Page 14 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

“I’ll come straight to you. I promise.” Rashad smiled, not the slippery, ulterior-motive smile he’d worn at the event where they’d met or the nonplussed one he’d had when he’d first seen the twins, but a real smile. “Rest now.”

“All right.” Nina crawled into bed, barely able to savor the soft, fresh-smelling sheets or the way the boat rocked her gently before darkness enclosed her and she was asleep. Her last thought before slipping into dreamland was that she should have mentioned to Rashad not to play Uno, no matter how much the twins asked, unless he wanted a riot on his hands…

CHAPTER 7

RASHAD

Rashad looked down at Kate and Miles, who were smiling up at him with identical angelic expressions. They looked so similar, from their blue eyes to their carbon-copy freckles, that Rashad was glad they were different genders. Otherwise, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

Miles blinked slowly, reminding Rashad of a cat sizing up its prey, and Rashad had a moment of nerves. What was he thinking, offering to watch a pair of twin preschoolers? He’d barely spent any time with children — if the time he’d kissed a baby during the opening of the Al Soub–UAE pipeline project didn’t count. He wasn’t sure what to do with them.

The better option might have been to turn around, but they were a full day’s sail from San Diego by now. It would take just as long to get back, and Nina might be feeling better by then.

“Can we drive the boat now?” Miles asked.

“Sure. Let’s go.”

As though shot out of a cannon, the twins flew down the hallway and up the stairs. Surprisingly, they were going inexactly the correct direction, although Rashad had no idea how they knew where the bridge was. Perhaps they remembered from yesterday’s tour, although he’d only pointed then. Rashad followed at a light jog, worried about the mischief the kids might get up to if he left them alone too long.

The bridge was empty, with the course set and monitored remotely. Rashad opened the door, and the kids immediately ran towards the equipment.

“Hold on!” Rashad called. Luckily, the twins stopped in their tracks, looking guilty. “We don’t touch anything until I explain what it is,” he continued. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Miles said. Kate nodded, though her small face had fallen.

“Don’t worry, you haven’t done anything wrong,” Rashad assured the kids. “Now, who wants to steer the boat?”

Both twins immediately perked up and raised their hands. Rashad grinned and got them set up, with one on each side of the yacht’s large wheel, the captain’s chair boosting them to the correct height. He quietly pressed a button to lock the ship’s controls, then let the twins spend an enjoyable ten minutes pretending to steer the yacht. They didn’t seem to notice that the boat remained on a steady course no matter how much they pulled on the wheel.

“Look, a pirate ship!” Miles called, pulling the wheel to the left.

“Let’s see if they have treasure!” Kate lifted onto her tiptoes to see through the windscreen. “Maybe some gold and chocolate coins!”

“Oh no, a sea monster!”

“That’s okay, it’s a friendly one.”

Rashad enjoyed watching the kids interact. It was clear that they were both very imaginative children who loved each other deeply. Nina must be an excellent mother, which was doubly impressive since she was running a business at the same time. Rashad certainly wouldn’t have time to raise kids while running his business.

“What’s next?” Miles asked after a few more minutes of play. He and Kate turned to Rashad with expectant expressions.

“What’s next?” Rashad echoed.

“Yeah. Can we watchPaw Patrol? Or go swimming? Or play Uno?”

“Let’s play Uno.” The twins gave him matching Cheshire Cat grins again.

Rashad wasn’t sure whatPaw Patrolwas, didn’t feel confident supervising swimming three-year-olds, and didn’t have a deck of Uno cards on the boat, so he scanned his brain for another activity. What had he enjoyed doing as a child?

“How about we color?” he suggested.

“Okay,” Kate hopped off the chair she’d been standing on and took Rashad’s hands. She looked up at him with wide, innocent blue eyes. “I like coloring. Do you like coloring?”

“I sure do.” Rashad led them back to the meeting room, where their coloring things were still set up on the smaller table. “Grab whatever you’d like. We can go color on the deck.”

The twins filled their arms with coloring books, crayons, and markers, then followed Rashad onto the on-deck seating area. Kate flung herself onto her stomach on a couch, her coloringbook in front of her, while Miles flopped cross-legged on the floor and opened his book on his lap.

“Here.” Kate handed Rashad a page from her coloring book. “You can color the panda princess.”

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