Page 37 of The Sheikh and the Single Mom

Something seemed off about Rashad this morning, but Nina wasn’t entirely certain what it was. His expression was closed off and his posture was a little different. Perhaps he regretted the night they’d spent together. Nina’s stomach clenched at the thought, but she reminded herself not to jump to conclusions.

“It’s a beautiful morning, isn’t it?” She set her hands on the railing beside his. Their little fingers were only a few inchesapart, and she was tempted to slide her hand closer to his, but she hesitated.

“It is.” Rashad turned to her, his expression still unreadable. “Nina, I think we should talk business.”

“Oh!” Nina shouldn’t have been surprised — they were here to talk business, after all. Yet Rashad had seemed hesitant to talk about work the last few days, and she’d thought that, after their night together, he’d be even less interested. This was the opposite. “Of course. Shall we go to the meeting room?”

“No, this won’t take long.” Rashad took his hands off the railing and folded them. “Listen, Nina, I know we had a handshake agreement to become partners instead of competitors, but it looks like I won’t be able to honor that. I’m sorry.”

Nina’s stomach did a backflip. She lifted her eyes to Rashad’s, searching for any sign that she’d misunderstood or that he’d misspoken. He couldn’t possibly be backing out of their deal, not after the night they’d spent together.

Or maybe this wasaboutthe night they’d spent together. Maybe Rashad, who seemed to have never had a real relationship or shared real closeness with anyone, was scared of the intimacy he and Nina had shared and was willing to sabotage their agreement to avoid awkwardness.

“Listen,” Nina said in the calming tone she used to talk her three-year-olds down. “If this is about last night, let me reassure you that just because we slept together, it doesn’t mean that our business relationship has to change. I’ll still treat you as an equal, and I hope you’ll do the same. In fact, I’ve been thinking about a few ideas for our work together. Perhaps Heartbeat could become a sort of charitable wing of Health Trackr — thatway, your business model and profits won’t be endangered, and Heartbeat can expand to other countries where you work. We could?—”

But Rashad raised his hand, palm out, in astopgesture. He looked a little pained now.

“Nina, I appreciate that, but things aren’t going to work out for us as business partners. Or as partners of any kind.”

Nina took an involuntary step back. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve had a wonderful weekend with you, but that doesn’t mean that there’s anything between us. It would hurt Health Trackr to partner with you. Beyond that, I just don’t see a future for us. I truly apologize if I led you to believe otherwise.”

“Rashad, let’s talk about this.” Nina stayed calm, though she had to clasp her hands to keep them from shaking. “I know that?—”

“I’m sorry,” Rashad said again. He was still looking at her, but his dark eyes were devoid of affection now. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

Tears sprung to Nina’s eyes as the enormity of what he was saying hit her, but she held them back. There was no way she was going to cry in front of Rashad — not now. He’d let her believe that they had, if not a future together, at least a possibility for a good working relationship. Now, Heartbeat would be in danger: if Rashad wasn’t working with her, that meant he was working against her. More than that, Nina had let herself begin to trust this man. Her kids cared about him, too.

Any hope that Rashad might change his mind burst as he broke their eye contact, focusing instead on the waves in the middle distance.

None of that mattered now. Rashad was clear that he didn’t want anything else to do with her, her business, or the twins. Nina needed to stay strong while he was still here, looking so handsome and so ruthless and so detached.

“You did lead me to believe that we’d be able to work together,” Nina said. Her voice broke, but only a little. “You told me that we’d be partners, but I understand now why you didn’t want to get into details while we were here. I imagine you never intended to go through with our agreement. I suppose our night together was just another tactic.”

She looked away from him, out over the ocean. Usually, she found the ocean calming, with its cerulean waters and the way it stretched as far as the eye could see, but today it looked unsettling. Too much was hidden beneath the placid surface.

“Nina—”

It was her turn to interrupt Rashad. “Just tell me what this means for Heartbeat. Will you be trying to buy us out, or outcompete us?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I can promise you that I will be as fair as possible.”

Nina scoffed. “Sure, because your word means a lot to me at this point. Goodbye, Rashad.”

She turned on her heel and walked, slowly and with as much dignity as she could, towards the cabin where her children slept. This was a mess. Clearly, Rashad was planning to take Heartbeat down, one way or another, even if he didn’t have the decency to admit it now. The only question was when he would come for her.

Nina had made a terrible mistake by allowing herself to grow fond of Rashad. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. Now she needed to protect her children, her company, and her own heart as best as she could.

Even if it felt too late to shield any of them.

CHAPTER 16

RASHAD

Rashad would never forget the look of hurt and betrayal in Nina’s eyes when he told her that there wasn’t a future for them. He was sure he’d dream for years to come of the way her eyes had widened as she’d stumbled back. In every memory, in every dream, her expression would haunt him as much as the betrayals he’d faced from his family.

Dozens of times before, Rashad had sat down across from business rivals and told them that it was over — that he was buying their company, or that he’d outcompeted them. He’d seen shock and hurt before, but it had never been like this. This time, it was personal.

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