Page 30 of Sheikh's Accidental Pregnancy

“Sara is supposed to be working,” he said, though he didn’t sound unhappy at the wasted morning. “You and Sara have all the time in the world to get to know each other.”

“Fine, cousin,” Aaliyah said, getting up to go. “Sara, I’ll call you, and we’ll have a girls’ day.”

“I’d like that,” Sara said. They swapped phone numbers, and Sara was finally able to settle into her workday and get caught up on everything she hadn’t done the previous week.

But the normalcy was short-lived. At the end of the day, she went back to Tariq’s home and walked into the living room to find Fiddah sitting with another woman. Both of them seemed surprised to see her.

“Hello, Sheikha Fiddah,” Sara said awkwardly.

“Sara, how is it that you are in my grandson’s home?” the older woman asked.

19

Sara held her teacup in shaking hands. The woman sitting next to Fiddah was Tariq and Amir’s mother. Talking to Fiddah and the grandmother of her unborn child about her pregnancy had not been on her agenda for when she arrived home that day. Fiddah had been taken aback when Sara explained why she was in Tariq’s home, but his mother, Mrs. Botros, had been shocked.

“Sara, my love,” Fiddah said. “I’m still finding it very hard to believe that you’re pregnant withTariq’schild. I suppose it’s no wonder you were so uncertain about the father’s reaction in the doctor’s office.”

“My eldest son? The one who hasn’t broken a rule in his life, who dedicates his every waking hour to work, slept with his brother’s assistant? I don’t believe it,” she declared. “And now you’re living here?”

“It wasn’t my idea,” Sara exclaimed, but Mrs. Botros didn’t seem to hear her.

“I’m afraid I don’t believe that.” Tariq’s mother rose from her chair, looking furious.

Sara’s jaw dropped open. “I assure you, I’m not a gold digger,” Sara replied. “It was one night, one mistake. It wasn’t intentional,” Sara ground out through clenched teeth. She was tired of explaining herself.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“Let’s all calm down,” Fiddah said. “I’m sure—

Before Fiddah could finish, Tariq stormed in. He touched Sara’s lower back and asked her to leave the room. He looked furious.

“Tariq, tell your mother that I did not target you, that I don’t even want to be here, really. Tell her how much I dislike you,” Sara said to him, trembling with emotion.

“Dislike?” Mrs. Botros huffed. “I’ll have you know my son—”

“Sara, please go upstairs. I’ll handle this,” Tariq said to her softly. Even though he looked furious, Sara caught a glimpse of caring in his eyes. She nodded and left the room. She paused just around the bend of the stairs and listened for a moment.

“Mother, please,” Tariq said. “Sara does not deserve your accusations. Everything she said was correct. We were both working late, and I suppose we each needed to release some stress. She certainly has never tried to win my good opinion or asked anything of me. She is here because I brought her here. She’s stayed only because of my air conditioning, which her apartment does not have.”

“She is a lovely girl,” Fiddah interjected. “She is intelligent. Sweet. Caring. Fun. One thing she isn’t is an opportunist. She disliked Tariq, that is very much true.”

That was enough for Sara. She continued up the stairs and into her room. It had been a long day, and she was glad of the quiet. The housekeeper had left her a pitcher of her favorite citrus water, and she poured a glass and took a long drink. She tasted some ginger, too, and her churning stomach settled.

Sara went down to Tariq’s study after she heard the front door open and close and a car pull away. Fiddah and Mrs. Botros were gone, thank God. She knocked on the door and waited for his curt reply before walking in. She walked over to where he sat behind his desk and hugged him.

“What was that?” he asked her. She let go and sat on the desk in front of him.

“It’s called ahug,” she said. “I wanted to thank you for stepping in with your mother earlier. I never thought you were kind. I thought you’d feed me to the lions if you could,” she added. Tariq narrowed his gaze.

“Mmm. You will learn that I defend my own. This afternoon, you needed defending. My mother isn’t always rational when she’s upset.” Even though his words were matter-of-fact, his voice had dropped and had that sexy tone. Sara hated to admit how much it turned her on.

“How will we raise a child together when your mother dislikes me so much?” she asked him.How will we raise a child together when we dislike each other so much?

“She’ll come around. Don’t worry about her.”

“Tariq, I’m worried about everything. This future seems so huge. And I always thought I’d love—”

“You talk too much,” he said. “We’ll take it one day at a time. We’ll put our child first, always.” His words settled her nerves.

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