by Holly Rayner
“What in the world are you doing now?” she demanded, baffled by his attitude and his restraint.
He looked up at her with a sweet smile. It was as if an angel had appeared, all golden shining light, in a Florentine Renaissance painting, and her insides suddenly warmed and flowed together in the glow of such radiance. Pit of snakes, begone!
Still, she wanted to stamp her foot with exasperation.
“Karim! What is going on?”
Finished, he put down his sleek silver pen and closed the leather checkbook cover.
“I know all about what happened with Chip Griffin last night,” he told her quietly.
“Of course you do. I just told you.”
“No. He called me this morning.”
Hallie suddenly felt like a balloon that had been filled with air, expanded until it could expand no more, popped, and was now just fizzling away as the rubber deflated.
“He called you.” Dull, defeated, she slumped in her chair and simply stared, unseeing, at the table top.
With the hands of the clock moving closer to lunch time, business was picking up. A steady stream of customers had moved in, with the front door jangling, the easy chatting and placing of orders, and the scraping of seats as those who had been served got settled either singly or in groups. They ignored the silent couple in the corner, as the couple ignored them. Life went on.
“Hallie, the buyout of Griffin Oceanic was important to me. You knew that, and I appreciate how involved you have been. However—” He took gentle hold of her hand, his thumb rubbing slowly back and forth across the open palm. “—it is not the end of the world that the arrangement has fallen through. I shall continue and persevere. In this economy, many, many businesses are available to buy—if the price is right—and I have no doubt I can find another.”
Her eyes searched his face. “But it meant so much to you. It’s—this has to be a—a crushing disappointment, to have the finished contract snatched away at the last minute.”
“It did. It is.” He shrugged. “But the trajectory of one’s life can turn on a dime, as you know. So many small things can happen that affect the overall picture of what is planned, what is hoped for. And we humans must be flexible to make whatever changes are necessary, don’t you think?”
“I—I suppose so…”
“Exactly. After Chip’s call to me, I sat in contemplation for quite some time. I needed to think about many details—all that has come into and gone out of my life—and finally, I came to a momentous conclusion.”
“Momentous?” Hallie’s throat felt dry as dust, almost painfully so. She reached for the cup of lukewarm coffee and sipped.
“Momentous, indeed. Though it has taken me a good while, I have finally realized what is most vital to me. What I absolutely cannot proceed without. And it is neither Al Ahsan Enterprises, nor is it Griffin Oceanic. It is, my dear Hallie Jameson, you.”
She blinked. “Wait. Me?”
“Yes, you. Well—and Aaron, as well. With that in mind, I would appreciate your taking this.”
Another rectangular scrap of paper, pushed across past both cardboard cups so that she could read it. Which she did, brow furrowed in perplexity.
“But, Karim—I don’t understand. It’s for the same amount. The $20,000 that I returned to you. What can you possibly—”
“Ah. And in whose name?”
The beautiful green eyes, as she raised them to meet his, were clouded. “You’ve written it out to Frank and Joanne Jameson. But why would you—”
Grinning hugely, he tilted his head slightly to consider her.
“I love you, Hallie. You have enriched my life beyond measure, and I want—I need—you to be a part of it, from this day on. I understand that you do not want to take the check, but it would be a wonderful gift for your parents. They deserve it, after all they’ve done to help you and Aaron. Plus, you won’t ever need to worry about money again as my girlfriend. If you’ll have me, that is.”
She felt dazed, confused, overwhelmed—a little dizzy, as if she might faint; a little separated from reality. The room, buzzing like a small hive of bees, receded around her.
“Hallie?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hallie, are you with me? I’m saying we should move in together. I want to build a life with you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hallie, are you okay?”
“Uh-huh.”
Abruptly, she blinked again, coming back to consciousness. Like a princess awakened by the prince. How apt.
