That at least shocked her father into silence, and Laura used the pause to tilt the tablet so that it would show Ziad in the screen as well. As she did so, there was a flare of nervousness at the base of her belly that Ziad, who had been unimaginably wealthy all his life, would get a peek into her childhood home, where the tiles were cracked, the paint peeling, and the mess from six people living in a three bedroom house in New Jersey was just overwhelming.

  “Mr. Stone, Mrs. Stone,” Ziad said graciously. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Laura has told me a great deal about you.”

  “Well, aren't you a handsome one,” said Laura's mother with a laugh, and Laura blushed furiously even as Ziad nodded courteously.

  “Thank you for the compliment, but I assure you, your daughter is the beautiful one.”

  “Well, that's promising,” her mother said, and Laura hid a wince. Her family knew the truth of what she was doing, but it was her mother who held out hope that it would be more than just a simple business arrangement. She had called it Laura's fairy tale with a real-live prince, and Laura didn't have the heart to break it to her that at best, it was an arrangement where she had a terrible crush on her boss.

  Ziad opened his mouth, likely to ask what she meant, but then the twins showed up, Marcus first followed by Andrea. Laura's heart sank at how sallow and thin Andrea looked, but her little sister still had an impressive set of lungs on her.

  “I'm Andrea! You married my sister, and you better be taking good care of her!”

  Laura flinched, but Ziad laughed out loud, nodding.

  “I am taking as much care of her as she will allow me to,” he said gravely. “She is very independent—”

  It went on like that, and Laura found herself fading into the background, taking in with surprise the fact that Ziad could handle her family with grace and calm. Rather than looking down on them or being overwhelmed, he was kind and interested. It sounded like he truly wanted to get to know them, asking them about themselves, and Laura could see that they were all charmed by him.

  Emily, who was seventeen, was off for a Saturday class at the local community college, but they managed to get Jake, who was usually shy and uneasy around tablets and strangers, on the call. Laura sat up, ready to step in if the interaction got too stressful on either side, but Ziad was patient and easy. She was fiercely protective of her younger brother; his Down syndrome made him an easy target for bullies of all kinds, but nothing in Ziad's interactions with Jake even hinted in that direction.

  Marcus and Andrea were suitably impressed, and even her grandfather, who distrusted tablets and phones even more than Jake did, spent a moment regarding Ziad before handing the device off again. It was more of a family reunion and meeting than she had ever considered, and it made her heart ache.

  Soon enough, it was time to say goodbye, and after offering a dozen promises to call back soon, Laura ended the call. The sudden silence after connecting with her family's noisy home was stunning, and she simply breathed for a moment, blinking rapidly.

  “Are you all right?” asked Ziad with a frown. “Do you think they liked me?”

  “Oh, they loved you,” she said. “I can tell. You struck just the right note.”

  “Ah, good. I would not like—”

  Ziad's words cut off abruptly as she leaned up to kiss him. There was the heat that leaped up between them when they touched, but this was only a quick kiss, a bare brushing of her lips over his. It was only that she was so grateful that he had been kind, so thrilled that she had gotten to speak with her family again so unexpectedly, but she couldn't help herself.

  The kiss was there and gone a moment later, but it still left her feeling a little weak, a little lightheaded, as she looked up into his dark eyes.

  “Laura,” he said, his voice soft, and blushing with embarrassment, Laura rose from the bench.

  “We should get back,” she said, and before she could humiliate herself further, she turned back towards the horses.

  9

  Slowly, almost painfully slowly, Ziad was getting the hang of this.

  As Hasan bounced gleefully in his walker on the lawn, Ziad dipped the enormous bubble wand in the small pool of soapy solution, swirling it gently to get an even coating. By his side, Jamila danced from foot to foot.

  “Come on!” she urged, “Daddy, come on!”

  With a laugh, Ziad lifted the wand and swished it in the air, resulting in a bubble that was as big as Hasan. Another swoop of the wand sent another rush of smaller bubbles through the air and Jamila shrieked with glee, running after them.

