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Zelda nearly forgot all about the pain in her feet and the aardness of trying to stay upright in the shoes as she and Zayed practiced the dance, but then she realized that neither of the, and self-consciousness rose up in her “It’s got to be a little strange for you,her voice just loud enough for him to hear it above the music
“Stranger for you, I would think,” Zayeda stranger for weeks—et used to the idea”
Zelda half-shrugged, letting her cheek rest against Zayed’s shoulder “It’s a little weird,” she admitted “When Hadya told me you were away on business forthe house a bit”
She hadn’t realized that there’d been an undercurrent of guilt in her mind at what she’d done; the Sheikh had tol
d her that she had the run of the palatial house, but there was still so about the pictures she’d looked at, the inforave her pause
“This is the first time you’ve seen the whole house?” he asked, and Zelda nodded “I should have given you a ht you were here”
“It was nice, actually, discovering it on my own terms,” Zelda told him “I didsee some pictures that I’m curious about”
“Oh?”
The song started up again, and Zayed’s hands tightened on Zelda’s back as she faltered just slightly, trying to find the groove again
“I think they were your parents,” Zelda said “They looked like they could be But they were all shrouded or covered, the pictures of them”
Zayed nodded “I probably should have the shrouds andcloths removed,” he admitted “Normally they’re only there for a year, by tradition”
“Has it been a long ti to say the words
“They passed away a few years ago,” Zayed said, his voice full of melancholy “They died in an accident, en route from Dubai”
Zelda felt hiaze For the first time since she had met the Sheikh, Zelda saw real, painful emotion on his face
“I almost decided to sell off the company,” he continued “I justcouldn’t see a way forward, without h at my mistakes, or my mother to tell me all of his mistakes to make me feel better” Zayed smiled faintly, and Zelda realized that the other shosts compared to the real expression
“In the pictures, you looked likelike you were really happy, really close with them,” Zelda said softly