The Sheikh's Secret

by Knight, Kylie

  “But isn’t her bakery the best? Isn’t the near perfect reviews she has the exact reason you picked her bakery for the wedding? Besides, she’s staying open late and working extra hard today just to help us out before you leave. I think that counts for something.”

  Nora stopped dead in her track and whirled to face Abdul. He had to brace his arms out in front of him to stop himself from crashing right into her and possibly knocking her off of her stilettos.

  “Why are you arguing with me?” Her eyes were starting to well-up with tears and immediately Abdul felt bad for playing devil’s advocate. “I just want to have a perfect wedding with you to start our lives off right I’m doing all of this for us and you don’t appreciate it at all. And there’s only so much I can get done while I’m here!”

  Abdul took her in his arms and gave her a hug. He hadn’t meant to make her feel badly, and truthfully why had he even been defending Emily? The marriage that he was about to have may be one built more of convenience than love, but that didn’t mean that it shouldn’t be as perfect as it could be and defending someone else, no matter how much she intrigued him, was not right of him.

  “You’re right,” he said to her. “I shouldn’t have been defending her. It was nice that she’s staying to help for the wedding but it is your day and no one should make you feel bad when planning it.”

  Nora gave a last sniff and seemingly appeased, pulled away from his grasp. “Thank you,” she answered stiffly. Any trace of the vulnerable girl that he’d just had in his arms was gone and in her place was the girl he had come to know. It did often surprise him when he thought of the Nora he knew and the Nora he was about to marry. The Nora he grew up with was fun and spirited, never afraid to run with the boy but had the grace of a woman. The Nora he was about to marry seemed colder, less filled with the sun of her youth. He wasn’t sure if it was college that had made her change or if it was getting into a competitive job field but either way it disappointed him.

  No matter though, she was a good fit for him and he would lead a good life with her. She understood his family and his way of life, and somewhere inside he felt that was good enough. But there was a small piece of him that weighed on him that maybe, good just wasn’t enough.

  “Well, why don’t we go get a nice glass of wine and something to eat while before we keep going with our errands? I know I certainly need to relax.”

  Nora slipped her arm through his and the two strolled along the walk, enjoying educated conversation and their time together. Throughout their meal and the rest of their wedding errands which included invitation shopping and picking out his tuxedo for the wedding, Abdul kept a close eye on the time. He told himself it was because he didn’t want to be late for their appointment and make Emily stay any later than she already had to, but he knew the truth. It wasn’t making her stay late that was causing his anxious watch over time, it was the thought of seeing her again. How could a woman he’d known for all of five minutes be so stuck in his mind? He hadn’t a clue but instead of feeling guilty, he was rather enjoying the feeling.

  Chapter 3

  The tasting with the Mr. and soon to be Mrs. Moneybags, as Emily was affectionately referring to them as, went as well as could be expected. She was requesting the world out of Emily, with the biggest tiered cake she’d ever made and the most intricate decorations she had ever seen. Of course the bride-to-be had brought many pictures of how exactly she wanted her cake to look. This was a common thing for prospective brides to do, and in fact Emily even like when the brides did that, it helped give her a better idea of the big picture of what the couple was looking for.

  That is not what Nora had done.

  “This is exactly how I want the cake to look,” she told Emily as she slid several pictures all taken at different angles over to her.

  Emily studied the pictures and immediately felt nervous. The amount of tiers alone was enough to leave any baker awake at night with worry that it might fall over or sink into itself. Emily knew she would even be up at night worrying that there might even just be a slight crack in a bit of fondant from the weight of it all and that Nora would never let her live it down. That was where she worried the most. Small bakeries like Emily’s had to survive on reviews and word-of-mouth. She had wonderful reviews from regulars and passersby and her business was growing. Of course she wasn’t booming in a sense that she was able to leave her horrid morning job, but it was enough to leave her dreaming that that day may be approaching.

  The terrifying thing about taking on a woman like Nora, was she knew she had the potential to destroy her business. If anything at all went wrong with the cake, she knew that Nora would make sure that she never lived it down. That was a terrible risk to take, especially after she saw the decoration she wanted to adorn then cake.

  “The cake should be a pure, perfect white fondant. Then I want these roses to be scattered all around just as in the picture.”

  Emily looked closely at the picture. The roses were a very pale pink and Emily had to admit, gorgeous. But they were also made of sugar. Sugar was a difficult substance to work with. It was hot, stick, and more fragile than glass. When done right it could be exquisite, done wrong and it would be a disaster. She had worked with sugar before and had success, but she knew she hadn’t worked with it enough to be confident to create what Nora was looking for. When she told her that, Nora waved her worry away…with Abdul’s wallet.

  “Not to worry, we will compensate you for the extra time you’ll need to learn.”

