Page 16 of Queen of Barrakesch
“Thanks for making me feel guilty,” Imani said with a smile, leaning a shoulder against the door jamb.
“I’m surprised by this development because you’ve been dating quite a bit,” Kofi said.
“You make it sound like I’ve been going through a bunch of men! There weren’t that many.”
“There weren’t?” Kofi asked in a mocking voice.
“And what about Wasim? No comment about the number of women you’ve seen him involved with?” This was the type of conversation that irritated her. The men in her family insisted on treating her differently because they didn’t see her as an equal.
“It was obvious to me for a long time that Wasim was smitten with you, despite the other women.”
Her heart lurched with such unexpected news. “What makes you say that?”
“I have two eyes and could see the way he looked at you.”
Imani gnawed on the corner of her bottom lip. Had Wasim looked at her in some special way? Before or after that intimate moment in Estoria?
“I’m very happy for the two of you, and I’m excited for the wedding,” Dahlia said, breaking into her train of thought.
“There won’t be a wedding anytime soon. Wasim is preoccupied with getting everything ready for when his father passes. As morbid as that sounds, it’s important for the smooth transition of power. A wedding is the last thing on either of our minds.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about his father. Of course this is a difficult time, and I know that you’ll provide much of the support that he needs.”
“I’ll certainly do my best.”
“When will we see you again?” Kofi asked.
“Once I wrap up my post here, in about a month.”
Dahlia spoke next. “We look forward to seeing you then, and at that time we’ll have some kind of celebration.”
“I’ll plan on it,” Imani said.
“All right, we won’t keep you. Goodbye,” Dahlia said.
“Goodbye. Kiss the little ones for me.”
“I will. See you soon!”
After another round of goodbyes, Imani hung up the phone. She touched a finger to her bottom lip and felt warmth pool in her pelvis. Had those looks Kofi said he saw from Wasim been mere lust…or something more?
* * *
“You and Imani?I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” Andres said.
Sitting at the top of the steps that led into his expansive back yard, Wasim smiled at Andres’s incredulous tone. He scratched under the chin of the baby lion wedged up against his thigh. She was absolutely adorable, purring happily with half-closed eyes as he scratched her pleasure spot.
Across the lawn, the animal caretakers playfully wrestled with the lion and lioness in the grass.
“There was always chemistry between the two of you, but I never thought anything would come of it,” Andres admitted.
That comment got Wasim’s attention. “And why not?”
“For one thing, I never saw any sign of you settling down.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to settle down. But circumstances change, and decisions have to be made that make sense for you and your future.”
“That sounds very romantic,” Andres said dryly.
