Page 34 of Hired Husband

My spine snapped straight in my seat. God, that was fast.

I hadn’t even realized how much time had gone by until I glanced out the window, noticing that the coastline was starting to appear beneath us. It was all blue water and golden beaches as far as the eye could see.

When I leaned toward the window, Jasmine broke off her ongoing argument with her father to focus on me instead. “It’s gorgeous, right?”

I nodded, taking in the Red Sea, the sandy desert, and the rocky outcrops from the air. “Absolutely amazing.”

“Just wait until you see the sunset,” she said. “I’ve made a whole list of things for us to do before then, though.”

I finally turned away from the view to look at her again. “Today?”

“Of course.” She frowned. “Why would we waste any time? Do you have any idea how much there is to see and do down there?”

I blinked a few times, glancing at the leather portfolio lying on the seat next to Basel. We hadn’t touched those mock-ups yet, the entire flight having been taken over by the snake incident and their debate about why we should move into the Saad family home.

To be fair, it wasn’t a particularly long flight, but when the wheels finally touched down, Basel still hadn’t approved our initial plans and Joseph was probably on the edge of his seat, waiting for an answer. I glanced between the two of them, suddenly realizing that somehow, I’d been put in the position to choose between them.

“You can go sightseeing later, honey,” Basel said as he unclipped his seatbelt. “Isaac and I need to visit the site that has been earmarked for the development and discuss the plans he and Joseph made.”

“But you made me come here to show him around,” she said, once again without skipping a beat. “Why did I even have to fly out with you today if you’re just going to be working?”

“It would’ve been impractical for you to come on your own at a later date,” he argued lightly, sliding the portfolio back under his arm as he stood. “Relax. Go say hi to Nanna. We’ll see you later.”

“No, I’ll be seeing Isaac now,” she insisted, already lifting her sunglasses from the top of her head. “The current plans are no good without inspiration, right? That’s why I’m here.”

When I noticed two cars waiting on the tarmac, I knew I was on the spot. One of those would be for Basel and one for Jasmine, and both Saads turned to look at me expectantly, both obviously expecting me to choose them. Nerves shot through my entire system, but I smiled apologetically at Jasmine.

Surely, she would understand.

I’d come to Egypt to work, which meant the project had to take precedence. “I’ll catch up with you later? Our visit to the complex site shouldn’t take too long, but we’ve got a few other things to wrap up after that.”

Those dark eyes lingered on mine for a moment, her entire expression falling. The bright excitement vanished from her gaze, her smile perfectly polite, but somehow, she still managed to make it feel like a giant fuck you. “Of course. I’ll see you later.”

She strode off the jet without looking back, and even though I knew I’d done the right thing, I was left feeling suspiciously like I’d done something wrong. Basel reached out and patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll be fine.”

I nodded, but as he followed her down the stairs, I had a feeling I was going to pay for ditching her today. I just wasn’t quite sure why. Work had to come first, but that didn’t explain the way she’d looked at me before she’d disappeared—or why I felt so damn guilty about it.

CHAPTER 14

JASMINE

The family estate in Sharm El-Sheikh was mercifully quieter now than it had been the last time we were here. It had been a full house for Deja and Colin’s engagement, but now, it was only Nanna, Mom, and me.

My mother had flown in yesterday for a meeting and she was working now too, which meant that when I arrived, she was tucked away in her office and Nanna had immediately dragged me to the market. Under her watchful eye, we’d picked up some vegetables and spices, but I felt strangely restless.

Even back at the house, with the sea breeze drifting through the open courtyards and palm fronds rustling lazily overhead, I couldn’t relax. I sat outside under a pergola, watching the waves roll onto the beach while complaining to my sister about my sudden change of plans for the day.

“Can you believe he chose Dad over me?” I asked, beyond frustrated no matter how much I loved the scent of salt and jasmine wafting through the air of Nanna’s gardens. “I mean, that’s just ridiculous, right?”

“No, it’s not actually,” she said, chuckling. “Why do you sound so grumpy about the fact that he has to work?”

“I’m not grumpy.”

“You sound like you fought a lemon and lost,” she said. “That’s what Isaac is there for, Jasmine. You can’t be surprised that he had to go see the site they’re going to be spending the next year developing. It’s literally what he went to Egypt to do.”

“Dad stole him,” I countered. “We were supposed to go sightseeing today.”

She laughed. “Dad didn’t steal him. He’s paying him a significant amount of money to engineer a state-of-the-art industrial complex in an ancient city. It’s so important to him that he’s been recruiting people from all over the world and Isaac is one of them. Why are you so upset about that?”