Michelle took a deep breath.
“It’s just, we were a little surprised when you brought Khizar home with you. He seems nice; we just didn’t know you were seeing someone so seriously.”
Jacqui thought about it. It was sweet that her parents were worried, and to be honest, things were moving fast with Khizar.
“I know it’s a bit sudden, but I’m really happy.”
“We can see that, Jacqui,” her father said. “But we don’t even know how you met.”
“He came into the bakery, bought everything I’d baked that day, and gave it away to some charity organizations I suggested. I went with him and we got to know each other.”
Her parents exchanged a look that Jacqui couldn’t decipher.
“He’s in Milwaukee for business?” Alan asked.
Jacqui nodded. “He’s been talking to jewelry store owners about expanding his company’s jewelry line here.”
“He doesn’t talk a lot about his family,” her mother said.
“No, he doesn’t,” Jacqui said. “But we’ve only been dating a few weeks.”
Michelle laid a hand softly on the table. “Exactly.”
Jacqui looked from her mother to her father. “What’s bothering you both? Is it that I’m dating someone from another country?”
Alan shook his head. “No, though I expect the two of you are going to have to have a difficult conversation about location in the near future.”
“I know, the location difference isn’t ideal. But it’s nothing we can’t work out. I mean, he owns a jet, after all.”
Her parents exchanged another look.
“Sweetie, we know that things haven’t been great here at the bakery, and you’re worried about having to close. We’re concerned that you’re only seeing the financial security Khizar offers,” her mom said.
“The trips and the gifts—they’re a little over the top, aren’t they?” her dad asked.
Jacqui shook her head.
“He’s got money and he likes to spend it. Come on, he gives money to charity. He buys cakes and hands them out to people who don’t have any money to buy them.”
Michelle asked hesitantly, “Are you sure he doesn’t see you as a charity case, too?”
Jacqui started to deny that idea, and then took a deep breath. Her parents were just watching out for her.
“He’s never patronizing, and he’s never done anything as crass as just give me money. I’m not being bought, Mom.”
“No, of course not. But don’t you think he’s being a little mysterious about who he is and why he’s here?”
“I know who he is, Mom, and why. He’s here for business.” Jacqui held up a hand. “Look, you’re concerned, and I get it. It’s a crazy story—CEO sheikh meets Milwaukee baker—but I’m really happy with Khizar. And it has only been a few weeks, but I want to see where our relationship is going.”
Alan nodded. “And we trust you. The only thing we want is for you to be safe and healthy and happy.”
Michelle patted her hand. “You know we’re always here if you need anything.”
Jacqui leaned across the table and hugged her mother and then her father. “Thanks. I love you both.”
They finished their cake and left, but Jacqui kept playing the conversation over and over in her head. Her parents had a point. Khizar said he was in town for business, but other than those few jewelry store owners—or people he said were store owners—she didn’t know anything about why he was here.
Surely, it didn’t take weeks to convince stores to carry a jewelry line. At least not weeks of in-person meetings. Why did he need to spend so much time here?
And if he wasn’t here on business, why was he really in Milwaukee?
While he continued to shower her with lavish gifts and extravagant dates, he didn’t get into serious discussions with her. He asked her a lot of questions, but didn’t talk much about himself or his family. And even though Khizar talked some about his work, Jacqui didn’t really know anything about his life.
She supposed he might have made the business excuse in order to spend more time with her. He could have just told her that; Jacqui knew that she didn’t need an excuse to spend time with him. But she didn’t know what his family would think about them dating—as a member of royalty, maybe he wasn’t supposed to date without approval, or allowed to date a non-royal.
And it wasn’t as though they were moving that fast—even though, since Hawaii, they had spent more time cuddling and kissing, Khizar hadn’t even hinted at anything more physical. Jacqui was fine with that. She wanted to be sure this was a real relationship and not something that would end in a few weeks when he went home.