He huffed defensively. “I’m planning on painting it. It’s got nice workmanship. Solid wood and all that. Is this a problem? Your father said you didn’t want it.”
Reena looked into his room again. So bizarre to see her four-poster bed unmade, with a crumpled flannel blanket and a balled-up pillow. Like the poor thing had been held hostage at a frat house. She leaned closer. Definitely dirty socks hanging off the end of it.
He was right, though, she hadn’t wanted her old bedroom set when she moved out of her parents’ house six years ago. She’d been adamant she wanted to stand on her own two feet and not bring any of her old life with her, resulting in her spending way too much on poor-quality (but fabulously styled) furniture. Unfortunately, the new slatted platform bed she had bought hadn’t been up to the task of supporting Reena and her ex-boyfriend Carlos’s nighttime fun. The bed crashing to the ground at a climactic point had been hilarious to Reena, but poor Carlos had been mortified, thinking of it as a commentary on his body shape. The relationship never recovered. A shame, really. She had been quite fond of Carlos. And that bed. Her mattress directly on the floor was a bit depressing.
Her pink bed was solid—it would have held up to rigorous entertainment, not that she’d ever dreamed of bringing anyone back to her parents’ home when she lived there. But now there was finally a naked man in her strong bed and she couldn’t enjoy it.
Not that she wanted to see Nadim naked in her bed. She watched his bare forearm beneath his rolled-up white shirt as he took a sip of his beer. Damnit. She loved a firm forearm. In actuality, shedidwant to see him naked, but she didn’twantto want to see him naked.
Maybe.
Wait, what were they talking about? Reena needed to get a grip before the undercurrent of attraction took her down.
New strategy: focus on his negatives. “I see you haven’t hired a maid yet either.”
He snorted before getting up and closing the door to his bedroom. “So, how is it you ended up locked out of your apartment and on the floor beside my door with bare toes and a bag of baguettes? I’m not exactly sure how you figured out my exact fantasies, but since you appear to hate me, I doubt you were there as a housewarming gift.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Oh, come on, you bolted faster than a gazelle catching a whiff of lion when we met.”
“Nice. An African metaphor.”
He beamed. “Thank you. It sounds better in Swahili.”
“Anyway, how can I hate you? I don’t know you. At all. I guess…I hate what you represent. My parents butting into my life again.”
He watched her hands for several seconds, his thick brows in a straight line on his forehead. This was awkward. Eventually, one of them would have to say something about the fact that they were supposed to get married, despite him thinking she hated him, all while she was imagining him naked in her bed.
No. No one needed to talk about the naked part. That could be her secret.
“So, should we acknowledge the elephant in the room?” he finally asked.
She turned to the carved animal on the TV stand. “It’s a nice piece. I have a giraffe in my bedroom. Did you get it in Dar es Salaam?”
He laughed, head tilting backward as his shiny teeth reflected the overhead light. Reena flushed as her eyes darted around the room. Was there another elephant around? The beer?
“You’re precious,” he said. “And no, I didn’t mean that elephant. It’s an expression. The obvious thing we are reluctant to talk about.”
Reena felt herself turning red but giggled. Man, this guy had thrown her completely off-kilter. “Yeah, I get it now.” She raised her knees, hugging them to her chest. “I’ve told my parents to stop introducing me to eligible men, but they’re persistent.”
He rubbed the back of his hand in a nervous gesture before turning to look out the window. “Yeah, that. I’ve been meaning to thank you.”
Thank her for what? Bolting midconversation the last time they spoke? Insulting his decorating and cleanliness? Reena exhaled. She was usually better mannered than this. “Why? I haven’t exactly been a great neighbor or anything…”
“You have. You obviously didn’t tell your father that we met on the weekend. And you didn’t tell him about my, you know, less-than-model-son-in-law behavior.”
“About your rakish flirting?”
He raised one brow. “Rakish?”
“Yes, rakish. What are you afraid of, that he’ll rescind my hand in marriage? Wait, you do get that I am notactuallygoing to marry you, don’t you?”
He snorted. “Yeah, marriage seems a bit of a long shot at this point. But heismy boss.”
“Well, I have no intention of blabbing to yourbossabout anything you do in your personal life, and, as your neighbor, I would expect the same courtesy from you. Hell, we can pretend neither of us have ever met my parents. Lord knows I’ve had that fantasy before.” She tried to smile, but another string of sneezes started. She covered her face with one hand as she banged the table in time with her eruptions.
Nadim’s eyes were wide when her nose calmed. “Bless you. You have an adorable sneeze.”