  Emily was floored. She’d never met someone who truly believed that she could just throw money at anyone for any reason and come out on top. She was about to tell her so and tell her what exactly she could do with her money when a thought occurred to her. What if she did turn them down as clients? If Emily was worried about what might happen with a slight crack in some fondant, what would she do if Emily refused to work with her, refused to let her get her way? A shudder ran through her at the thought.

  There was really no choice in the matter, she would have to take them on as clients and she would have to do everything in her power to give Nora what she wanted. It was interesting though, she realized, that she wasn’t even considering Abdul a concern in the situation at all. In fact, she felt he was almost a calming presence in this whole mess of a situation. He sat at the little table with the women, and she wondered if it was her imagination or did he seem to be sitting slightly closer to her than he was to his own fiancé? A small smile played on his lips as he watched the women interacting, Nora bossing Emily around, Emily too terrified of her future to say no. She could have interpreted his smile to be something mean, as if he enjoyed watching Nora treat people the way she was, but somewhere inside of her she didn’t think that’s what his smile was for.

  Nora’s phone buzzed on the table, and she stood up to excuse herself. It was the first time Emily had been alone with Abdul and she was immediately aware of how much she must look like a disaster. She began to brush back her hair, trying hard to secretly dust out any flour that might have graced its presence there. Silently she berated herself for not taking the time to clean herself up before they had arrived. She had been so down to the wire finishing up the tasting cakes that she hadn’t had a spare minute to even check to see how she looked. But she had to imagine, after a full day of work and extra hours baking the cakes, that the site wasn’t pretty. But Abdul kept his eyes on her, his smile broadening at her obvious nervousness.

  “I didn’t get a chance to thank you yet for staying late tonight for Nora,” he said.

  Emily felt her cheeks blush and immediately wanted to kick herself. “It was fine, I appreciate the extra payment.” She answered.

  Abdul waved his hand in the air as if to dismiss her thank you. “It was pure business. I understand how Nora can be and I know it can be difficult. You deserve the extra money for staying late for her and I assure you that if you decided to work with her that you will again be compensated well.”

  Was i
t just her, she wondered, or was he forgetting to mention that he was a part of the upcoming wedding as well? Out of curiosity, she decided to test the waters a little. “Well, I am willing to take you and your fiancé on as clients, thought with what you are asking for, it is not going to be an easy project.” Emily leafed through the pictures again to make it seems as if she was truly thinking about it, when in reality she was wondering if she could the fact that she was referring to them as a couple.

  “Yes, Nora does have her expectations high, but you have excellent reviews and based off of the look of that tray of cakes that I can’t wait to taste, you will be able to live up to them and even exceed them.”

  It seemed so miniscule, but she really couldn’t help but notice that he had yet to refer to them as a couple. It was all about Nora. Now, that could be because he was completely all consumed by her and couldn’t talk about anything but her. And who could blame him? She was a woman who had it all together and clearly was a perfect match for the man that she could naturally see Abdul was. A man of prestige and power, with an air about him of complete manly essence. On the other hand, Emily had worked with many couples and she had never worked with one, that didn’t refer to themselves as a couple.

  “Well, thank you for the compliment.” Emily went and grabbed the tray of cakes that she had left on the counter along with the forks and plates. “Hopefully you both find that you enjoy the cakes and will be choosing me to help in your special day!” Emily was trying to stay bright and professional, no matter how much his stare was scorching her skin.

  The bell rang above the door and Nora stepped back inside. Whatever phone call she had just gotten was clearly not good. She breezed in and took her seat again, looking expectant at the tray. “Well, let’s get moving here, we obviously don’t have all night.”

  The way she snapped at Emily made her jump and she immediately started to serve up the cakes. Abdul turned to her, his smile finally faded into what looked like an irritated frown. “Did something happen?” he asked. It was obvious he was embarrassed with her behavior, but it was none of Emily’s business so she just continued to serve up the cake.

  “Yes, something happened.” It was hard not to notice the harsh edge she had in her voice. Her stomach sank knowing that this tasting was not going to go well. “I just lost a major house, the buyers turned down the offer AND the client and sold it to someone else. It would have been one of the biggest sales of my life!”

  “I’m sorry,” Abdul said to her. “Real estate it a tough and fast market, you’ll close the next sale.” Emily could tell he was trying to be reassuring to her, but she could also tell that it didn’t quite sound right.

  “Yes,” she answered sharply. “I know how real estate works thank you very much.” Emily couldn’t help but take a glance at Nora, it was as if she had been sucking on a lemon. “Well,” she directed her words towards Emily. “Let’s get this moving.”

  Chapter 4

  The entire rest of the weekend Abdul had to stop himself from telling Nora he wanted to go back to the bakery. It wasn’t to see Emily, although that would have been a very great plus, but it was actually to taste some more of her delicious baking. He couldn’t get the memory of her cakes out of his mind. They were all moist, light, flavorful, and creamy. The frostings were a perfect richness that swirled around his tongue live velvet. He hadn’t been able to decide exactly which was his favorite, so he’d let Nora pick the flavor. Not as if there had even been a choice in that, but he did enjoy that the cake even seemed to put her in a better mood.

