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Her desert knight(27)

By:Jennifer Lewis


"Quasar, of course. Is there any other reason for visiting such a tiny  and faraway country?" Laura tossed her luxurious gold hair and shone an  adoring glance on Quasar.

"You flatter me, but Dani knows that Oman's charms far outshine mine."

Laura gave Dani the once-over, then looked back at Quasar. Dani became  self-conscious of her Omani attire. Laura herself had on a slinky cream  dress with a plunging neckline that revealed her spray-tanned boobs,  gold high-heeled sandals and a necklace of what looked like gold  nuggets.

"Do people here not drink alcohol?" Laura surveyed the crowd.

"Not really." Quasar winked at Dani, which gave her a pleasant  conspiratorial feeling. "It's a Muslim country. It's served to guests at  the hotel who want it, though. Would you like a drink?"

"Absolutely, darling. I'm parched and this Shirley Temple they gave me  isn't doing anything for my jet lag. A whisky sour would be a dream."

"Dani, would you like anything?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"I'll be right back."

Quasar headed for the bar, leaving Dani with Laura. Awkward! "Do you  work at the hotel?" Laura inquired while looking over her shoulder at  the crowds.

"No. I'm a friend of Quasar's." She lifted her chin as she said it. Now  would be the perfect time to announce she was about to move in with  him, but prudence prevented her. She knew this woman was one of his  ex-lovers. And she'd come all the way to Oman to see him. They were  obviously still on friendly terms.

Maybe their relationship wasn't even over.

"Are you one of the girls whose hearts he broke when he was a ridiculously dashing teen heartthrob?"

"No. We met recently." She could see Laura's curiosity growing, and  decided that being mysterious was the best policy. No need to even let  on that she recognized her. Which was petty, since she quite liked her  movies. Oh, well, she was jealous of Laura right now and that was making  her petty. At least she could acknowledge it.

But it was rather scary to see herself grow green claws over Quasar.  How was she going to feel in Boston when he had business meetings with  women, or even social gatherings and networking? He was an outgoing,  friendly and popular guy, so she'd better get used to sharing him if  their relationship was going anywhere. "How do you know him?"

"Oh, Quasar and I go way back." Laura inhaled her pink mocktail like it  was a shot of rum. "He's like the brother I never had." The platonic  reference was strangely reassuring. "But who I sleep with!" Laura let  out a giggle. "He's irresistible. What can I say?"

Dani swallowed. What could she say? Hopefully Laura didn't intend to  sleep with Quasar tonight. But if she did, what exactly could Dani do  about it if Quasar were ready, willing and able?

Where was Quasar? She turned and saw him returning with three tall  glasses. "Whiskey sours for everyone." He handed Laura hers, then gave  one to Dani.

She looked at it suspiciously. She didn't really drink. Apart from any religious objections, she was a total lightweight.

Quasar took a sip of his and Laura took a few refreshing gulps of hers.  "Quasar, darling, you should come down under for my next shoot." She  grabbed Quasar's shoulder. "It's near Melbourne, which is such a  fantastic city. Beaches, nightlife, fun people."                       
       
           



       

"Sounds like Salalah." Quasar winked again at Dani. The gesture warmed and relaxed her.

"Have you been to Australia, darling?" She squeezed his shoulder.

"Never have."

"Come then, you'll love it. I promise."

This is where Quasar should have protested that he couldn't because he was about to move to Boston with Dani. But he didn't.

"Maybe I will. There's an interesting biotech firm in Sydney I've been  keeping tabs on. I might come down and eyeball the place."

"Wonderful." Her hand rose up to cup his cheek. Dani tried not to  squirm and spill her whiskey sour. "When shooting wraps, we can take a  Jeep across the outback. I've always wanted to do that!"

How could Quasar let this strange woman fondle him right in front of  her after all they'd shared over the last few days? He was acting as if  Laura was his girlfriend and she, Dani, was his old and platonic friend.  Which is of course what he'd said he would do to protect her  reputation. Was he just trying to deflect attention from her by  pretending Laura was still his lover?

"Laura surprised me today," he said to Dani. "She showed up unannounced with about forty pieces of luggage."

"Oh." Dani nodded. That was not at all reassuring. He obviously  wouldn't have invited her to come here tonight if he'd known Laura was  arriving.

This situation was uncomfortable. Not only was he trying to convince  everyone else they were "just friends," he apparently wanted Laura to  think that too. Dani decided to take the hint and make her exit at the  first available opportunity.

"Forty pieces of luggage! There aren't even eight. And I had no idea  what the climate would be like here. Deserts can be quite freezing at  night. I wonder if the outback gets cold at night. I could bring a light  fox fur." She giggled again.

Dani's drink was sweating in her hand and she was tempted to drink it  just for something to do, but she worried that she might cough and  splutter at the disgusting taste of whiskey. She had no idea what to say  and was beginning to wish that the shining marble tiles of the floor  would slide apart and allow her to sink gracefully into oblivion.

Mercifully, Salim announced over the mike that it was time to sing  "Happy Birthday," and the crowd moved in toward where a giant,  multilayer cake, iced with rainbow-colored unicorns, stood in the middle  of the courtyard.

Dani made a dive for the exit and didn't look back to see if Quasar had  noticed. This was possibly the most embarrassing experience of her  life. Luckily only she knew that. Laura-even Quasar himself-had no idea  she'd come here to tell Quasar of her plans to go back to the States  with him. To live with him and accept his generous offer to support her,  which basically would have made her a kept woman.

Kept by a man for whom she was just one of many women whose company he enjoyed.

Thank goodness she'd seen Quasar's true colors and come to her senses.  She put her drink down on a table as she passed out of the large  courtyard, unnoticed amongst the joyous crowd singing "Happy Birthday"  in several languages at the same time. She felt like a killjoy that she  couldn't at least celebrate his niece's birthday, but tears were  dangerously close to the surface and she needed to get out of here  before they erupted.

It was over. Her exhilarating romance with Quasar. Her bold plans for  starting over again in Boston. All of it. Now she was right back where  she'd started except that now her father thought she was a loose woman  as well as a foolish one.

She managed to keep a straight face as she hurried past the army of  valets and bellhops and maintenance staff, striding along the wide  driveway that led out the hotel gates. Out on the main road she kept  going, walking as fast as she could. The chiffon fabric of her clothing  kept catching on itself, and she cursed the fact that traditional Omani  women's wear consisted of both a dress and pants. Maybe it was planned  that way to make it harder for a woman to escape from her lover in a  moment of crisis.

She should be glad, really. Her brain raced and her breathing got  faster as she strode down the dusty sidewalk. She'd been saved from the  humiliation of embarking on yet another disastrous live-in relationship  with a totally unsuitable man. She'd just have to accept the truth that  she had awful taste in men. She needed to find some kind of job where  she could support herself, move out and get a cat for companionship.

She'd hoped the walk home would clear her head and settle her emotions;  instead the first tears fell as she rounded the corner into her  neighborhood. She wiped them hurriedly away with her scarf. Would her  father even let her back in the house or would she be ordered to leave  the way Quasar had been when he showed up?                       
       
           



       

She bit her lip and fought back the tears. The walk had flown by so  quickly on her way to the party when she was filled with excitement and  hope for the future. Now she prayed she wouldn't run into her neighbors  out for an evening stroll. She couldn't bear to see anyone right now.

Why hadn't Quasar kissed her? If he had she'd probably have been  shocked, and worried about her reputation, and scolded him. But now the  fact that he hadn't made her feel like a castoff. His conspiratorial  winks had suggested that they were still a team in some sense. Just not  in any public sense where he'd claim her as his actual girlfriend.