Page 30 of Hired Husband

I tried to see it through his eyes then, ignoring the fact that it was a train wreck with shoes scattered across the floor and discarded clothes hanging over just about every available surface. When I’d moved in here, I’d tried to make the modern space feel warm, covering the marble floors in a few rugs and draping throws over the couches.

My bookshelves were overflowing with travel guides, the spines cracked and worn, history books, romance novels, and the adult coloring books I liked to take with me on planes. I didn’t follow him down the hall, but I saw him take in the books, the knick-knacks I’d collected from every city I’d ever visited, and the fresh flowers in the vase on my sideboard.

Finally, Isaac reached my bedroom door and turned back to look at me. “You’re not coming?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine. Thank you.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Okay, have it your way, but Hassan in just standing here. Which closet is it in?”

“The big one.”

“They’re all big.”

“The walk-in,” I said, finally drifting halfway down the hall so I could watch from there. “It’s behind the hat boxes.”

“You have hat boxes?”

“Of course. Where else would I keep my hats?”

He gave me a strange look but eventually broke eye contact to walk into the closet after Hassan had thrown open the door, still wielding the broom like it was the ultimate weapon. Isaac, however, walked in like he thought of himself as Steve Irwin.

A few seconds later, his head popped back out and he grinned at me, both of his eyebrows arching this time. “That’s what all the fuss was about? He’s tiny.”

I scoffed. “He could grow, and he shouldn’t be in there.”

“I don’t think snakes respect property laws,” he said, chuckling as he ducked back into the closet. “It’s a sand snake, Jasmine. They’re only mildly venomous.”

“Mildly?”

“So mild that their venom has virtually no effect on humans,” he said, speaking loudly enough that I could hear him despite not having moved any closer. “They’re pretty shy little creatures, but they’re fast. I’m sure he’d much rather have fled into a shrub than to have to face you.”

“Well, then that’s where he should’ve gone, isn’t it?”

“Again, I doubt he knew this was private property,” Isaac said while Hassan hovered in the closet doorway, apparently having decided he’d be the backup while leaving Isaac to act as the main snake-removal expert. “Shit, how the hell are we going to find him in here? How much clothes does one person need?”

A few muttered curses later, I finally got curious enough about what was happening that I drifted closer, immediately realizing that my closet was not an optimal space for snake retrieval. Every time Isaac got close to the little terror, it shot away, slithering in under a pile of clothes, shoes, or behind garment bags.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered when he lunged for it, his hand closing around nothing but air as it darted back behind the hat boxes. “Seriously? I don’t want to hurt you, little dude.”

“I do,” I piped up. “What happened to it being tiny, harmless, and shy?”

“It is. That’s why I can’t grab the fucking thing. You scared him.”

My mouth dropped open. “I scared him?”

Hassan moved to one side while Isaac crouched lower, trying to peer behind a stack of luggage on the other side of the hat boxes. He must’ve finally spotted it because he glanced up at Hassan and motioned toward the back corner.

“I see you, little dude,” he murmured quietly. “Come here before the mean lady hurts you.”

Isaac moved in one smooth motion, his hand disappearing between the hat boxes. When he pulled back, the snake was twisting furiously between his fingers. “Got you.”

Hassan pulled back a little further. “It’s aggressive.”

Isaac smiled. “I think it’s just embarrassed, actually.”

Before he could move another muscle, the snake whipped around and clamped its mouth onto Isaac’s forearm. A bead of blood immediately welled around the bite and my stomach rolled, twisting violently.

“Oh, my God! Isaac!”