Page 35 of Earned Husband

Basel’s gaze stayed on me, as calm and even as if he was discussing the weather. “You have the makings of a family man. You have the ability to not only provide, but secure your lineage with success and comfort. Those things are very important to me.”

As I looked back at him, I wondered what made him think so highly of me. “Thank you, sir, but with all due respect, you don’t know me. I could’ve been lying to you last night about my financial situation or?—”

“You weren’t lying,” he cut in. “I might not know you very well, but I do understand you, Colin. For example, I know you’re doing everything in your power not to be like your father.”

That old defensive feeling roared inside me and I clamped down on it. He went on, either not noticing or not fazed by my reaction. His gaze seemed completely faraway, like he’d mentally drifted back to Egypt and forgotten his body in his chair.

“I realize it might seem hard to imagine right now, but I was young once too. Much too young for the pressures placed on me by my family. I spent my twenties building back a business others let fail.” He finally refocused on me. “I see a bit of myself in you.”

My throat went bone dry. “Thank you, sir. That’s a real honor.”

“No, the real honor is that I have chosen you for her,” he said. “I want the merger of our companies to move forward, secured by your marriage, but I have one condition.”

I almost let my eyes slam shut, but everything about this conversation felt like a test and I knew I could fail with so much as one wrong move, so I kept looking at him. Even if my heart was pounding in my throat at this point, my mind reeling, and a large part of me convinced I was hallucinating.

“What’s the condition?”

“You have to earn her,” he said simply. “Like Jacob earned Rachel.”

Well, that’s just ridiculous.

I swallowed hard, knowing that my next words would determine the course of my life going forward.

I didn’t mind hard work. I never had. In fact, working hard was what kept me sane, but at the same time, Basel wanted this. Khaled and Alex had come to me, not the other way around, which begged the question of why he was suddenly tackingconditions onto a deal that’d been stitched together long before I’d even known it was a possibility.

And yet, despite all that, the decision that formed in my mind defied all sense of reason and logic. “How am I supposed to do that?”

Basel smiled, motioning toward my beer. “Drink, son. All will be revealed in good time. For now, let us enjoy your very first Egyptian beer. Together.”

CHAPTER 16

DEJA

On Monday morning, I stood in the kitchen staring at my brother, unable to believe the announcement he’d just made. “I’m sorry, you want me to do what?”

“Fly home with Dad and me tonight instead of staying the rest of the summer,” he repeated calmly but firmly. “It’s not up for discussion, Deja.”

“Why?” I shook my head at him, scoffing as I threw my hands out to my sides. “Last week, when I asked you why I wasn’t flying back to Cairo with you, you convinced me to stay. You told me I needed a break because I never take one and that Ashanti would need help flying home with the kids because you’d be in Japan. Now you’ve just, what, changed your mind?”

He sighed, shoving a hand into his black hair with aggravation tightening his features. “All of that is still true. I haven’t changed my mind about any of it, but it’s also true that you’re needed back home.”

“I’mneeded?” I braced my hands against the counter behind me and held his gaze. “No, that’s not it and you and I both know it. What’s really going on here, Khaled? Is anyone ever going to let me in on the big secret?”

As if the universe itself had decided to frustrate me even further, Khaled’s phone started ringing, and before I could even tell him not to dare take it, he glanced at the screen and held a finger up at me. “This is business. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Hating it when he showed me that fucking finger, I silently threatened to bite it off, even miming the action at him, but he waved me off and walked away. I blew out a harsh breath, letting my head drop forward as I tried to regain control of my heartbeat.

I couldn’t leave tonight. Colin and I were having dinner and I’d really been looking forward to it. If I was on a plane back to Cairo when he was supposed to come pick me up, I couldn’t very well go out with him, could I?

Shit. What a mess.

No one was telling me anything regardless of how many times I asked. Ashanti was the only one who even seemed sorry about it. Gabrielle just kept telling me not to worry. Apparently, it wasn’t a woman’s job.

All the while, behind the scenes, the pieces were moving. I knew that. I could feel it in the tension in the house and I’d seen both my father and Khaled’s expressions sometimes when their phones rang. The ball was rolling and it was happening fast, but they were keeping me firmly in the dark.

I was quite sure I knew what was coming, though. At least a part of it, and that was another reason why this dinner was so important to me. If Colin Thayer was to become my husband, there was a lot he and I had to discuss.

“Go pack, Deja!” Khaled said as he strode past the kitchen, not even glancing at me in his haste to get down the hall to the study.