Love Saved by Augusta Hill Read Free Book Online Page B

isn't scary enough?" Oren flashed him a bratty smile, but it was quickly cut off as he began to cough wildly as his camel unleashed yet another stink bomb. Kirk and the rest of the caravan threw their heads back in laughter.
    "It appears we picked the wrong camel for him," said one of the nomads, his crooked teeth shining brightly as he chuckled.
    "No, I think it is definitely the right one," Kirk snorted.
    "I know you are talking about me," Oren said primly, having finally regained his composure. "Some friend you are."
    Kirk smiled, but the word 'friend' cut a hole through him. When they had started this long trip across the desert, he thought they would never be friends. In fact, he had thought there was a good chance they would strangle each other within hours. Somewhere along the way, that had all changed, however. Now he didn't just want to be friends - he wanted to something more, something deeper. He wanted to hold the billionaire close and keep all of the blonde’s anxiety at bay. He wanted to show Oren that a whole world existed beyond his office.
    Not that there is a chance of that, I know it, he knows it. This is all just a game that will end very soon.
    That was part of the reason he had fled the tent so early that morning. Waking up next to Oren had felt perfect. He couldn't remember a time when opening his eyes and seeing another face had made his heart skip up into his throat in happiness. The bliss he had experienced in that moment was sharply tinged with sadness, however. There couldn't be more mornings like that, and it tore him open. So he had gotten himself outside and as far away from Oren as possible.
    "You really practice your English with horror movies?" Oren asked, pulling his camel up next to Kirk's and talking low.
    "All the time. It is important for me to be able to communicate easily with clients, so I need to practice often. And horror movies make it fun. If I ever go to America, I want to see all the haunted houses I can."
    "Yeah? Like where?"
    "I really enjoy movies with voodoo. The big plantations with their spooky houses, and the cold swamps! I hope one day to travel to your Louisiana, just to see it before I die."
    "Is there anywhere else you'd like to go? Say, New York, for example?"
    Kirk looked over at Oren suspiciously, trying to determine what the other man was hinting at. He didn't want to assume too much and decided to answer coyly.
    "New York looks quite large and overwhelming to me. My sister has always wanted to go there, though. She talks about seeing the art museums. But she wants to go to every art museum in the world, honestly. Paris, New York, London."
    "Is she an artist?"
    "Salma? Yes, and a very talented one. She paints beautiful landscapes of both the sea and the desert. You'd think these scenes would be boring and all one color. But she sees all the variations of texture and color, and she makes them come alive on the canvas." Kirk paused, slightly embarrassed by how he was rambling on.
    Oren didn't seem to mind, however. He was leaning close, taking in every word with fascination. "I'd love to see her art someday."
    Kirk's heart lifted in pride. Oren had the money to go to any museum or gallery he wanted. In fact, Kirk was sure the billionaire had many expensive pieces decorating his house. To own such masterpieces and still be willing to look at Salma's work made Kirk like Oren even more.
    "Maybe when we get back to town I can have her show you some." He left the end of the sentence - before you leave forever - unsaid.
    "I'd like that. I have a sister of my own, you know. Her name is Georgette. She is a complete nutter, but I love her anyway."
    "A nutter? What does that mean?"
    "It means she is crazy in a likeable way. She is constantly buying into some new fad diet or exercise craze. She is trying to find immortality or the meaning of life or some madness. All I know is that every couple of months, she forces me to drink kale smoothies until I want to die."
    "All the