“Oh hell!”he grumbled, then set his crystal glass down on the low coffee table, nearly running in his haste to grab his phone.
Laith stared at the doorway through which his brother had just disappeared.“What just happened?”
Tiro snorted.“I think your brother just realized that his woman might be pregnant.”
Laith stared at him for a long moment, then he swallowed hard.A split second later, he stood up and bolted from the room.
Angela laughed, then snuggled against her husband.“I guess the family history has a way of repeating itself!”
Zayn grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “No way am I sticking around for the show,” and he walked out.
“And now, we’re alone!”Tiro announced with a familiar light in his eyes.
Chapter 23
Carys couldn’t believe how badly she missed Rafi.The big, tall, sometimes grumpy, sometimes charming man had gotten under her defenses and wiggled into her heart.She smiled faintly at that imagery as she walked down the street to her usual coffee shop to meet Andi.When her phone buzzed, she glanced at the caller and saw that it was Rafi.
Answering it, she paused and looked around, admiring the view of the river.It had rained the previous night, so the current was murky and faster than usual as the runoff came down from the hills surrounding the city.
“What’s up?”Carys asked, smiling and feeling a bubble of happiness rising in her chest.
“I just landed.Are you available for dinner tonight?”
Carys’s smile widened.“Just dinner?”she teased.
Rafi groaned.“Everything is on the table!”
“Figuratively?Or literally?”
He laughed.“You know that I’m going to have to do you on the table tonight now that you’ve put that image in my head.”
Carys laughed and spun around, leaning her hip against the metal railing that separated pedestrians from the rushing river below.“Oh, I doubt that.You’re a possessive man.”
“I am.And you’re going to wear those black boots with the heels,” he commanded, his voice turning husky.“But what does that have to do with me taking you on the dining room table?Maybe with a bit of melted chocolate that I’ll have to clean off with my tongue.”
Carys gasped, closing her eyes at the thought of him licking chocolate off of her.And her returning the favor.Good grief, his imagination had no limits.
“Rafi!”she gasped, turning so that others wouldn’t see the blush warming her cheeks.“Don’t say things like that.”
He chuckled knowingly.“You started it,habibi.Tell me where you are.I want to see you right now.I don’t think I can wait until tonight.”
Carys groaned, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back slightly.“I’m meeting someone for coffee.”
“Your friend?”
“Yeah.”She glanced at her watch.“Actually, I’d better hurry or I’ll be late.I’ll see you later?”
“When?What time?Tell me where you are now and I’ll come pick you up after you finish having coffee.”
She smiled, charmed by his eagerness.“I don’t know how long I’ll be.How about if I text you after?”
“Deal.I’ll see you soon,habibi.”
Carys still had no idea what that term meant, but it sounded like an endearment so she was going to take it as one.After tucking her phone back into her purse, Carys headed down the pathway, excited to tell Andi about Rafi.
She’d just rounded a bend in the pathway when she spotted Andi.But her friend wasn’t looking in her direction.Carys lifted her hand, about to try to get Andi’s attention when a tall, muscular man walked into her line of sight.
Rafi?Why was Rafi here?Wasn’t he at the airport?Hadn’t he just landed?How had he…?
