“That’s wonderful!” she gasped, wiggling slightly with excitement. He noticed the way her breasts swayed gently under her thin shirt and braced himself.

  “Seven pounds, eight ounces,” he recited. What did it matter how much the baby weighed? It was a mystery why anyone would talk about a baby’s weight. It wasn’t as if the child’s weight would ever come up again. But for some reason, a birth weight was significant. “Ten toes and ten fingers too,” he added. He thought about the pride on General Aziri’s face when he’d relayed that news. He’d been over the moon with excitement.

  “What is her name?” Maya asked eagerly.

  Jahlil took a mug down off of one of the shelves. This wasn’t a mug that any of his staff would serve to him. But it looked sturdy enough for the job. He poured the warm milk into the mug, and added a bit of sugar and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

  “I don’t know, actually,” he replied, setting the mug down in front of her.

  She blinked at the mug and looked up at him. “Aren’t you going to join me?” she asked.

  He eyed the steaming milk, then shrugged. “I’m not necessarily a fan of milk,” he told her, trying, and failing, to hide his amusement.

  “I guess not. You’re the strong manly-man type. Obviously, drinking warm milk would ruin your rugged image, wouldn’t it?”

  She hid her laughter behind the mug as she watched him.

  Jahlil rolled his eyes, but because she’d dared him, he snagged another mug from the shelf. With resignation, he poured the rest of the milk into the cup, and added a bit of sugar and nutmeg. Not that he was going to drink the foul stuff. But he’d humor her, if only because she was his future sister-in-law.

  Sitting down, he stared at her across the expanse of the counter. “Satisfied?” he asked, glaring at her with mock severity.

  “Absolutely. Okay, so your general has a new granddaughter. What is he like? Will he be a good grandfather?”

  Jahlil thought about it. “I suppose so. What makes a man a good grandfather?”

  She shrugged and his gaze once again dropped to her breasts. Sister-in-law, he repeated, mentally giving himself a shake. Completely, irrevocably, off limits!

  “Oh, I don’t know. I guess the requirements are similar to being a good parent. Someone who will love their child or grandchild without reservation. Someone strong enough to say no, when appropriate. But soft enough to say yes whenever possible. I think there should be more yeses from grandparents,” she said with a smile. “Parents have to be the bossy ones since they have to set boundaries, while grandparents are allowed,” she tilted her head thoughtfully, “no, not just allowed, but perhaps even required, to spoil grandchildren whenever possible and within a parent’s limits.”

  He thought about that for a moment, before nodding. “Then yes, I think that Aziri will be an excellent grandfather. And his wife is very sweet and kind. She loves to bake. Aziri regularly brings in pastries or cookies his wife baked. So, I guess she’ll make a good grandmother.”

  Her fingers were long and slender, he noticed. She cupped the ceramic mug in the palms of her hands and he wondered what it would be like to feel those soft fingers on his…sister-in-law!

  “That sort of gives one hope for the world, doesn’t it?”

  Her smile distracted him. It took him a moment to focus on her eyes. “What do you mean?” He thought about the soldier who was captured last week on a secret mission that he’d signed off on. The man might die in the next few hours. Or the ship that he’d authorized to enter enemy territory, simply as a precaution because a Brumadi warship was inching closer to Celina waters. Sailors on both ships were in danger if tensions escalated. At this point, anything could happen and everyone was braced for…for something potentially horrible.

  “I don’t know,” she sighed, taking a sip of her milk. “There are so many bad things happening in the world. Robberies, murders, and car crashes.”

  “And this gives you hope?” he teased.

  She laughed, but turned serious. “No, that doesn’t give me hope. It’s the fact that, despite all of that, people are still falling in love. Couples have enough faith in the world that they are willing to bring a new child into it.” She tilted her head slightly. “Did you know that economists calculate the arrival of a recession based partly on the birth rate?”

  “You don’t say?” he teased.

  She smiled, those long, dark lashes lowering to hood her beautiful eyes. “Right. You probably know all about this.”

  “Not the birth rate issue,” he admitted easily. “What do you mean?”

  She leaned forward and, this time, he managed to keep his eyes on her face. Barely.

  “Well, they don’t know exactly why, but sociologists and economists are starting to see a pattern in the way the general population perceives something that isn’t currently showing up in the data. Employees around the world, and in all types of industries, have a sort of sixth sense about the future, whether it is positive or negative. People somehow know, unconsciously, that an economic downturn is on the horizon and they are less likely to decide to get pregnant.”

  He hadn’t heard that before, but it made sense. “So the fact that people are still having babies means that the economy is going to be good?”

  “Well, not exactly,” she laughed. “It isn’t that simple. You have to look ahead. How many babies are on the way, so to speak? What’s the trend versus the big picture at the moment? That’s how they anticipate economic issues in the future.”

  He nodded his head. “But babies right now give you hope?”

