Page 19 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

“Let’s make it twelve,” Tariq suggested. “We can have lunch on my jet.”

“Your jet,” Emelia repeated. Somehow, she kept forgetting that Tariq was a very powerful and wealthy man. Of course he had a jet. He also had a palace. “Owen is going to be over the moon. He’s never flown.”

“Never?” Tariq asked, looking shocked. Then, at Emelia’s expression, he quickly changed his tune. “That makes sense. But you’ve flown before, right?”

Emelia gave him a look, daring him to judge her. “No.”

“Good, good. Okay. I’ll leave you in peace now.”

“Thank you.” A small, foolish part of Emelia wanted to ask him to stay so that they could catch up on everything that had happened in the last six years, but she knew it was better to let him go. The more distance they kept, the better. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After Tariq left, Emelia stayed awake long into the night. Her thoughts were racing. Why had she agreed to move to Al Salyah? What would it be like there? Was Owen going to fit in? What was Owen going to say when she introduced him to his father the next day? Why did the memory of Tariq brushing his thumb across her cheek keep replaying in her mind?

Finally, she started packing. If she wasn’t going to sleep, she might as well get something else done in the meantime.

By the time the sun rose the next morning, most of the packing was done and two suitcases were sitting beside the front door, ready to go. Emelia hadn’t slept a wink. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to regret that.

CHAPTER13

TARIQ

Tariq stood outside the door to Emelia’s apartment, feeling nerves sweep through him. Last night, he’d been filled with thoughts of seeing Emelia again. Today he was going to meet his son. That was even more stressful. What if Owen reacted badly? What if his son didn’t like him?

Tariq wasn’t sure how one dressed to meet their long-lost child, so he’d settled on his usual semi-formal slacks and button-up shirt. The fact that he hadn’t brought many clothes to the reunion, since he was only staying overnight, also made things difficult. He would have liked to dress a little more casually. That kind of thing appealed to children, right?

After what seemed like hours, Tariq knocked and braced himself. He expected to see Emelia again, but instead, the door opened to reveal a little boy in a small pair of jeans and a green airplane T-shirt. His hair was messy and curly, just like Tariq’s, and his brown eyes had the same gold flecks as Emelia’s.

“Hello,” Owen said, waving.

“Hi Owen.” Tariq bent down to the boy’s eye level and held out a hand to shake, wishing that he’d had more experience with children. Owen took his hand and shook it solemnly, then turned away to call to his mother.

“Mommy! The man’s here!”

Emelia appeared from the hallway, carrying a small red backpack. Today she was wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved gray T-shirt with a hole in the elbow. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid with a few strands escaping around her face.

“Let him in,” Emelia said, motioning to Owen. “And come sit with me on the couch. Both of you.”

Tariq followed her instructions and came to sit on the couch, Owen between them. His heart was really pounding now. Had Emelia told their son anything about him yet?

“So, Owen, remember how I told you that a special man was coming over today to take us on a big adventure?”

Owen nodded, hair flopping, and grinned. “I like adventures.”

“Well, what I didn’t tell you is that this man is actually your father,” Emelia continued. She and Tariq made eye contact over Owen’s head and she gave a helpless little shrug. Tariq felt himself relax a little. Even Emelia, who’d been a parent for six years already, didn’t seem one hundred percent confident in her parenting skills. Maybe that meant there would be a little grace for Tariq’s missteps.

“You’re my dad?” Owen asked, turning to Tariq.

“Yes, sir,” Tariq said, meeting the little boy’s curious gaze.

“I’m not a sir,” Owen said, giggling a little and wriggling with humor. Then he became serious, those dark eyes solemn. “Where have you been?”

“Your dad lives in another country called Al Salyah,” Emelia answered before Tariq could say anything. “He wanted to come here, but he couldn’t for a long time. Now he’s taking us back to Al Salyah with him on the adventure we talked about.”

“Okay,” Owen said. He turned back to Tariq. “Do you like airplanes?”

“I do. I even have an airplane, which we’ll be flying on today.”

Owen’s eyes lit up. “You have your own airplane?”

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