Chapter 28
DEJA
It turned out I’d been right about how insane things were going to get. Since I’d never been through this personally before, even I had slightly underestimated the chaos coming our way.
Today had been the first of several very important days for the Saad and Thayer families, and Colin glanced at me now across the private dining room.
He looked devastatingly handsome in a charcoal suit that fit like a glove, his broad shoulders held with that quiet confidence I was coming to know so well.
I could tell he was anxious too, though.
While I doubted anyone else would notice, I saw the slight flex of his jaw and the way he kept adjusting the cuff of his sleeve.
Considering what he was facing, it was completely understandable that his nerves might be about to betray him despite his exterior depicting a picture of calm confidence.
Colin crossed the room toward my father, who’d gathered every male member of my immediate family around him like an execution squad. Our marriage might’ve been my dad’s idea, but Colin had to formally ask for his blessing tonight.
My parents had booked out an entire restaurant exclusively for the event, and it was actually a pretty intimate gathering in comparison to the sea of people that would descend upon us for the next engagement ritual. There were no strangers or curious diners, just the parents, siblings, and Colin.
I leaned closer to Jasmine, but my eyes never left him as he approached the hit squad. “I almost feel bad for him. Why is Dad acting so tough when he’s the one who’s insisting that we get married?”
“You’re a really bad liar,” she whispered back. “I know you’re loving this, and Dad is acting like he’s about to lead the Spanish inquisition because he can. He’s been training for this his whole life. Let him have his moment.”
I sighed, but our conversation was cut off when Colin reached our father, smoothing a hand over the front of his jacket as Dad rose. My brothers stood too, falling into perfect formation around our father and all wearing identical, hilariously serious expressions.
They were five enormous guys and they crossed their arms almost in complete unison, but as funny as I found the whole tough-guy act, even I had to admit that they cut a pretty intimidating picture like this.
Invading armies would turn around and run home if faced by them, but Colin simply glanced at the lineup before returning his attention to my father.
“I understand you have something to ask me, Colin,” Dad said somberly, folding his hands behind his back.
My teeth sank into my lower lip to keep from laughing at the absurdity of it all—or pointing out that we really could’ve bypassed this particular tradition under the circumstances. Dad had practically handpicked Colin himself, but he was acting like the man had appeared on our doorstep uninvited.
Colin cleared his throat. “I actually have a few things I’d like to say.”
My father inclined his head, keeping to the script like it was tattooed on his brain. “You may proceed.”
Colin drew in a quiet, careful breath, but he never broke eye contact with my dad. “Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Deja, and while it wasn’t under ordinary circumstances, I’ve sincerely come to admire her, sir.”
Mom lifted a hand to her chest, but Dad remained impassive as Colin kept going. “I respect her immensely as a businesswoman, a daughter, a sister, and a person.”
Jasmine leaned in again, quietly whispering, “Oh, he’s good.”
I elbowed her hard. My heart fluttered in my chest as I watched him continue.
“I understand the responsibility that comes with asking to marry her and I understand what she means to your family. I also understand that this marriage represents far more than two people, but I’d still like to ask.”
Colin smiled, pausing for a beat to glance at me again before he looked back at my father. “Mr. Saad, I would be honored if you would give me your blessing to marry your daughter.”
Complete and utter silence followed, so absolute that it was painful.
My ears started ringing with the weight of it.
Even the waitstaff suddenly froze near the open kitchen across the room.
Dad looked thoughtfully toward the ceiling, only humming out a sound that made it seem like he was actually considering the damn question.
I pressed my lips together, but then I made the fatal mistake of looking at my sister, and the second our eyes met, I realized she was about to laugh. No. No, no, no.
A tiny snort escaped her and I jabbed her ribs so hard that she nearly inhaled the olive in her drink. She glared at me but looked back at Colin when my father cleared his throat.
“Marriage is a lifetime commitment,” Dad said, still as somber as if he was only now realizing why were at dinner to begin with. “Once vows are made, regardless of how the relationship came into being, they are forever.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If I give you my blessing and you hurt her…” He trailed off, but Tarek pumped his eyebrows at Colin, and somehow, that gesture seemed more threatening than if he’d cracked his knuckles or produced a knife.
Because it made it look like he’d actually enjoy killing Colin if he hurt me. Frankly, out of everything that’d happened tonight so far, that was probably the one thing that hadn’t been an act. My brother was extremely protective.
“I understand,” Colin said without flinching. “I have no intention of hurting her or leaving.”
Dad nodded slowly. “She’s a stubborn woman, but she’s precious to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“She works too hard,” Dad said as if Colin hadn’t spoken at all. “It will be your job to take care of her and to make sure she gets enough rest.”
“I’ll certainly try.”
“You will certainly fail.”
A ripple of laughter rang out across the table and even Colin smiled, but when Dad went back to simply studying him and not saying anything at all, his shoulders eventually began to lose some of their confident set.
I suddenly wished I could just remind him there was no way my father was going to say no, but finally, my dad put the man out of his misery.
He stepped forward and extended a hand toward Colin.
“I believe you will spend your life trying your best.” A warm smile spread across Dad’s lips. “You have my blessing, son.”
Colin’s relief was visible as he accepted my father’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “Thank you, sir.”
As they shook, applause erupted around the room. My mother dabbed discreetly at one eye while Ashanti hugged Khaled like they’d just received their own blessing all over again. Rami was grinning like he’d set us up and even Tarek seemed pleased.
Jasmine leaned against my shoulder with a dreamy sigh. “It must be nice, finally getting married and knowing you’re about to have real freedom from our parents.”
I glanced at her, one of my eyebrows arching. “Well, don’t get too jealous. You could be next.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “No, I’m not. Rami is older, and technically, Tarek is too.”
