Page 21 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

“If I were president, the first thing I would do is buy an airplane,” he was saying. His chatter faded a little as he took off running towards the airport, where they needed to stop in to make sure everything was clear with the plane. Emelia fell in beside Tariq and nudged him with her shoulder.

“Good job.”

“Really? I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. What if he asks questions that I don’t know how to answer?”

“Welcome to parenthood,” Emelia said. “Speaking of which, Owen is going to be very energetic on the flight. I tried to tire him out this morning, but he was too excited.”

“I’ll look forward to that,” Tariq joked, but he couldn’t hide his happiness at the sight of Owen hopping and skipping towards the airport for his first flight. “I’m glad we’re in it together, though. Parenthood, I mean. I don’t know how you handled it all by yourself.”

Emelia shrugged. “I did my best. I love Owen more than anything, but it hasn’t been easy.”

“I’m sorry,” Tariq said. He felt like he’d said those words a hundred times in the last day, but he also felt like he could never say them enough. Emelia didn’t seem to agree, though. She waved one delicate hand as if to brush away the apology.

“You have to stop apologizing,” she said. “When Owen makes a mistake or does something he shouldn’t, I always tell him that an apology is important but not the only step. He also needs to do things differently next time. And you’re already doing that by trying to make things right with us and being here now.”

“I do want to make things right,” Tariq said. He couldn’t help feeling a little like a scolded child, but Emelia’s words were kind too. And very true. Tariq couldn’t apologize away the years he’d missed. But with time, maybe he could make up for it.

They were just outside the doors of the airport, with Owen and Hamid already inside, but Tariq stopped and took Emelia’s arm so she’d stop, too. It was a warm day but a little windy, and Emelia’s hair was coming out of its braid. Tariq wanted to tuck it back behind her ear, like he’d done so often in college, but he knew he didn’t have that right anymore. “I promise, Emelia, I’m not going to hurt you again.”

“I don’t know if you can make that promise,” Emelia told him, raising her eyebrows. Her tone was light, but her words were serious and Tariq could see from her look that she meant every syllable. Tariq had forgotten how good she was at wrapping difficult topics up in kindness. He’d also forgotten how green her eyes were, like emeralds. He’d forgotten how her gaze made him feel.

“How about I promise to do my best never to hurt you again?” he suggested.

“All right. And I do understand, now, why you left. I’m not angry anymore.” Emelia gave a small smile to punctuate her words.

But you still don’t trust me,Tariq thought. He kept that to himself, choosing instead to thank Emelia and continue into the airport.

Twenty minutes later, they were onboard Tariq’s private jet. Owen was running from one end to the other, climbing on chairs and pointing out all the interesting things he could see. Tariq and Emelia were trying to calm him down enough to sit for take-off. Finally, Owen agreed to sit and put on his seat belt. Emelia sat next to him and Tariq took a place across from the two of them. The plane slowly taxied to the end of the runway, then gathered speed and took off, leaping into the air with a lurch.

“This is the coolest thing ever!” Owen half-shouted as the plane rose into the sky.

“Inside voices,” Emelia reminded him distractedly. She was also staring out the window, her eyes wide with wonder. She glanced at Tariq, then nodded out the window in a silent question.Are you seeing this?

Tariq nodded. He was seeing this, although he didn’t mean the panoramic view of Boston and its suburbs that was opening up outside. He meant the woman and boy sitting across from him, wearing identical expressions of joy and wonder. Tariq’s heart felt full at the thought that he was the one that had made them so happy. At the same time, he worried. He’d let years go by without them. What if Emelia was too hesitant to really let him back into their lives? He’d already seen her push back against his attempted promises.

Once they reached cruising altitude, the pilot announced that they could get up and move around. Owen immediately flew out of his seat like a slingshot and Tariq grabbed him before he could go tearing off again.

“No running on airplanes,” he said, firmly. “That’s the first rule of flying.”

Owen looked interested. “What are the other rules of flying?”

So, Tariq spent the next half hour giving Owen a tour of the plane, stopping to tell him all the things he needed to know. He pointed out the emergency door, talked about the importance of seat belts, and even said a quick hello to the captain. Owen was looking up at Tariq like Tariq was the coolest person in the world, even though he hardly knew anything about flying himself. And when Tariq glanced over at Emelia, he saw that she was watching them with a slight smile on her face.

Tariq couldn’t have asked for a more perfect moment.

After the tour, they ate a lunch of burgers and fries that Tariq had asked his flight attendant to pick up for them. Then, Owen found the giant television screen at the front of the plane and begged to watch a movie. Within a few minutes of Emelia agreeing and Tariq getting everything set up, Owen was fast asleep.

“It has been a big day for him,” Emelia said softly. “Do you have any blankets?”

“Sure.” Tariq grabbed one of the fleecy in-flight blankets from the small closet at the front of the plane and, for the first time in his life, tucked his son in. Then he sat back down beside Emelia. He was beyond excited to talk to her and to catch up on everything they’d missed in each other’s lives. But he was uncertain, too. It was his fault that he’d missed so much. Did Tariq have any right to ask about it now?

The problem was solved for him, though. By the time Tariq joined Emelia, she was fast asleep, her head resting on the edge of the chair.

“I guess it’s been a big day for everyone,” he whispered to himself. Then he took another blanket from the closet and covered Emelia with it, trying not to notice how she still smelled like coconuts, just like she had all those years ago.

After checking once more on Owen, Tariq settled near the back of the plane, pulling his laptop and a stack of briefings towards him. As much as he would have liked to take a quick nap himself, he had a pile of work to catch up on. He needed to take advantage of this quiet time.

And he needed to stop thinking about Emelia.

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