  Really, it would be perfect if Laura were here.

  Sarah, tired and bored from the incessant bed rest, had claimed Laura for the day, and Ziad had encouraged Laura to go. He told her he could handle the children on his own, and he could…but he couldn't help missing her. Silly, really, given that they were going to see each other that evening for dinner.

  A fresh shout made him look up, and there was Imran charging through the bubbles and scooping Jamila up in his arms for a quick hug before putting her down. As Jamila picked up her own wand for a try at making bubbles, Imran approached Ziad.

  “Don't you have enough to do without bullying little children?” Ziad said with a grin, and Imran shrugged, unrepentant.

  “Can't be helped, I'm afraid,” he said. “Sarah kicked me out to get some time with Laura.”

  “Wise woman. I would rather spend time with Laura, too.”

  Imran laughed, and then he turned thoughtful as he looked at the children, Jamila making bubbles and Hasan reaching for them with joy.

  “They're doing very well,” he said, and Ziad nodded, trying not to let his pride show.

  “Laura is a good influence on them.”

  “Laura brought Sarah some mommy gifts, you know. Sarah's thrilled.”

  “Laura is generous.”

  For some reason, that made Imran laugh.

  “Really. Generous. A woman like that, and all you can think about is how generous she is? For the love of Heaven, Ziad, she is your wife.”

  Ziad frowned.

  “Imran.”

  “Surely you have eyes in your head. Generous, yes, but also clever and kind and funny, and let's not forget gorgeous—”

  “Shut your mouth and keep your eyes in your own head,” Ziad said sharply. “That is my wife you are talking about.”

  “I know that, but do you?” Imran asked, but then he shrugged.

  “She is a good woman, brother. I hope you know that.”

  Of course he did. Of course Laura was a good woman, a wonderful one, as a matter of fact. Of course he was only irritated that Imran wasn't minding his own business. Of course he was only pleased because his family liked Laura.

  Of course.

  “And they're not sure how the treatment is going?” asked Sarah with consternation.

  Laura nodded, looking down at her hands.

  “They tell us everything they can, and her team, thanks to Ziad, is one of the best in the country. But no. The scans haven't brought back anything conclusive, whether she's getting worse or better.”

  Sarah's hand stole over Laura's, squeezing gently and comfortingly.

  “Hey. Andrea's tough, you know? Even for such a little thing. Remember that time she came to visit us in college?”

  “Ha, and she yelled at that TA who was giving that one girl a hard time? Yeah.”

  “And how she looked up to you, and how she wanted to eat all the chocolate-flavored cereal in the cafeteria.”

  “Yeah, we couldn't afford the nice stuff at home.”

  Laura sighed.

  “Thanks, Sarah. I think I needed to just…talk about Andrea a little bit with someone who understands, who knows her. If you wanted to text her, I'm sure that she would love it, or even if you wanted to video call...”

  She frowned, and Sarah tilted her head to one side.

  “You thought of something. What is it?”

  “Ziad did a video call with me to meet my parents—”

  “Oh did he?”

  “He did, and…I guess he didn't mention it to you?”

  “No, but I wouldn't read into that. Ziad's a private person. He doesn't talk about his personal life with me.”

  “Well, he and I talk about the kids and about each other,” Laura said dubiously. “But then, I'm married to him. I guess he doesn't have to talk about his personal life when I kind of am his personal life.”

  “Laura, how do you feel about Ziad?”

  Trust Sarah to just cut to the heart of it.

  Laura looked out the window and down into the garden. The bubble wand that Ziad had been so excited to show the kids was proving to be a hit, and she noticed that Imran was down there playing with them as well. How lucky they were to have such a good uncle and of course, such a devoted father.

  “He's good with the kids, isn't he?” she asked evasively, and Sarah sighed, giving her hand one last pat before pulling away.

