The Sheikh’s Instant Family (The Safar Sheikhs 2)

“You don’t need to think of it beforehand,” he murmured into her ear, and then pressed his lips to her temple. It was always hard to not touch or kiss her. “Just look at these and find your favorite. Don’t think about it too much, or else you’ll never pick one.”

She nodded resolutely, frowning as she looked over the rings again. Then she pressed her index finger against the pane. “This one.”

Amad waved his hand in the air, calling over an employee. “She’ll take this one, please.”

“How much is it?” Vanessa asked the employee.

The thin man peered at the tag behind the display.

“Don’t tell her,” Amad warned.

“No, I want to know,” Vanessa said. “How much is it?”

The man began to open his mouth, but Amad interjected. “Babe, it doesn’t matter.”

“But I’m curious,” she pleaded.

Amad huffed. “Fine.”

The employee swung his gaze down to the sticker, then back up to Vanessa. “Seventeen thousand four hundred.”

Vanessa’s jaw plummeted to the floor. She squeaked.

“We can’t get that one,” she hissed to Amad.

“I told you—it’s fine.”

Her eyes widened further. Amad smiled at the employee. “We’ll take that one.”

“An excellent choice,” he murmured as he removed the display. “It’s a flawless round cut diamond solitaire, and it will look exquisite with your skin tone.”

“My skin tone cannot receive something that costs seventeen thousand dollars,” Vanessa said once the employee whisked the ring away.

“Maybe your skin tone can’t,” Amad said, cupping her face in his hands, “But my skin tone is prepared to give it. I told you.”

“How much money do you even make?” He was squishing her cheeks as she talked, and it made her mouth move funny. He laughed.

“Enough,” he said.

“That’s what billionaires tend to say,” Vanessa said with a fair amount of side eye.

“I’m not a billionaire,” he said.

“Oh yeah? Then how wealthy are you?” She wrapped her arms around his waist, tilting her head back to smirk at him. “Maybe I only go for billionaires.”

He laughed, running his thumb along the dimple shining in her cheek. “I’m as wealthy as a sheikh.”

“That’s an interesting comparison,” she mused.

“It’s not a comparison.” He flashed a grin. “It’s a fact.”

She blinked. “Wait…what?”

“You’ll be royal once we put a ring on it.” He pressed a kiss to her parted lips. Surprise had rendered her immobile. They’d never talked about his life back home in any detail—only superficial facts about his brothers and his business dealings. That was part of the casual element of their relationship, he supposed. Vanessa hadn’t gone into any great depth about her own life either. The two of them just clicked, exactly as they were now. They had all the time in the world to get caught up on the details.

“Are you…serious right now?”

“Deadly.”