Page 3 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

Nina scooped the kids into her arms, balancing one on each hip. As she did so, she noticed that her twins were becoming heavier. She wouldn't be able to hold them both like this much longer, so she’d savor doing so now.

“Hi, sweethearts.” Nina smiled down at her kids. “How was your day?”

“In preschool we learned about colors!” Miles said excitedly. “Did you know blue and green makes yellow?”

“No, silly,” Kate said, shaking her head. “Yellow and green makesblue.”

“You’re both so close, but it’s yellow and blue that make green,” Nina said. She kissed them each on the head. “Amanda, thank you so much. I’ll tuck them in, but then I have to be out the door again, like we discussed.”

“No problem.” Amanda looked up from the book she’d been flipping through, her brown ponytail flipping back over her shoulder. Amanda was a local college student studying education. Nina had hired her for the first time eighteen months ago, when Amanda had been a sophomore, and she’d spentmany hours taking care of the twins ever since. Amanda was an absolute lifesaver, which Nina told her multiple times a day.

“I’ll be right back.” Nina carried the twins up the stairs. “So, you learned about colors. What else?”

“We read a book about mouses,” Kate informed her.

“Wow, was it a good book about mice?”

“Yeah.”

“And Amanda taked us on a walk to look for rocks,” Miles added. “For my rock collection.”

“Did you find any good ones?”

“Yeah, like a billion.” Miles rested his head on Nina’s shoulder.

“More like four,” Kate put in with a big yawn.

Upstairs, Nina settled them into their beds. For now, the twins were still sharing a room, although Nina had offered several times to give them each their own space. Every time, both Kate and Miles shut her down, saying that they’d be lonely in their own rooms.

Nina tucked Kate into her penguin-themed blankets, then did the same with Miles’s sheets covered in basketballs and footballs. She read them a story, sang their good-night song, then tiptoed out, shutting off the light. Her heart felt heavy that this was all the time she got with her babies today, but tomorrow was Saturday, and she’d have all day with them.

With her kids in bed, Nina hurried to her bedroom, where she exchanged her blazer and slacks for a blue dress with a flared skirt and a pair of low heels. She would have rather crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep after her long day, but networkingwas important, and events like this were a major contributor when it came to attracting funding and support for Heartbeat. It was important — and it was worth putting off a relaxing evening to go.

Nina glanced at herself in the mirror on the way out. She looked nice enough, she thought. The dress brought out the blue of her eyes, and her hair looked pretty in her usual half-up, half-down style. Downstairs, she stopped in the living room to say goodbye to Amanda, who had moved to the table and gotten set up with a textbook and her laptop. In her UC San Diego hoodie and ponytail, she reminded Nina of herself back in college.

“Thanks again for staying late today,” Nina said as she took her keys and a light jacket from the hook by the door.

“No problem. The twins are a joy, and I always appreciate the extra pay.” Amanda looked Nina up and down. “Are you off on a date?”

Nina almost snorted with amusement. “No, definitely not. It’s just a networking event for health companies like mine.”

“Too bad. You look really nice.” Amanda smiled cheekily.

“Thank you, but dating is just not on my radar right now.”Or ever.The last serious relationship Nina had been in was with the twins’ father. They’d dated for almost a year before Nina had gotten pregnant, but when she’d announced that she was expecting a surprise baby — twins, no less — he had let her know in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t interested in being a father. Nina had been disappointed, but it had taught her an important lesson. When it came to dating, the wrong one just wouldn’t do for her and her kids — and she would rather build her businessand spend time with her beloved children than try to find the right one.

“Aww.” Amanda made a pouty face. “Well, have a nice evening. I’ll be here.” She glanced at her textbook with a look of resignation.

“Thanks again. Feel free to raid the kitchen.” Nina waved goodbye to her babysitter and headed outside. Even now, in January, the San Diego air was warm and fresh, and the light jacket Nina had grabbed was more than enough. She got into her car, turned the radio to her favorite oldies station, and hummed along as she drove towards the event. It was taking place in a large hotel venue downtown, one Nina had visited several times before. A grumble in her stomach made her hope that the passed hors d’oeuvres would be filling — she hadn’t had time for dinner, beyond a quick granola bar at the office between meetings, as was often the case. She liked to cook, but there wasn’t much time for that now.

The drive wasn’t long. Nina pulled up in front of the hotel, tossed her keys to the valet with practiced ease and a “thank you,” and went inside, her long skirt bunched in one hand. The venue was the hotel’s ballroom, and it was nearly full already. A mix of familiar faces, mainly Nina’s peers in the healthcare industry, stood side by side with new people, likely investors or newcomers to the market. Nina hesitated near the entrance for a moment, then made her way to the bar. She didn’t drink much since becoming a mother, especially at events like this — it was better to keep her wits about her. Instead, she requested a Coke with lime.

“Coming right up.” The bartender turned to pour the drink, and Nina leaned against the bar, surveying the room. Ideally, she’d be able to secure another investor or two this evening. If nothingelse, though, keeping current with trends and developments in the healthcare industry would help her to ensure her app remained the best on the market.

“Whiskey, neat.”

Nina glanced to her left and caught sight of a handsome man in a neatly tailored suit. He had short, dark hair and eyes so brown they were almost black, as well as light brown skin. He wore a watch that Nina estimated cost as much as most families made in a month, and that, along with his easy posture and the look of amusement in his dark eyes, told her that he came from money. He had a strong jawline, a muscular build, and at least six inches on Nina. Within seconds, she pegged him as the kind of guy it was better to keep her distance from.

“Just a minute, sir.” The bartender slid Nina’s cola across the bar to her before pivoting to make the whiskey. Nina took a sip of her drink.

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