  “I was sort of hoping you might say a little more than just he's good with the kids. Is that all he is to you?”

  Laura shrugged helplessly.

  “I don't know what else he should be,” she said, and then more firmly, “He's my boss. Our relationship may be a little…unorthodox, but he's still the man signing my paychecks, right?”

  Sarah left it alone, but Laura couldn't help turning the question over in her mind.

  What else was Ziad to her? What could he be?

  The right answer was likely nothing else, but her foolish heart couldn't help running ahead with it. She knew the truth now, from the way she couldn't take her eyes off him and the way he made her heart beat faster whenever he came close: she was falling for him.

  10

  “And that's why I think Hasan is advanced for his age. He reached for those bubbles, and I could just see the focus in his eyes, and he was never disappointed when they burst on him. He knew they were fragile.”

  Ziad found himself entranced when Laura laughed, shaking her head at him. He had never been a man who liked being laughed at, but when it came from Laura, he found that it was hard for him to mind as much.

  “Ziad, no. Hasan is a very bright little boy, and I think he will be very clever when he is grown, but no. That's not a sign that he is gifted. That's just him meeting the milestones for his age group. They are all good signs, but there's nothing wrong with him being a normal little boy.”

  “He won't be,” Ziad said, even as he grinned. “He will be extraordinary. He and Jamila will both be, and we will help them grow.”

  “Well, I can drink to that,” she said, and he cocked his head to one side, considering.

  “Would you like to?” he asked. “Drink to that, I mean?”

  She blinked, and Ziad could imagine why. They ended many of their days talking over a late dinner after Jamila and Hasan had fallen asleep, but it was the first time he had asked if she wanted anything more. For a moment, he thought he had ruined everything, and of course she was going to decline and retreat behind that glass pane of professionalism that she had worn so often the first few weeks she had lived with them. But instead she offered him a shy smile that went straight to his heart.

  “I think I would like that.”

  With a smile, he went his liquor cabinet, removing a decent white wine that he rather liked. The golden liquid released a bouquet of honey and pears, and Laura smiled when she took it.

  “What shall we toast to?” she asked, and Ziad thought for a moment.

  “For all of us to continue to learn and grow,” he said finally, and when he sat down on the couch next to her, they clinked their glasses.

  “I hope we do,” Laura said softly. “I think that's the best thing that people can do for each other. Teach each other, learn together. Grow together.”

  Laura's lips were red, shiny from the wine. If he kissed her now, she would taste like honey and pears, utterly delicious, and it was all he could do to pull himself back.

  “Another toast,” she said suddenly, looking down.

  “Yes, another,” he said hastily, lifting his glass again. “What shall we toast to this time?”

  “To…to families. To how families can form out of what feels like nothing, and how they can last through the worst the world has to offer.”

  “I will certainly drink to that.”

  Another sip, and Ziad couldn't take his eyes off Laura. She was dressed in Western clothes that night, a soft, light skirt, a thin blouse. He liked her in Yeni clothes. He liked her in Western clothes. He remembered her naked, and he took a slow and careful breath.

  “Will you tell me something?” he asked finally.

  “What do you want to know?”

  Her dark eyes came up to meet his, and when her soft lips parted slightly, it felt as if she had reached out to wrap her hand around his heart. The longing in her eyes he knew was twin to the longing in his, and it took his breath away. If there was the barest chance that she wanted him the same way he wanted her, it was a risk he had to take, no matter how much it might humiliate him if she turned him down.

  “Tell me…tell me if there is anything that you have done here that you regret,” he said at last. “Anything at all, no matter what it is. I would not have you do anything that you…regret.”

  She was silent so long that Ziad's heart sank. He was sure he had ruined things between them. He was certain that he had destroyed the sweetness and calm they had built together, and perhaps he had even hurt her. That, Ziad realized wildly, was what he could stand the least.

  Before he could apologize and find out how he could make it up to her, however, she put down her wineglass and turned to him more fully.

