Page 41 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

Nina’s heart raced as the timer on her phone beeped. Her hands shaking slightly, she swiped the alarm off and reached for the pregnancy test on the counter. Even before she flipped it over, Nina knew what the answer would be — after all, she’d been tired, moody, and dizzy over the last few days, and her period was late.

What Nina didn’t expect was the sudden, irrepressible rush of joy she felt when she saw that the test was positive. While walking to the store, buying the test, and taking it, she’d thought only of the difficulties of being a single mother. Yet now, seeing this first small sign from her new baby, Nina could only remember the good parts of motherhood. She thought of the feeling of a toddler sleeping, heavy and warm, in her arms and the way a baby gazed up her at, blinking and smiling. Miles and Kate would be wonderful older siblings — they were always looking at babies at the park and asking about them.

Nina was going to be a mother for a third time, and although it wouldn’t be easy, she was already looking forward to meeting her little one. One of her hands drifted to her stomach, skating along the still-flat surface as though she were touching the baby inside. She was pregnant. She was going to have a baby.

Rashad’s baby.

“Mommy?” There was a knock on the door. “I picked a game!”

“Good job, Miles,” Nina called back. Her voice was a little choked with emotion, which she remembered from her first pregnancy, too. Nina had cried at the drop of a hat all through her first trimester. “I’ll be out in a second.”

There was another flurry of footsteps, and Nina heard her mother’s voice. “Miles, come on, give your mother a little privacy.”

Nina almost laughed at the thought of privacy. With the twins and her business, she barely had a moment to herself unless her mother or Amanda was babysitting. Adding another baby to the mix would mean even less time.

Although, perhaps Rashad would put her out of business, and she would end up being at home more than she expected.

The thought of Rashad brought a new problem flooding back. This baby was Rashad’s child as much as it was hers. Yet Nina couldn’t imagine a scenario in which Rashad would be an enthusiastic co-parent, no matter how sweet he’d been with the twins on the yacht. No, Rashad probably wouldn’t want anything to do with this baby — and Nina wasn’t sure she’d want him in her life even if hedidwant a relationship with their child. It would be incredibly awkward to share custody with a business rival who had broken her heart, and her kids’.

For a moment, Nina considered not telling Rashad about the baby at all. It would be easier. Without Rashad in the picture, Nina could focus on impending motherhood, her twins, and her business without any further complications. Yet she dismissed the idea quickly. Rashad had betrayed her and broken her heart, but this was still his baby, and he deserved to know that he was going to be a father.

Nina would make it clear to him that she didn’t want him involved in the baby’s life or in hers, and Rashad would likely accept that without complaint. Then Nina could move on, assured that she’d done the right thing.

“Mommy!” This time, it was Kate’s young voice calling through the door. “Grandma made cookies!”

“That’s great.” Nina placed the pregnancy test in a drawer, wrapped in toilet paper so that her kids wouldn’t see it, and splashed a little water on her face. The woman looking back at her from the mirror seemed tired, so Nina took a deep breath and smiled at herself. This baby would complicate things, but a new baby was only good news.

“Are you coming out?” Kate called.

“I am.” Nina nodded at her reflection, then turned and opened the door. “Hi, honey.”

“Mommy!” Kate lifted her arms to be picked up and, despite her tiredness, Nina didn’t hesitate to scoop her child up.

“So, what game are we playing?” Nina asked as she carried her daughter into the living room, Kate’s small legs wrapped around her like a monkey’s arms.

“Sorry!” Kate said. “Like with Rashad.”

“I can’t wait,” Nina said. In the living room, Amy and Miles had set up the game on the coffee table. Fresh chocolate-chip cookies sat waiting beside the game, the smell reminiscent of Nina’s own childhood. As Nina set Kate down, her mother looked up at her.

“How’s everything?” she asked.

“Everything’s going to be all right.” Nina reached for a blue plastic game piece, avoiding her mother’s eyes. “Shall we play?”

Later, she’d tell her mom about the new baby and about Rashad, but for the moment, Nina was going to enjoy an evening of games with her family and try to forget about everything else.

That night, Amy offered to help the twins with their bath and bedtime routine. Nina gratefully accepted and slipped off to her room, where she took out her phone. Rashad had given her a number to contact him, back when it had seemed like they’d work together, so all she needed to do was presscall.Yet Nina hesitated. It might still be a mistake to tell Rashad about the baby. If he wanted custody or took her pregnancy as a sign of weakness in business, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.

Even so, telling him was the right thing to do. Nina took a deep breath and tapped thecallbutton. She lifted the phone to her ear as it rang. For the first few rings, there was no answer, and Nina glanced at the world clock on her phone to make sure she hadn’t gotten the time zones wrong and called in the middle of the night in Al Soub. But no, it was morning there.

Finally, just as Nina was about to give up hope, someone answered. It wasn’t Rashad’s familiar voice on the other end, though, but an unfamiliar male one.

“You’ve reached the office of Rashad Al-Zayed. This is his assistant, Hameed Al-Kitabi. How may I help you?”

“I’d like to speak to Rashad, please,” Nina said. She was a little thrown off — she’d expected Rashad to answer his personal line himself.

“Can I ask what this is concerning?” Hameed inquired.

“It’s, um, a personal matter,” Nina said. “You can tell him that this is Nina Kendrick — we met in San Diego a few weeks ago.”

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