Page 12 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

“All right, little monkeys.” Nina held out her arms and her twins leaped into them. “It’s time to start winding down for bed.”

“I’m not sleepy,” Miles protested.

“Me neither!”

Of course, Nina’s twins were in complete agreement when it came to bedtime — specifically, that neither of them liked it.

“I know, but if you get your teeth brushed and pajamas on, we can watch a littlePaw Patrolin bed.”

Suddenly bouncing with excitement about toothbrushing and pajama-wearing, the twins hurried into the attached bathroom. Nina handed them their toothbrushes, then sat on the edge of the bathtub. She generally tried not to allow too much screen time, but an occasional episode of their favorite show was relaxing for everyone, Nina included.

While the twins brushed their teeth, Nina found her mind wandering to Rashad. He wasn’t quite what she’d expected. She’d arrived this morning ready to deal with a cutthroat businessman — and Rashad certainly was that. But he had also been considerate about the twins coming onboard, and willing to delay their meetings when he’d learned that Nina wasn’t feeling well. And he was still unbelievably attractive, even more so now that he was allowing himself to let his hard persona slide a little. Exchanging glances with him over dinner had made her heart flutter.

Nina knew that she couldn’t let her guard down, though. Rashad might be slightly kinder than she’d expected, but he was still planning to undercut her business in one way or another. She’d need to be on top of her game for their meeting tomorrow. Perhaps a few more episodes ofPaw Patroland some snacks would help the twins stay out of their way for the meeting.

Once Miles and Kate were ready for bed, Nina got the twins tucked in with an episode of their show. They’d spent theday playing, coloring, and swimming, so surely a little screen time now wouldn’t hurt. It was time for Nina’s screen time, too. She got out her laptop and spent fifteen minutes looking at documents and figures she might need for the next day’s meeting. She’d have liked more time, but exhaustion hit, and she closed the laptop before getting into bed with her twins. They snuggled in on either side, smelling like shampoo and the sweet scent of childhood. Without meaning to, Nina found her eyes growing heavy, and soon she was asleep.

“Mommy.” A small hand poked Nina in the ribs as a sweet, high-pitched voice repeated the word, louder this time. “Mommy!”

“Yes, honey?” Nina rolled onto her side, blinking against the bright light. Kate and Miles were sitting on either side of her, still in their pajamas with bedheads and huge smiles.

“Can we watch morePaw Patrol?” Miles asked, bouncing slightly.

“Not right now, honey. We watched an episode just last night. How about you get dressed and use the bathroom? Then we can see about breakfast.”

Kate and Miles scampered towards the bathroom, and Nina pushed herself into a seated position. Immediately, her head began to spin, which was a bad sign. She had no idea how she was going to have her wits about her for the meeting with Rashad when she couldn’t even sit upright without feeling like she was going to keel over. Her dizziness and exhaustion were extremely frustrating. Nina never got sick, despite her hectic schedule of working and raising two preschoolers. Now she wassick, inarguably so, and it had come at the worst possible time. She was stuck on a boat with her two kids and her business rival, no babysitters or helpful neighbors in sight. Speaking of babysitters, perhaps she had the same illness as Amanda, whatever that was — or perhaps she was just seasick, as Rashad had suggested. Either way, her being under the weather was going to make things much harder.

Taking a deep breath, Nina pushed herself out of bed and teetered on her feet as another wave of dizziness hit her, this time accompanied by weakness. She picked her way to her suitcase, where she pulled out an outfit for each of her kids and something to wear herself — a simple skirt and top. When Kate and Miles came barreling back out of the bathroom, she handed them their outfits and went in to take a quick shower and get dressed.

“We’re hungry,” Miles announced when she reemerged. Miles often fell into the role of spokesman for both twins, especially when Kate was feeling tired or shy.

“I know, honey. Let’s find some breakfast.” Nina held out her hands automatically and the twins took them. Together, they walked out of the suite and down the hall towards the kitchen and dining area. Nina felt a little more alive after her warm shower, but she was still dragging.

“Are we going to swim again today?” Miles asked. “And watchPaw Patrol?”

“I’m sure we’ll have time for both.” Although whether Nina would be able to stay upright long enough to monitor her kids in the pool was another question entirely.

“Are you okay, Mommy?” Kate asked. She looked up at her mother, her blue eyes wide and her small brow furrowed.

“Yes, honey, don’t worry. I’m just a little tired.”

“Maybe you need some coffee,” Kate suggested, her sweet voice excited. Nina chuckled at the suggestion.

“You know me so well, don’t you, Katie Pie?”

“Yes, Mommy.” Kate beamed.

The table where they’d had dinner yesterday was set with cereal and fruit, along with several bowls and a note from Rashad asking Nina to meet him around nine a.m. A glance at her watch showed they had about twenty minutes for breakfast before then. Hopefully, a little coffee and some food would help Nina feel well enough to go to the meeting.

The kids ate bowls of cereal with sliced bananas while Nina drank a cup of coffee and nibbled on an apple. When they were finished, she brought them to the meeting room, where Rashad was waiting. He closed his laptop when Nina entered with the twins.

“Good morning. How did you all sleep?”

“Good!” Miles said.

Nina smiled. “Well, thank you. I’ll get the twins set up with some coloring over here, and we can get started.” She’d savePaw Patrolfor emergencies. Nina led her kids to a smaller table in the corner, where they got seated as she handed out coloring books, crayons, and headphones with their audiobook player. As she bent down to give Miles his coloring book, Nina’s head spun and she had to brace herself against the table.

“Are you all right?” Rashad asked from behind her. Nina straightened slowly.

---