Page 44 of Earned Husband

I paused for a beat to swipe my tongue across my lips. While it was encouraging that she looked forward to seeing me, she hadn’t explicitly said that our engagement was a go. To be fair, it’d only been a week and I’d told her to take at least the rest of the month to think about it, but I couldn’t deny that I was slightly disappointed she hadn’t even mentioned where she was on that issue right now.

When I dropped my gaze back down, I noticed there was a post-script and I smiled.

P.S. I might be a secret photographer. Or maybe it’s just that I like to think of myself as one. My camera is ancient, but I sent you some of my recent work. Just some snapshots of the week since I last saw you. I hope you enjoy them!

I set the letter aside and reached into the envelope again, pulling out a thin stack of photographs that were mercifully only slightly bent from travel. One by one, I looked through them, studying the picture of the flower market first. It’d been on top, so I assumed this was the order she’d wanted me to see them in.

She’d said that her camera was ancient, but the picture itself was amazing. It’d captured rows upon rows of color with sunlight cutting across flowers and greenery in a way that made it look unreal, like a garden from another dimension.

Photographs of people came next, Khaled arguing with someone and a candid shot of a young woman laughing. The next was photo of her and a woman I assumed was her mother. They weren’t identical, but they looked so much alike that they were unmistakably related.

Her mother had clearly been talking when she’d snapped this one and she was animated, the picture capturing her mid motion, which made me suspect she, too, spoke with her hands. Just like her daughter.

Deja was beside her, but she was laughing. A little out of focus behind them was the same young woman again, but this time, she was facing the camera, so I could see her features a little better. She looked like a daintier version of Deja herself, so she had to be the sister Deja had mentioned.

My gaze drifted back to Deja, her eyes twinkling with laughter and happiness written all over her face. I stared at that picture for a long time before I eventually set the photos down on the coffee table and stood up.

God, that woman is gorgeous.I couldn’t actually believe I might get to marry her, but before we could get there, I had to win her over first—and do whatever else her father had in mind.

I wasn’t thinking about him right now, though.

Her letter had been thoughtful and honest. Way better than any text could’ve been. I wanted to reciprocate, so I headed upstairs, going straight to my home office.

When I got there, I opened a drawer I rarely used and pulled out a clean sheet of paper. After setting it down on my desk, I sat down and picked up a pen.

I didn’t really have a plan, but something told me that was part of the point of this. She wanted us both to be real, to actually dig deep and let ourselves share things that were worthy of an international journey rather than just a quick shot through cyberspace.

She wanted something that couldn’t be deleted in a second. Something that might only come once pen was put to paper and actual thought started flowing, so I just began writing, figuring I could always toss out this attempt if it didn’t end up meaning anything at all.

CHAPTER 20

DEJA

Running even before I hit the stairs, I clutched the package from Colin so tightly to my chest that I was half-afraid I was crushing something.

“Deja!” Jasmine called after me, laughing as her footsteps smacked against the tile behind me. “Wait for me!”

“Sorry, but no!” I called back, bursting into my bedroom while my heart raced with exhilaration and anticipation coursed like electricity through my veins.

Unfortunately, Jasmine was fast. I barely had time to jump onto my bed before she was launching herself onto the mattress with me.

“This is it,” she announced, flopping onto her stomach. “I’m here for the grand unveiling. You may begin.”

“You are not here for anything,” I said, swatting her hands away as she tried to reach for the box. “Will you please leave me alone so I can open it?”

“No.”

Mom appeared in the doorway moments later. “What is all this commotion about?”

“Nothing,” I said immediately, not wanting to include yet another member of my family in this, but Jasmine pointed at the package.

“It’s from Colin,” Jasmine said. “It’s the first one.”

I sighed but carefully started opening the packaging while Jasmine leaned over my shoulder like a vulture who’d just discovered food and Mom moved further into the room.

“Stop touching.” I slapped my sister’s hand away again. “It’s mine. Just let me open it.”

“I’m not touching anything,” she said, already reaching for the package again.