Her gaze centered upon the man so few inches away, and sharpened. The man whose sterling qualities had won her heart. His goodness, his kindness, his patience, his gentleness—how long since she had been treated with such care? Exactly never. She had never been half of a couple, especially one that expected to march on together into the future through a strong, dependable relationship.
Not to mention that he was really great in bed.
She almost giggled. A tiny smile tucked into the dimples she rarely showed.
“Hmm. I do believe I’d like to think this proposition over, if you don’t mind. I may get a better offer.”
A look of actual distress crossed his face. “If you think you—”
“Oh, Jaali!” she cried. “Of course, you silly goose!”
Their conversation had starting attracting attention from other customers. Now, in an astonishing display they would be talking about and chuckling over for the rest of the day (especially those delighted to witness romance in the making), Hallie shoved back her chair with a great deal of noise and flung herself onto Karim’s lap.
Heedless of the cast boot that hindered his movement, she proceeded to rain kisses upon his upturned face, his cheek, his temple, his jaw. Until, finally, laughing, he got hold of her long enough to capture her mouth and partake of a lengthy, sumptuous, sensuous kiss.
It was a five-star kiss. A movie finale kiss.
Onlookers applauded. A few whistled.
It was the highlight of the day at Café Mud.
Chapter 20
When they walked together from the curb up to the Jamesons’ front door (actually, Hallie was walking, her steps measured to fit his, and her boyfriend was hobbling with cane in hand), Hallie had been adorned once more with the exquisite diamond pendant.
Instead of summoning a limo, as Karim usually did, she had insisted the Sheikh climb into the passenger seat of her battered car for the ride to her parents’ house. In the car, she had made a quick call to warn them of the impending visit. She had barely ended the call when Karim had reached for her hand to kiss it.
“I am returning my gift to you.”
Stopped at a traffic light, he’d fastened the necklace back on for her.
After a beat, he’d asked, “Do you think they’ll like me?”
Turning her head, she’d grinned at him.
“Why, you getting cold feet about meeting them?” she’d asked.
“Not so much. The weather, in case you hadn’t noticed, is quite warm. But I think it’s perfectly normal for the man who is dating their daughter to be anxious about meeting them.”
Frank and Joanne Jameson lived in a compact, two-story house, in a neighborhood of many other compact, two-story houses. A working-class neighborhood, filled with flower beds and children’s scattered toys. This was where she had grown up, Hallie explained, as she parked her car in the driveway.
A narrow, screened-in front porch, painted white, led to the living room, rather crowded with too much furniture and too many mementoes—mostly framed photographs of Hallie herself: as a toddler, as a freckled first-grader, as a high school graduate in blue and gold, as a proud LPN receiving her diploma—which led to the kitchen and a small dining room. The upstairs, according to Hallie’s description, held three small bedrooms and a full bath.
As it turned out, the only person left unaffected by this sudden inclusion of a stranger into their midst was baby Aaron. He crawled to greet Karim with a blissful
, “Gah!” and an inspection of the bulky blue boot that could have been no more diligent than had he worked at the Cranston ER.
A flustered Joanne, unsure of how to greet this injured man who had escorted Hallie inside her house, showed them into the small living room and then offered the always safe segue of something to drink.
“Don’t fuss over us, Mom,” Hallie said with a warm hug. “We’re fresh from the coffee shop; we’ve already had plenty to drink. We just need to talk. Unless you and Dad—”
“Well, no—I mean, it is close to lunch time, and we’ll be wanting to eat soon, but—where is your father, anyway? Excuse me just for a minute…”
A broad smile that almost cracked her face in half seemed to be permanently etched into Hallie’s expression. Bending over, she removed Aaron from harm’s way, where he had gotten a trifle too enthusiastic with his work at the bindings of Karim’s medical paraphernalia.
“Silly boy,” she murmured, tickling the little boy’s stomach until he chortled, rolled away, and wiggled his padded bottom toward the box of toys waiting for distribution.
