Page 20 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

Rashad turned from the railing, where he’d been standing to enjoy the sunset, and caught sight of Nina. She was still in her skirt and top, but she’d taken her hair out of the braid so that it fell in loose waves around her shoulders. The sunset caught golden undertones in her blond curls and highlighted her sky-blue eyes, making her look like a princess from one of Kate’s books. Now, he noticed that she had a few faded freckles across her high cheekbones, just like the twins had.

“If you’re talking about the sunset, I made that just for you.” Rashad winked, and Nina rolled her eyes.

“Right, I’m sure. Something smells delicious, though, and I believe you did makethat.”

“I made some fish tacos while you were putting the kids to bed. Are they asleep?”

“Yes, at last. They really wanted to watchPaw Patrol, but they settled for three picture books instead.”

“They’re good at bargaining. Did they get that from you?”

“I won’t give away my secrets before we enter into a negotiation.” Nina smiled and took a seat at the table, crossing her legs at the ankle. “Shall we get started over dinner?”

“Let’s eat first.” Rashad was still putting off the difficult conversation he knew they’d have.

“The food does smell good, so that’s all right with me.”

“Would you like some wine?” Rashad asked, lifting the bottle.

Nina hesitated. “I don’t drink often, but sure. One glass won’t hurt.”

Rashad poured some wine for each of them. He watched as Nina took a taco and bit into it.

“Mmm.” She swallowed the first bite. “Delicious. I’d ask you to send me the recipe, but I’m sure you don’t have one.”

“Correct.” Rashad took a taco for himself. “This kind of culinary magic only happens naturally.”

“Culinary magic.” Nina chuckled. “You think so highly of yourself. But you’re right — thisisamazing.” She took another bite.

“Thanks.”

“Who taught you how to cook?”

“My uncle.” Rashad bit into his own taco. “Like me, he’s a second son, so we had a bond from the beginning. He taught me to cook, took me on trips, and always made me feel special.”

“Is it hard, being a second son in a royal family?” Nina asked.

Rashad hesitated. Part of him wanted to open up to Nina about the difficulties of growing up as a spare, but a stronger, smarter part knew that would be a mistake. He and Nina were still rivals, even if they’d had a nice day. Even if talking to her was a rush far different from the ones he experienced at work.

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “Do you have siblings?”

“No, I’m an only child. I’m glad Miles and Kate have each other, though. I imagine there must be difficult things about having a sibling, but I’ve seen the way those two love each other. I think they’ll both be better off for having each other.”

“I think so, too.” Rashad sipped his wine. “Even when they’re disagreeing, it’s clear that they still care about each other. Do they have that twin connection where they can read each other’s minds?”

“Hm.” Nina took another bite. “Sort of. Although I think it’s less that they can read each other’s minds and more that they’re together so much that they kind of know what the other one wants and needs.” She smiled. “I appreciate you taking an interest in my kids, but we really don’t have to talk about them now.”

“What would you like to talk about, then? Deep secrets? Hidden desires? The pros and cons of following a recipe in cooking?” Rashad hadn’t flirted with Nina since that first night at the event — until now. Now, though, he wasn’t flirting with her because hewanted something from her, but simply because he enjoyed the way she laughed when he said something over-the-top.

“If you don’t want to start on business, perhaps the best thing we can do is talk about something that’ll take our minds off business and kids and everything.” Nina wasn’t quite matching his flirtations, but she was smiling, and that was enough for now.

“Like what?”

“If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?”

“Right here,” Rashad answered without missing a beat. “On the yacht. I love Al Soub, but I think it would be amazing to live on the water. Perhaps I’d sail around to visit new places, or perhaps I’d stay moored somewhere. Either way, it seems very peaceful, doesn’t it?”

“It really does.”

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