Page 29 of No Way Forward

“I heard voices.”

“I’m sorry I woke you. I was arguing with my dad—as usual.”

He eyed the abandoned cake, and she picked up the plate to walk it over to him. Her heart beat out of control as she breathed him in and watched as he sampled the cake with his fingers. A few crumbs landed beside his mouth, and she forgot to resist brushing them away.

“Did you settle things?” He sounded so calm, whereas she shook like a leaf.

“No, we didn’t.”

“I’m sorry.”

She reached up again to touch his face. Not that there were any crumbs this time. He presented too much of a temptation to resist. He caught her fingers and drew them away. Her heart sank, but he didn’t release her hand. Instead, he held it in his at their side.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I know a way you can make me feel better.”

“Really?”

She drew in an unsteady breath. “Yes, you can marry me.”

Chapter 14

Marry her? She must be absolutely crazy. What in the world made her blurt out that crazy proposal? And in such a casual way like she was asking him out to a movie, for pete’s sake.

After the words left her fool head, she zipped across the kitchen, dumped all the dishes into the sink, unfinished cake and all. Then she scurried around Zaid and ran up to her room. The whole time Zaid didn’t move or speak. She knew he was in shock, but by the time it wore off she’d be alone and suffering embarrassment by herself.

Groaning, she threw herself onto her bed and stuffed a pillow over her face. Her stomach twisted and turned as the marriage proposal played repeatedly in her mind. She smacked the heel of her hand against her forehead.

Stop thinking about it, idiot!

One kiss led to this madness. It had to be the stress of coming home and finding her dad still plotting. That must be the problem. Plus eating like an animal since she was back. The extra nutrients flooded her brain, making her batty.

She laughed at the ideas rolling around up there. At least they interfered with memories of her humiliation. She reached for her phone. A quick text would put things right, and Zaid wouldn’t worry about her momentary weakness.

A soft tap on the door stopped her from finishing the text. Her mouth dried. “W-who is it?”

The door opened without an answer, and Zaid stepped inside. He shut them in together, and her room shrank in an instant. Her mouth fell open.

“I was just about to text you that I was just being—”

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

The phone slipped from her fingers and clattered on the floor. He darted forward to retrieve it then sank down on her bed. As she clutched her phone in her lap, he kept his hand over hers. Chills of delight and terror raced over her body—delight that he touched her and terror that he was about to let her down gently.

Wait, what am I thinking? I wasn’t serious—was I?

“My answer is yes, Novette.”

She wasn’t hearing right. Her mind spun. This was a fantasy. She must have come upstairs and fallen asleep. After all, she’d only been back in her dad’s home a short while. Before she left, she and Zaid were close, but they were never lovers. On her part, yeah, she’d wanted him. The threat of being married off had driven her away from Zaid.

“Your answer is yes?” She sounded like a buffoon.

“You probably think I’m too old for you.”

“No, ten years isn’t that much with adults. I mean…” She bit her lip, trying to make sense of her thoughts. “I’m not clear why we’re talking about this. If you’re worried about that kiss, I—crud I have no idea what to say.”

He reached for her chin and turned her head so he could look into her eyes. “Are you saying it was a whim, that you don’t care about me or want to marry me?”

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