Page 34 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

CHAPTER19

TARIQ

It was Tariq’s favorite time of day. Owen was sleeping, watched over by Hamid, and he and Emelia were outside in the gardens. The sun had just set, but the gardens were light with beautiful tiny fairy lights. All of Tariq’s work for the day was done. Now he could just enjoy his time with the beautiful woman beside him. He felt happy and somehow braver than he had before.

“How was your day?” Emelia asked.

“Oh, you know, nothing too exciting,” Tariq said. This wasn’t strictly true: there’d been a big argument between two of his advisors about an issue involving camels, but Tariq didn’t want to get into it now. He just wanted to enjoy the evening. “How was your day?”

“Good. Owen made paper airplanes in a combined art and physics lesson that Noora made up. All day he’s been throwing the airplanes around the house, which he is loving so much.”

Tariq laughed a little at the thought of the little boy with a house full of paper airplanes. “That sounds like him. I wish I could have come to dinner.”

The fight over camels had kept him away, much to Tariq’s annoyance. He loved his nightly dinners with Emelia and Owen. They felt almost sacred.

“So did we, but it’s okay. I know you’re busy.” She stopped, bending over a rose and taking a deep, slow breath. “This garden always smells amazing. I wish I could bottle the scent and carry it with me everywhere.”

She straightened up, a slight smile on her lips, and turned to Tariq. “Did you miss this when you were in the US?”

“Not really,” Tariq admitted. “When I was a child, I played here on my swing set, the one Owen likes now. But I wasn’t much for gardening or the outdoors as a teenager.”

“You like the gardens now though, right?” Emelia asked. She fell back into step beside Tariq and they two of them started to stroll, passing under a trellis full of flowers.

“Of course. I think I just needed to be a little older to appreciate them properly.”

“That makes sense,” Emelia agreed. “I think our opinions change a lot as we get older.”

“Not all of them, though.” Tariq felt a flood of something that he couldn’t quite name rush through him, making his whole body feel warm and tingly. “I still think you’re as beautiful as I did on the day we met.”

He probably shouldn’t have said that, but he didn’t care. A certain kind of foolish bravery had swept through Tariq today. He’d almost kissed Emelia in the library a while ago but had held himself back, not wanting to put either of them in an uncomfortable position. He’d regretted it right away. The thought of kissing Emelia was beyond intoxicating.

“You do?” Emelia’s voice was a little softer than usual as she paused mid-step, glancing up at him with those big green eyes. Tariq had a sudden urge to pull her close, an urge he’d felt and fought every day since he’d seen Emelia at that alumni event back in Boston. Maybe it was time to stop fighting. Tariq knew that there would be consequences, but in that moment, he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to miss another opportunity.

“I do,” he agreed. “I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re actually even more beautiful than you were.” He hesitated. “I know that we’re co-parents first and foremost, but do you still… feel something for me?”

In that moment, Tariq wished that he were better with words. And with feelings. His heart had been closed off since the moment he’d left Stonebridge six years ago and it was only now opening up again. He wasn’t sure how to deal with it. All he knew was that he couldn’t fight his feelings for Emelia anymore.

“Of course, I still feel something for you,” she said, her voice soft. A look of vulnerability had come over her, a look Tariq remembered from their college days. Her eyes were wide, the pupils extra dark. “Do you? I mean, feel something for me?”

He nodded, taking one step closer. Emelia tilted her head back to keep their eye contact and Tariq was drawn in by her gaze and by her slightly parted lips.

“I do. I’ve been trying not to, because I know we need to focus on Owen and I need to focus on ruling a country. But I do still feel something. And I think it might be too important to ignore.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Emelia asked. If Tariq hadn’t been as captivated as he was, he would have stopped to be impressed at her flirting.

“I was thinking about kissing you,” Tariq said, stepping even closer. One hand reached out to rest on Emelia’s hip, while the other went to brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear. They were very close now, close enough that he thought she must be able to hear his heartbeat. He was almost sure that he could hear hers.

“Okay,” Emelia said softly. As Tariq leaned closer, he felt a tingle of nerves. What if their kiss wasn’t as earth-shaking and intoxicating as it had been back in college? What if they didn’t know how to fit together anymore? What if it just didn’t feel right?

But then his lips were brushing across Emelia’s and all his worries were gone, out the window in less than a second. Unable and unwilling to hold himself back, Tariq pulled Emelia closer, deepening the kiss. Without a beat of hesitation, she responded with a soft sigh, melting against him. It was the best feeling in the world. All of the thrill and anticipation and warmth from six years ago was still there, but there was something new now. A feeling of homecoming. A sense of belonging.

The kiss confirmed what Tariq already knew, what he had always known: he and Emelia belonged together.

Finally, after a few minutes that felt like hours, they broke the kiss. Tariq kept his arms around her, though, holding her close. He never wanted to let her go again. Especially now. Emelia had never looked more attractive that she did in this moment, with a few hairs tumbling out of her braid and lips pink and slightly parted from kissing him.

“I can’t believe I waited six years for that,” Tariq whispered.

“Me neither,” Emelia agreed. She was a little breathless. “Let’s not wait that long again, okay?”

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