Free The Sheikh's American Daughter by Kate Goldman Page B

“Wow!” she cried out.
     
    Joseph laughed gently. 
     
    “I did warn you,” he said.
     
    “I like it.” She giggled a little. He realized that she loved food. He had learned quite a bit about her over their lunch.
     
    Joseph paid for their lunch after they were finished eating. He obviously was not going to let her pay for it. They walked out of the restaurant together. People stared at them as they made their way out. They gasped and whispered. Some people greeted him.
     
    “I will drop you off at home,” he said to Olivia as they stepped out into the hot weather.
     
    “I would have said no if I had my own transport,” she said. She shook her head. “I can’t believe Sheikh Solomon tricked me like this,” she added. Joseph smiled and gestured towards his car.
     
    “You still call him Sheikh Solomon?” he asked her.
     
    “What else would I call him?” she asked. She started fanning herself with her right hand. “It’s very hot,” she complained.
     
    “Father.”
     
    “Why would I call him that?”
     
    Joseph slid his hands into his pockets. “I guess it’s too soon,” he said to her. Joseph’s driver got out of the car as they approached. He opened the backseat door. Joseph let Olivia get in first.
     
    They kept talking about her father on their way to Sheikh Solomon’s house. They talked about her awkward living arrangement. She was not getting along with her sisters or their mother. It was hard for her. She wanted to leave but her father really did not want her to. Joseph made a joke about her moving in with him, and she actually laughed. She was warming up to him. He had succeeded in melting her tough exterior.
     

Chapter 14
     
    Olivia and Joseph arrived at Sheikh Solomon’s residence. They parked right outside the house. Olivia had to admit to herself that having lunch with Joseph hadn’t been so bad. Despite his vanity and arrogance, he was easy to talk to. He seemed to be a good listener also.
     
    “Thanks for the lift,” she said as she opened the door.
     
    “No need to thank me. As your man, that’s the least I could do,” Joseph replied. Olivia’s eyes opened wide. He had just referred to himself as her man. He had sounded so sexy when he said it. Olivia felt butterflies in her stomach.
     
    “You are not my man,” she said to him. “And I am certainly not your woman!”
     
    Joseph smiled at her. He leaned towards her. This time Olivia quickly moved backwards. She moved too quickly and with so much force, she fell out of the car. She let out a squeak as she fell out. She landed on her bottom.
     
    Olivia could not believe that she had just fallen out of the car like that. She had tried to dodge his kiss and ended up on her bottom. Joseph jerked his head forward and looked at her. “Are you okay?” he asked her. Olivia burst into laughter. She could not help but laugh at herself. Joseph raised his eyebrows.
     
    “You find this amusing?” he asked her. Olivia laughed for a few more seconds before she cleared her throat and tried to compose herself.
     
    “I am surprised that you don’t,” she replied. She sprang to her feet and wiped her bottom.
     
    “I don’t want you breaking anything.”
     
    “I’m okay, bye.” Olivia headed into the house. She quickly rushed upstairs. She found Daya sitting on the sofas outside their bedrooms.
     
    “You are here,” said Daya. Olivia sat in the sofa opposite her.
     
    “How are you?” she asked. Daya shrugged her shoulders.
     
    “I need to go back to Atlanta.”
     
    Olivia sighed. “Me too,” she replied. She really wanted to get out of that house but then if she returned, she would be leaving Sheikh Solomon behind.
     
    “No, I mean I have to go back tomorrow,” Daya replied.
     
    “What happened?”
     
    “My father has been admitted to the hospital again.”
     
    “Oh no.” Olivia felt bad for Daya. Her father had bad kidneys. He had been waiting for a transplant for years. “We can leave