“I hope you don’t mind me ordering for you,” Aaliyah said, chagrined. “I probably should have asked what you would like to eat.”
“It’s okay, this looks amazing.” He used his fork to slide the contents of his kabob onto a plate. “So what about you?” he asked. “Where did you grow up?”
“These resorts,” Aaliyah said.
“Wow, that’s awesome.” He popped a pepper into his mouth.
“We traveled a lot,” she said. “Whenever Papa was working on a new location, he insisted on being there for its construction. He thrived off of the new life, off the way it got people to work together and the jobs it created. He had tutors join us wherever we went to make sure I got the best education he could provide.”
“Your dad sounds like a great guy.”
There was a pause. Her skin was beginning to moisten under the humidity, but it wasn’t the heat that kept drawing her eyes to River’s. They were in a tug-of-war of attention, as though neither could look away first without letting the other win.
Finally, River cleared his throat, cracking the connection and peered down at his plate. “Is there anything about Zayn you’d like to know?”
Awkwardness elbowed its way between them. Aaliyah bit her lip, unsure of what to say. It felt strange talking about Zayn to River. She was still reeling. She supposed Zayn’s desire to keep up with his clients was admirable, but that didn’t make his sudden departure feel less like a snub.
Her father would not have approved, either. He would have wanted Zayn to keep his appointment with her. Still, she couldn’t manage to repeat her earlier claim that she would no longer go through with this arrangement. Until further notice, it was still on.
Aaliyah ate a savory pineapple and asked the first question on her mind. “Does Zayn often travel like this? Is he gone a lot?”
She attempted to sound indifferent, but if this marriage worked out, she didn’t want to marry a shadow.
River peered toward the outlook and stared out over the city.
She wished the air would cool, even a dozen degrees. Clearwater was piping hot during the day. Evenings were a bit cooler, but even so, the nighttime temperatures were as sizzling as other places experienced at noonday. She’d been in Florida for months now, but she still hadn’t quite adjusted to the heat and humidity, especially not since summer had kicked into full swing.
“He travels when his clients require, I suppose,” River said without looking at her.
“Do they require it a lot, then?”
He worked the steak on his plate with a knife and fork. “If they do, it would be an opportunity for you to travel with him. See the world.” River smiled at her in an appealing way before inserting the steak into his mouth.
“I’ve seen the world,” she said. “I grew up on this chain of hotels, hopping from one place to another. I want stability. My dream is to marry someone who can keep me in one place.” She admitted it with urgency and feeling. For some reason, she needed him to understand.
“As CEO, would that require you to travel?” He spoke as though the position was hers.
Aaliyah pushed a stray mushroom in a circle on her plate. “Not as much as I did growing up, hopefully.”
“Then you wouldn’t be traveling with the resort’s future construction like your dad did?”
“I have ideas for maintaining the buildings we have. With over five-hundred hotels, I’m not sure how much more expansion we need to do. I think our focus needs to be maintaining the momentum my dad has going with what already exists.”
River chewed, all while his expression implied he was mulling over her words. “That sounds smart.”
“I may eventually return to expansion,” she finished, non-committal.
“I can tell you’re ready,” River said, swallowing with a nod. “Not that I’m an expert or anything. I wouldn’t know the first thing about being a CEO of a company like yours or Zayn’s, but it sounds to me like you’re thinking about what’s best for the company, and that’s what it needs.”
Aaliyah’s heart thundered. No one—not her father, not anyone—had ever verbally confirmed such faith in her before. She spoke without thinking. “I’ve wanted it for so long.”
“It should be yours,” River said. “As I said, I’m no expert, but I know a position like CEO needs qualifications, and it sounds like you have them.”
Her mouth parted. She wanted to drop her plate, to lunge at him and throw her arms around him. Instead, she remained where she was in a total daze and tried to sift through the incredulity startling her thoughts.
“No one has ever said that to me.” She was surprised how quiet her voice was.
“Well, they should.” There it was again. That amplified connection between their gazes, a gripping tension in the air that somehow reached across particles and tied her to him, if only for the moment.
“Do you want to swim?” she asked. “It’s a shame to leave these perfectly good pools to themselves.” Ugh, what was she thinking? She wasn’t dressed for it and neither was he. It wouldn’t take long to change, though, and she suddenly wanted to prolong the night in whatever way possible. Swimming seemed like a good way to do that.
River set aside his empty plate. Yes was in his eyes, in the desire pulsing between them, but a different message slipped from his lips.
“I should probably go.”
Aaliyah dipped her chin, staring at her unfinished kabob. “Right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make that kind of offer, considering my…situation.”
Though she’d essentially told River to dismiss the offer of marriage to Zayn, she knew it wasn’t that simple. She was still practically engaged, and what was more, she was practically engaged to River’s boss. Why did she have to feel this pull in his direction instead?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aaliyah’s thoughts were so tangled they refused to let her sleep. She wasn’t sure what to do. What was it about River that was like a dose of drugs in her blood? She’d only spent short intervals with him, and yet with each instance, he’d managed to leave a part of him with her.
