“Now?” It felt like the middle of the night. He had to work in the middle of the night?
Mischief lit up in his eyes. “Are you going to miss me, Liyah?”
“No, of course not.” Wincing, she realized how harsh that sounded. “I mean, we just met, and I wouldn’t want to delay you. It was nice meeting you.” Now she was babbling again.
“Enjoy the rest of the hookah, and your night. And the pleasure was all mine.” For a moment, his gaze held hers, and she thought that he was going to lean down and kiss her, but instead, he turned and walked away.
It was a long time before her heartbeat returned to normal, and longer still before she stopped entertaining scandalous thoughts of the mysterious Asad.
3
“You left early last night,” Amira said as she swept into Asad’s suite at the palace. As usual, his sister didn’t even bother knocking. “I thought you’d taken the American home—except that she was still on the rooftop when we left.”
“Go away,” Asad grunted, and then he finished his push-up. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, partly because he was angry that his expansion plans for the condos were falling through and partly because he couldn’t stop thinking of the shy strawberry-blonde who babbled and blushed like a schoolgirl.
“Is that any way to talk to your favorite sister?” she smirked as she perched on the counter. “You should be thanking me. If it was up to you idiots, you would have scared the girl away, and then who would have warmed you in your dreams last night?”
“I assure you, if I had another sister, I would prefer her over you.” Asad rolled over and started doing his morning crunches. He liked the punishment in the morning. It worked his body up and reminded him of the discipline that he needed in life.
Amira rolled her eyes. “If I had a sister, we’d take over the world.”
Asad didn’t bother telling Amira that she could take over the world all by herself. Although the youngest, she was by far the most stubborn and headstrong of the family. Combine that with her intelligence, and she was probably better suited for business than all three brothers, but her sex and her smart mouth would always hold her back.
“Did you just come to interrupt me to grill me about the girl?” he grunted as his muscles started to ache. He pushed through. “It was nothing. I thought she was pretty. I considered taking her home. I was interrupted by business.”
“The condo?” Her eyes narrowed. “What happened?”
“The investors won’t commit. I don’t know what else to do.” Finishing his set, he stood and grabbed the towel. “I think it’s my youth. They don’t want to get into business with me because they think I’m still a kid.” At thirty-two, he was hardly a child, but these were men who were friends with his father and still remembered Asad from when he was a child.
“So show them that you’re all grown up.” Amira reached over and pinched his cheek. “You’ve got stubble and all.”
Slapping her hand away, he growled at her. “And how do you propose that I do that?”
“What sets apart a man from a boy?” she said, inspecting her nails. Asad knew the move well, and he knew that Amira was about to say something that he wouldn’t like. “A boy is the result of family, but a man creates a family. Rashid’s birthday party is coming up, and most of the investors will be there. I suggest that you do something that seems very mature.”
Asad wasn’t entirely sure that he liked where this was going. “And what would that be?”
“Introduce your fiancée. You have enough women panting after you. I’m sure you can find at least one of them who would make a suitable match.”
Asad felt a strange sense of panic. “Have you lost your mind? You want me to get married—just for a deal to go through?”
“This is not just a deal, Asad. This is the deal that will send Dubai a message. The Sharif brothers aren’t just playboys. They’re serious about growing the city. And I’m not saying that you need to marry anyone. Engagements are broken all the time.” She hopped off the counter and reached up to pat his cheek. “But at least try to find some girl with class, will you, big brother?”
Annoyed, he watched her sashay out.
Her plan was insane, but it had some merit. He’d been trying to figure out how to show the investors that he was serious, and nothing had worked. He’d put together a huge presentation dinner, and they’d joked about how he liked to spend money on luxury. He’d offered to put up some of the family money to get involved, but they’d called him reckless. Last night, one of them finally admitted that it was difficult for them to do business with someone they still remembered running around in diapers.
But an engagement would force the men to pay attention to him and see him as a man. And it just might help him close the deal.
“Sahaar,” Liyah said in a sweet voice. “I bought you some pistachios today.”
Sahaar straightened from the counter, her cleaning rag still in hand, and narrowed her eyes. “Now why would you do something like that when you could have bought yourself some pretty trinket?”
“Well, I really wanted some pistachio-date pudding yesterday, but I realized that we have no pistachios,” Liyah lied as she slid the package onto the counter.
“Why didn’t you just ask? I would have made it for you!”
Now was her chance to finally be able to help out. “If you always make it for me, how will I be able to get it when I return?” She reached out and clasped the older woman’s hands. “Please, Sahaar. Teach me so I can take some of the culture back with me.”