“Well, hi, there, honey.” Tall, gray-haired, somewhat stooped, Frank Jameson made his slow way from the kitchen to join them, with Joanne trailing along behind. “We don’t often get a chance to see you in the middle of the day. Everything okay?”
Hallie beamed and embraced her father in a hug that was careful of his physical condition. At this time of the day, his back was sure to be aching, and probably his hips and shoulders as well.
“Everything’s okay, Dad. More than okay. Dad, Mom, meet Karim Al Ahsan—my boyfriend.”
As Karim cautiously stood to reach out for a hand shake, everyone could hear her mother’s gasp.
“Boyfriend! But, Hallie—! When I spoke to you just a few hours ago, you said everything was a mess, and you blamed yourself, and you felt it could never get right…” Her mother could certainly be justified in her bewilderment. “What happened?”
“Well, Karim is what happened. Please, sit down, both of you. We’ll explain all about it. And I want you to get to know this wonderful man. He really is quite a—” Hallie’s eyes twinkled as she glanced his way, “—unique individual.”
From there, the story went on for some time. If her parents had some small difficulties in making sense of all that had occurred in the past week, that was understandable, as well.
Frank and Joanne, seated side by side on a loveseat while their grandson rooted through his toys, held hands and exchanged meaningful glances now and then. As if their little duckling (never ugly, however) had suddenly sprouted wings and transformed into a full-grown swan before their eyes.
Were they ecstatic about this giant leap into another world their daughter was about to take? No parents are happy with the reality of their children growing up. But they could count on her maturity, and her clear vision, and her generous heart—and their own never-failing support—to see her through whatever adjustment might lie ahead.
Meanwhile, they would warily welcome Karim into the family, since Hallie was obviously enthralled, and they would get to know him a little, here and now, and more, as time went on.
I’m sure there will be many great things about him, Joanne’s brown eyes telegraphed to her husband’s. We just have to be patient and wait to find out.
After a while, when they had been chatting casually and commenting on the progress Aaron was making on his road to standing up alone, Joanne asked if Hallie were not scheduled to work today.
“Oh! Oh! My gosh, I’d forgotten all about it!” Flustered, she glanced at her watch to check the time. “Thanks, Mom, for the reminder. Good thing I’ve got you to keep me on the straight and narrow! We’ll really have to leave now, because I have to get home and change, and then—oh, but, Karim, I’ll need to get you back to—”
“There’s no need to rush,” he assured her, with his usual smile. “Once we reach your place, I’ll call for a car to return me to my mine. You will have plenty of time for what you must do.”
That alone indicated the depth of caring and concern for their daughter from this man. Joanne’s stiff stance softened a little.
“Yes, that will help a lot. Okay, then. We’d better get going. Mom, Dad—” Jumping to her feet, Hallie paused, her imploring gaze shifting back and forth between two of the most important people in her world.
Immediately, Joanne surged upright to envelope her daughter in a fierce, clinging hug. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m so happy for you. Hopefully we’ll get to know Karim better soon—”
“Might I suggest the four of us have dinner together, on Saturday night?” asked Karim, rising. “Certainly, we will need much more time than this brief visit to get acquainted. Will that be convenient for you?”
Put thus, how could it not be? And agreeable. And acceptable.
It had been an amicable, friendly arrival, and it was an amicable, friendly departure, after hugs and kisses all around. Once Karim got himself settled into Hallie’s car’s front seat, he reached for his cell to call for a driver.
“Hallie, my dear.” He glanced sideways at her while she maneuvered her car away from the curb. “I hope you will be able to reduce your hours at work soon? I have no doubt your patients and fellow employees need you there, at Cranston. But I—well, I will need you more.”
She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Please don’t say such nice things to me when I’m driving. I can’t concentrate on traffic if I’m looking at your handsome face.”
“Ah.” He smiled. “A fine state of affairs. We should continue in that vein, yes?”
