Page 46 of Hired Husband

“That, she does.” Layla turned to face me, her glass cradled in her hands and her gaze sweeping curiously across my face. “Her sense of adventure is also unrivaled. At least, in our family. The rest of us love a good trip, but Jasmine lives for getting lost in places she’s never been before and experiencing things she’s never seen.”

“You can say that again.” I chuckled. “You obviously know her much better than I do, but the way she lights up when she notices something new is just incredible. It’s like watching her come alive.”

Layla nodded, her expression softer now. She swirled the scotch in her glass. “You know, everyone who meets her thinks she needs to be tamed, but I’m afraid of seeing her spark blown out. She just has so many special qualities that make her who she is. That doesn’t need taming. It deserves protection.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I said. “Egypt has been an unbelievable adventure so far and my eyes have been opened to so many incredible things, but nothing has even come remotely close to being as incredible as your daughter’s heart and spirit. That’s her spark and it absolutely does not need taming.”

Layla beamed at me. “Precisely. It’s not her that needs to be tamed. It’s others that need to rise to meet her, and one day, she’ll find that special someone who’ll be strong enough to keep up. That’s what she needs. Someone who treasures that spark and helps it grow brighter rather than trying to snuff it out.”

“Amen,” I said, even if I didn’t really know how I felt about knowing Jasmine would find that someone someday. “In the meantime, I’ll help you protect that spark as much as I can for the time I’m here.”

She inclined her chin. The voices inside were growing fainter, almost like Basel and David were moving away from the dining room now. Layla’s lips pressed into a firm line and she inhaled a deep breath, then rose elegantly to her feet. “Time to bid our guest goodnight.”

I groaned but followed her back inside to where David was gathering his things to leave in the foyer, talking quietly. Basel handed him his coat. David stiffened when he caught sight of me behind Layla.

“Thayer,” he said, nodding his chin with a polished smile on his face. “I’ll see you around.”

“Yep. I’m sure you will.” I returned his nod but hung back as Basel and Layla walked him out. The last thing I wanted was to be drawn into more small talk with the slimy prick.

When Layla came back inside, she sighed and headed to the kitchen without saying anything. I stayed where I was, waiting for Basel to see if I could figure out what the hell all that had been about. He finally came back, seeming pensive as he shut the door quietly behind himself.

“Hmm.” He slid the chain lock into place, but his movements seemed more automatic than intentional.

I frowned. “Is everything alright?”

Basel glanced over at me. “I’m not sure. I think the Mahers must really be hurting.”

My eyebrows shot up. From everything I’d heard about David’s family, Basel definitely couldn’t mean hurting financially. Unless there was something going on with their company that hadn’t hit the news yet, I supposed, but in general, they seemed to be doing quite well.

“Hurting how?” I asked. “Is someone sick? Or⁠—”

I was cut off by the shrill sound of his phone ringing. Sighing, he drew it out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, and shot me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I have to take this, but we’ll talk later.”

Sliding his thumb across the screen, he pressed the device against his hear and walked away, barking things I couldn’t understand in Arabic as he went. I shook my head, desperately curious, but since curiosity had killed the cat and all, I decided to move on.

Whatever was going on with the Mahers, it had absolutely nothing to do with me. Besides, my next mission was way more pleasant than talking to Basel about people I didn’t know anyway. Going in search of Jasmine, I headed down the hallway and upstairs to her bedroom, knocking lightly on the door once I reached it.

“Are you in there, Saad? It’s me.”

“I’m here. Come on in.”

When I pushed it open, Jasmine was curled up on the window seat overlooking the gardens, still wearing the neon purple sundress she’d had on all day. Her knees were pulled to her chest and she was leaning with her back against the wall, barely lifting her head up when I walked in.

“Hey,” she said. Then her eyes slid back to the window. “What’s up?”

I took a few steps into the room, my head tilting as I studied the seriously glum expression on her face. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said, though it was the least convincing word I’d heard in months. “Is he gone?”

“Yeah, he left a few minutes ago.” I drifted a little farther into her room. “I just wanted to find out what we’re doing tomorrow. If we’re going to be up before dawn again, I’d like to be prepared this time.”

She shrugged without turning away from the window. “Tomorrow?”

“That’s how calendars work, right? Tomorrow comes after today.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you going back to the construction site?” She finally sat up a little straighter and glanced at me. “I thought you’d be preparing to start building in the fall.”

“Nah, I have the whole summer to get ready for that, but only this one week in Sharm with you.” My heart started hammering a little, my blood suddenly rushing in my ears. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about being my tour guide, that is.”