Page 33 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

“No, no, it’s okay. I’ll go track her down and be back soon.”

“What about the movie?” Owen asked, a little whine creeping into his voice.

“I’ll be back lickety-split and we can finish it,” Tariq said, tousling the boy’s hair.

“Lickety-split?” Owen asked, giggling a little. Emelia was impressed that Tariq had gotten the whine out of their son’s voice so quickly, which helped her push away her unease.

“Lickety-split,” Tariq agreed. Then his phone started to ring again and he answered, shooting Emelia an apologetic look. “Hi, Ummah. Yes, I’m on my way. No, no, it’s okay, you said it was important. Where are you?” His voice started to fade as he waved a quick goodbye and walked purposefully towards the hallway. “Just around, I was finishing something up…”

Emelia was suddenly transported back to Stonebridge’s greenhouse all those years ago, listening to Tariq lie to his parents about who he was with. Was he still lying now? Had he not told his mother about her and Owen?

“This isn’t fair,” Owen grumped, crossing his arms.

“I know, honey, but Tariq will be back soon.” Emelia pulled her son in for a sideways hug. “Do you want to play a quick game until he gets back?”

“All right.” The little boy scampered off to pick one out and get it set up. Owen still didn’t sound cheerful, but at least he was agreeing. And maybe a game would get Emelia’s mind off of Tariq’s possible lies. When he got back, she would pull him aside and ask him what had happened. Probably there was a perfectly reasonable explanation. After all, Emelia had only heard part of the conversation.

“Mommy, it’s your turn,” Owen said, tapping Emelia’s arm insistently with his small hand.

“Sorry, sweets.” Emelia turned her attention back to the game to ponder her next move.

About twenty minutes later, Emelia heard the door open. She got to her feet, ready to ask Tariq for a quick word before they restarted the movie. But before she could say anything, Owen leapt to his feet and dashed into the other room. Emelia turned the corner to see Owen with his arms flung around Tariq, grinning up at his father.

“You’re back!”

“I said I’d come back,” Tariq said, ruffling the boy’s hair. “And a father always keeps his promises.”

Emelia felt her unease melt away at his words and at the sight of the two of them, so happy to see each other. Yes, she wanted to know why Tariq had left to talk to his mother instead of bringing her to meet them — ever. But it was more important that Owen had a father who clearly loved him. When Emelia was a little girl, she would have given anything to have two parents who loved her. Anything. She wasn’t going to take that away from her son by starting an argument over what was probably nothing.

“Did you miss me?” Emelia looked up to see that Tariq was looking at her now, his brown eyes twinkling.

“Of course,” Emelia said, keeping her tone light. It was true, though. She had missed him. As Emelia had done countless times before, in foster families and with Tariq when they were younger, she shoved down her worries of being some tagalong who everyone was ashamed of. She would enjoy her time with Tariq. She would let Owen have a loving father and mother. She wouldn’t mess everything up by demanding too much.

“So, can we get back to the movie?” Owen asked, finally letting go of Tariq’s stomach.

“Of course,” Emelia said again, stepping closer to ruffle his hair, too. He squirmed when she did it, but still looked pleased. “I think we even have a little popcorn left.”

“Yippee!” Grabbing Emelia’s hand in his left and Tariq’s in his right, Owen pulled them both back into the living room, bouncing a little between them. His enthusiasm was catching and Emelia was able to enjoy the movie, the popcorn, and the company. Tariq was a good man, a good father. Eventually, he would introduce them to his mother, when the time was right. After all, they’d only been here a few weeks so far. There was no need to rush things.

“Everything okay?” Tariq asked during a break in the movie, when Owen had dashed off to his room to get his plush fish that was just like one of the movie characters.

“Yes,” Emelia said. Not wanting to get into a conversation about her feelings, she kept things focused on Owen, always a safe topic between them. “Our little ball of energy seems to be enjoying himself.”

Tariq rewarded the comment with a small laugh. “He does. I was impressed by his version of the lobster dance.”

“It was pretty impressive,” Emelia agreed.

Tariq leaned a little closer. “So are you. I heard you singing along to that story about following your heart. You have a great voice.”

Emelia flushed a little, both at the compliment and at Tariq’s sudden closeness. “Thanks. You just have to get me in the right mood for singing and this movie does it. I’ve watched it so many times I think I could recite the whole thing just as well as Owen can.”

“He could probably start a one-boy play acting out the movie,” Tariq joked. Emelia grinned, relaxing back into the couch. Everything was familiar again.

“Don’t worry, with a little time, you’ll be able to, too.” She winked at him.

Owen came dashing back in and Emelia and Tariq quickly moved apart to make room. As Emelia pressed play on the movie, she was glad that she’d decided not to confront Tariq about his mother. Things could continue as they were, with the lovely rhythm of her and Tariq’s banter and the joyful enthusiasm of Owen’s every move. There was no need to shake things up.

It was probably best, at least for now, that Emelia didn’t bring up her romantic feelings, either. There was no need to spoil what they had.

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