Page 39 of Yours for the Season
“What happened with the Walking Red Flag?” Tom asked.
“We met while I was in law school,” Sameera started. “He was finishing up an MBA.”
“Second red flag,” Tom murmured. “Never trust a finance bro.”
“He’s an engineer. And weren’t you in business school?” she asked.
“Which is why I know what I’m talking about. I bet he couldn’t cook, either,” Tom said darkly.
Sameera shrugged—Tom wasn’t wrong—before continuing. “I fell for him, hard. I thought I was in love, but he wasn’t Muslim, and I knew my parents wouldn’t understand. Not that I ever told them about any of my relationships. Only Nadiya knew how much I liked him. He wasn’t terrible, not at the start.”
Tom snorted. “Neither is arsenic.” He put his hands up at her expression. “I’ll be good. Please, continue, and make sure to include this guy’s full name and last known address. I’d like to pay him a visit when we return home.”
Home.Tom thought of Atlanta as home, but the way he had said it, it almost sounded as if he meanttheirhome. Sameera took a deep breath. “I wish I could tell you where Hunter is right now. Last year, five years into our relationship, I came back to the apartment we shared to find it cleared out. His belongings were gone. But he did leave behind about seventy-five thousand dollars’ worth of debt, on credit cards and lines of credit he had taken out in my name.”
The shocked expression on Tom’s face nearly turned her brittle smile into a genuine one. “I guess I’m not so smart after all,” she said, and her voice shook. Tom instantly reached for her hand, clasping it tightly in his own warm grip.
“I promise you, Sameera,” he said, his eyes steady on her face. “I will name my garbage disposal after that turd.”
She laughed, but it sounded like a sob, and she realized her cheeks were wet. She hadn’t thought she had any tears left for Hunter. She wiped them away, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tell you the story of my greatest mistake. I should come with caution tape.” She knew she sounded pitiful, but the gentle look Tom gave her nowsomehow made her feel lighter, like less of a disaster. “Do you have any sad stories you want to share?”
Tom leaned back. “How about this? One night, I was catering yet another holiday party. The people who hired me wanted classy, upmarket, bland food that looked expensive. The party was full of the usual type, boasting about their yachts or whatever, and I was incredibly bored. Then suddenly, a spotlight shone down on the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, right in the middle of the party.”
Sameera raised her eyebrows. What was he talking about?
Tom continued, “Except there wasn’t a spotlight. It just felt like it, because all I could see washer. Beautiful, sure. But there was something about her. She carried herself with this aloof vitality. She handled her idiot colleagues without breaking a sweat. She told me my samosas weren’t spicy enough, and she was right.”
Sameera’s heart started to pound.
Tom’s smile was almost sad. “She didn’t notice me, of course. Goddesses usually don’t notice mortals, not until they make themselves into a nuisance, but still, I tried to capture her attention. I got the special drink she requested, even though I had to run to the corner store, but she barely looked my way. When she walked into my kitchen to take a call, I knew I was in trouble. Because in addition to being the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, she was funny and kind and smart, and she told me her mom made the best samosas and ...” He trailed off, eyes coming to land on hers, which were wide and staring. Was he serious? Were any of these words true?
“And that’s when I knew that even if nothing ever came of it, even if we never met again, I had met someone special,” Tom said simply. They stared at each other, the moment lengthening, stretching, gaining heat in an impossible way.
“That’s some story,” Sameera said, her voice faint. She swallowed and tried again. “Not sure it’s believable, actually.”
But Tom wasn’t done. “The next day, her mother invited me to cater an Eid party. And even though I was double-booked and had await list of clients, I canceled everything and accepted. Just so I could see her again.”
Her words had dried up now, and Tom’s eyes were steady on hers, warm and sincere. She felt a rising panic.
“Tom, I—” she started before stumbling to a stop. He stood and held out a hand to her.
“It’s okay, Sameera. You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that I think you’re spectacular,” he said softly.
Her mind was reeling. Did Tom mean any of it? He had been nothing if not honest since they met, attentive and generous, eager to please and capable of accepting when he was wrong. If she wasn’t so damaged, she might be in real trouble. But she was too messed up, mixed up, and confused to accept the hand he was metaphorically holding out to her. Instead, she reached for her signature move and deflected.
“We should head back to Cooke Place and break the news to Rob and Barb about our last-minute dinner guests,” Sameera said. After an infinitesimal pause, Tom tucked his hand in his pocket. She walked out of the store, her heart twinging only a little, but not so anyone would notice, least of all Tom.
It was better this way. For both of them.
Chapter Fourteen
“He saidwhat?” Bee screeched on the phone early that afternoon, and Sameera had to hold it away from her ear or risk injury.
She had immediately returned to her room upon their return to the Cooke property, and though she felt bad for leaving Tom to break the news of the impromptu dinner party to his parents alone, she really couldn’t face them right now. Or him.
After losing the battle to concentrate on her files, she called Bee.Just for five minutes,she promised herself.Just to get that conversation with Tom out of my head. Then I’ll be able to finally sit down and work!
“Iknewhe was gone for you. He kept staring during the party and hovering and bringing you snacks! That boy is in deep. Maybe he lured you to Alaska because helooooovesyou,” Bee said, cackling with glee.
