Sven was attempting to sound sexy, but Kendra thought it sounded very much like a familiar cartoon character but she couldn’t remember which one. He’d lowered his voice a few octaves and was whispering about all of the “fantastical” things he could get up to in bed. Kendra was looking toward Bianca, her face begging for help, but Bianca didn’t notice her she was busy dancing with yet another tall, hunky Russian. There seemed to be an endless supply of them. Kendra wished she’d look her way and notice the desperation in her eyes, see that she needed rescuing from the affections of Sven. She suddenly remembered the cartoon character! Sven sounded exactly like Popeye. She laughed but regretted it immediately as it only encouraged Sven. He was moving in close. What was that smell? Kendra wondered. Was it….baby powder?

“I’m back with our drinks, darling,” a voice behind Sven said.

Sven moved to see who was speaking and there was the serious Egyptian man carrying two drinks. He was much handsomer close up. It was his eyes. He had the most extraordinary eyes. Were they blue, against his dark skin? She could hardly stop looking at them.

It only took Kendra a moment to catch up with the new plan. She reached forward and took one of the glasses from this gorgeous man and said, “Thanks…sweetheart.”

Sven popped to his feet when he realised his emaciated frame would not withstand a good pummelling from Kendra’s quite substantial pseudo-sweetheart. “Sorry…I…didn’t know you….Sven will be gone now…” he stammered and then disappeared in the crowd.

Kendra looked up at her saviour. “Thank you, god, I didn’t know how I’d get rid of him. You’re my hero!”

The serious dark face, cut sharp and strong, opened up as if the sun came out from behind a cloud when he smiled. Kendra wasn’t sure she didn’t gasp out loud but she certainly gasped in her head. He was stunning.

“I saw he was troubling you. I just wanted to be of service. Now I’ll be on my way,” he said and headed back toward his table.

Kendra jumped up and went after him. She touched his shoulder. “No! Wait!” He stopped and turned back. “Maybe we could at least have a drink together.”

“Sorry, I was just about to leave.”

Kendra’s heart sank. The first person she’d met who made her think that maybe there was life after Will and now he was just going to drop a drink and disappear? Just her luck.

“But perhaps I could take you to dinner tomorrow,” he offered.

Though he looked Egyptian, his accent was definitely British. She suspected he came from a rich Egyptian family. They all sent their kids to overseas boarding schools, where a posh British accent would be mandatory. “Yes…of course, dinner would be… great.”

She gave him her number at the hotel and went back to her table. She took a sip of the drink he’d brought. Mojito. This was not just a handsome man and a chivalrous man, this was an observant man too. For Kendra, that combination could equal a dangerous situation with her heart so vulnerable just now. She’d have to walk this road very carefully. And just when the road ahead looked exactly like one she wanted to run down with reckless abandonment.

***

Tell us what you think: What would you do if you were Kendra?