Page 28 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

They both stood, stretched, and then looked at each other. Tariq gave an awkward half nod and Emelia gave a little wave, both of them unsure how to be around each other after all this time. Then Tariq left, wishing that he could stay for just a few more minutes, just one more story. The whole way back to his room, he kept thinking of Emelia. Her smile. How she still smelled like coconuts. How her eyes still seemed to sparkle when she looked at him.

He knew that nothing romantic would happen with Emelia. It couldn’t. They both had other priorities. Tariq needed to run a country, get to know his son, and win back Emelia’s trust. He shouldn’t even think about making her his. But that knowledge didn’t stop his traitorous heart from beating faster whenever he thought of Emelia.

It might be harder to keep feelings out of this than he had thought.

CHAPTER16

EMELIA

Emelia could hardly believe that she and Owen had been in Al Salyah for over a week. How had the time gone by so quickly? Owen had been enjoying his classes, Emelia had been relishing her free time, and the days had simply flown by. Her life back in Boston was starting to seem more like a half-forgotten dream than her real life.

Now it was Saturday and Owen was standing by the door in his swimming trunks and a T-shirt, holding a towel and bobbing along to the music that Emelia was playing. Every few minutes, he asked if it was time to go yet.

“No, sweetie,” Emelia said, again, when he asked the twentieth time. “We’re waiting for Tariq to come so that he can take us to the pool, remember?”

“I’m sure we could find it,” Owen said, bobbing a little more.

“I know, but isn’t it more fun to go together?”

That was the other thing that had happened this week: the three of them had become a little unit. Sure, Tariq was busy with his royal duties, but they still had eaten dinner together almost every night. And after dinner, once Owen was tucked into bed and watched over by Hamid, Tariq had invited Emelia out to explore the palace. They had had a midnight snack in the kitchen, giggling like teenagers. They had gone for walks in the gardens, which were lit up at night by fairy lights. They’d even visited the palace’s bowling alley for a disastrously low-scoring game.

It was fun. Beyond fun. And today Tariq finally had a full afternoon off and was planning to take her and Owen to the palace’s pool. They’d seen it on the first day but hadn’t swum there — until now. Emelia couldn’t wait. For his part, Owen was nearly jumping out of his flip-flops with excitement, even though it was still fifteen minutes before Tariq was supposed to arrive.

Tariq must have been excited too, though, because he showed up ten minutes early with a sheepish expression. Owen was over the moon, dancing around like a puppy about to go out for a walk. Emelia tried to be a little more dignified, but she felt almost as bubbly and couldn’t stop herself from breaking into a grin.

“Sorry I’m early,” Tariq said.

“No worries. We’re ready. Some of us have been ready for a while.” Emelia gave a pointed glance at Owen.

Tariq followed her gaze and stifled a laugh. Owen had just put on his goggles and was hopping with even more enthusiasm, his brown eyes extra-large through the plastic lenses. Seeing Tariq smile at Owen, Emelia felt her heart melt a little more. She had loved Tariq years ago, but seeing him now, with their son, she felt a new kind of affection. There was nothing more attractive than a man who loved children, especially one who could appreciate Owen’s goofy adorableness.

“Let’s head out?” she asked, not wanting to get caught up in her thoughts.

“Yes!” Owen half-shouted with enthusiasm. “Come on!”

Trying not to laugh at his outburst, Emelia followed Tariq down the hallway to the pool. Owen ran ahead to walk beside his father and ask a barrage of questions. Emelia just listened in, her heart as warm and melty as a gooey chocolate chip cookie.

At the pool, everyone shed their outdoor clothes. Owen was the fastest, of course, and leapt into the pool with a huge splash before Emelia had even taken off her shoes. He started paddling around, diving under occasionally and calling out for them to join him.

The water did look inviting. The bottom of the pool was covered in an intricate pattern of green and blue tiles. The water was clear and smelled fresh. The ceiling high overhead was made of glass, letting in a beautiful stream of sunshine. And they were alone, just the three of them, in the huge aquatic center.

Still, something held Emelia back from pulling off her purple dress and revealing her modest black-and-white one-piece. She felt shy. Tariq had seen everything before, but she was older now. She’d had a baby. She wasn’t the same as she was in college, and she didn’t look the same either. What if Tariq was disappointed?

She glanced over and saw that Tariq had already stripped off his shirt and was standing at the edge of the pool in his blue swim trunks, dodging Owen’s splashes. The sound of both their laughter echoed off the vaulted walls. Clearly, Tariq wasn’t feeling self-conscious — but then again, he had no reason to. He was older, yes, but he was still the same attractive man he had been. Emelia saw the outline of muscles across his bare shoulders and quickly looked away, feeling a rush of warmth in her cheeks.

In one quick motion, she slipped her dress off and dove into the pool, popping up beside Owen to tickle his belly. The little boy laughed in joy. A moment later, Tariq jumped in, splashing both of them, and came to join the tickle attack.

Now that she was in the water, Emelia felt less self-conscious. The fact that she saw Tariq’s eyes lingering on her when she climbed out of the water for another dive certainly helped, although it also turned her cheeks even redder.

For the next hour or two, the three of them splashed around in the pool. They played Marco Polo, showed off their dives and jumps, and had races across the shallow end that Owen always won. Emelia felt a kind of freedom and happiness that she hadn’t felt since, well, maybe ever. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was part of a big, happy family.

She and Owen were a family, of course, a little family of two. But they were a duet, a moon and a planet, not a whole orchestra or a solar system. It was like Tariq was what had been missing from their little family for Owen’s whole life. Maybe for Emelia’s whole life, too.

Emelia tried to brush the thought away, but it wouldn’t go. She knew she was being silly. There were no guarantees about how things would turn out with Tariq. Everything could fall apart. And Emelia might not even stay in Al Salyah. It wasn’t her real life, no matter how much she felt like it was. She didn’t have a job here. Eventually, they would have to go back to Boston. She had no reason to think of Tariq as permanent.

“What are you thinking about?” Tariq asked, popping up from the water. Emelia had been sitting on the edge of the pool, half watching Owen try to make the biggest possible cannonball, half lost in thought.

“Nothing, really,” she said, swishing her feet through the water. “It’s just nice how happy Owen is. He’s really flourishing. Last night, he asked me if he could do an extra chapter in his math book.”

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