  But truthfully, when eating food like that, how could anyone stay in a sour mood? Even if she had just lost a very big deal with a great amount of money, Emily’s cakes had a power over them to make anyone feel good inside. By the time the weekend was over and Nora was back on a plane, Abdul knew exactly where he was going when he went on lunch.

  The little bell chimed when he walked in and he realized he was starting to get used to that sound. It was charming with its little music. From the kitchen he heard Emily’s voice as she called out to her customer. “Welcome! I will be out in just a second!”

  Her voice was bright and cheerful for a Monday afternoon and he smiled just hearing it. She stepped out from the kitchen and was still tying on her apron.

  “Oh! Hi!” she greeted him. It was obvious that she was surprised to see him again. Her face immediately dropped to concern when she asked him if there was a problem with the wedding cake plans.

  “No not at all,” he answered her smoothly. “I have been craving some more of your delicious baking and since you’re only open in the afternoons and evenings I decided to stop by on my lunch break.”

  Emily looked around her bakery and I noticed at the same time that she did that her dessert case was fairly bare.

  “Sorry, we had a rush last night and my assistant didn’t get a chance to get much baked. I was actually just about to start whipping some stuff up if you’d like to come back later I can have whatever it is you want packaged up and ready to go.”

  Abdul looked around the bakery, he had to admit that he was disappointed to be leaving so soon, but he didn’t want to make her feel badly at all so he agreed to come back after he got out of work. She smiled at him as he placed his order and told him it would be ready when he got there. She looked different than she had the other day. There was no flour in her hair and she looked fresh and excited, the face of a person who can’t wait to start her day. He liked the way her cheeks were bright and rosy and her eyes sparkled with excitement. She was a very beautiful girl, but he had to admit that he did enjoy her when she had frosting and flour all over her as well. He figured she could probably be beautiful no matter what she did.

  It was interesting to him that he seemed to have more of a bounce in his step leaving the bakery than when he entered and he could only attribute it to the fact that he knew he was going to get to see Emily again that day.

  Even work seemed better once he got back from his lunch hour. Abdul really didn’t need the work, and his parents didn’t understand why exactly he chose to do so in a job that they didn’t consider even close to glamorous enough for a sheikh. It was true that he did have a master’s degree in business, at the insistence of his father, so he probably could have found something his parents considered more suitable. But Abdul was lucky to land the job he did, the restaurant paid him well and he had a fantastic schedule. He enjoyed being around people and needing to solve problems quickly for customers. And he really loved working with food, especially food that was the quality of food that his restaurant served.

  Maybe that was part of his attraction to Emily, he thought. The fact that they had their careers in common with a passion for working with food to make people happy. While he didn’t actually make the food like she did, he did understand having that passion for food; that need to be around delicious food. It was an interesting theory, especially since Nora didn’t understand his job any more than his parents did. She complained quite often that he should be attempting to do more, to take a position of power somewhere and really make a name for himself.

  It wasn’t as if he needed the money, and she was well aware of that. It also wasn’t as if I needed any higher status than what I already had back in his country, another point she was well aware of. But she never seemed to be satisfied with his life, like it wouldn’t be enough for her. That always frustrated him about her, that she seemed to belittle him and what he loved doing. But Emily had the same feelings that he did, that it was most important in life to do what you love instead of what makes you look good.

  No matter what he thought of throughout the rest of the day, his mind kept wandering back to Emily. He was wondering how his lemon scone and chocolate croissant were going to taste and he wondered how her business was doing. He also had to wonder why she owned one small shop when she clearly had the talent to do more. It was probably a rude topic to bring up considering he was a virtual stranger, but still he wondered about it.
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br />   He watched the clock that day, the seconds of that last hour of his shift ticking far too slowly for his liking. He couldn’t wait to get out of there and taste what she had made up for him. The drive to her bakery wasn’t far from his restaurant and he wondered why he’d never checked it out before. Walking through her front door again, he saw another girl behind the counter. He figured it had to be her assistant and he introduced himself to her explaining that he had an order that should be ready for him. For a moment he worried that Emily had already gone for the day and disappointment sunk into him.

  Abdul didn’t know if she had heard his voice or if it was just perfect timing but out she stepped from her kitchen again, this time with only a few smudges of her baking left on her clothes. Her hair was swept up into a pony tail and it swung as she walked. He had to notice that it was flourless and he wondered, fleetingly, if she had checked it before she had come out. He was probably just being hopeful, that she might care about seeing him the way he had been excited to see her.

  “Hi again,” she said to him. “I have your food all packaged up for you.”

  Abdul stepped up to the counter and pulled out his wallet.

  “It’s on the house today.” She smiled at him and he nearly lost all words.

  “No…no I can’t possibly do that. You’ve been gracious enough to me as it is.”

  “And you’re already paying quite a bit of money to this little bakery. Please, it’s the least I can do.”