But she didn’t move.
Slowly, he pressed his lips to hers, savouring the heat from them as the world fell silent around them. He should have stopped there. That was plenty for a kiss that wasn’t even part of the ceremony. But then she inhaled in a way that made his temperature rise.
He deepened the kiss, his free hand moving to the small of her back, drawing her closer. Aisha’s hands landed on his chest. He was expecting her to push him away, but instead, her fingers curled around the fabric of his tunic.
A throat clearing had them stepping apart. Lilah and Safiya now stood nearby.
‘Forgive the interruption,’ Safiya said, arms crossed. ‘We were taking a turn around the garden and didn’t see you here… talking.’
‘I think they’re still talking,’ Lilah said, tugging on Safiya’s arm.
‘No, they have definitely finished,’ Safiya replied, her feet rooted to the ground.
Aisha took another unnecessary step back from Tariq. ‘I think that’s everything sorted for the ceremony.’
‘Are you sure?’ Lilah asked. ‘Because we can go.’
Tariq could still feel the heat of Aisha’s mouth, and it was painfully distracting. He realised he needed to tell her the truth about the exchange. When she moved to leave, he caught her wrist. ‘Wait.’
Aisha’s gaze shot to his hand, then travelled up to meet his eyes.
He led her a few paces away from her sisters and lowered his voice so as not to embarrass her. ‘Listen, about the Promise Exchange.’
She waited.
He just had to come out and say it. ‘There’s no kiss.’
At first she looked confused, but then her eyes widened slightly. ‘What?’
‘There’s no kiss at the end of the exchange.’ He swallowed. ‘It’s possible Lilah got confused.’ Though he didn’t believe that for one second.
‘Oh.’ She looked accusingly at her sister. ‘You knew, didn’t you?’
Now Lilah appeared confused. ‘What?’
‘That there’s no kiss at the end of the exchange.’
A guilty expression swallowed her sister.
Aisha’s gaze returned to Tariq. ‘Why didn’t you correct me before? You let me make a complete fool of myself.’
He tilted his head. ‘Why do you think?’
She opened her mouth to reply, but words failed her.
‘I know I should apologise,’ he said. ‘The kiss was?—’
‘It doesn’t matter how good it was,’ she said, cutting him off. ‘You should have told me before.’
His eyebrows rose. ‘I was going to say deceptive.’
Colour flooded her cheeks. She dipped her head, turned, and walked away.
She was halfway to her sisters when Tariq called to her. ‘It was good practice for the wedding ceremony. There’s a kiss at the end of that one.’
Aisha didn’t look back. She walked straight past her sisters. Lilah and Safiya exchanged a look before following her.
Only when the three of them were out of sight did Tariq release the grin he’d been holding back.
