“Reena, what did you do?”
“It’s how we got Jasmine to agree to come today! She’s been trying to set her brother Rashid up with someone. He’s only here for a few months to help her out, so he’s not looking for anything long term either. Jasmine thinks he’s lonely hanging out with only her and the twins. She wants him to meet people in Toronto.”
Ruby did not want to be anyone’s pity holiday date. But charming and befriendingtwomembers of the Hakim family would give her an even better chance of connecting with their father. “Okay, what do we know about him?”
“Not a lot,” Nadim said. “I’ve never met him. He’s older than Jasmine and Ayesha, and he’s also a dermatologist—Jasmine says she went into the field because of her older brother. He’s only here for a few months to take Jasmine’s patients while she gets back on her feet.”
“Jasmine showed us a picture. He’s very handsome,” Reena said, grinning. “Posh British guys are totally your type.”
True, but… “Wait, the dermatologist’s name isRashid? Like, Dr. Rash?”
Reena laughed at that, which made the baby make a noise of annoyance. “I never realized. Why go into dermatology with that name?”
Good question. Their father was Hakim Hakim, and the son was Dr. Rash the skin doctor. This family was ridiculous. Like a Monty Python skit.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Ruby said. “Introduce me to this Dr.Rash—I’ll be all poise and charm and make him fall in love with me so his father will give me a job in England.”
“I see them,” Nadim said, looking out onto the street and waving to someone in the distance. Ruby looked over and saw a petite brown-skinned woman holding hands with a young girl with curly hair and a purple coat.
Jasmine was pretty, with smooth, almost luminous skin (because she was a dermatologist), huge brown eyes, and pink lips. Ruby wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but she looked the furthest thing from a cougar having an affair with a young drywaller.
But where was Dr. Rash?
She saw the second child. She had straight hair, but was wearing the same purple double-breasted coat as the child with Jasmine. And when Ruby saw the man holding the little girl’s hand, she nearly dropped her latte.
“Oh my god,” Ruby said. “Jasmine brought heraffair partnerto the Santa Claus Parade?” Because the man holding the other daughter’s hand was, without a doubt, Ebenezer Grump himself. This was the guy who she told off after wrapping his gifts the other day.
“What?” Reena said. “That’s the—”
“The guy who carried my tree home. Who I heard she cheated on her husband with.”
Nadim frowned, shaking his head. “No, that’s her brother.”
Ruby groaned audibly. Apparently, she was about to be on a blind date with the grumpiest, most Christmas-hating guy she’d ever met.
RUBY COULD SEE DR.Rash’s face drop the moment he realized he was walking toward the Christmas Cheer Lady, as he’d called her. On one hand, good. She was glad that he was irritated at the sight of her, because that meant telling him off on Monday achieved its goal. But on the other hand, if this man was also a child of Hakim M. Hakim, then the fact that he already disliked Ruby was a problem.
Jasmine reached them, so Ruby had no more time to dwell on the mysterious Grinch. After Nadim hugged Jasmine, Reena gave her a half sideways hug so she wouldn’t wake the baby, then introduced Ruby to Jasmine.
“Oh, I adore that coat!” Jasmine said, while shaking Ruby’s hand. “I wish I could wear that color.”
Ruby smiled. She understood why Nadim had called Jasmine the Angelic One—there was a sweet prettiness to Jasmine. Her cheeks were rosy, and she had faint smile lines near her eyes. And she had the loveliest upper-class London accent. Ruby thanked her and complimented her Fair Isle knit hat while wondering why the grump didn’t have this accent.
“I’m being rude,” Jasmine said. “I should introduce my family. These are my daughters, Tara and Noor, and my brother Rashid. He’s come from out west to help me with the girls over the holidays. Rashid, this is Nadim and Reena, and their good friend Ruby.”
Okay. So, this brother was from out west and not the UK? This didn’t make any sense. Ruby exhaled. She had to wipe her dislike of the man off her face. She needed tocharmhim. Ruby wasn’t concerned. Years of working in the most exclusive, expensive stores in Canada had taught her to be charming to just about anyone. And maybe he wasn’t as bad as she’d remembered, anyway. He came all the way from… wherever… to help his sister at a difficult time. That was kind of sweet.
After shaking hands with Nadim and Reena, Rashid looked at Ruby without putting his hand out. He was in jeans again today, but they were less dusty. And of course, he had on what must be his only hat—that blue beanie. Ruby really didn’t mind the way he looked today since his clothes looked clean and fit well, but he looked the farthest thing from the posh Brit she was promised.
“Oh, we’ve met,” Ruby said. She looked at Jasmine. “It’s such a coincidence! Your brother was kind enough to help carry my Christmas tree after I foolishly thought I could walk it home last week.” She looked back at him, smiling as wide as she could. “Thank you again. What a delightful surprise to see you again.”
He opened his mouth, no doubt ready to remind her that six days ago she’d said she hoped never to see him again. Ruby took her hand out of her muff to shake his. Hopefully he wouldrecognize that what she was really offering was an olive branch, not a handshake.
He stared at her hand a second, seemingly locking on to her glittery red and nude French manicure. She even caught him checking out her earrings—visible under her fur hat. The last time he looked at her like this, Ruby was sure he liked what he saw. Now she knew she’d been wrong—he thought she looked ridiculous.
Finally, he shook her hand and said a flat hello. He didn’t quite smile, though. His hand was so soft—drywall was probably an infrequent activity for him. She couldn’t believe this man wasolderthan Jasmine.
“You were such a lifesaver when me met!” Ruby said the moment his hand left hers. “I would have broken my back carrying the tree on my own. I should have asked for your name after I wrapped…” It occurred to her that the gifts she’d wrapped were probably for Jasmine and her daughters, so Ruby shouldn’t mention them. “After I saw you in the Winter Market.” She smiled at Jasmine. “I work at Reid’s Holiday in the Distillery District. Your brother was in the store on Monday.”