  “I regret nothing,” she whispered, and placing her hands on either side of his face, she leaned in to give him a kiss.

  Ziad had been kissed many times by many women. Some of them were famous, some of them were brilliant, all of them were gorgeous. Right then, he forgot all of them. All of them blew away like dust in the face of the kiss he shared with Laura. The tenderness and the passion of the gentle kiss she gave him sent fire through his body, and for one stunned moment, all he could do was sit frozen, letting the pleasure blaze through him from his lips to the rest of him.

  Then nothing in the world besides Laura's own word would stop him, and he was kissing her harder, drawing her into his arms and finally freeing the passion that lurked right under his skin. There was no one in all the world who could make him feel the way she could. There never could be, and he was possessed of a deep and ravening desire to show her, to give her back the pleasure that she had given him.

  With a soft cry, her small hands came up to fist in his shirt, as if she were afraid he might suddenly pull away, deny them both what they wanted.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Please, I have wanted you for…”

  “Since the moment I laid eyes on you,” Ziad murmured. “Sometimes it feels as if I wanted you long before that.”

  “Yes.” She sighed, and the exhalation of her breath against his lips stirred the need in him even hotter.

  Ziad pushed her back on the couch, and with gentle and deliberate motions, he stripped her clothes off her body. When she was entirely nude, he simply sat back on his heels and looked at her, taking in her slender form, the sweet roundness of her breasts, the way her chest rose and fell as a pink blush appeared on her cheeks.

  “Ziad,” she murmured, lifting her hands to cover herself, but he tugged them down again, shaking his head.

  “No. I want to look at you. Every night I have thought about your body like this, and now that I see it again, I can see that my imagination cannot compare to how you truly look, how very beautiful you are.”

  When she might have protested, he stretched out over her, resting his weight on his elbows as he kissed her tenderly. Her mouth tasted good, and he knew the rest of her would as well. He moved down her body and up it again, nuzzling all the soft places that he had dreamed about, relishing every shiver and every soft whimper he drew from her lips.

  For a short while, she lay on the couch and allowed him to do what he would, and then she pushed him back.

  “Wait.”

  “Are you all right?” Ziad asked, sitting back slightly. “Was that too much?”

  “No,” she murmured, coming up to a sitting position. “It's only that I've been thinking about you as well.”

  With trembling hands, she stripped his clothes off, and then with a shyness that made his blood boil, she started to touch him. Laura's touch was light and soft, sometimes barely there, but it aroused him as nothing else in the world had. It was the way she trembled, the way she wanted him, and when her fingers circled his erection, drawing lightly on the shaft, he groaned, unable to let her continue.

  “Come here, my darling,” he crooned. “Come here, for I want you so very much…”

  She rose up, and Ziad lifted her onto his lap, bringing her to straddle his thighs. He had to rein in his desire at how close he was to entering her, but he needed to make sure that she was utterly ready before he did, that she wanted him to the point of madness, the way he wanted her.

  Ziad aroused her with his hands, spreading her legs wider when she cried out. She was open to him, and it occurred to him that he could simply keep her like that, tense and needy, bringing her to climax over and over again. Then she set her hands on his shoulders, arching against his touch, and he knew he would never last through it.

  Laura cried out when he lifted her up and brought her down on his cock. She sheathed him so perfectly that it made him gasp. Their bodies together sent the pleasure rocketing through him, and it was all he could do to restrain himself. He thrust up into her, and something snapped inside him. He took firm hold of her hips, and started to thrust up inside her, head tilted back so he could see the glory of her face flushed with need and desire.

  The passion of their joined bodies took them over so hard that Ziad had to grit his teeth, holding back. He would not take his pleasure before she did. He would not. He refused, but after another moment, it did not matter. The waves of desire took Laura, making her dig her fingernails into his shoulders and press her body to his as hard as she could, and then she was carrying him over the edge as well, their cries joining as they gave themselves up to the sweetness of what they could do together.