Page 55 of Hired Husband

The idea felt pretty impossible, but at the same time, it was almost too easy to imagine it, a home split between Cairo and Chicago. Our children would grow up with both Arabic and English around the dinner table, as comfortable in the streets of one city as they were in the other. We’d have summers in Egypt and snowy winter mornings in America.

In my mind, the life Isaac and I could build together would be filled with love, warmth, and adventure. What a dream.

The feeling that invaded my chest as I thought about it was as warm as the summer sun, and I carried that warmth all the way back to our house. He and I could have a future together, and it could be everything I’d ever dreamed of.

Is that even really possible, both of us getting to have our dreams come true on a personal and professional level? It can’t be. Can it?

Our taxi had barely rolled to a stop outside the front door when my father came striding out. As soon as his gaze met mine through the window, I knew he was here for me, but when I climbed out of the car, he confirmed it.

“Can I have a word with you?” he asked. “In private?”

Isaac climbed out and walked around to the trunk. “I’ve got the bags.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” he said easily. “I’ll catch up with you later. I desperately need a shower and I had another idea on the bus, so I’m going to sketch it out before it disappears.”

I smiled. “Good luck with that.”

He nodded, but our eyes held for just one lingering second before I turned away.

I immediately knew my father had noticed. He raised his eyebrows at me, but I pretended nothing had happened and preceded him inside.

“What’s up?” I asked, pausing in the foyer to look at him once he’d followed me in. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Let’s go sit down,” he said, motioning toward the terrace outside his office. “This is not a conversation we’re going to have only a few feet away from the door.”

As he said it, my stomach sank and I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that all the butterflies I’d been feeling about my budding romance were about to have their wings clipped—or potentially even yanked right off.

CHAPTER 21

ISAAC

Packing to go back to Cairo tomorrow, I dropped my notebook on top of the others in my bag and grinned. Everything I saw here inspired another idea. It was crazy how my creative juices were suddenly just flowing, as if some kind of dam I’d built in my head at some point had burst open.

I’d come to Egypt with only a few rough drawings of industrial spaces and a notebook I’d only used the first few pages of, but so far, I’d filled three more and I had a feeling I would have to buy another one soon.

When I folded the last of my shirts, sand spilled onto the floor and I sighed. I thought I’d shaken it all out when I’d unpacked after our trip to the desert, but I was beginning to suspect I’d be finding traces of Sinai in my apartment until Christmas.

An engine started outside as I laid the shirts down on top of the notebooks, drawing my attention to the window. The house had been unusually quiet since we’d gotten back yesterday. I’d figured Basel and Layla were probably at the Sharm branches of their respective offices and that Jasmine had gone off exploring without me, knowing I’d been wanting to finalize these plans, but the engine meant someone was home.

And it wasn’t Nanna.

I’d seen her storming toward the gate, on foot, about an hour ago and she hadn’t returned yet. Curious, and maybe hoping Jasmine was back, I strode toward the balcony overlooking the front driveway just as a black sedan rolled through the gates. I couldn’t see who was inside, but unease suddenly crept into my gut.

I’d been keeping it at bay for the last twenty-four hours, but despite how preoccupied I’d been with the designs, even I knew that a quiet Saad household was an ominous thing. When I saw Basel standing on the front porch, staring at the car with his hands in his pockets and a strange expression on his face, I headed downstairs to investigate.

Whatever was going on, it clearly had him on edge. I made it to the foyer just as he turned and he didn’t school his features fast enough for me to miss the flicker of worry in his eyes.

“Good morning,” I said, trying to sound cheerful rather than suspicious. “Is everything okay?”

He glanced back at the empty drive before he shook his head. “It’s time Jasmine settles down. She needs to grow up.”

Without another word, he disappeared farther into the house, leaving me to wonder what the hell he’d meant by that. It was obvious by now that the silence in the house was because something had happened between them. I just didn’t know what, but it sure had left Basel looking tired.

Eventually, I gave up on waiting right there for her to come back like some kind of lost puppy, heading back inside myself. For the rest of the morning while I finished packing and sketching, I kept glancing at the window, hoping to see her walking down the drive, but it never happened.

Basel didn’t come find me either. I ran into him in the hallway, but he muttered something about meetings and disappeared again. Feeling more and more uneasy about the whole situation, I was relieved when the time eventually came for me to go and meet Joseph.