  “Yes. Anytime a new baby is born, I feel a surge of hope and optimism. It doesn’t have to be a human baby. I love kittens and puppies and all sorts of animals!” She laughed softly, turning slightly on the stool. “I remember that one of the zoos in the United States had a giraffe that was about to give birth. But they weren’t sure when, exactly, it would happen.” She smiled, rolling her eyes. “You’d think the veterinarians would know how to predict when a giraffe was going to give birth. I mean, didn’t they…” she stopped, blushing, but Jahlil saw her determination as she continued with her story, “they impregnated the giraffe, I suspect.” If the lights weren’t so dim, Jahlil suspected he would see her blushing. “Anyway, the expectant-momma giraffe was walking around in her enclosure, and they had a live feed watching her all the time. People from all over the world tuned in for this live stream where nothing happened other than the momma giraffe walking around, eating, and sometimes making noises.”

  “What happened?” he asked, thinking he vaguely remembered the story.

  “Nothing!” she laughed. “Nothing at all! For weeks, this giraffe, I think her name was April, just endured her pregnancy. But millions of people regularly tuned in, hoping and cheering for her.”

  “It sounds…boring,” he replied.

  Maya laughed and nodding. “It was. But that’s not the point.”

  “What was the point?” he teased, enjoying her animation.

  “The point is, there was hope. Hope for the mother giraffe. Hope that her seemingly unending pregnancy would finally end. Hope that the baby giraffe would be healthy.” She sighed. “Just hope. That’s the point.”

  He nodded, and looked down, surprised to find the warm milk in his mug had vanished. When had he drunk the milk?

  “It’s an interesting theory, at least,” she said, standing up and yawning. He watched as she took his mug and walked over to the sink, filling both up with water and setting them down in the sink. His eyes moved to her derriere, impressed with the round curves. Nice, although he had to admit, if only to himself, that he was more of a breast or leg man.

  Then his eyes dropped to her legs. They were strong and smooth, tanned from whatever she did outside. And they were gorgeous!

  Ripping his eyes away, he again reminded himself that Maya was his future sister-in-law. He shouldn’t be looking at her legs. He shouldn’t be thinking about her legs!

  “Okay, well, thank you for sharing milk and conversation with me,” she said as she turned around. “I think I’ll be able to sleep now.” She smiled shyly up at him. “Good night.”

  Then she was gone. Jahlil stared at the doorway through which she’d disappeared, wishing that she’d come back and keep talking with him. He had about another two hours of work to read through and he didn’t want to deal with it. Was his younger brother’s irresponsibility rubbing off on him?

  He looked at the time. Hell, it was well past three o’clock in the morning. He had to be up early for a briefing on…something. He didn’t remember the topic just now. So, instead of turning to the left to go back to his office, he turned to the right. He’d read the last few reports in bed, he decided.

  But as soon as he reached his room, he stripped off his clothes and headed for bed. He’d get up early tomorrow and read the reports then, he promised himself.

  His last thought before he fell asleep that night was that Maya’s nipples were pink. A pale, pretty pink!

  Chapter 3

  “I’m sorry but…you’re…what?” Maya demanded, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at Sandoor. She’d gotten about four hours of sleep, so perhaps she’d misheard her friend…uh…fiancé’s announcement.

  “It’s just for this weekend,” Sandoor promised, reaching to pull her into his arms. But Maya stepped away, out of reach.

  “Let me get this straight,” she snapped, ignoring Sandoor’s puppy-dog eyes. He pulled out that hound-dog expression whenever he knew he’d messed up, begging for forgiveness because he was so cute.

  It wouldn’t work this time! “You dragged me all the way out here just to introduce me to your brother. A brother that didn’t even know that I was coming, I might add. Now you’re leaving me here, in a strange country and with a man I barely know,” she didn’t mention that the last three nights she’d had sweet, private conversations with Jahlil over warm milk. “Just so that you can go mountain climbing with your friends?”

  “I know that this isn’t great timing. I get that, seriously, I do. But I promise that this will be my last adventure before I settle down and dig into the books so that I can get my degree. You are right, Maya. I need to accept more responsibility.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You mean, responsibilities like not abandoning your new fiancée just so that you can go rock climbing with your friends and leaving her with your family?”

  Sandoor laughed. “Ah, you know it’s not that bad!” he told her, taking her hands and pulling her around so that he could nudge her ribs. “You love me. Admit it.”

  “Not today,” she muttered, pulling out of his arms and moving out of arm’s reach. “I’m going to pack my bags, Sandoor. You go ahead and climb your mountain. I’ve got better things to do than to sit around and wait for you.”

  She heard his sigh, but remained strong and determined. “Ah, don’t be mad, honey.”

  Maya shook her head in exasperation, but kept walking. “I’m not mad, Sandoor. I’m resigned. And I really do need to get back. I shouldn’t even have come here. There was no need for me to meet your brother yet. We’re not even officially engaged yet.”

  “We are!” he teased, rushing to her side and lifting her hand. “See? You’re wearing my ring. And it looks so beautiful on you!”

  She pulled her hand gently away. For some reason, Sandoor touching her lately didn’t feel…right. Although, thinking of it now, they’d never even really kissed each other. Oh, Sandoor kissed her cheek or her fingers. Occasionally, he kissed the top of her head. But his affection felt…brotherly.

  Had she missed something?

