Page 19 of Hired Husband

She let out a long-suffering sigh. “Ignore my friend. She’s cranky because she’s been working much too hard recently and she hasn’t gotten laid in months.”

“Zara!” I snapped, shaking my head. “I’m going to need a drink stronger than lemonade for this.”

Ignoring the men who offered to get that drink for me, I strode away from what had been a pretty comfortable perch before they’d invaded it, and I ended up in the pool for a while until they left. Relieved to be able to go back, I was still reaching for my towel when she started chiding me.

“You totally ruined our shot at going out with them tonight.”

“How? You can still go out with them, but even if I wanted to, I can’t. Family dinner.”

She sighed. “Even if you wanted to? Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because they’re boring.” I finally wrapped my towel around myself and lay back down. “I have no use for boys like that. I mean, come on. They clearly only came to the club to hunt for their next conquests. Do you really want to be just another notch on some idiot’s bedpost?”

“I would’ve been if you hadn’t been here.”

I laughed. “If he really wants you, he’ll be back.”

True to my prediction, the guy she’d been flirting with circled his way back to us a couple hours later, but this time, I promptly excused myself. I’d had about enough sun for the day anyhow and the boutiques were calling my name.

After air-kissing Zara’s cheeks and doing the polite thing by actually waving at her idiot, I left them to it, then told Rashid to take me back to Heliopolis. On the way, we stopped at a bookshop and a jewelry store, my favorite market, and finally, the boutique that was designing my gown for this weekend.

“Is it ready?” I asked when I walked in, accepting a glass of ice water the sales assistant pushed into my hand. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“The alterations are just about finished,” she said. “Let me get Sashi for you. She’ll be delighted you’re here.”

I nodded, wandering through the showroom while I waited for the designer. Her work truly was incredible. Every shelf and rail in the shop displayed embroidered silks and hand-finished beadwork. She was custom-making my dress for the opera I would be attending with my family in a few days and I’d been buzzing to see the finished product. As I wandered deeper into the boutique, admiring the craftsmanship of her garments, I suddenly heard a family laugh that made me stop in my tracks. “I am standing normally. I swear. This is just how I stand.”

The tailor clicked his tongue. “Relax your shoulders, sir.”

“They are relaxed. This is as relaxed as I get.”

Someone sighed, probably the tailor, and I found myself smiling as I followed the voice around the corner. Isaac stood on a fitting platform while two tailors fitted an immaculate black tuxedo on him. His dark blond hair looked genuinely windswept—not styled to look that way—and I happened to know that his shoulders really were just that broad.

“Of all the boutiques in all of Cairo, what are the odds you’d wander into mine?” I asked, resting a shoulder against the wall dividing the fitting area from the rest of the showroom.

Isaac looked up at me in the mirror. A warm smile appeared on his face that made me feel tingles in places that shouldn’t tingle around him. “Have you considered that maybe you wandered into mine?”

I shook my head. “I was here first.”

Pushing away from the wall, I drifted a closer. My eyes raked over the length of his body under the pretense of studying the fit of the tux, but in reality, he just looked really handsome like this and I couldn’t not stare. There was simply something undeniably American about him, just standing there, tall and broad-shouldered, so carefree despite being poked and prodded by two stern, elderly tailors. Somehow, he managed to look slightly out of place and completely comfortable at the same time.

He wasn’t at all the kind of man I’d ever imagined spending this much time thinking about, but here I was, finding myself spending almost every waking minute in the week since he’d arrived wondering what he was doing.

“That looks good.” I inclined my chin toward the fit of the tuxedo around his waist. “It needs to be taken in just a little more, though.”

The tailor’s eyes widened immediately and he stepped closer, fingers adjusting the fit while I lifted my gaze back to Isaac’s. “How’s Egypt been treating you so far?”

His eyes lit up. “It’s incredible. I’ve never been in such a busy city before. I’m loving it. Every corner of this place feels so alive that it’s completely addictive.”

I chuckled. “That’s a pretty accurate description.”

“I found a bakery yesterday that changed my life,” he said, holding my gaze in the mirror as he tried to stand still. The tailor kept flicking him, though, letting me know that it was more difficult for Isaac than he was letting on. “I have so many questions. For starters, tell me about this thing we’re going to this weekend?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it before navigating to something and then holding the device out toward me. I was almost too afraid to look, but when I glanced down, I saw the same elegant invitation I’d received.

I sighed. “You’re coming too?”

“I think so? Basel sent me that and told me to wear a tux, so I’m not sure it’s optional.”