The Sheikh’s Sham Engagement (The Safar Sheikhs 3)

From Fatim’s and Amad’s knowing smiles, Willow could tell Nasser had told his brothers. Excitement filled all three of them.

Emotion overcame her again, crashed over her in a thick, crushing wave that pushed her into a run toward Nasser. He caught her in his arms, and she buried her face in his chest. Tears leaked out of her eyes again as she said, “Nasser, we’ve having a baby!”

His arms squeezed around her, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You’re the only woman I ever wanted that to be true with.”

13

A few days later, Willow could barely remember her life before the pregnancy news. Pure excitement had taken over, and on the heels of excitement came the planning.

She’d launched a shared calendar and began inputting all the important dates, starting with the due date, as estimated at her first midwife appointment the day before, as well as her upcoming midwife appointments, sonogram appointments, reminders to work on the nursery, links to Pinterest inspiration boards, a shared note that would serve as their running brainstorming session for names, and so much more.

It was the control hub of the pregnancy. Of her life as she now knew it.

Willow was extremely proud. And she couldn’t wait to get Nasser on board.

They’d made plans to lunch in the eastern sweep of the gardens, where the patio was covered with latticework and grapevines. In the corner, a wide fountain burbled, with statues of benign creatures belching water. It was her favorite spot, and the setting of rose bushes and lilies would accompany their tasty lunch perfectly.

Nasser showed up right on time, pulling her into a hug before sitting across from her. Ice water awaited them, as well as crunchy bread and a balsamic dip. Willow mostly sipped on her water and chewed ginger tablets, since morning sickness still had her in its grip.

“How was your morning?” Nasser asked, unfolding a napkin onto his lap. He’d been in donor meetings all morning, as well as checking out the site of a different project he’d gotten involved in.

“Great,” Willow said. “I’ve gotten the full scope of the curriculum squared away, and I posted the first job listing this morning. One resume has already been submitted!”

“That’s excellent.” Nasser reached across the table and stroked her wrist.

“And I have something to share with you.” She brought out her tablet, swiping to the calendar app she’d installed precisely for their shared venture. “I want you to download this onto your phone or your tablet. It’s a calendar app, and I think it will work out really well for us to both use this, now that things are getting a little crazier.”

Nasser just blinked as she showed off the app.

“So you’ll see all the changes I make here, and when you tick off tasks or appointments, I can see them, too. It’s always syncing, which will be super helpful as we start to divvy up tasks for both the baby and the school.”

Nasser nodded, but he didn’t look even half as excited as she was.

“And honestly, I feel like this is somewhat of your influence too,” Willow went on, eager for him to see the ways in which this would benefit them both. “You always want me to go with the flow and just take things one day at a time. One task at a time. I’m stepping away from being so hung up on the big picture with this. You know? I really want to try to take it one task at a time with this program.”

Nasser’s brows were drawn into a hard line, and he nodded. The server appeared then with their meal, grilled chicken and wild rice with steamed vegetables. Nasser thanked the server and pushed the rice around with his fork.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her.

“A little, actually.” She smiled over at him, wishing he would acknowledge her plans for the future. “Seeing the food helped this time. I’ll see how much I can eat.”

Nasser dug into his food, and she let a few moments go by before bringing up the calendar again.

“So what do you think?”

“About what?” he asked.

“The calendar.”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat, wiping at his mouth with the napkin. “It looks like it’s perfect for you.”

She wilted a little. “But it’s for us.”

He squinted in that way that signaled his dissent. She knew this look better than anything else. “Willow, I don’t really need the baby calendar.”

“It’s not just a baby calendar,” she said, frowning down at her plate. “I’ve put in information about the school progress as well. I’ll be updating it as more resumes come in, and—”

“Well, yes. Add me to it,” Nasser flashed a quick grin. “I’ll use it to keep tabs.”