Her father said she didn’t have to decide right away about Zayn, that she could give him a chance and make her decision after she got to know him. Ahmed Elir never gave his word lightly, and she took hope in that. It wasn’t common practice to oppose her father on important issues, not when he’d given the final say. But this hadn’t been final.
The least she could do was try. She had to tell her father she didn’t want to marry Zayn. She didn’t want to deal with planning a wedding to a man who couldn’t keep his appointments with her.
Dawn crept in slowly. Aaliyah tossed and turned, growing more agitated by the minute. It was pointless. She threw the covers aside and rose, to go to her laptop on the desk. She’d been tweaking a new project on AutoCAD. The house was simple and comparatively small, but she found she enjoyed situating new floor plans for families and picturing how they would make the best use of the space.
Sleep dragged at her eyes the longer she sat. Eventually, she shuffled to her bed and managed to catch a few hours’ rest before Room Service delivered her breakfast at eight as usual.
Aaliyah ate her fruit and muesli, and then she slipped into a pair of jeans, a teal T-shirt, and a pair of flip flops before scurrying her way to her father’s suite.
Papa wore a T-shirt and jeans as well. His hair was combed back behind his ears as always. Aaliyah was heartened by the casual sight of him.
He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning, daughter. I can see that something is on your mind. It’s Zayn, isn’t it?”
Her lips parted. She hadn’t expected him to get right to the point like this, but she was glad he did.
“You may already know this, but he stood me up last night, Papa. I don’t think this wedding is a good idea.”
Her father patted her cheek. “It will be okay, he is a busy man who owes his attention to his clients. I’ve spoken with him and convinced him to agree. You should b
e expecting a proposal when he returns.”
A Taser would have shocked her less. “What? So soon?”
Her father had been so agitated by Zayn’s tardiness. She thought his disappearing act would have the same effect. But his departure had been for business. She knew her father well enough to know he would find that admirable.
“He is interested in the CEO position,” her father said. “I told him if he wanted that, he also needed to set the date with you by the end of the month.”
“I—a month?” Her vision blanked. “You said you’d give me time.”
“I don’t have time, Aaliyah. You are my heiress, but only if you obey my wishes. I am your father, and I insist you go through with this.” His tone grew more agitated with every word.
Aaliyah was astounded at the sudden change in him. She should have expected it. He always pulled the father card, so struck by tradition and his own upbringing.
“What’s prompting this?” Aaliyah said.
He rested his hands on his low back. “I’m going in for my first set of treatments tomorrow. I need to make sure this marriage happens, and that means I’ll do whatever it takes to secure your future.”
Anger burbled, sparring with him hurt so much it was like a boxing match inside her. How could she argue with him now? She remembered all too well how the last set of treatments had affected him. He was older now, if only by a few years. What if his body didn’t handle it as well as before?
“I’m headed for a haircut in an hour,” he went on, smoothing a hand over his hair. “It will make things easier when the treatments start.” His voice rose in pitch.
Her heart went out to him. She was so torn, so conflicted. How could she deny him now? How could she tell him how she really felt?
Aaliyah put her arms around him, while a completely foreign sense swept over her. She’d been taller than her father for years now. Only by inches, but it was enough. This was the first time she’d ever had the sense that she was the one offering comfort, though. That she was the wiser, and her father was relying on her.
She would go through with this relationship with Zayn. She had to because her father needed her to.
River knocked on Ahmed Elir’s door. His pre-planned conversation was sprinting the same course it’d been circling since he awoke. He would thank Ahmed for the invitation, but he had pressing work requiring his attention back in New York. He would say it. He had to say it.
He couldn’t spend another minute in Aaliyah’s company. The attraction threading between them the night before had been nothing short of crazy. She had a way of stringing him to her, of opening his mind and heart to say things he probably shouldn’t have been saying. Like encouraging her about the CEO position? What did he know about anything like that?
The pull between them had been so thick it was tangible. When she’d suggested they swim together, the idea of seeing her in a swimsuit had been dangerously appealing. This girl was trouble. He couldn’t risk being a stand-in for Zayn anymore, not if he wanted to keep his distance from her.
Mr. Elir opened the door with a tired but optimistic smile. River got the feeling it was some kind of mask, that something harder and darker was pushing the need for a smile like that. What was with his sudden rush to find a new CEO? To pawn his own daughter off on a stranger? A more brazen man might have asked, but River kept his thoughts and questions to himself.
“Good morning, Mr. Elir.”
“River, good to see you. Come in, come in.”
River did so, taking everything in. The light and airy room was similar to his own a few floors down in layout only. River’s suite was more like a living area than this. This reminded him of a waiting room, and in a sense, he supposed it was. The chair he’d sat in by the door the day before. The backpacking magazine he’d attempted to hide behind, still right where he’d left it.
And Aaliyah, standing near the coffee table where she had been during the completely uncomfortable discussion the previous morning. Today, she rocked a pair of jeans and a simple T-shirt that seemed to hug her in all the right places. A knot tangled in the pit of River’s stomach. He should have known she would be here.
