The Sheikh’s Secret Son(17)

As dinner came out and they began eating, she couldn’t help but ask. “So how is it that you get to choose your own wife? That’s awfully modern, isn’t it?”

Zaid gave her a rueful smile. “My father may be traditional, but he’s not stupid, and after my brothers…” He told her about the mess his brothers had made of their arranged marriages, abandoning the women their father had chosen for women they’d met in America. She tried not to let herself feel anything as he recounted the story, but there seemed to be a definite trend in his family.

Sipping her wine, she couldn’t resist speaking up, “Well, from everything you’ve said, the three of you definitely seem to have a thing for American women,” she teased.

Shrugging his shoulders, he mimicked her movements with his own wine as he looked at her across the top of his glass. “My brothers are more progressive and as Sharjah continues to modernize, they want to see changes in our culture as well.”

“And you don’t?” She didn’t know why she was prodding him.

Taking another drink, he continued to look at her, “There has only ever been one American woman of interest to me and she has made a point of resisting me at every turn.”

Rebecca flushed and quickly gulped her wine, coughing slightly as she swallowed too much too fast. This was not going how she had planned. She had thought she would be the one making him flustered. She set the empty glass down and Zaid refilled it for her as she concentrated on her meal. They ate in silence before he broke it asking her about her recent work.

She told him about some of the places she’d visited for work and how having to leave her son at home made her regret her career choice from time to time.

“Who does he stay with when you’re gone?” he questioned.

“My sister, Amy. He adores his aunty.”

“So, there’s no male father-figure in his life?”

“No, there isn’t. It didn’t seem...appropriate.” She wasn’t sure how to answer the question. She wanted to tell him about how often she dreamed about him. She wanted to let him know that every time she looked into Calum’s eyes, she saw Zaid staring back at her and she simply couldn’t bring herself to date someone else.

But, she didn’t know how to drop the walls she’d built up over the years. Her career and family had kept her from being able to stick with the only man she’d ever really had feelings for, and she didn’t want to lose anyone else to the life she’d chosen for herself. So she walled herself away from the rest of the world, shutting everyone out to the point that she didn’t even know how to let Zaid back in. The one person she wanted to let in.

By the end of dinner, their awkwardness was gone. All the political talk, the nostalgic hindsight, and the stilted small talk gave way to two friends being able to reconnect after five years apart.

“You know, there are times when Calum makes me want to call my parents and apologize for all the things I did as a kid,” Rebecca said, shaking her head, resting her hand on the table. More than anything, she wanted him to take it, to wrap her fingers in his warmth.

Zaid chuckled. “I can’t imagine raising a little version of me,” he added.

“That’s exactly what he is, too,” she told him, glancing away, unable to meet his eyes. “Every time I look at him, I see you. He likes to be on top of things the way you do, too. He is definitely the take-charge type.”

“I would like very much to meet him,” Zaid said, his voice quiet. “I would like to be part of his life; of your life.” He took her hand then, and just as before, an electric jolt went through her, electrifying her, as if she’d been waiting all these years for his touch.

She brought her eyes to his. “I’d love for you to meet him, at some point. I’m not sure about bringing him to Sharjah where it seems like the remaining pockets of poverty are beginning to turn violent,” she admitted.

“It isn’t that bad,” Zaid practically growled in frustration, pulling his hand away from hers.

“How would you know?” she shot back. “You’re always protected by armed security. He’s just a little boy.”

“He’s also my son. He will have all the protection necessary. Far more than what he has now.”

Rebecca stood up from the table as the maids came to clear it. Stalking toward the edge of the terrace, she kept her back to him as she stared out toward the horizon, watching the sky darken. She stiffened when she felt his hands on her waist.

Sighing, she leaned back against him. “It’s incredibly beautiful here.”