Single Mom And The Sheikh by Holly Rayner

Author:Holly Rayner [Rayner, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The journey home was short compared to the long bus ride that had taken me to the Del to meet Jalaal. I spent the whole drive fielding questions about my trip from Sam, though he fell asleep just before we reached the apartment. That was another thing he’d inherited from me. I always got sleepy on long car rides—though for this one, I couldn’t have been more awake.

Why did it feel like somebody had staked me through the heart? I barely knew Jalaal, but him finding out about my deceit hurt more than any guy had hurt me since Sam’s dad left. I was consumed by guilt, and I knew I would only feel worse after I explained what I’d done to my father.

I considered not telling him. I already felt horrible, and seeing the judgement on Dad’s face was something I wasn’t sure I could handle. But he could tell something was wrong. He hung around long after we got home, making excuses about how he didn’t feel like being on his own after the trip.

He stayed for dinner. Sam was still super excited from his trip to see my sister, and he told me every single detail about it. I was glad, as it made the silence between my dad and I less awkward.

But then it was Sam’s bedtime.

I put Sam to bed and gingerly headed back to the kitchen. My dad was waiting at the kitchen table.

“Are you ready to talk about what happened today?” he asked.

I sighed. “It wasn’t a big deal, Dad. Just a guy I met in Vegas who I had to return something to.”

Dad patted the chair next to him. “It looked like a big deal to me,” he said. “Especially since you’ve clearly been cut up about it all day.”

Sliding down into the seat, I considered lying, but I’d done enough of that for one weekend. I should have told Jalaal the truth. He deserved it. And after everything my father had done for me, he more than deserved it.

“I had kind of a crazy weekend in Vegas,” I explained. “Spent some time with that guy you saw today. His name’s Jalaal.”

“He looks rich,” my dad said casually. He traced a finger over the grainy surface of the table. Sam did that a lot, too. He called them “wood rivers.”

“Yeah, he is.” I shrugged. “He’s a sheik, actually. Middle-Eastern royalty.”

Dad whistled through his teeth. “Wasn’t expecting that,” he said. “I thought maybe he owned one of the casinos and had come to warn you not to count cards in his establishment again.”

“Dad!” I protested. “I don’t count cards.”

He winked. “You’re smart enough to, kiddo. Not that it would be right, but it wouldn’t be surprising.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not sure whether I should be insulted that you’d be less surprised to find out I went card counting on Sarah’s bachelorette weekend than you are to discover I spent time with a handsome sheikh.”

“Take it as you will,” Dad said, smiling jovially.

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