Page 22 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

“It sounds horrible. Why did you try it?”

“I had a bet with, um, the twins’ father that I couldn’t finish it.”

“Did you win?”

“I did.” Nina grinned and took another spoonful. Rashad hesitated, but his curiosity won out.

“The twins’ father isn’t in the picture.” He knew that already from what Nina had said on the first morning.

“No. We dated for a while, but when he found out that I was pregnant, he decided he didn’t want to be a father and left. We’re better off without him.” Nina smiled again, and Rashad got the feeling that she really believed that.

“I’m really sorry that happened.” Rashad felt a burst of righteous indignation on Nina’s behalf. “I can’t believe he would walk out on you when you were pregnant.”

“Well, these things happen.” Nina shrugged. “He wasn’t the love of my life or anything, and the twins and I have done well on our own.”

“Clearly. Your kids are amazing.” There was more Rashad wanted to say — about how impressive Nina was, running a business and raising kids. About how intrigued he was by the fact that she was single. About how gorgeous she was. Yet he had already made a big enough mistake when he told Nina there might be a way for them both to win, and he wasn’t going to double down now.

“Thanks. I like them.” Nina winked. “So, you know that the twins’ father isn’t in my life. Do you have someone special in yours?” Her expression was innocent, but there was an undertone to her question that made Rashad’s heart flutter.

Rashad shook his head. “I’m too busy with work to date much, so, no, there isn’t anyone.” It was true, but there was more to it — Rashad also knew he’d never be as dedicated to a woman as he was to his work. He wasn’t just busy; he spent almost every waking moment thinking about how to improve Health Trackr. Except, strangely, today, when he’d barely thought about business at all.

“I understand that. Although you must get a lot of interest, seeing as you’re a businessman and a royal.”

“I could say the same for you.”

“I’m not a royal.” Nina smiled.

“No, but you are pretty extraordinary.”

“Hmm.” Nina took another spoonful of her ice cream. “Sure. I suppose if you count rarely sleeping for more than five hours or coding while cooking dinner to be extraordinary, I suppose I am.”

“Both those things are pretty impressive,” Rashad replied. “I’m amazed by how well you function on not a lot of sleep. And coding while cooking is amazing. Do you really do coding for your own app?”

“Of course. I try to do as much of the work myself as I can.”

“I thought you studied biology, not computer science.”

“I did. My biology background helped me design the medical parts of the app — pulse tracking, sleep-cycle evaluation, all that. But I also taught myself coding so that I’d understand as much about my app as I could. Do you also do your own coding?”

“No, not at all. I understand some of the basics, but I mostly run the business side.” Rashad shook his head. “See? Extraordinary. Why do you do so much of the work yourself instead of hiring a team, if I may ask?”

“I try to keep costs down so that more people can afford the app,” Nina explained. “By doing as much of the work as possible myself, I can do that.”

“You’d make more money if you increased the app prices, though,” Rashad pointed out.

Nina chuckled and leaned back, raising her hands. “Wow, thank you for that insight. I’ve never thought of that before.”

“Sorry.” Rashad made a face. “I’m sure you’ve done all the calculations.”

“Of course. I just decided that some things are more important than profit, at least right now. Anyway, let’s not talk about business. That’s a conversation for tomorrow.” Nina leaned forward again. “Tell me more about your cooking.”

Their conversation meandered through easy topics as the stars grew brighter in the sky above and the air took on a gentle chill. Rashad found that he enjoyed talking to Nina very much, whether they were chatting about cooking or about their businesses. In fact, he liked everything about her, from her easy confidence about her work to her blond curls that lifted slightly in the warm ocean breeze.

Just before midnight, they both caught sight of the time and agreed that it was time to sleep.

“I’ll walk you to your cabin.” Rashad got up to clear their bowls.

“Oh, that’s really all right; I think I know where I need to go.”

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