Page 91 of Earned Husband

It wasn’t fancy or even big, looking exactly like one of the many pharmacies I’d seen scattered around the city whenever we left the estate. This one was clean and busy, filled with customers, but there was nothing extraordinary about it. I glanced back at him.

“Are you sure?” I asked, only half-joking. “I mean, how?”

Basel smiled. “When my uncle retired, I took over and built GlobalStar from the ground up, from right here. I turned one pharmacy into two, then ten, then hundreds. This is the place that allowed me to set my sons up for life.”

If I’d been able to say I’d done something like that, I sure as hell would’ve been arrogant about it, but not Basel. There was definitely pride shining in his eyes, but he wasn’t cocky about it. Once again, it felt like he was just… sharing.

It really wasn’t a business practice I was used to, but around here, it seemed about right. Besides, he and I weren’t only conducting business together and he was no ordinary businessman, so I listened closely, curious to know more.

“Khaled has exceeded every expectation I ever had tenfold.” He chuckled as he shook his head. “The younger boys still need work.”

I laughed, surprised that he’d tell me something like that, but then he clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder and stopped walking to look at me. “You know, beneath all this Thayer drama, I know your father is proud of you too, Colin.”

I blinked a few times in rapid succession, wondering how he’d made that sound so casual while we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk. “Thanks. I appreciate that, sir.”

“But?” he asked, proving again that he was really good at reading people.

I lifted my chin, not really sure how much to tell him, but on the other hand, he was being honest with me today. I wanted to pay him the same courtesy. “But I was too young to take over Thayer’s entire financial network when it happened. I spent my entire twenties cleaning up messes I didn’t make, and so far, it’s taken me my whole adult life to dig my family’s company out of the hole.”

I shook my head and shrugged. “With all due respect, sir, for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I can breathe again, and I don’t even mean for myself, but for my sister and my younger brothers. As for my father, I honestly don’t care whether he’s proud of me anymore.”

Basel looked at me, but he didn’t say anything, just waiting in that quiet way of his until I spoke again.

“What matters is that my brothers have opportunities I never did. And for me personally, I’m just happy that I can give Deja the kind of life she deserves.”

He studied me with that same unnervingly thoughtful expression he’d worn over beers in Chicago, making it feel like I’d said something he found vitally important. Finally, after a long silence, he smiled.

“Hearing that you’re only thinking about my daughter on what could easily be the most important day of your career is exactly what I needed to hear,” he said. “We need to talk about the wedding, son. Next month should work.”

While my brain hurried to catch up, my mouth dried out. “Excuse me?”

I’d thought I had months left to meet his conditions, but he let out a happy chuckle and clapped me on the shoulder again before he started striding back toward the house. “We’ll have the wedding next month, Colin.”

“Next month?” I repeated lamely, my head suddenly spinning.

He headed down the block where his career had apparently begun while I stared after him, trying to process the fact that by this time next month I could be married to his daughter.

CHAPTER 38

DEJA

After the engagement proclamation, the entire family had headed back to the Red Sea vacation house. For the last three weeks, that was where we’d been. Dad, Khaled, and Colin had commuted back to Cairo a few times, but outside of that, they’d kept up with developments from their laptops while looking out at the stunning sea.

Being here had been amazing, even if Colin and I had had to meet up in secret if we wanted to sleep in the same bed and steal kisses behind garden walls. We’d still spent plenty of time together during daylight hours and I’d finally gotten to show him around the area properly.

We’d gone snorkeling at the Enchanted Lake and taken a boat trip to Tiran Island, star-gazed in the desert, and visited the Old Market and other sights. Some of my family members had tagged along at times, but not to act as chaperones, simply wanting to share in the excitement of someone seeing it all for the very first time.

Today, however, the whole family was on the move again. We’d left the Red Sea house, but we were doing a bit of a grand tour around the country before returning to Cairo. TheGlobalStar jet hummed steadily beneath us as it descended into Luxor, our first stop.

The cabin was quiet, even Jasmine having fallen asleep. I was curled into my seat beside Colin, absently answering emails on my tablet while my mother read, my brothers either slept or stared lazily out the window, and my father buried himself in an actual paper newspaper. The man loved tradition.

I tapped out one last reply before we landed. Sighing, I glanced up at Colin. “I miss my office.”

He smiled from where his cheek was pressed against the top of my head. “You’ve been saying that for a week.”

“It’s been true for a week,” I said softly. “Did you actually get anything done on the flight?”

I felt him grimace, his nose wrinkling slightly as he scrolled from one email to the next. “No, not really. I read some of the messages that have been piling up. Does that count?”