“Tarek is two and a half minutes older than you,” I reminded her. “I doubt that will matter, though, Mom and Dad are far less likely to think that either of them are even remotely ready for wives, so that leaves you.”
She straightened up, her head shaking over and over again. “I’d rather jump off the family yacht.”
I burst out laughing so loudly that everyone in the room turned to look at me. Mom narrowed her eyes in a way that said, Can you please attempt to act like a lady for five minutes?
“At least the sharks would leave me alone,” Jasmine muttered and I dissolved into another fit of giggles.
Mom sighed, but a fond smile spread on her lips.
Colin finally managed to escape the circle of men. As soon as they let him go, he made his way around the table and stopped beside the empty chair next to mine. “Is this seat taken?”
I smiled up at him. “Yes, it is. By you.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” He sat down, letting out the softest breath of relief once he’d settled in. “God, that was a lot more intense than I thought it would be.”
I chuckled. “Congratulations on surviving.”
“Thanks. It was touch and go for a minute there.”
“I noticed, but don’t worry,” I said quietly. “I don’t think anyone else did. You played the part of cool, calm, and collected exceptionally well.”
“If that’s true, I should be nominated for an Oscar,” he joked as dinner was served around us.
Conversations started back up around the table once my father had sat down, glassing clinking together as people toasted and drank to our futures. Waiters moved from one person to the next, setting down appetizers and refilling drinks.
My brothers were finally back to normal too, their black intimidation jackets now hanging over the backs of their chairs. One by one, they were rolling up their sleeves and loosening their ties, already back to arguing about football and the latest performance by our national team.
With everyone else distracted, Colin leaned slightly closer to me, enough that I caught the rich, gorgeous fragrance of one of our most popular masculine scents on him. “I have something to tell you.”
“Is it that you’ve ditched Armani?”
He smirked and my heart skipped several beats. My breathing even sped up a little when he looked at me like that, but then he shook his head and I willed my body to calm the hell down.
“It’s not that,” he said quietly, then tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I wore this for you.”
Warmth spread through my chest when I looked past his jacket and recognized one of the royal blue silk shirts I’d sent him. Before I could stop myself, I reached out and ran a finger across the cuff. “It looks good on you. You clean up nicely, Mr. Thayer.”
“It’s impossible not to when you’ve got clothes like this at your disposal.”
I smiled. “Is it comfortable? I was a bit worried about the fit.”
Those gray eyes held mine so intently that I started tingling all over. “It’s perfect.”
Resisting the urge to lean in and kiss him, I eased back a little bit, inhaling a deep breath while trying to pretend that I hadn’t been daydreaming about that one little peck since the moment it’d happened. It really hadn’t been much, but it’d still felt so good that I was dying to do it again.
Colin let out the softest, barely there groan when I caught myself staring at his lips, then cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. “So, what’s next in our engagement… parade? What’s it even called?”
I took a moment to gather my thoughts, but the tension simmering between us made it difficult to even breathe, let alone think. “Just the rituals, and the next one is, uh, Al-Khutbah.”
He frowned. “That’s the engagement announcement, right?”
“Well, in essence, yes. Al-Khutbah is where everyone officially finds out that we’re engaged.”
I could’ve sworn I saw a glimmer of relief in his eyes. “Everyone already knows, don’t they?”
“Our families do,” I said, brushing the backs of my knuckles against his thigh under the table.
I really wanted to take his hand, but there were too many nosy people around.
“Al-Khutbah is when the rest of the world formally finds out. My extended family, friends, and my father’s business associates, my mother’s social circle, and our own business associates. Clients. The works.”
Colin reached slowly for his water. “That sounds big.”
“It’s huge,” I confirmed softly. “There will be music, dancing, flowers, and more food than you’ll probably ever have seen in your entire life.”
“I’m starting to sense a theme.”
I laughed. “Food is very much central to our culture. It’s a whole thing.”
He took a long sip of his water before he turned to look at me again, but before he could say anything, my dad stood up, his voice carrying across the room. “There is one more matter I would like to bring to everyone’s attention.”
Every conversation around the table cut off. My brothers fell silent, too, despite being right in the middle of their heated argument about The Pharaohs’ current roster.
Dad smiled. “In a few days, after my board meetings are complete and White Water Lily has launched its new collection, we will travel together to our vacation home. The entire family is expected to be there.”
I frowned and Jasmine let out a grunt that made it sound like she was in physical pain. “Oh no.”
If Dad had heard her, he didn’t let on. “The trip will give Colin an opportunity to spend more time with us before the engagement celebrations continue upon our return to Cairo.”
My shoulders sagged and Jasmine let her head drop all the way onto the table. Colin glanced between us with a slight crease appearing between his eyebrows. “Why do I feel like I’m missing something?”
“You are,” I said quietly.
Jasmine lifted her head. “You tell him.”
“I’d rather not.”
Colin looked from one of us to the other, suddenly seeming completely bewildered. “Will someone just tell me? Please.”
Finally, Jasmine and I answered at exactly the same time. “Nanna. You’re missing Nanna.”
“Who’s that?”
Jasmine groaned. “Our grandmother.”
“She’s the matriarch,” I said. “The legend.”
“She’s a terror.”
“She’s enthusiastic,” I corrected lightly.
“So is everyone else I’ve met.”
“Sure.” Jasmine looked at Colin with genuine sympathy in her gaze. “The only difference is that Nanna makes it her business to know absolutely everything that’s going on in everyone’s lives, and she’s like a human lie detector.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. I have no secrets.”
She snorted. “That’s only because you haven’t met her yet. Seriously, Colin. Brace yourself. Salima Saad is the woman responsible for raising Basel and trust me, he did not turn out the way he did for no reason.”