“Fine. They are keeping her overnight just to make sure,” I said.

“Oh, she must be so scared. You’re staying with her, right?” she questioned.

Not you too. “Raya, she’s fine. And my brother is staying with her.”

“Mayson?”

She sounded as surprised as I had been. “I know, I feel the same, and wouldn’t have left, but Finn said it was best. She needed rest. And as long as someone was with her until she fell asleep, it would be all good. And if I was there, she’d talk half the night.” Asking questions about us.

“If you say so. But I hope you didn’t leave her just because of me,” she said.

“My grandmother practically threw me out. If I had stayed, it would’ve only agitated her, and I’m sure that is not what she needs right now. So, as you see, the best thing I can do is pick you up and take you to dinner. I know I promised to cook, but that will need to wait for another time.”

Being in a restaurant with her wasn’t what I wanted, but at least I was still feeding her.

“Why don’t you come to the resort, and I’ll order room service for us. This way we don’t have to deal with...onlookers. Does that sound okay to you?” she asked.

Just her and I alone in her room? Yeah. Sounded wonderful. Except for one problem. No way was I going to go unobserved being there all night. We would be the hot topic and not in a good way.

“How about I pick up dinner, and you meet me at the house? This way we have our privacy and neither of us need to deal with anyone else. I’ll even call and ask Bennett to drive you,” I said.

“I can do that. What’s on the menu?” she asked.

Me? I wasn’t hungry for anything besides her. But the truth was, I was emotionally exhausted. There were things I wanted to talk to her about, just not tonight. It was important and shouldn’t be rushed. I needed her to know that she was important to me. That what was...growing between us, was special. She’s special.

“What would you like?” I asked.

“Something simple. How about...”

“Pizza?” I said.

She chuckled. “You know the way to my heart.”

I sure in hell hope so, because you seem to have captured mine.

“See you at my place in an hour?” I asked.

“Perfect. See you then.”

She ended the call, and I went to order dinner at the only place you could get it in Tabiq. I never had been there until Raya mentioned it was her favorite. I hadn’t asked her, but so far, she seems to have avoided eating any traditional Tabiqian foods. I would’ve thought she’d have missed it with being gone for so long. Instead, she is drawn to American cuisine. Not something I enjoy all that much.

What you do for love.

It was the first time I admitted that to myself. I loved her. Damn it. How did that happen so fast? I wasn’t looking for it, and hell the timing couldn’t be worse. Yet here it was.

I should be happy with this revelation. To have found someone like Raya in the midst of everything else going on, was a miracle. Tonight, should be spent in celebration. But this wasn’t all about me and where I was in my life. I needed to think about Raya.

She had so much stress in her life, not that I didn’t but hers was different. It was something I had never experienced in my life. It was a mother’s love. For Raya, that identified who she was more than any college degree or job title. And that made the pain all the more severe.

I heard it when she talked about Joey. And then there were times when her mind seemed miles away, and I knew she was thinking of him. Every moment that he was in the States and she was here, it was killing her.

Although I was doing my best to be supportive and keeping her mind occupied, there was only so much I could do. She wasn’t going to be truly happy until Joey arrived in a couple of days. And all this preparation for his arrival was making her anxious. She was trying to make everything perfect for him so that he could adjust as smoothly as possible. But I was no fool. If all of this failed, and Joey hated it here in Tabiq, she wouldn’t stay. They would pack up and head back to the US.

It wasn’t as though I could follow her. Not now. Just like her, I had responsibilities. To my grandmother and to my country.

Telling her that I was falling in love with her right now, wasn’t fair to her. It would give her another thing to worry about, our relationship. No matter how physically difficult it was, I couldn’t act on my desires. I could kiss her, hold her, but not make love to her. Not yet. Even if she thought she was ready and wanted it too, we needed to wait.

There will be time. And when it happens, it will be all the better.