by Holly Rayner
More than anything else Jalaal could have said or done, this was what I needed. The fears that had been nagging me dissolved into a million grains of sand. They drifted off into the air around us, invisible and shapeless.
The future was no longer a thing to be feared.
Chapter 19
Three Months Later
“Cool!” Sam exclaimed. “A dump truck! Thanks, Jalaal!” He rolled the plastic beast over to the corner with his other toys, his eyes bright and joyful.
Obviously, it was nice to see my boy get spoiled, even if it wasn’t by me, but I was beginning to wonder where the hell I would put all these toys. Jalaal knew my apartment was tiny—he spent enough time here—yet we’d been opening gifts for an hour and we still weren’t done.
Not that I had gotten anything yet.
Most of the presents under the tree were for Sam, and he was ripping through them with pleasure. Jalaal had gotten a fair few for my dad, too. Dad was fiddling with his new e-reader while the paper ripping carnage took place just in front of him.
“And you say I can get any book on here I want?” Dad asked.
Jalaal patted him on the back. “Any book you want, Bill.”
Dad beamed. His bushy gray brows rose in amazement as Jalaal showed him how to access the online catalogue.
I sat farther back on the couch and pulled my knees to my chest. A cup of coffee steamed between my hands, warming my palms. I liked watching the three men in my life interact. It still amazed me how well they got along.
Sam was easy; he liked everybody. All Jalaal had to do to win his affection was be nice and play with him for a little bit. Jalaal knew that, too, which was why I found it so heartwarming that he still paid so much attention to him.
I’d always feared that if I did find a boyfriend, he would do the bare minimum to get Sam to like him, but Jalaal went above and beyond, and Sam loved him for it.
But Sam wasn’t the only one who loved Jalaal besides me. My dad had grown quite fond of him since the Disneyland trip, and I’d often have Jalaal over for dinner only for him to abandon me in the kitchen so he could have a beer with my dad in the living room. Not that I minded. It made me feel warm knowing how comfortable Jalaal felt in my home.
It would never just be him and me like it had been in Vegas. My biggest fear going into this relationship had been that he would want that all the time when that simply wasn’t feasible here. But Jalaal had exceeded my expectations in every way.
Except the Christmas-gift way, so far. But I would rather sit here and watch the three of them all day than open anything myself. So maybe that was the best gift of all.
Jalaal, finished helping my dad, slid closer to me on the couch. “You’re awfully quiet,” he said.
I nestled in next to him. “I’m just watching everyone.” I dropped my head to his shoulder, and he stroked my arm tenderly.
“Don’t you want your present?”
I glanced up at him. “You mean there’s something under the tree for me?” My lips curled in a mischievous grin. “Who would’ve thought.”
Jalaal’s eyes, flakes of burnt honey, flicked down. I followed his gaze to the hand he was stroking my arm with. It wasn’t empty. In fact, he’d been rubbing me with the small box he was holding the whole time.
“What’s this?” I took it from him, fingering the crisp wrapping paper.
The box was small—very small. The kind of small box one could fit a ring in. Was Jalaal going to ask me to marry him? Wasn’t it a bit too soon? We didn’t even live together!
My heart started pounding frantically in my chest. My dad and Sam hadn’t noticed yet, and I hoped they didn’t. I wanted this moment—whatever was inside this box—to be between Jalaal and I.
“Why don’t you open it and find out?” Jalaal murmured.
I didn’t need more prompting.
I tore through the wrapping and tossed it aside, revealing a small, silver jewelry box. My fingers shook as I pulled open the lid. The light glimmered off the silver object inside.
A key.
Huh?
“I don’t get it.” I frowned at the key and then looked up at Jalaal. “It’s a key.”
“Were you expecting something else?” He raised a brow, his expression almost mocking.
I tried to hide my disappointment, but I didn’t think I did very well. I still thought it was too soon for marriage, but I didn’t appreciate it being thrown in my face so cruelly.
“Hey, Sky.” Jalaal tilted my chin up toward him. “Before you get upset, let me show you.”
“I’m not upset.”
He pressed a brief kiss to my lips, sending heat flashing through me. “Sure you’re not.” Jalaal looked over at my dad, who was still sequestered in his chair. “Bill, do you mind watching Sam for an hour while I take Skyler somewhere?”
Dad waved us off. “Go be crazy kids somewhere else. I’m reading.”
I laughed and allowed Jalaal to pull me up off the couch. “Can I put on some proper clothes at least?”
Jalaal glanced down at my pajamas, a wicked grin on his lips. “Nope. I like you the way you are.”
Narrowing my eyes, I took in his ever-classy appearance. “Okay…but if you take me somewhere public looking like this, I’m not going to be happy about it.”
He laughed and led me to the front door, where he held out my coat for me. “I suppose that’s a risk I’m going to have to take.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Whenever he came out to visit me, Jalaal’s car of choice was a sleek black sedan with one of the best safety ratings in the industry. I’d never commented on how I saw him more as a sports car kind of guy, because I knew he’d chosen it with Sam in mind, and that made me teary-eyed just thinking about it.
