Page 31 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

In the small closet, the two of them were pressed against each other. Rashad’s arm was around Nina’s waist, and her head was against his shoulder. She moved away just enough to look up at him, her blue eyes glowing warmly in the semi-darkness. Rashad tried not to notice how good it felt to hold Nina in his arms like this. She was truly a remarkable woman, and the more time he spent with her, the more he noticed that. Her fragrant coconut shampoo smell floated through the closet, mingling with the scent of fresh linens to be quite intoxicating.

Nina looked up at him and smiled. She was a head shorter than him, which meant that she was looking at him through her long eyelashes.

“Close quarters, hmm?” she asked. “Do you think this counts as team-building for our upcoming partnership?”

Rashad chuckled softly. “Definitely. As long as you count Kate and Miles as part of our team.”

“Of course. Are you regretting your offer to work together yet?”

“Not at all. This is the best team-building I’ve ever participated in.”

“Same here.” Nina tilted her head, still looking at Rashad. Then she lifted onto her tiptoes. For one heady moment, Rashad thought that she might kiss him, but she just swept her thumb over his cheek.

“Sorry, you had an eyelash on your cheek. The kids like to make wishes on them.”

“How? We don’t have this tradition in Al Soub.”

“You just think about what you want, then blow the eyelash away.” She lifted her finger, the eyelash balanced on it, towards his lips. Rashad knew what he was wishing for right this moment. He wanted to lean into her touch. He wanted to wrap his arms around Nina and pull her to him, capture her lips with his own, and whisper into her ear that he found her irresistible. He wanted to murmur her name like an incantation or the final lines of a story.

Rashad brought his lips towards Nina’s fingertip, ready to blow the eyelash away. Could he let himself wish for more time with Nina?

“There you are!” The door flew open, and Kate looked up at them with her sweet, innocent face. “Why are you hiding together?”

“I couldn’t find a spot.” Nina extricated herself from Rashad’s arms, the eyelash and the wish forgotten. “Did you find Miles already?”

“Yeah, he was easy to find.” Kate beamed. “Rashad, will you count now?”

“Sure.” Rashad was glad for the chance to have a little space. The tense moment in the linen closet, when he’d been on the verge of kissing Nina, or at least wishing to, wouldn’t soon disappear from his memory. His life was already going to be complicated enough, now that he’d offered Nina a business partnership. It would be a mistake to further complicate things by introducing a romantic element into their relationship. Keeping his gaze away from Nina and her slightly pink cheeks, Rashad covered his eyes.

“One, two, three…” He heard footsteps skittering away as he counted.

It was a mistake to allow himself to grow so close to Nina and her children. Yet Rashad couldn’t help himself. He hadn’t enjoyed himself this much in years, not since starting Health Trackr. Perhaps not since he’d been a child, playing games like this with his own brother. And whyshouldn’the enjoy himself? He was with a beautiful woman and a pair of children who made him laugh. As long as he reminded himself that he wasn’t really part of this little family, and that he couldn’t kiss Nina, it would all be all right.

He just had to keep himself from making any wishes he couldn’t fulfill.

CHAPTER 13

NINA

The kids were tired after their day of swimming and hide-and-seek, but they still ate a quick pasta dinner and requested another game and a round of coloring before they agreed to be carried to bed. Rashad carried Kate, the little girl looking perfectly at ease and tinier than ever in his arms, and helped Nina tuck the twins into bed.

“Read us a story,” Miles suggested sleepily.

“Sure, honey.” Nina reached into her bag for the tablet with her picture books on it. “Just a minute.”

“No — Rashad reads,” Kate said.

Nina turned to the man in question. “Is that all right?”

“Of course.” Rashad took the tablet from Nina and opened a book. In his low, soothing voice, he began to read. “Once upon a time, there were three pigs…”

As Nina listened to the story along with her children, she found her thoughts wandering back to the closet and the moment she and Rashad had almost kissed. Hehadalmost kissed her, hadn’the? She still remembered the feeling of his hand against the flat of her lower back and the way his eyes had darkened slightly with what looked like desire. It was a good thing that Kate had found them when she did, because if Rashad had leaned forward and kissed her, she would definitely have kissed him back.

The more she knew him, the more she wanted to feel his lips on hers and his arms around her. There was so much more to Rashad than she’d first thought. He was sweet with the kids, he loved his brother, he was willing to play and laugh with her without a single worry about looking childish… and he was very handsome. Nina’s heart fluttering when he was nearby was proof enough of that.

All of this didn’t mean it would be a good idea for them to kiss, though. Not at all. They’d just agreed to a business partnership, a partnership that was still far from solidified. If Nina let feelings become part of the arrangement, it could hurt the agreement they’d made — and it could hurt her. Worse, it could hurt Kate and Miles.

After all, even if Rashad were the nicest guy in the world, the kind of guy who would never hurt her, Nina would hesitate to begin a romantic relationship. Her boyfriend, the father of her children, had seemed like a good guy, but when she’d needed him the most, he’d disappeared. Nina had been alone to become a single mother and raise the twins. She wouldn’t change a moment of what had happened with her ex, because it had led to her wonderful children, but that didn’t mean she planned to set herself up for another broken heart, either. She also couldn’t let Miles and Kate grow close to an adult who might not be a lasting part of their lives.

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