Page 50 of Not the Plan

“Of me?”

He slid a hand across his forehead, massaging above his brows. “Of what you’ll think of me.”

“Have you murdered someone, Karim?”

He chuckled. “No. Can I be blunt with you? Honest?”

“Please.” She nodded.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and gripped the edge of the table with both hands. “I moved here because my wife left me, and I wanted to start over in a completely new place. I wanted to rebuild professionally and intended to avoid any sort of sexual or romantic connection for the foreseeable future. It is clearly unwise, considering who we both work for; and beyond that, the timing might not be the best. But, from this side of the table, it looks like we could be heading in a very specific direction, and I don’t want to fight it anymore, even though every bit of logic is telling me that I should.”

She’d glanced at his bare ring finger at the word “wife” but said nothing. He’d purposely given her the bare bones of the story, still ashamed of having put up with an abusive relationshipfor years. He gave her a few moments to absorb everything, willing her to say something, anything. So, there he sat, in a temperate, blue-skied purgatory that was getting harder and harder to bear.

She got up from her side of the table, joining him on his. The breeze wafted her perfume around him. He wanted to hold her as he had the night before. Instead, he held his breath as she studied her hands folded in her lap.

“Are you still married?” she asked.

“Technically, yes.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I…I didn’t think I was important enough to you for it to matter. I didn’t think anything could happen between us.”

“And now you do?” she asked her hands.

His sigh came up from his diaphragm. “I’d like to hope,” he said, studying the table.

“Blunt? Honest?” she asked.

He swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“I can’t be the other woman.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to be.”

She took a deep breath, her focus steadfast on her hands.

“Do you have kids?”

“No. She really wasn’t ready. Worked out for the best.” He had to study his own hands. Starting a family had been a point of contention. Another sting.

Isadora nodded and then looked at him. “It’s…” She sighed. “I’m curious, Karim.”

“Me too.”

Her smile was close-lipped, though for a moment her eyes beamed at him. She leaned in, giving his shoulder the sweetest caress with her cheek. He wanted to lean in to her, stroke the top of her head with his chin and fill his lungs with her sweet fragrance. And just like that, he was stone. Another instinct he hadn’t had since Laila. And even then, well before she left. He was still recovering from the surprise when Isadora stood.

“Walk with me? It’s my turn to drive, but I’d like to stretch mylegs,” she said. He stood too, collecting their trash and putting it in a nearby bin. He was grateful for something to do, so he could also collect himself.

“I can keep driving, you know,” he said. “Your company is helping me stay alert.”

“Don’t want a girl driving your car?” she teased, starting to walk down one of the paths in the small grove of trees behind the restaurant.

“No, that’s not it,” he said, following. “I’d love for you to…drive…my car.”

She tucked her head and grinned, continuing along the path. He moved next to her, keeping his hands behind his back.

“You know,” she said. “I had a really good time last night.”

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