Page 84 of Hired Husband

It was on a corner overlooking one of the narrow streets leading to the river, peaceful compared to the throngs of tourists at the temple and the bustling activity of the market. I reached for her hand under the table and stroked my thumb along her palm, enjoying the silence of the moment until a table of elderly Egyptian women nearby began whispering loudly.

One of them pointed at me and another marched right over to us, her eyes intent on Jasmine’s. I glanced at her, frowning as I wondered what the hell was going on now. “Should I be nervous? She looks serious.”

Jasmine smiled serenely. “She probably is. Just let me handle it.”

My frown deepened. “Are foreigners not supposed to be in this restaurant or something?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that.”

The woman shot me a half-smile when she reached us, but then she launched into rapid-fire Arabic and Jasmine answered her with a grin. The woman laughed, another of her friends joining in. Within seconds, all four of them were enthusiastically talking over one another while Jasmine tried to get a word in edgewise.

It didn’t look like they were very keen on letting her speak, though. One threw her hands into the air while another poked Jasmine’s shoulder, making it look like she was scolding her about something. When Jasmine finally responded, the women all groaned in disappointment.

I had the distinct feeling that this was all about me. When the first women suddenly turned and smiled warmly, patting my cheek like I was a well-behaved golden retriever, I sighed. “What’s happening right now?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Jasmine said as the women went back to arguing in Arabic.

Eventually, after what had felt like an entire committee meeting, they returned to their table, still shaking their heads at Jasmine as they sat down, and I arched an eyebrow at her. “What was that all about?”

“They were just complimenting you,” she said without meeting my gaze.

I laughed. “I don’t believe you for a second.”

She sniffed. “They were, I promise. They saw us together and congratulated you for bagging an Egyptian woman.”

I nearly choked on my next breath. “I beg your pardon?”

“They said I was beautiful and that we make a very attractive couple, but when they found out you were actually single…” She trailed off, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she shook her head. “They decided I was wasting a perfectly good man and informed me that if I wasn’t going to marry you, they were coming back with their granddaughters.”

My lips parted, but I couldn’t come up with a single thing to say, caught so off guard that at first, I could only laugh. “I cannot believe little old ladies are trying to set me up.”

Jasmine lit up as she turned to face me. “That’s what little old ladies do. Although this group was particularly passionate about it.”

As she said it, I realized she wasn’t wrong and I suddenly wondered if I was thinking too deeply about this. All over the world, elders tried to set up their kids—or grandkids—on a daily basis. Just because Basel might make a match for Jasmine didn’t mean she had to accept it.

Maybe she wouldn’t. Knowing her, she definitely wouldn’t.

She stood up, still smiling, and slung her bag over her shoulder. “We should leave now. Before they make good on their promise. I don’t want to have to fight a bunch of girls for you.”

I chuckled. “You would fight for me?”

“You’re mine on this cruise, pal.”

It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders as we walked back toward the ship. Jasmine was handling Basel—just like she’d handled those women—and while I still didn’t think we would have a future together, I also wasn’t going to simply accept defeat anymore.

Jasmine and I wandered slowly along the river, talking about nothing important as the cruise liner came into view. When we rounded the last corner toward the gangway, however, she suddenly grabbed my forearm.

“Stop.”

“What?” I asked.

She pointed at the corner of the dock, where Joseph had Zara backed against one of the mooring posts, kissing her like his world would end if he had to stop. “I don’t think we should interrupt them.”

“Yeah, let’s give them a moment,” I agreed, suppressing a laugh.

We hurried onto the ship before they realized we were there. Although we hadn’t talked about it, we headed back to her suite together, and the moment I shut the door behind us, she turned to face me. “So, what did you think about Edfu?”

I slipped my arms around her waist and tugged her into me. “I think I’ve had enough of the outside world right about now.”