The Desert Prince / The Playboy's Proposition: The Desert Prince / The Playboy's Proposition. Jennifer Lewis

there was a perfect moment to tell him, this was it. She glanced around. Several tables were within easy earshot, and Salim’s staff hovered all around.

      No way could she drop a bomb like that here. She had no idea how he’d react.

      “You think me old-fashioned.” He rubbed a hand over his mouth. “But the failure of my marriage is my one big regret. I spend my days building a hotel empire, but if I died tomorrow, there’d be no one to hand it to.”

      “Hardly a big worry.” She concentrated on her food, afraid to show him the panic in her eyes. “I’m sure you have a long life ahead of you. You’ll have the heir you hope for.”

      She frowned. Would he consider a girl—illegitimate and American born—to be his heir? Probably not.

      “Your confidence in me is inspiring. But then it always was.” His soft gaze made her belly shiver. “Shame I didn’t live up to it.”

      The confession—his admittance of guilt—touched her deeply. She had a sudden, typically feminine urge to smooth any ruffled feathers and reassure him. “What nonsense. You’re one of the most successful men on the planet.”

      “You did say I’d succeed in business. I wasn’t at all sure. I didn’t speak English nearly as well as my brothers since I was educated at home while they went to school abroad. I wasn’t comfortable around strangers.” He rested his elbows on the table and studied her face. “But I grew very comfortable with you.”

      His voice lowered with what might be mistaken for a hint of suggestion.

      She racked her brain for something to diffuse the tension thickening in the air. “I’ll take some of the credit for improving your English. We used to stay up half the night talking.”

      “We had a lot to talk about.” A hint of suggestion flickered across his striking features.

      “True. I’d never met someone who read the entire New York Times from cover to cover every day. That’s a lot of material.”

      “And you showed me that there’s more to life than what you can read in the papers.” A smile lit his eyes. “Do you remember the time you took me to the circus?”

      She laughed. “How could I forget? You said the camels reminded you of home.”

      Salim’s eyes narrowed. “They did. And when I was with you I forgot my home. I didn’t think about where I came from. I was busy discovering new worlds and exploring them with you.”

      Celia blushed. “We were both virgins. Funny, isn’t it?”

      “Not really. I don’t suppose that was as outrageous as we were led to believe. It did mean the first time was special for both of us.”

      His soft voice and tender words pulled at old chords of emotion. “Very special. And funny, too, considering that we’d approached it like explorers, armed with an illustrated Kama Sutra and a list of suitable positions.”

      Salim chuckled. “We did have a tendency to over intellectualize everything.”

      “We thought we were so darn smart, and that we could understand everything if we just thought about it and talked about it long enough.”

      “So true!” A smile tugged at his bold, sensual mouth. “No topic was off-limits.”

      “Well, except that you were going to take off and marry someone else.”

      The words fell from her lips, the accusation she’d never been bold enough to make. She was so shocked and hurt, at first. When they met again she was so surprised and delighted by their renewed connection that she didn’t want to bring up the painful past.

      Salim frowned. “You’re right. I did avoid the subject of my future. I didn’t like to think about it myself.” His gaze drifted over her face, to her neck, which flushed under his attention. “And why would I, when it meant losing you?”

      They hadn’t talked much about his family at all. She’d assumed he didn’t want to be reminded of the home that was so far away he only saw it once or twice a year.

      He’d spent several weekends at her mom and dad’s house and stayed with them once over spring break. Her parents had thought him sweet and funny. Being professors they were used to international students, many of whom stayed and settled in the States. They didn’t think anything of her boyfriend being from another country.

      It hadn’t occurred to any of them that he had an entirely different life mapped out for him, thousands of miles away.

      One that didn’t, and never would, include Celia.

      Salim’s penetrating gaze locked onto hers. The flush rose over her face, and she let out a quick breath. “It might have been easier if I was prepared.”

      “How do you prepare to end a relationship?” He frowned. “I couldn’t prepare for it myself.”

      “At least you knew it was coming.”

      Salim closed his eyes for a split second. When he opened them they were dark as a starless night. “It wasn’t easy for me.”

      He leaned forward, holding her attention with laser intensity. “That was, and remains, the worst day of my entire life.”

      “Mine, too.” The words rushed from her mouth before she could stop them.

      He’d seemed so cold and distant, like he didn’t care. Like he’d changed into a different person overnight. One who’d never cared for her at all, let alone loved her.

      She wasn’t sure she’d ever recover from such a brutal rejection of all her affections. Such a firm and thorough crushing of all her hopes and dreams.

      Maybe she hadn’t recovered? She’d dated again, but never for long. She’d never married.

      Now, suddenly everything was different.

      He’d missed her.

      He’d never forgotten her.

      Memories of her, and their relationship, had ruined his marriage.

      Shock—and something else—unfurled deep inside her.

      Was this why he cut off their renewed affair four years ago? Because it had meant more to him than he was willing to admit?

      Questions raced around Celia’s mind. Questions about a Salim who’d been hidden from her.

      A Salim who’d missed her and who still loved her and who might.

      “Let’s go.” Salim swept up from the table without waiting for her reaction.

      Celia rose, accidentally clattering her knife against her plate and almost knocking over her chair. Her heart pounded beneath her elegant silk dress and her pulse skittered beneath her bangles as she took his arm and swept out of the room on a tide of fierce and unexpected emotion.

      Guests glanced up at them, curious, but she couldn’t summon even a polite smile to greet them. She couldn’t do anything except manage—just barely—to put one foot in front of the other.

      They flew across the sparkling atrium and out through a dark arch toward the beach. Salim marched with such speed and concentration that no one even dared approach him, let alone speak. It was all Celia could do to keep up in her rustling dress and delicate slippers.

      They stepped through the archway and walked down some steps to the sand. Warm evening air brushed her face like a breath. They hadn’t even left the pool of light flooding from the atrium when Salim turned, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with furious passion.

      Celia melted into his kiss, rushed into it, her whole body cleaving to his, pressing against him from head to toe. Her hands fisted into his shirt and her nipples hardened against his powerful chest.

      Salim’s urgent fingers roamed into her elaborate hairstyle as he pulled her face to his and kissed