“I reserve that for our home,” he said as he opened the door and searched for the little brown-haired, brown-eyed girl. He spotted her in the corner playing with a slew of stuffed animals and Zain Mehdi’s twins under the watchful eye of a young governess. When he summoned Yasmin in Arabic, she looked up and favored him with a bright smile.
“Poppy!” she shouted as she ran toward him, her curls bouncing in time with her gait.
Tarek lifted her into his arms and turned to Kira. “This is Yasmin. Yasmin, this is Kira.”
The absolute awe on Kira’s face was worth all the gold in the hemisphere. “I am very pleased to meet you, Yasmin.”
The little girl reached out and touched Kira’s cheek. “You are very pretty.”
“So are you, sweetheart. And you speak very good English.”
Yasmin shrugged and pointed at Tarek. “He taught me. May I play now, Poppy?”
Tarek set her on her feet and knelt on her level. “You may, as soon as I give you a gift.”
Yasmin rocked back and forth on her heels with barely-contained excitement. “Is it another puppy?”
“No, yet I believe you will like it.” He withdrew one of the two black velvet boxes from his pocket. “Open this for me.”
After Yasmin complied, her eyes filled with surprise when she saw the tiny silver band. “Is this mine?”
“Yes, it is.” Tarek slipped the ring from the holder and held it up. “If you agree to be my daughter.”
She pretended to pout. “I am your daughter, silly Poppy.”
He pocketed the empty box and slid the band on her right ring finger. “Yes, and this makes it official.”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “I am going to show Cala and Joseph my ring now.”
When she started away, he gently clasped her arm to halt her progress, took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “What do you say to Kira?”
“It is nice to meet you,” she replied, followed by an exaggerated curtsy, then rushed back to her playmates.
Tarek escorted Kira back into the corridor and kissed her again. “I have arranged for some private time for us for a few hours. How do you suggest we spend that time?”
She stroked his jaw. “I can think of several pleasant things, but first I have to tell you that you giving Yasmin that ring meant so much to her, and me.”
A long overdue gesture, in his opinion. “While we were apart, I arranged to adopt Yasmin so it will truly be official. However, I have put the process on hold since I would like to have you listed as her mother. I realize that is much to ask of you—”
She pressed a fingertip against his lips. “I would be honored to assume that responsibility, as long as Yasmin agrees.”
“She will eventually, though it could require another mutt.”
“I would hope loving her like my own would be enough to convince her to love me back.”
He could not imagine any living being not loving an extraordinary woman such as Kira. “I am certain it will be, and we will tell her about the marriage very soon. Since meeting you, I have learned that being a good parent does not require blood ties. It involves caring and commitment and yes, making errors in judgment at times. I learned that long ago from my father, yet I allowed myself to forget those lessons.”
She gently touched his cheek. “Do you think you can forgive your biological father for never acknowledging you?”
Before falling under Kira’s positive influence, Tarek’s answer would have been a definitive “No.” “There is nothing to forgive. My mother gave him no choice in the matter. Unfortunately, when he finally made the effort to confirm that I was his son, it was too late. I do regret that.”
She embraced him briefly and smiled. “Look at it this way. You’ve gained an entire family. A somewhat eccentric family, but a loving family all the same.”
“Yes, I have.”
Her eyes suddenly went wide. “Oh no, I have to tell my parents about us and the baby before someone else does. I’m going to call them now but I left my cell phone in the office.”
When Kira started away, Tarek clasped her hand to stop her. Apparently all the women in his life were bent on deserting him today. “Before you do that, I have a gift for you.”
He withdrew the second box, opened it, and removed the second gift. “This is for you to make our engagement official.”
Kira stared at the three-carat ruby and diamond ring, her eyes welling with tears. “It’s beautiful, Tarek, but it’s too much for a common girl like me.”
He lifted her chin and kissed her cheek. “There is nothing common about you, Kira. You are an amazing woman deserving of all the best life has to offer.”