We drove for some time, the roads quieter than I’d ever seen them. I stopped trying to guess where Jalaal was taking me after the first ten minutes because he was a stone mask. He just drove, and I just stared out the window and wondered.
Before long, I began to recognize our surroundings.
“We’re in La Jolla,” I said. “Why are we in La Jolla?”
“Well, technically it’s where we had our first date.” He flashed me a grin. “Though that’s not technically the reason we’re here.”
“What is, technically, the reason we’re here?”
“Patience, my love. Patience.”
Sensing our journey would end soon, I slipped into silence and tried to temper the burgeoning excitement in my veins. Jalaal was the kind of guy who gave away luxurious gifts like they were Tic Tacs. What would a guy like him give as a surprise?
Jalaal pulled off the main road and entered a winding, suburban community by the sea. I rolled down my window to catch a whiff of the briny air, letting the breeze tangle my unkempt morning hair.
The modern houses were all decked out in strings of lights, and I imagined the families going around to see them all last night before bed. Sam loved Christmas lights. If we lived here, he would get me to take him to every single house in the neighborhood.
The farther into the community we got, the more I started to wonder what we were doing here. What did this have to do with the key? I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but my suspicions refused to stay quiet.
Is the key for one of these houses?
No, that would be crazy, right? I was silly to hope for such a thing. It was probably just for a shed he’d built me…behind one of these houses. My imagination was going in very different directions with this mystery.
Jalaal pulled into the driveway of a large, cream-colored house with a stunning ocean view. The lawn out front was lush and green. I wanted to rub my face on it.
“Whose house is this?” I asked.
Was he taking me to meet his family? We’d been trying to arrange something for some time, but they rarely came stateside and I never had enough time off to see them. Maybe they’d come down for the holidays?
�
�You’ll see,” Jalaal replied cryptically before getting out of the car.
I followed him, jogging over and grabbing his hand. Did he own this house? I thought he only owned hotels, as well as a family palace in his home country. He never mentioned having a house.
“Jalaal!” I yanked on his arm, pulling him to a stop.
He turned gracefully, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me toward his chest. “What is it?”
“I could ask the same question.”
He grinned. “Why don’t you go try that key in the front door, hmm?”
My pulse sang in my ears. The key was for this house? No. It couldn’t be. This house was amazing. I probably couldn’t even afford to rent a room in it.
But there was only one way to know for sure if Jalaal was serious. I grabbed the key from my pocket and approached the front door.
It slipped into the lock with a metallic snick and turned.
My mouth hung open in disbelief, and I turned the door handle, fully expecting it not to open. But it did. The door swung open on whisper-quiet hinges, revealing an expansive and empty foyer.
“Merry Christmas.” Jalaal’s breath tickled the back of my neck. He wrapped his arms around my middle and pressed his lips against my neck. “If you accept my gift, that is.”
I struggled not to turn around. “You’re giving me a house?”
“I’m giving us a house,” he corrected. “I want the three of us to live here together. I believe we can make a beautiful home together.” He broke off, both of us silent for a moment. “If that’s what you want, that is.”
I laughed in delight, my heart beating erratically behind my ribs. “Are you kidding?” I asked. “This is all I’ve ever wanted.” I turned around and flung my arms around his neck, leaping up into his arms.
He caught me effortlessly. He always did.
“I love you, Skyler.”
“I love you too, Jalaal.”
Epilogue
Nine Months Later
A loud, keening wail broke through the stillness of the afternoon. Jalaal flinched, but the rest of us were used to it. My sister was here.
“Oh, Skyler! Your first Thanksgiving!” Dawn cried, shuffling into the living room, her arms laden with gifts from San Francisco. She always brought presents when she visited, and she never used the doorbell.
I got up off the couch just in time for her to abandon her bags and tackle me in a hug. Jason, her longtime boyfriend, shuffled in behind her.
“My first Thanksgiving in the new house,” I corrected, my voice muffled by her shirt. Dawn was at least four inches taller than me. She had inherited the height and general size of my mom’s side of the family. My mom had always been a little taller than my dad—not that he ever cared.
Jason was a hulking behemoth of a man, towering over even Jalaal, but he was quieter than a dormouse. I often wondered how the two of them ever got together in the first place. They were perfect for each other, don’t get me wrong. She was the fire and he was the fire’s steady supply of oxygen when she needed it and her damper when she didn’t. But the actual circumstances of how they met and decided they were compatible were still a mystery to me. But it worked, and I was happy for them.
“I love this house.” Dawn glanced up at the vaulted ceiling, then toward the backyard, where Sam and our dad were playing on the grass. She turned to Jason and elbowed him playfully in the side. “When are you going to buy me a house? Huh?”
Jason smiled weakly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Just then, Sam caught sight of us.
His cry was muffled by the window, but it was loud enough. “Auntie Dawn!”
The door screeched and a second later he bounded inside, wrapping his arms around her. She lifted him up and spun him around. His shoe went flying across the room. I had never once questioned where Sam’s penchant for chaos came from.
“Hey, squirt,” Dawn said. “What are you and Grandpa up to?”
“We’re playing cops and robbers,” Dad announced, coming inside.
