Page 45 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

“Nina, let’s talk about this.” Desperation was creeping into Rashad’s voice.

“I’m sorry.” Nina turned and disappeared into the crowd. Rashad watched her go, still reeling. He couldn’t believe that he was going to be a father. He wanted, desperately, for this baby to be a second chance with Nina, but from the way she had walked away, it was clear that she wasn’t interested in second chances. Rashad had no right to ask for or expect one, not after what he’d done.

Rashad knew he’d made mistakes with her — more than one. He’d known that ever since Nina had walked away from him at sunrise on the yacht. Yet in that moment, as she threaded her way through the crowd towards the far side of the room, the enormity of his mistakes struck him like a splash of icy water early in the morning.

When Rashad had told Nina he wouldn’t work with her or date her, he’d not only closed the door on a relationship between the two of them, but on a future with their child. He hadn’t been selfless or driven when he’d ended things with Nina — he’d been a coward. He had been more concerned about his work, and his past hurts, than about the wonderful woman who’d been standing before him in the present.

Just because Rashad had never felt comfortable with his parents didn’t mean that he couldn’t have been comfortable with Nina. If he’d managed to overcome his insecurities and bet on love instead of fear, he could have been at Nina’s side at this event, escorting her to the refreshments table and offering her a glass of soda or a miniature cake. He could have driven home with her at the end of the night, kissed the sleeping twins on their foreheads, and climbed into bed with Nina. He could have woken the next morning with her head on his shoulder, her hand unfurled on his chest, and her golden curls splayed across the pillow.

The ghost of what could have been lit so briefly in Rashad’s mind for a fraction of a second that he felt he could almost reach out and step into that alternate world. But he couldn’t.

For the rest of the evening, Rashad considered trying to talk to Nina again, but she was busily networking and clearly avoiding him. From across the room, Rashad noticed that most of her conversations were short, and that many of the people she was talking with gestured to her stomach at one point or another. It must be common knowledge now that she was expecting, and Rashad wondered what she’d told people about the father of her baby.

Nina left before the event had finished, her eyes skating away from Rashad’s as she said a few goodbyes before leaving. Once more, Rashad fought the urge to run after her, catch her hand, and beg for another chance, but his words would have sounded hollow after what he’d done.

Yet he couldn’t just let her go, either. As he rode back to his hotel that evening in a taxi, watching the sleeping city of San Diego roll by outside, all palm trees and bright windows and wide boulevards, another realization crashed into him.

Nina wasn’t just his rival in business, a woman he’d enjoyed a wonderful weekend with, or even the mother of his child. She was the woman he loved. It was as though he’d always known that, but the part of him that had been hurt and scared before had shut down any trace of love. Rashad could admit it now, though. He loved Nina. That was the reason he’d thought of her each day during the months of their separation, the reason his heart had lifted when he’d seen her in the ballroom, and the reason he’d been so quick to push her away back on the yacht — if he loved her, she could hurt him, and he’d wanted to avoid that. Instead, though, he’d hurt them both.

Rashad paid the cab driver and rode the elevator up to his silent, empty hotel room. He sat on the edge of the bed, fully clothed, and felt regret fill him. He’d lost the woman he loved because he’d been too scared to fight for her. Well, he wasn’t scared now, and if there was still even the slimmest chance to play some part in Nina’s future, he had to try.

He could only hope it wasn’t too late.

CHAPTER 20

NINA

Nina made it all the way to her car before bursting into tears. Seeing Rashad again had hurt more than she’d expected. Beneath her anger and hurt, she still cared about him, which made everything so much worse. Seeing the curve of his lips and the hard lines of his shoulders and jaw had brought the night they’d spent together rushing back — the way he’d run his thumb across her cheekbone, the way he’d breathed her name as though it was a magic spell, the way his dark eyes had watched her as though she was the only person in the world who mattered. His honeyed voice had brought back memories, too, of the way he’d played and swum and cooked with her and the twins. Worst of all was the look of shock and hurt in his eyes when he’d first seen her baby bump, as though she was the one who’d betrayedhim.

Nina wiped her tears away with a napkin she found in the glove compartment, feeling overwrought and more tired than ever. Some of her sadness might be attributable to pregnancy hormones, but most of it was because a traitorous part of her still wanted to be with Rashad. That part had hoped that he mighttake her hands at the event and beg forgiveness — but even if he did, it wouldn’t be enough. Nina couldn’t trust him again.

Taking a deep breath, Nina crumpled the tearstained napkin in her hands, tossed it into the garbage bag she kept in the car for her preschoolers’ snack wrappers and broken toys, and turned the key in the ignition. As she drove home along her familiar route, thoughts of Rashad refused to leave her. He had looked sorry when he’d realized that his assistant hadn’t passed on Nina’s message. Sorry wasn’t enough, but it was something.

When Nina got home, she took a quick shower and climbed into bed. Before falling asleep, she turned the ring mode on her phone back on. Surely, Rashad would call in the morning to talk about the baby and his role, if nothing else.

Yet Nina woke the next day to no call from Rashad. She kept her phone with her all day as she made pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped-cream smiles for the twins and played a memory game with them, but it still didn’t ring. By the time evening came, Nina was increasingly certain that she wasn’t going to hear from Rashad at all. Clearly, any sorrow he’d felt when he’d seen Nina pregnant and realized his mistake was fleeting.

Sunday passed without any word from Rashad, then Monday. After putting the kids to bed on Monday evening, Nina found herself sitting on her couch with a mug of chamomile tea, staring at the phone as though she could force him to call by sheer willpower. It was hard to understand how he could see her pregnancy and still have no interest in contacting her, but the answer was clear: Rashad was done with Nina.

It felt like Nina’s heart was breaking all over again. She’d harbored a secret hope that if Rashad ever found out aboutthe baby, he’d regret his actions and try to make things right. She’d been wrong. It was obvious now that whatever goodness she’d seen in Rashad was overshadowed by his ruthlessness and indifference. The harm his parents had caused by treating him as lesser than his brother was impossible to undo.

On Tuesday morning, Nina was just leaving a meeting with a few of her investors when her phone rang. She said her goodbyes, then swiped to answer and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Nina Kendrick speaking.”

“Nina.” Rashad’s warm, deep voice came over the phone’s small speaker as clearly as if he were standing beside her, and Nina had to steady herself against the wall. He’d actually called. Nina wasn’t sure if she was angry, relieved, or just tired.

“I didn’t expect to hear from you,” she said, her tone as neutral as she could make it. It felt important that Rashad didn’t know how hurt she was.

“I apologize for that.” There was a short pause. “Nina, I’d like to talk to you.”

“I’m sorry, Rashad.” Nina rubbed her eyes with the flat of her hand. “But I don’t really want to talk to you.”

“I assure you, I’m reaching out because we need to discuss matters of business.” Rashad’s tone was more formal than usual. “Even with everything that’s happened between us, we’re still in the same field, and we would both benefit from setting out some ground rules for our future communication.”

Nina sighed. Talking about business with Rashad was no more appealing than talking about personal matters, but he had apoint. If she understood what he was planning, she’d be better prepared to counter him.

“All right. When and where?”

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