A patch of pink colored her cheeks. Had her skin flushed because he’d entered? He pushed the thought away. Stupid, prideful notion.
“Hi, River,” she said. “How are you?”
Mr. Elir spoke before he could answer. “I’ve heard from Zayn. It sounds like he won’t be returning from Fiji for a few more days. He sends his apologies.”
River reminded himself why he came. “That’s one reason I stopped by, sir. Thank you for inviting me, it has been completely generous of you. Your resort is impeccable, but I’m afraid I—”
Aaliyah rotated for a more direct look at him. The knot cinched tighter.
“You aren’t leaving, are you?” Mr. Elir said. “With your boss gone and the wedding in full swing and on a tight deadline, it would be wise to get things in motion. You’re his assistant, you know his tastes. Spend the day with my daughter. Help her discuss wedding plans. She has many things to keep track of, and I’m sure she would appreciate an assistant’s assistance.” He chuckled at his own play on words.
River was astonished at the man’s tendency to make decisions on his daughter’s behalf. Did Mr. Elir never consider her feelings?
It also made him question the wedding suddenly having a “full-swing” deadline. Did Aaliyah know her father had spoken with Zayn and set a date?
“Would you like River’s help and his company today, daughter?” Mr. Elir said, finally referring to Aaliyah for her opinion.
The color climbed in her cheeks. She hugged an arm across her torso. “I think he wants to go home, Papa.”
Expression perplexed, Mr. Elir turned to River for an answer. “Do you?”
River glanced from Aaliyah to her father and back again. He wished he could recapture the easiness they had between them the night before. How laid back and open she’d been. How relaxed…
Then again, it was probably good she wasn’t just now.
“You don’t want me to stay?” he asked with a smile he hoped would put her at ease. He would stay, but only if she wanted him to.
Not her father. Her.
She dipped her chin but didn’t manage to hide the fleck of a smile. “I’d be happy to have you stay.”
Alarms clamored in his brain. He knew he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t spend any more time with her. But this was a dangled carrot and he was a willing rabbit. The truth was, he was intrigued by her vibrant eyes and brilliant mind. She was reserved, smart, and witty. She was magnetic.
“In that case, I’m sure I can make things work,” River said. “For Zayn’s sake.”
Mr. Elir clapped his hands together. “Marvelous,” he said. “I’ll leave you to it. The date has been planned. We’re shooting for early August. Weddings in August are the most romantic, aren’t they?” He added a chuckle.
His question was for Aaliyah, who stood with her chin so high she may as well have been royalty. The pain in her eyes belied her too-confident stature.
Why didn’t she say anything? Why was she going along with this? From their conversation last night, River was fairly certain she not only didn’t like aspects of Zayn’s life, but she wasn’t interested in him, period. Now that he was gone, Zayn wasn’t doing himself any favors where she was concerned.
This should be Zayn standing here, staring at her, feeling his heart pound from the intensity of her glittering eyes. This should be Zayn wanting to comfort her, to find out her deepest secrets and desires and do everything he could to make them come true.
This should be Zayn.
But it wasn’t. It was him, River Yevin, a boy from Central Harbor, New Hampshire, who’d worked his way up every chance he could. He’d taken every door, every window, and every crevice he could find to pull himself out from the poor situation he’d been raised in. The sky was the limit, and right now, Aaliyah was shining brighter than the stars.
&n
bsp; River clenched his fists to keep from reaching for the lamp burning in his pocket. This was a window, and he was going to climb through, whether he ought to or not.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“I’ll leave you to it,” Papa said. He stroked his hair absentmindedly, then shuffled, not to the connected office, but out of the suite completely, leaving Aaliyah and River alone in the room.
Aaliyah couldn’t manage to peel her gaze away from River’s. His eyes were burnished amber, and they drank her in with such curiosity, such burning intensity, it would take a blast from a fire hydrant to douse that fire.
What was he thinking? Had he been as preoccupied with thoughts of her as she had with him since they’d left one another’s company the night before?
The door to her father’s office opened, and Lisa bustled in holding a stack of thick magazines to her chest. She slapped them onto the coffee table between River and Aaliyah, redirecting Aaliyah’s attention. Bending at the waist, Lisa fanned them so the titles were visible, as though she was staging the room.
Aaliyah peered at the titles and their unmistakable covers. Brides. Bridal Dream, Bridal Beauty, Brides, Brides, Brides.
Her mouth went dry. Papa had said early August, a little less than a month away. That meant he had to be worried about his condition. Really worried.
What was she doing here? She should be going with him to the hospital, sitting by his side as much as she could.
She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Confronted by blushing, simpering women in all kinds of incredible gowns on these magazine covers, it made things a little too real for her liking.
“Your father requested I bring these up, to help the process along,” Lisa said apologetically, as though she could read the dismay in Aaliyah’s expression. “I’ll be back with some refreshments for the two of you.”
Aaliyah gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to plan a wedding to a man who refused to get to know her, not when her father might be dying, or when that man’s much more affecting and alluring assistant was turning her head in his direction instead.
Aaliyah and the Billionaire's Lamp Page 6