Page 109 of Hired Husband

“I thought about buying one, but this is the only thing I have left from that part of my inheritance. It means something to me. It means a lot actually, but if you don’t want it, we’ll⁠—”

“No,” I said quickly, my eyes stinging as the tears finally slipped free. “I love it, Isaac. Truly.”

“The ruby seemed fitting,” he murmured. “Seeing as how I’ve been reliably informed that I’m in love with the Ruby of the Nile.”

A choked laugh escaped me. “Only the tabloids call me that.”

“It still seemed appropriate,” he said, then drew in a deep, steadying breath. “Jasmine Saad, will you marry me?”

I didn’t even hesitate for a second. “Yes.”

His shoulders dropped in relief, but he still arched an eyebrow at me. “Yeah?”

I laughed. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

I held out my left hand. “I’m starting to think you’re having second thoughts.”

He grinned and took my hand, gently sliding the ring into place on my finger. “Never.”

As he rose, I threw myself into his arms, and this time when I went in for the kiss, he didn’t dodge me. He held me tight as he sealed his lips over mine. We kissed until my knees were weak, but before I lost all sense of reason, I broke away from him and took his hand.

“Let’s finish the tour so we can get back to the yacht and start celebrating,” I said, tugging him forward and struggling to remain patient as we explored the dark catacombs and open stretches of space that would’ve housed all sorts of halls and rooms.

When we eventually got back to the yacht, I couldn’t stop looking at my hand, smiling every time the ruby caught any light and inspecting the intricate design from every angle. Isaac chuckled and pulled me closer as we walked onto the deck.

“It’s still there,” he said, his voice warm and light. “You don’t have check every two seconds.”

“Fine, I’ll check every five,” I shot back, winding my arms around his shoulders and smiling up at him. “I still can’t believe you dodged my kiss.”

“I still can’t believe you said yes.”

“Can I say yes again? I’ll say it every day for the rest of my life if you want me to.”

He chuckled, but before he could respond, there was a low murmur of the crew and someone climbing aboard behind us. My spine straightened and an ominous shiver snaked through me.

Whoever our surprise visitor was, I had a feeling our celebration was going to have to wait. The outside world had found us and there was no way that could be a good thing.

CHAPTER 45

ISAAC

Ilingered in the doorway of our bedroom for a few seconds, checking on Jasmine one last time. Basel’s arrival had shocked the crap out of both of us, and while she’d stuck around to greet her father, she’d also excused herself almost immediately.

Basel had let her go, gently telling her to get some sleep before asking me if we could talk. As a result, I was now going to find out my professional fate as well as potentially being told off for asking Jasmine to marry me just over an hour after she’d said yes.

His timing couldn’t have been much worse.

Quietly pulling the bedroom door shut behind me, I tried to brace myself for what was coming and made my way to the upper deck. Basel was standing alone at the stern, one hand resting on the polished teak railing while the other was tucked into the pocket of his pants.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d decided to run,” he said without turning around or even glancing over his shoulder as I approached. “I thought I might have to send out a search party.”

“I considered it,” I admitted. “Eventually, I realized it wouldn’t help if I tried. I’ve come to learn that you’ve got contacts everywhere in this country.”

He let out a soft chuckle, glancing at me when I joined him at the railing before he turned back toward the view of the city, the lights reflecting off the calm surface of the water. “You know, an old dog can’t learn new tricks.”

I frowned, honestly not sure where he was going with that. “Okay.”