Page 30 of The Geek and the Sheikh

“Hyder ran out and picked up a few staples,” Yahya commented.

“Thank you,” he mumbled around the buttered croissant.

“James was explaining what happened last night,” Yahya said.

“How were you two able to get here so quickly?” Jameel asked.

Hyder chuckled. “Yahya called in a favor.”

Yahya shrugged. “We know we are dealing with Bronislav and Coldhouse. It seemed the most prudent thing to do at the time. You have found Midnight’s sister?”

Jameel grinned and nodded. Before he could reply, Hyder choked on his coffee and started coughing. Yahya and James were staring over his shoulder with bemused expressions. Jameel slowly rotated in his seat.

“Mornin’.”

Junebug yawned out the greeting and shuffled to the counter in her oversized nightshirt and big, fluffy bunny slippers. She sniffed the coffee, made a face, mumbled something incoherent, picked up a croissant, and padded to the refrigerator.

She pulled open the refrigerator and her grip on the door slid down to the bottom as she sat on her knees in a fluid motion, her legs carelessly sprawled beneath her and the bunnies' faces smooshed against the tile. She peered through her tangle of hair at the bottom shelf where the drinks were stored. Then she stood up gracefully, still yawning, closed the door, and turned, directing her sleepy attention to the group sitting in awed silence staring at her.

“Is there hot chocolate?” she inquired.

“I believe I saw some, ma’am,” James replied.

James rose from his chair and walked over to a large pantry. He disappeared inside it for a few seconds before reappearing with a container of hot chocolate. Junebug gave him a smile of thanks.

“If you would like, I can make the hot chocolate for you,” James offered.

“With marshmallows? I have marshmallows. I’ll be back,” she said, her eyes lighting up with delight.

A shaft of unexpected jealousy swept through Jameel. He didn’t know if he was more jealous of James, the hot chocolate, or the marshmallows. A chorus of low chuckles followed Junebug when she disappeared down the hallway, the ears on her bunny slippers flopping with every step.

“Now that is something I wasn’t expecting to see,” Hyder commented, sitting back in his chair.

“What? A gorgeous woman appearing out of nowhere wearing only a t-shirt and big, bunny slippers, or James knowing that there was hot chocolate in the pantry?” Yahya inquired.

“Definitely the big, bunny slippers,” Hyder hastily replied after Jameel shot him a glare of warning.

“Sire, do you perchance know what… her ladyship would like for breakfast?” James asked.

Jameel frowned. Did he know what Junebug would like? He thought back over all of their conversations. He remembered one conversation they had about food.

“She doesn’t eat meat. She loves pancakes… with chocolate chips, and her eggs scrambled with cheese,” he said.

James gave him a troubled look. “I can come up with more eggs, but I’m afraid the pancakes with chocolate and the cheese may not be available.”

“That’s okay. I know where the supermarket is,” Hyder commented, pushing back from the table.

“And vegetables… she likes sweet peppers, tomatoes, the little ones, not the big ones, and if they have any more chocolate-filled marshmallows grab some. I ate one of her bags last night,” Jameel instructed.

“How many bags of the marshmallows?” Hyder asked.

“All of them,” Jameel answered.

Low chuckles filled the kitchen as Hyder gave a brief nod and headed for the back door. Jameel sighed and leaned his elbows on the table. Yahya straightened in his chair.

“How much did James cover with you?” he asked.

Yahya glanced over at James. “Everything until this morning. I’d like to hear from you what happened inside the hotel. James said he wasn’t inside.”

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