Page 77 of Earned Husband

While Nanna’s English was actually pretty good, she rarely ever spoke it, choosing to stick to our mother tongue of Masri instead. That was no different on this trip, even with Colin in thehouse. I was still wondering if I should ask her to consider him a bit when she motioned toward a basket of tomatoes.

“Start on those,” she said gently, sliding fresh herbs toward me as well. “Remember not to cut them so thick.”

“I haven’t even started yet.”

She shrugged. “That doesn’t mean you weren’t about to cut them too thick.”

I laughed. “How do you always know?”

“I’m old,” she said, winking before she turned back to the stove. “I’ve known you since the day you were born. That means I know things about you few others do.”

“True.”

As she lifted a lid on one of the pans, I started on the tomatoes, careful to chop them the way she liked, and for a few minutes, we worked quietly together side by side, passing bowls and ingredients back and forth without needing to say a word.

This kitchen was one of my favorite places in the world. Falling into a rhythm with Nanna was as natural as breathing. While she was one of the most opinionated people on the planet, she also wasn’t as loud as the rest of the family.

Not anymore, anyway. If my father was to be believed, she used to be, but these days, she seemed to appreciate silence. I’d often wondered if it was because she lived here alone now, refusing to move to Cairo despite how many times Dad had asked her to.

Eventually, once the next bread was in the oven and most of the herbs had been added to the pans, she turned to look at me again. “The American is tired, Deja. He looks so lost, like he feels completely out of place.”

I smiled. “That’s because he is tired and he probably does feel out of place, but you should give him some grace. Your son has been working him to the bone learning about GlobalStar’sbusiness. Of course, he’s exhausted. The way Dad has been carrying on, it’s like he’s preparing Colin to take over someday.”

“As he should,” Nanna said. “A man needs to be prepared. Colin might not be in line to take over GlobalStar, but it sounds like his own company is no small fry either, and if your father’s plans for it come to fruition, he won’t keep up if he’s simply left to coast.”

“I don’t think Colin knows the meaning of that word,” I said firmly. “He’s a hard worker, Nanna.”

“I believe you,” she said, sprinkling some parsley into a pan before returning the lid. “Your father has told me about his work ethic, but it’s only right that they’re putting him through his paces.”

“You might think that, but it’s not fair to me.”

She cocked a hip against the counter and turned to tilt her head at me, genuine confusion clouding her dark eyes. “What’s not fair?”

“He’s here, but he’s also not reallyhere, you know? Every morning, he’s out at daybreak with Dad or Khaled, getting dragged to one meeting after another, or another dinner, or another tour. I haven’t really been able to spend time with him at all.”

“You spent time with him yesterday.”

“Sure. Three minutes or so,” I said, sighing as I looked up at her again and raked my fingers through my hair. “I guess I’m just frustrated. At least in Chicago, I actually got to spend some quality time getting to know him, but it’s like Dad is on a mission to keep that from happening here.”

Nanna sighed, taking a step forward to give my forearm a gentle squeeze. “You should feel lucky, sweetheart. Youarelucky.”

I frowned. “How’s that?”

“You’re getting to know him a little bit before your wedding.” She reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear the same way she’d been doing my entire life when she was trying to make sure I was really listening to her. “I didn’t have that. I didn’t meet your grandfather at all until our wedding day.”

My eyebrows slowly inched up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean our wedding was arranged and I got ready for it without knowing who he was. I’d seen pictures, of course, and heard stories, but we only met on the day we promised each other forever.”

“That’s insane,” I said immediately. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t known each otherat allbefore the wedding.”

“It’s not insane.” She sniffed, rolling her eyes before swatting my arm. “That’s a real arranged marriage. It’s how it could’ve been for you.”

“Sure, maybe, but an entire century has passed since marriages were arranged like that.”

She gave my arm another swat, her head shaking as she turned back to the stove. “Kids these days. You’re so ungrateful. It hasn’t been a whole century.”

“Fine.” I pumped my eyebrows at her. “Almosta century.”