‘Habibi, I—’
‘Do not call me habibi.’
‘Okay—fine.’ He held up his hands as if she were a wild thing about to pounce on him and maul him to death. What a pity, she thought, that shape-shifting was pure fantasy. ‘I know I’m the reason you’re upset and I just want to talk.’
‘No.’ Imogen shook her head for emphasis. ‘No more talking. I’m done here, Nadir.’
He looked around the room and frowned when he saw the minuscule amount of clothing on the bed. The empty cot. ‘Where’s Nadeena? Isn’t she due for a sleep?’
‘Yes, but since we’re leaving, Minh is trying to keep her awake so that she’ll sleep on the—oh, this is not important. Could you please just go?’ The last thing she wanted to do was break down and sob in front of him and the longer he stayed the more likely that was to happen. It was too painful to see him. Too painful to be near him.
He cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘It’s probably good that we talk about him and get it out of the way.’
‘Talk about whom?’
‘Your friend, Minh.’
‘What about him?’
He looked at her and his throat worked as he swallowed. ‘Do you love him?’
Did she love him? ‘Why are you asking me that?’
‘Because I need to make sure I’ve done the right thing in letting you go.’
‘Letting me go?’ She shot him a fulminating look. ‘You told me to go. You’ve reconsidered, remember—you don’t want to marry me.’
‘Of course I still want to marry you. I only reconsidered the reason for our marriage.’
Imogen shook her head. ‘You’re not making any sense. You cancelled the ceremony.’
‘Yes, but I didn’t want to.’
‘Then why do it?’
‘Because you told me the reason you were marrying me was because we had Nadeena and I wanted more.’
‘More?’
‘Hell.’ He swiped a hand across his face. ‘I need to start again. What I’m trying to tell you is that I love you.’
‘You love me?’
Her shock must have registered on her face because his expression turned grim. ‘Yes, but if you prefer Minh then I’ll walk away.’
‘Nadir, Minh is gay.’
‘Gay!’ The look on his face was priceless and Imogen would have laughed if she hadn’t felt so ill. Had he seriously thought that Minh was her lover? Looking back, she supposed he might have got that impression initially but... ‘How could you think that I could be in love with him and make love to you?’ she demanded hotly.
‘As I explained to our daughter this morning, I’m an ass. Particularly where you’re concerned. I can’t seem to keep my head on straight when you’re in the room and every male who looks at you sideways is a threat.’