Chapter 21
The call came two days later, in the middle of a morning that—though emptied of appointments—had filled up with a surprising amount of minor details to be dealt with. Karim had spoken to Hallie a number of times. Too many, according to her protest after his most recent check-in, since the hour had been exceedingly late and a girl needed her beauty sleep, darn it!
“I just asked you to be my girlfriend and now you don’t want to talk to me?” Karim had pretended displeasure.
“Well, of course I want to talk to you. But I have to be at work in six hours! How can I be fit as a fiddle if I’m yawning over the patients?”
“Ah. I see I shall have to take a stern role when we move in together. The male is the head of the household, you must remember, and the female is there to obey his orders. We shall have to set up—”
“Oh, shush, you! Good night, my love.” Laughing, she’d hung up.
Much as he’d wanted to call back, just to tease her further, Karim was forced to accept her conditions, for now. The situation would change when her schedule was not as dependent upon that of Cranston’s Emergency Room Unit.
There would be many things to discuss with her and her parents on Saturday night: where to take up residence, when to move, what to do once they got there. The family would, of course, stay together in some way, with little Aaron so vital a hub to it.
A thousand possibilities for the future existed, each one more exciting than the last; and Karim couldn’t recall ever feeling so excited. He was about to embark on a life with this incredible woman who had, on multiple occasions now, nearly moved him to tears.
Life was good. Life was sweet. Despite the final, galling cancellation of the contract for which he had labored long and hard. He would put aside all thoughts of the loss and move on; so much more was waiting for him.
So, it came as a huge surprise when Karim answered his cellphone only to discover Chip Griffin at the other end of the line.
“Good morning,” he said cautiously.
“Hello, Karim.” Griffin’s voice sounded less boisterous, less hail-fellow-well-met, than usual. Perhaps the hospital visit had taken a toll on him.
He wanted, he said in a subdued tone, to meet with Karim—if that would be convenient.
“At your office?”
“Hell, yes, at my office, where did you think I—” His outburst was interrupted by Karim clea
ring his throat. “All right, all right. I mean, yes. I’d like to see you at my office. D’you think you can get here soon?”
Still wary, Karim assented that, yes, he could certainly come to the Oceanic headquarters.
“In an hour, then. That works for you? Okay. See you here.” Chip finished up with his customary slightly testy grumble, and hung up.
And Karim was left to wonder what on earth was going on. He’d thought everything was done and finished with Chip Griffin. Did the man want to try inflicting still more damage, but in person? Was he filing some unheard-of lawsuit for some unheard-of reason, just to reignite a feud?
At precisely noon, he hobbled into Griffin’s main office, to find not only Chip sitting behind his monster desk, but Annemarie sedately installed in the lounge area, center stage, thumbing through a magazine.
“What happened to you?” Chip asked, by way of greeting. Concerned by his visitor’s condition, the magnate rose, reached out for a handshake, and guided Karim toward more comfortable surroundings.
Seating himself on a chair with some care, Karim waved a hand.
“It is nothing, a minor accident that required the re-setting of some delicate bones. I am recovering nicely, thank you for asking. Good morning, Mrs. Griffin.”
Annemarie gave him her serene smile. “Hello, Karim. I’m delighted to see you again.”
“And you, as well. And I hope, Mr. Griffin, that you have fully recovered from your own indisposition.”
“Well, yeah, I am. More’n a damn indisposition, no matter what anybody says. Had me just about bent over with all the stuff goin’ on that I—” A slight flush mounted over his cheeks, and he squirmed a little. “Hey, you want some coffee or somethin’? I can call for—”
“Chip,” interrupted his wife, in the slightly maternal, scolding tone she had often had to use throughout their marriage.
“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” Elbows braced on the arms of his chair, Griffin put the tips of his fingers together. “Well, then. Seems like I sprung open a real hornets’ nest, with my mouth yappin’ on as it does. After I got home from the hospital, and took a couple days to recover, Annie here lit into me. Called me some…interesting names.”