“Oh, they are. Hussain’s twin sister is a fantastic pastry chef.”
As she was about to say something, the waitress came to their table to take their order. Karim ordered a selection of finger foods and pastries for Kim to try.
They chatted together while they waited and Kim was surprised at how attentive he was. While he did interrupt their conversation to check his phone several times, he always seemed able to pick up the conversation where they left off, which impressed her. If she wasn’t careful, she could easily see herself falling for this man despite the warnings she received from his brothers.
When their food arrived, Kim looked at the array of finger foods all sitting on small plates. Everything smelled delicious, as she took a deep breath, smiling.
“I noticed that you seem to enjoy the different pastries that our cook makes and thought that you might like to try some of our more savoury dishes.”
Nodding her head, Kim couldn’t prevent the blush from creeping into her cheeks as she realised that Karim watched her eat. Reaching for a meat tart, she bit into it and closed her eyes.
“Oh, that’s delicious,” she told him as she licked the juice off her lips. She paused when she saw that he was staring at her. Licking her lips again, she watched his eyes darken as he focussed on her mouth.
“So, which ones do you like?” she asked him trying to break the sudden tension.
Reaching across the table, he picked up what looked like a miniature pie and bit into it without breaking eye contact with her. Chewing slowly, Kim watched as he swallowed before he reached his hand across to her to give her the remaining bite.
Unsure what to do, she stared at his hand for what felt like several minutes as he patiently waited for her to open her mouth.
Finally opening her mouth, he placed the tart in her mouth as she bit down on it. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the mix of spices as she chewed. “Oh, that’s so good,” she commented as he grinned at her.
The tension now broken, the couple enjoyed their lunch occasionally feeding each other morsels as if they had been doing so for years. Neither of them noticed Hussain watching them, pleased for his friend who had yet to realise that he too had fallen for an American woman. “Welcome to the club, my friend,” he mumbled under his breath.
Chapter Fourteen
After lunch, they returned to the house, laughing and talking as if they were old friends. Walking inside, Kim was surprised to see that no one was home. Karim had excused himself to go take care of some messages, which left her on her own and unsure what to do.
As she walked upstairs, she caught sight of something reflecting outside. Walking to the window, she saw that it was a swimming pool and couldn’t believe that she had never noticed it before. On a whim, she ran up to her room to put on her swimsuit.
Coming back downstairs, she exited out through the courtyard and walked toward the pool, which sparkled like turquoise in the sun. Dropping her towel and kicking off her shoes, she looked over her shoulder toward the house, but didn’t see anyone.
With a whoop, she ran toward the pool and leaped up, curling into a ball as she went crashing in. Surfacing, she laughed aloud as she swam to the side. Resting her arms, she took in the opulent surroundings as tropical plants enclosed the pool making it look like an oasis in the desert.
Rolling to her back, she floated to the middle of the pool, closing her eyes against the bright light, as she enjoyed the sun’s rays. A loud splash startled her as she sat up suddenly. Looking around, she didn’t see anything but yelped when she felt a hand on her leg tugging her down.
Turning around in the water, she was surprised to see Karim staring back at her from under the water. Surfacing again, she laughed as he caught her around the waist.
“I thought you were in your office,” she sputtered, suddenly feeling the heat from his body as he pulled her closer.
“I was, but then I heard yelling so thought that I would go investigate. Imagine my surprise when I saw you doing a cannon ball into the pool.”
Laughing, “Sorry. If I had this incredible pool, I would be in it all the time,” she told him as he tugged her toward the deep end. Holding onto his arm to steady herself, she allowed him to pull her.
“My mother loved to swim,” Karim commented. “She was the one who insisted that we put it in. It rarely gets used anymore. I’m surprised that my father still keeps it maintained.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to use it? It’s fantastic.”
Smiling, Karim looked around seeing the pool from her perspective, “Yes, I guess it is. When my mother died, my father shut down. He blamed her for leaving us and everything that was good and beautiful was suddenly forbidden as he turned into the formidable man he is today.”