the familiar profile, topped with expensively coiffed blond hair. This was Laura Larson, screen goddess, and one of the many glamorous women Dani had seen pictured on his arm when she did her internet search.
She wondered if she should turn and disappear back into the crowd. But wasn't this the man she'd just resolved to move across the world with? Curiosity and a growing sense of alarm propelled her forward, even while her instincts cued her to flee. Even when she was only fifteen feet away, he still hadn't looked up and noticed her. His famous companion was keeping him fully occupied with a giggly account of her appearance two nights ago at an awards ceremony, where she'd had too much to drink.
"Hello, Quasar." Dani said it quietly during a momentary break in the conversation. She didn't want to get any closer without announcing herself. She already felt like an intruder.
He glanced up and smiled. Relief swept over her. For a moment she'd wondered if he'd even acknowledge her. "I came to the party," she said, pointlessly. "The kids are really enjoying it."
Quasar ignored her blathering. "Dani, this is Laura. Laura, Dani."
Laura thrust out a hand with sharp-looking nails and Dani managed to produce a reasonably firm handshake and a smile. "Nice to meet you," she said, though it wasn't nice at all. She'd come here excited to tell Quasar that she'd decided to move to Boston with him. And the presence of Laura Larson made that impossible.
"What brings you to Oman?" Dani couldn't resist asking.