Page 59 of Hired Husband

“Sure.”

“Did me kissing you last week have anything to do with this?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “What?”

“You ran away from me then too, so it stands to reason that’s why you suddenly disappeared.” He shifted on his feet, rolling his lips into his mouth before he gave his head a quick shake. “Look, Jasmine, I’m sorry, okay? I guess that’s what I came here to say before I leave. I’m sorry.”

“Before you leave?” I frowned, my heart swooping like it was already preparing to crash to the floor. “Where are you going?”

“I’m heading back to Chicago soon,” he said quietly. “Just for a little while.”

I blinked rapidly, my extremities going ice cold. “Why? I thought you were meant to be staying here for at least a year.”

He hesitated before he answered, and immediately, I knew something wasn’t right. It should’ve been a simple question, but he wouldn’t be struggling this much to answer if he was going back for work or to check in with his family.

I searched his gaze, obviously not finding anything concrete, but a quiet certainty settled over me when I saw his jaw tighten like he was holding something back. This had to do with the situation my father was forcing me into with David. I didn’t know why I was so sure, but I was absolutely convinced.

Great. Now I feel doubly guilty, and heartbroken, and scared, and angry.

“You can’t leave before you see the Pyramids up close and personal,” I said firmly, squaring my shoulders as I made the decision. “We’ll go right now. Just give me a few minutes to change.”

“Right now?” He glanced at his watch, then frowned at me. “I thought they were just giant triangles. Why do you suddenly want to go so badly?”

“Because you do,” I said, already starting to back toward the dressing rooms. “I promised I would take you and I keep my promises. We’re going, Isaac. End of discussion.”

CHAPTER 23

ISAAC

I’d never experienced silence as deafening as I did on the drive over to Gaza. Neither Jasmine or I said a word as we left the studio and climbed into the car, and neither of us broke that silence the entire time we crept along in the traffic leading up to the Pyramid complex.

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you seriously not going to tell me what this is about?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Isn’t it?” I asked, really not in the mood for this or a trip to the Pyramids with her right now, if I was being honest. “I’m sorry I kissed you, okay? I know I’ve apologized before, but I’ll keep doing it because that’s the only thing I can do. Trust me, if I could take it back, I would.”

“You would?” A surprising amount of hurt flickered behind her eyes before she scoffed and turned to face the window. “Great. Thanks. That’s good to know.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jasmine.” I sighed, shoving a hand through my hair and trying to rein in my frustration. “I just meant that apologizing is the best I can do at this point.”

“And to think, you accused me once of being self-involved.”

“It was way more than once, but what does that have to do with any of this?”

“It’s just ironic, considering how deeply you judged me for it but you’re the one being ridiculously self-involved now.”

“I am?” I scoffed. “How?”

“You keep thinking this is about that kiss or something you did when I’ve told you so many times that you don’t have to apologize for it.”

“Well, excuse me for not coming up with anything better when you literally took off the day after,” I snapped. “You left Sharm without even saying goodbye.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I offend you?”

“No, but obviously, something went wrong and since it happened the day⁠—”

“God, Isaac.” She finally turned to face me, her eyes wide with frustration as I found a spot in the parking lot, probably miles away from the actual Pyramids. “It has nothing to do with you or with that.”