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How could she not smile after that? “All you had to do was ask.”
He leaned closer, his chocolate gaze hot enough to burn and whispered, “It feels better when you have to earn it.”
A shiver shook her body at his words and she laughed nervously. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”
“You just gave me the response I wanted,” he told her with a sexy smile as his finger traced the line of her jaw. “Now let’s sit and eat.”
On wobbly legs she did just that, enjoying the sight of his rugged features in candlelight. “Is this part of your routine Sadiq?” She imagined a guy like him had a routine down pat.
He barked out a laugh. “Definitely not. Sorry to say but I have no routine to speak of Abby. I haven’t been on a proper date in ages.”
“Commitment-phobe?”
“No. An aversion to committing to the wrong woman for the wrong reasons.”
She smiled and held up her glass of wine. “Then I’d say you’re off to a good start.” Her eyes rounded in shock as her words sank in. “Not that I’m saying that you’re looking to commit to me just that this date, if this is a date is a…it’s good.” Abby tucked her lips in between her teeth to stop her blathering.
His laughter washed over her. “First of all this is most definitely a date. And second I am quite interested in pursuing something further with you.”
Is he crazy?“You don’t have to say that Sadiq, I wasn’t fishing for compliments.”
“And I don’t give fished for compliments.”
She believed him about that. He seemed like the kind of guy who would make a point to not compliment you if you were fishing for it. “But…I like you too.”
“That’s good to hear. How’s your fish?”
She frowned at his topic changed. “It’s delicious. This whole night has been fairly magical.” It was more than magical, she knew that and she suspected he did too. It felt like a beginning.
“Why did you choose to study biology?”
She smiled. “What’s not appealing about studying living organisms? When I was a girl I used to grab worms, frogs and fireflies. Butterflies even, just to look at them up close under a microscope and magnifying glass and see how they worked. What made them hop or fly. Sorry to fan girl out on you.”
“Don’t apologize, I love it. That’s how I feel about horses.” He looked at the table, their empty plates and sighed. “Want to walk back?”
With her hand in his under the moonlight? “Yes please.” She couldn’t stop the silly grin that spread across her face. Being with Sadiq was easy. It was engaging and stimulating. He made her feel like she was enough and that was intoxicating. She smiled at him again, like a besotted teenager. “Tell me about Nisha.”
He smiled and told her all about his younger sister and her penchant for troublemaking. “She fancies herself a matchmaker and has produced several successful marriages among the staff.”
“You have staff? Oh my god, you have servants!” Instead of being intimidated she found it hilarious. “Do they call you sir and wear black and white uniforms? Is there a butler? No, a valet?”
His lips twitched but in the end he couldn’t stop the smile or the laughter that followed. “You’re having way too much fun with this. Yes we do have staff who wear uniforms.”
“Wow. So you don’t have to do your own laundry or dishes? That I do envy.” Their steps slowed as the bungalows came into view but they continued in that direction.
“On the downside I’m completely reliant on other people for basic things in life.”
She smiled up at him. “Well we can change that while we’re here. Let’s find a place in town to do our laundry. Together.” It was a simple thing, she knew, but if she could do this for him, give him a sense of independence then it would be a fraction of what he’d given her over the past few weeks.
“Seriously?”
She nodded, so serious. “Yes. Once you’ve done it for yourself, you’ll realize how great it is to have someone else do it for you and maybe you can be a little more thankful to the people who do it for you. If the time ever arises for you to do laundry, you’ll know that you can.” Her chin jutted out proudly.
“You are an amazing woman, you know that?”
Abby leaned her head on his shoulder. “I know that you think so and I know that you make me feel pretty special too.”
“Good.”
