Page 113 of Earned Husband

Every man who approached me once he was gone insisted I eat. I learned very quickly that this trait skipped neither generation nor household, all of them at least as fierce and stubborn about watching me do it as Nanna herself. By the time Basel reappeared, I still hadn’t seen any of the Saad brothers, so I had no one to rescue me, and I was on myfifthplate of food in probably only as many minutes.

Basel grinned when he came to take the seat beside mine. “Your gifts will now be presented to you.”

“My what now?” I asked, but as if they’d been summoned—and to be fair, they probably had—household staff appeared carrying boxes and wrapped parcels, laying them down all around me. “Oh.”

Basel let out a deep, booming laugh. “I’ll help you. These are from our friends and family who couldn’t make it in person. The others will present their gifts themselves.”

“You actually know people who couldn’t make it here in person?” I asked, completely unsure if I believed that, but he simply gave me another hard clap on the shoulder and helped me unwrap traditional scarves, handmade leather goods, and bottle upon bottle of extremely expensive alcohol.

There was also so much silver, both jewelry and household items like candlesticks and platters, that we’d need a whole new house to keep it all in. The same could be said for the hand-carved wooden items. I was desperately struggling to take it all in, but then an elderly man approached us, proudly handing over an antique compass.

“Every husband needs one to know how to find his wife,” he said, grinning when Basel laughed and nodded his agreement.

“I…” I trailed off for a beat, wondering if he should be giving something that looked this special to a complete stranger, but then I remembered where I was and what they’d think if I tried to refuse it, so I simply shook his hand. “Thank you, this means a lot.”

When the gifts were done, it looked like the drinking was about to start in earnest, so I leaned into it, needing the liquid courage to get me through all the marriage advice these guys had to offer. Hours later, I managed to escape onto one of the terraces with a glass of tea, needing a break from the whiskey—and the advice.

If another man told me to always agree with my mother-in-law or never to argue with my wife when she was hungry, it felt like I would just keel over. Unfortunately, I’d hardly had a minute to breathe when I heard footsteps drawing closer.

I sighed but then smiled when I saw it was Rami and that he was carrying two cups of takeout coffee. When he quickly swapped the tea out for one of those instead, I’d never been more grateful to anyone for anything. “Thank you.”

“You survived,” he said. “I figured you deserved American coffee.”

“No, I’m serious. Thanks. I really needed this.”

He chuckled. “You didn’t know that was coming?”

“Nope. Somehow, in all the research I’ve done, I managed to miss this. I knew there were some pre-wedding celebrations, but I, uh, I genuinely wasn’t expecting this.”

“It’s not possible to expect this unless you’ve seen it before,” he said, then came to stand at the railing with me and looked outover the gardens. “Deja and the women are staying across town at the resort where the wedding will take place, to be pampered for a week.”

Disappointment and relief snaked through me. “At least now I know where she is. I won’t see her again until she’s walking down the aisle, will I?”

“No,” he said, then laughed. “Actually, knowing my sister, you will probably see her at some point, but you’re not supposed to.”

More footsteps sounded behind us and I tensed all over again, but it was just Basel. He strolled up to the railing with us, smiling like he’d never been happier. “I had a feeling you two were taking a break. The youth never could keep up with us.”

Rami scoffed. “Oh, we can keep up, alright. We just choose to pace ourselves because we’re responsible.”

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself,” Basel said calmly, still smiling as he glanced at me. “Your family and the Westwoods will be arriving in a few days. I’ve taken the liberty of directing Alex to send your sister and the Westwood women to join Deja, Layla, and the others at the resort.”

I nodded. “That’s a good idea. Thank you.”

At this point, I was just blissfully along for the ride. Clearly, there were traditions I hadn’t known about, but I respected them nonetheless and a little time with the boys wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. I was even pretty eager to see how my brothers, the Westwoods, and the Saads got along.

It was going to be a laugh a minute.

“A moment please, Rami,” Basel said then, and his son clapped me on the shoulder and left. Basel waited until he was out of earshot before straightening beside me at the railing. I did the same, my heart suddenly pounding as I wondered what the hell was going to happen now. “You know, Colin, I am moreconfident in my decision now than ever before. You truly have earned her.”

I blinked rapidly, dying to point out that Deja’s feelings were what mattered most, but I let it go. It definitely didn’t seem worth upsetting him just to let him know that I would have married her even without his blessing.

“Thank you, sir.”

“I’m proud of you, Colin,” he said, extending a hand toward me. “You have handled yourself exceptionally well. I know we threw you in the deep end, but it was a pleasure watching you swim.”

I shook with him, but before I’d even said a word, he nodded at an open door on the next terrace over. “Your bedroom is right through there. It’s going to be a long week. Get some rest, son.”

With that, he spun around and disappeared into the still partying crowd, but I gratefully took his advice, taking the garden path toward the door he’d pointed out. With the music still playing and the sounds of laughter and chatter in my ears, I fell asleep almost immediately, completely worn out after the day but feeling more confident and ready than ever.