“When we moved into a place with a yard, Dad took it upon himself to teach Sam all the games he used to play when he was a boy,” I explained, crossing my arms over my chest. I glanced at Jalaal. “I’m a little surprised you’re not out there playing, too.”
He was still sitting awkwardly on the couch, gazing off into the distance like he was lost in thought.
I tapped his foot with mine.
“Huh?” Jalaal’s eyes darted upward.
I grinned. “Never mind, space cadet. I’m just going to go check on the turkey.”
I pecked him on the cheek and strolled over to the massive kitchen.
It had taken me weeks to get used to having so much counter space. I still ended up chopping on one corner of the granite island sometimes even though I didn’t need to anymore.
Jalaal was quiet all throughout the day, which I found odd. Normally he and Dawn chatted it up like two dudes in the locker room at the gym. They’d only met a few times now, but each time they’d gotten closer and closer. I liked it, because it gave me a chance to hang out with Jason and try to get under his hood a little bit. And Dad and Sam were usually either running around somewhere else or sleeping.
It was a strange dynamic, but it was ours and I liked it.
Hell, I loved it.
I tried to pull Jalaal into a conversation a few times to no avail. So did Dawn. He didn’t even have much to say when she talked about the TV shows they both watched.
I just figured he was having an off day. I had enough to worry about with the turkey and fixings, so I didn’t push it any further. Whatever was on his mind, he would tell me eventually. He always did.
The first time we visited Dawn, Jalaal had been completely overwhelmed. My sister was fast talking, demanding, and unapologetically loud. For someone who was used to the quiet hum of moneyed people, it was a bit much.
Or at least it was at first.
After a couple drinks and reassurance from me that this was her way of being friendly, Jalaal jumped right into the fray. He gave as good as he got, and I knew she appreciated that. Soon they were teasing each other like the best of friends.
It felt too good to be true. My amazing boyfriend, who I loved with all my heart, got along well with both my father and son, as well as with my unique older sister.
Who could expect that kind of luck?
When all we were waiting for was the turkey, I headed out into the living room to see how everyone else was doing. I’d insisted on doing most of the cooking myself—there weren’t many of us, so it wasn’t a Herculean feat or anything. And sometimes with Jalaal I felt like I had to do something myself to just remind myself I could. It would have been easy to hire someone to come cook us dinner. Jalaal did offer. But it wouldn’t have been the same.
In the living room, my father and sister were engaged in a heated debate on one sofa. Jason was relaxing on another, drinking a glass of wine. Sam and Jalaal were over in the play corner, playing with Sam’s building blocks.
I stepped over to Jalaal and my son and sank down on the floor with them.
“Is dinner ready yet?” Dawn called.
I shook my head and craned my neck to look at her. “Getting close, but not quite. Think you’ll make it?”
She rubbed her stomach for emphasis. “Probably not. You’re going to have to go on without me if it takes much longer.”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the scene before me. “What are you making?” I asked Sam.
He held up a hodgepodge of bricks for my inspection. Apart from the fact that it had lots of different colors and appeared to be vaguely rectangular in shape, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
“It’s a castle,” he told me. “I think it’s Jalaal’s castle.”
“You think?” I inquired.
I glanced over and caught the ghost of a smile on Jalaal’s lips.
“Well I don’t know since I’ve never seen his castle.” Sam frowned and put his c
reation down on the floor.
“Well, honey,” I said, “I’m sure we’ll go someday. And I hate to break it to you, but Jalaal doesn’t have a castle.”
“What?” Sam’s eyes bugged out of his head. “But I thought he was a prince?”
Jalaal reached for the castle and examined it thoughtfully. “Your mother is teasing you,” he said. “I don’t have a castle, but I do have a palace. And you will see it soon.”
Sam, though he still didn’t understand the difference between a castle and a palace, perked up again. “How soon?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. How soon?”
Jalaal smiled cryptically and rose from the floor, sweeping over to Dawn and plunking down beside her.
Why was he being so weird? I’d been wanting him to take me home with him for a long time now. I wanted to see where he came from, meet his family, see who his people were. And yes, I wanted to see the damn palace. Who wouldn’t?
He hadn’t flat out denied me a visit, but Sam’s school schedule, my work schedule, and Jalaal’s schedule just hadn’t matched up the way they needed to if we were going to take a trip halfway across the world.
Was he planning on surprising me with a visit? Was that why he was being so weird today?
I got up to check on the turkey again. It was perfectly golden brown with crispy, delicious-looking skin.
“Food’s ready!” I called.
I had to yell pretty loud to be heard in this house. It was a huge difference from my old apartment, where I’d often been able to hear the neighbors talk in their bedroom at night. Having complete silence while I slept was a new and wonderful concept for me. After nine months of living here, the novelty still hadn’t worn off.
Everyone filed into the kitchen and started loading up their plates as I carved off pieces of turkey.
“This looks great,” Dawn said. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
I gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks, sis.”
“No, really.” She patted my shoulder. “I’m super impressed with how things are going for you.” She glanced behind her. Jason and Jalaal were chatting quietly over the sweet potatoes, and there was nobody else in earshot. “I just adore him. I know I’ve said it before, but he’s a real catch.”