  Or were her reservations that Sandoor wasn’t the right man for her just her imagination? She’d always thought that his reserved affection was simply because she’d told him that she wasn’t ready for an intimate relationship. But was there something else holding her back on becoming more intimate? Was there something deeper going on?

  Unfortunately, that wasn’t something she could answer while staying in this beautiful palace. Instinctively, she knew Jahlil was a distraction from figuring out her romantic issues with Sandoor. She needed space to think, to figure out whatever the issue was. “I have to go, Sandoor. You know I still need to pack up my apartment and get settled before I start my new job.”

  His dark, beautiful eyes were pleading. “Just a few more days, Maya! Please?” he begged, taking her hand and kissing her fingertips.

  Maya resisted the urge to cringe and pull her hand away. This was right, she thought firmly. Sandoor was a sweet, gentle man. He was fun, witty, and he was exactly what she needed in her life. She was too serious, she reminded herself. She needed Sandoor in her life.

  So, why did she dream about Jahlil every night? And why was it that Sandoor’s touches felt…brotherly? Did he feel the same way?

  “I promise, it will be better when we get back,” he promised. “Mike just really wants this last trip.”

  Mike. Why did the sound of his name cause doubt to well up in her mind? She’d met Mike several times. He was a very nice guy!

  “Is it just you and Mike this time?” she asked, heading towards the suite of rooms where she’d been staying, intending to pack up her bags and book a flight to Boston. She was going home. There was no reason to stay here, and she’d feel weird staying here without Sandoor.

  “Nah!” Sandoor laughed. “Mike is bringing Greg and Charles too. The four of us are going to climb a cliff face this time.”

  That caught her attention. Maya stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning to stare up at Sandoor. “A cliff face?” she repeated, frowning up at Sandoor’s sweet, guileless face. “That’s not mountain climbing, Sandoor. That’s more like…well, that’s more like rock climbing. You need training to do something like that. Isn’t it dangerous for a beginner?”

  Sandoor grinned, excitement sparkling in his eyes. “Absolutely! But we’ll be fine,” he promised, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be experts by the time we get to the top.”

  Maya pulled away as anger flooded through her. “Sandoor, you’re not an expert! You’ve climbed a rock face about twenty feet up, exactly once. That does NOT make you an expert!”

  He laughed, patting the back of her hand as if trying to soothe her. Maya jerked her hand away. “You’re going to get hurt!” she retorted. But when the belligerent expression entered his eyes, Maya changed tactics. “Please, don’t do this.” She moved closer, putting a hand on his chest. “I have a terrible feeling about this trip.”

  Instantly, his features cleared of that annoying stubbornness and he laughed, pulling her in for a hug. “That bad feeling is just because you don’t know my brother very well. But trust me. He’s a great guy. Any time I have had a problem, he’s been there for me.” He kissed the top of her head. “Promise me that you’ll stay until I get back? Then we can fly back to Boston together. I’ll even help you pack up your place for the move.”

  She shook her head and pulled away, glaring up at him. “No, you won’t. You’ll order pizza, sit on my couch, and tell me what I’m doing wrong while I pack up.”

  He laughed, nodding his head. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s a much better plan and takes into account my lazy attitude towards any sort of physical exertion.” He playfully nudged her arm. “Just don’t start without me, okay?”

  Maya sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I make no promises. You go do what you want to do, and I’ll do my own thing.”

  He grabbed her, playfully lifting her in the air until she squealed, laughing as she demanded that he put her down. When he finally did, she leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’re such a goofball,” she told him.

  He kissed her forehead. “Yeah. I know. But I’m your goofball.”

  Jahlil watched the two talk quietly together, their easy banter and laughing creating a strange ache in his chest. Jahlil wasn’t jealous of his fun, loveable brother. He couldn’t be. So, what was this unfamiliar emotion he was feeling?

  With an irritated sigh, he headed for his next meeting. Sitting down, he nodded to the person briefing him on…? Hell, he had no idea what this meeting was about, nor did he care. Not today. His thoughts centered on Maya and the way she’d laughed when Sandoor picked her up. Jahlil had never been that casual with the women he’d taken to bed. Did he even want something like that?

  No, he thought, looking at the papers in front of him. Jahlil knew that he wasn’t a silly, playful sort. He wouldn’t even know where to start.

  Forcing his thoughts back to the present, he tried to concentrate on the meeting. But he didn’t see the economic data. All he could see was Maya and her smiles, her gentle teasing late at night during their quiet conversations. And Sandoor kissing her.

  Something occurred to him. He thought back to the way they had interacted. Sandoor was fun and affectionate, but he never kissed Maya. Not really. Not in a romantic sort of way.

  Was Jahlil missing the point? Or was there something…odd in the way they interacted? He played out the scenes of them together over the past three days. No, Sandoor hadn’t shown much passion at all in his interactions with Maya. So what was it that bothered him so much about them?

  Chapter 4

  Maya hummed as she folded a sweater, adding it to the stack of sweaters she’d already packed in her suitcase.

  A fog of desolation that had overwhelmed her over the past couple of days. She hadn’t heard from Sandoor yet, but he was supposed to come home today and…well, she kept thinking about Jahlil and how much she was going to miss their late night conversations.