Page 36 of The Sheikh's Secret Family

“No, no. There’s just a lot going on. I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Maryam shook her head, her long gray braid swinging across her back. “Don’t be sorry. Just please, talk to me. You’ve missed a few of our usual Friday dinners. I’m worried that there’s something going on that you feel you can’t share with me.”

“Not at all. You know I tell you everything.” Tariq smiled, his throat burning at the lie. It was so close to being true. He told his motheralmosteverything, sharing his dreams, his struggles as sheikh, his opinions on books and movies, his sadness over the loss of his father. He just hadn’t told her about Emelia or Owen.

Two of the most important people in his life.

Goodness, even he had to admit that was a big lie.

Maryam gave Tariq a slightly suspicious look, but then let out a sigh. “I guess I just need to trust you on this.” She paused. “If there’s no girl, maybe I can recommend someone. The right woman can make all the difference…”

“Ummah!” Tariq shook his head, letting himself smile a little. If his mother was back to hounding him about his dating life, he was out of the woods.

“Sorry, sorry.” Maryam waved her hands. “My apologies for wanting to see you happy. Do you need to get to bed?”

Tariq glanced at the clock. “I do. And so do you, I think.”

“Yes. Let’s make a plan, though. Can we catch up tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

Tariq wanted to catch up with his mother, of course, but the added responsibility felt heavy on his shoulders. How was he going to keep up with everything he needed to do without letting anyone down? It seemed almost impossible.

CHAPTER20

EMELIA

Emelia walked through the gardens slowly, humming under her breath as she passed the rose garden where Tariq had kissed her the night before. She felt like a lovesick teenager. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the kiss again and saw how dark Tariq’s eyes had looked as he leaned towards her. His words about how she could trust him echoed in her ears, making her smile. Emelia hadn’t felt like this in years, not since Tariq had kissed her back in college.

She knew that bringing feelings into this arrangement was very likely to complicate things. It was worth it, though. She was already looking forward to seeing Tariq for dinner that night, maybe going for another walk afterwards…

Emelia gave herself a little shake. She needed something to do, something to focus on. For the first few weeks, all the time to relax and stroll the gardens had been a blessing. She’d loved being able to actually finish a book when she started it and to enjoy the occasional movie. Even better had been all the time with Owen and Tariq and even Noora. Now, though, all the relaxation was starting to get to her. If Emelia wasn’t careful, she was going to go crazy. All her life, since she was a young teenager, Emelia had worked. Maybe she needed to do the same now.

It wouldn’t be anything crazy, of course. Just a few hours a week. Maybe, Emelia thought, her heart starting to race, she could finally put her degree in languages to use by working as a translator. There had to be some companies in Adan that would want to hire her. This evening, she would ask Tariq if he had advice about where to start her job search. Come to think of it, it would be nice to get out of the palace sometimes, whether she was working or not. There was a whole city out there to explore.

With a little thrill of anticipation, Emelia picked up her pace. Things were really looking up. Owen was doing great in school. She and Tariq were moving their relationship forward in a way that was both familiar and swoon-worthy. And now, Emelia would maybe be able to get a job that she actually cared about. For the first time, she wondered if she and Owen could stay here permanently. She’d always thought of this time in Al Salyah as a break from her real life, but more and more, it was starting to feel like thiswasher real life. Emelia didn’t want to go back to Boston anymore. She wanted to stay here. With her family. Getting a job and exploring more of Adan would be an important part of that.

She glanced at her watch. Owen’s class was almost over. With a quicker step, she headed back towards the library to pick him up, wondering what they would do that afternoon. Maybe Noora would have an interesting idea.

“How was it today?” Emelia asked, pushing open the doors. Owen was packing up his little backpack and he stood when he saw Emelia, running over to give her a hug.

“Miss Noora says I’m getting really good at spelling,” he said excitedly. “I have a whole story that I wrote myself, do you want to see?”

“Of course I do!” Emelia said. Her heart swelled with pride as Owen got out the story, pointing out the words that he’d needed a little help writing and the ones he’d known how to spell all by himself. When Emelia actually read the story, her heart grew even warmer. Owen had written about coming to Al Salyah and meeting his dad. At the end, he’d said that his mom had more time to have fun now. Then he’d drawn a picture of the three of them standing in the gardens, holding hands. There were five or six airplanes in the background, which made Emelia smile.

Emelia gathered her son into a hug, pressing a kiss onto his head. “This is amazing, sweetie.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Owen beamed, clearly proud at having his work recognized. Emelia turned to look for Noora, wanting to thank her for helping Owen, and saw that she was standing with Hamid, her hand in his. Emelia fought the urge to say something gooey. It looked like love was everywhere nowadays.

“Any plans for the afternoon?” she asked instead.

“I’m going to meet Hamid’s family,” Noora admitted, blushing pink and smoothing a lock of her dark hair back. “Last weekend we had a nice dinner with my father.” Hamid put an arm around her and squeezed gently.

“Wow, that’s great! Have fun.” Emelia tried to keep her tone happy, but her heart was sinking.

They said their goodbyes and Hamid and Noora left, still holding hands. Owen immediately launched into cheerful chatter about what he wanted to do that day, but Emelia was only half listening. The sense of unease was creeping back, like fog rolling over the hills in early fall. Noora and Hamid had barely started dating, and already they were meeting each other’s families. Meanwhile, Tariq still hadn’t introduced Emelia to anyone beyond the palace’s servants. Maybe he was ashamed of her.

Emelia took a deep breath. It was silly to think like that. All relationships moved differently. Plus, she and Tariq had only kissed yesterday. Only the part where Tariq also wasn’t introducing his son around was a little weird. It wasn’t like Tariq was hiding her and Owen away in some decrepit apartment, though. They were here in the palace. He wouldn’t have done that if he was ashamed of her.

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