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.As he worked with her day after day that week, she grew increasingly anxious.The more she saw of him, the more they worked together on the garden project, the closer she felt to him.She knew it was going to be hard to let him go, but she knew it was inevitable.By the end of the week both the garden and her ankle looked much better.They were sitting at her kitchen table eating a dinner he’d put together as if they were an ordinary couple.His shirt was covered with grass stains.He looked nothing like the groomsman she’d spotted staring at her in the church the day of Carolyn’s wedding.He looked like an ordinary man.But he was far from ordinary.Though she was able to walk now, he insisted on making her dinner and waiting on her.But that wasn’t why she was so terribly, impossibly, madly in love with him.It was who he was and it was who she was when she was with him.She was having so much trouble keeping her love from showing, it made her heart hurt, if that was possible.“We need to talk,” she said, knowing she had to face the music.Knowing it wasn’t going to get any easier.“I thought we were talking,” he said, pouring her a cup of coffee.“I mean about our engagement.About, you know, how to dissolve it.”“Is that what you want to do?” he asked carefully.“It doesn’t matter what I want to do.It’s what has to be done.We’ve been living a lie.It’s not important to the people at my school, but your parents have got to know the truth.”He studied her face for a long moment.“All right, I’ll tell them.”“What will you tell them?”“That it didn’t work out.What do they call it? Irreconcilable differences.A mutual agreement to disagree.Of course they won’t be happy about it.”“They’ll be angry with you.”“Probably.But I can handle them.We can still see each other, can’t we?” he asked.“What for?” She had to make a clean break.No more Rafik.If she sounded brusque, so be it.If she continued to see him, it would break her heart.He looked taken aback.“I’ll miss you,” he said.“I can’t imagine not seeing you.I guess you don’t feel the same.”“Of course I’ll miss you,” she said, “but I can’t depend on you forever.You’ve spoiled me terribly and I have to get back on my feet, both literally and figuratively.You’ve missed a week’s worth of work.Don’t you think it’s time to get back to your life?”“My life before you came into it? I can’t remember what it was like.”“All the more reason for you to do whatever it is you do.Now that I can walk, I have to get caught up.The summer’s half over and I haven’t accomplished half of what I’d planned.”She was proud of herself for sounding so matter-of-fact.Proud of herself for not giving in to the tears that were building behind her eyes.That threatened to overwhelm her.She was afraid if he didn’t go soon she’d fall apart.She’d beg him to stay.She’d implore him to stay engaged to her.She’d collapse under the weight of her secret love.He got to his feet and leaned against the counter.“I guess I wasn’t ready for this,” he said.“I didn’t realize how much I was holding you back.”“I didn’t mean that,” she said.“You’ve been a wonderful help to me and I’ll never forget it.I’ll never forget you.”He stared at her.His face paled under his bronzed skin.“That sounds like goodbye,” he said.She swallowed hard.She tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.She didn’t move.She couldn’t, not when she felt like she was made of stone.If he kissed her she’d lose her composure altogether.She willed him to leave.Now.Without another word.Leave her to suffer alone.Leave him with a positive picture of her, cured of a sprained ankle and cured of her attachment to him.Free of pain.Back to normal.But she didn’t know what normal was anymore.He got the message.“Well, goodbye then, Anne.I wish you the best.”She forced a smile.“Thank you.” She got up and walked him to the door.This time she barely got the door shut before the tears came, rolling down her cheeks, hot and heavy.She’d got what she wanted.She’d gotten rid of Rafik.Forever.Yes, it hurt.But better now than later.She’d get over it.It was all a fantasy, anyway.A dream that couldn’t come true.Falling in love with a sheik was doomed for failure, disappointment and let-down.It would have been easier if she’d been teaching.If there had been a class of eager little children waiting for her each morning so that she’d have to get up and pull herself together.But it was summer vacation.She hosted the bird-watchers’ group, heard them exclaim about what she’d done to the garden, heard them make suggestions about further plantings, but after they left, she felt let-down.According to their suggestions, she made a list and ordered more plants from the nursery, so many they covered every available space, stacked high in her shed and on every plot of dirt.She might have overdone it, but that way the garden wouldn’t feel empty without Rafik.So she thought.And it would provide her with a reason to get up in the morning.Still she had to force herself to go to the garden every morning.Once there, she’d sit and sip tea and stare at the chaos she’d created, overwhelmed by the amount of work she had to do, feeling more alone than she ever had in her life.It was his fault.His fault for making himself a part of her life.Her fault for letting him do it.She turned off her phone just in case he tried to call her.If she heard his voice she might crumble.She might blurt out a confession that would embarrass them both.When there was a knock on her gate one morning, she jumped out of her bench.Her heart pounded like a jackhammer.But it wasn’t Rafik.It was Rafik’s brother, Rahman.She felt all the air leave her lungs.She was crushed, but she was relieved as well.“I tried to call you but I got a busy signal,” he said.“Come in,” she said, opening the gate.“How are you?”“I’m fine but the family is falling apart.Ever since Rafik told the parents he wasn’t going to marry you.”“Oh, no.I hope he put at least half the blame on me.You know it wasn’t all his idea to call it off.”“It wasn’t? He said it was.He said he wanted to be a playboy again.You can imagine how that went over.”“Do you believe him?” she asked.Rahman shook his head.“He’s changed.I can’t believe how he’s changed.He’s working night and day.And he’s in a foul temper.You’d think Father would be pleased about his new work ethic, but he’s not.He’s furious with Rafik.He wants a daughter-in-law.He wants you.” Rahman pointed his finger at Anne.“But as you know, Rafik doesn’t want a wife.He may not be a playboy anymore, but he still doesn’t want to get married.He doesn’t want me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]