Chapter 35
COLIN
The Cairo Saad estate had been transformed for the engagement party, lights glowing along every path, flowers covering the fountains, and a live band playing music that drifted through the entire mansion.
Deja also hadn’t been wrong when she’d said there would be a lot of people here.
It looked like her parents had invited everyone they’d ever known.
Every guest was dressed to the nines and they floated through the grand rooms with an unmistakable air of excitement about them.
I didn’t think I’d realized what a big deal Al-Khutbah truly was until I was standing there on one side of the cavernous living areas, watching it all go down. Meanwhile, it wasn’t only guests from this side of the world that were attending.
Rami stood on the other side of the room with a tablet in his hand, bringing up my entire family—minus my father, of course—as well as the Westwoods on a giant screen he’d had set up. As their faces appeared, he lifted the tablet above his head victoriously.
“My American family wasn’t going to miss this,” he declared, sweeping a hand out toward the screen with a flourish. “Behold my brilliance.”
A ripple of laughter traveled through the room. Alex and Jane peered down from the screen while the rest of my brothers crowded behind Isaac in another window. Theo, Zach, Jesse, and their wives appeared too, several children between them climbing across their laps.
I adjusted my jacket and tried not to look like I was about to be sick, but the truth was that I’d never felt this nervous or this suffocated before.
Seeing my family and some of my closest friends eased the sensation a little bit, but at the same time, knowing they were about to witness the whole thing and not understand what they were seeing also meant I would have a lot of explaining to do once it was over.
A moment after my family had joined us for the grand event of me paying Deja’s dowry, Basel motioned me forward and my pulse kicked against the inside of my throat, but I went.
Deja was with her mother, Layla, and the women across the room and she caught my eye as I made my way toward her father, giving me a soft, excited smile that injected confidence straight into my veins.
She looked incredible in an elegant silk gown, the color a powder blue that shimmered suspiciously close to the color of my eyes in the light. She was literally breathtaking tonight, making it hard to fill my lungs with air until I finally managed to tear my gaze away from her.
When I reached Basel, he cleared his throat and a thick, anticipatory silence fell across the crowd, those inside as well as the guests spilling into the gardens suddenly quiet.
He smiled and made his introductory remarks, but the first order of business was the gifts, and since I knew what to do, I got on with it without waiting for any more fanfare.
“For you and Layla, a gift of fine silks and gold,” I said, but there was no presentation of those luxury gifts.
Apparently, it was considered unrefined and in poor taste to physically present the bride’s parents with these during the ceremony, so I’d had it all delivered earlier. Practically, what that meant was that all I handed over now were the certificates of authenticity.
They could easily have afforded everything I’d given them, but I’d been informed that didn’t matter. Basel accepted the certificates calmly, the look in his eyes making it impossible to determine if he was amused or simply enduring this particular tradition for the sake of it.
The Saad brothers, on the other hand, seemed to be having a ball. Rami elbowed Tarek, leaning in closer to him but still speaking loud enough that I could hear—and the fact that he was speaking in English made it clear that he’d meant for me to hear it.
“I’ve never seen Dad try this hard not to smile,” he said.
Tarek chuckled. “He’s failing.”
Basel shot them a look, but Deja was beaming, looking from her family to mine on the screen with the radiant smile never leaving her lips. I inhaled a deep breath and drew a folder from the inside of my jacket, handing it to Basel.
“For Deja,” I said formally. “I have purchased a luxury condo in a high-rise in Chicago, large enough for us and our future kids.”
Basel flipped open the folder and once again failed to hide his smile as he studied the contents. He handed it to Deja. She frowned at the papers for a second before her eyes widened and she glanced back up at me.
“You bought us a house? But you have one.”
“This one faces east and west,” I said, lowering my voice a little since this part was for her ears only. “That means you’ll be able to photograph every sunrise and every sunset.”
Jane made a sound between a sigh and a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose. Alex looked like his jaw was about to hit the floor. Isaac just stared at me for a long beat before he let out an incredulous laugh.
“Did he just buy real estate?” he asked no one in particular, but Zach Westwood answered anyway.
“Yeah, man. I think he did.”
I caught several whispers across the room from the guests who were present in person, most wondering why I’d have bought said real estate in Chicago, but Basel would be handling that part of the announcement himself.
When he nodded at me and slid the folder onto a little table beside him that already held the certificates of authenticity, I reached into my jacket again. This time, however, for this gift, I focused exclusively on Deja.
“I also got you this.” I drew the velvet-covered box out of my pocket and flicked it open to reveal the diamond ring inside.
Rami whistled between his teeth when he leaned over to inspect it, even Khaled looking impressed when he joined his brother. Basel’s mouth twitched like he’d finally given up pretending to be stern and Tarek called him out on it without delay.
“Dad smiled,” he announced happily, sending another ripple of laughter through the crowd.
Basel waved them off, but he was laughing with Deja and the others now while my family watched from the screen like they were witnessing something they’d never forget, even if they weren’t sure what to make of it. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to make of it either.
All I knew was that it’d cost me a ton of money—and that it was almost over now. Thank God.
Deja stepped forward and I lifted the ring out of the box, looking only at her as I brought it to her finger, her skin warm and soft under my own. My heart rate finally calmed now that I was touching her, almost like my body had needed a physical reminder of why I’d put myself through this.
Her golden brown eyes were alive with laughter and happiness, and I smiled back at her, shutting out the rest of the room. I pushed the ring up until it was settled against her knuckle. Once it was on, she took my hand and gave it a soft squeeze.
I definitely would’ve preferred a kiss or even just a hug, but as things were, I let myself bask in the relief that yet another ritual was behind us while she went back to the women, lifting her hand up toward the light as she showed it off to them.
Several “oohs” and squeals rang out. The band started up again, and just like that, we’d entered the engagement party phase of the ceremony.
Wearing traditional clothes that I’d let her brothers dress me in earlier, I got pulled into the thick of things by Rami, but I didn’t mind.
I’d finally started to feel like less of an outsider.
They’d spent an hour before the ceremony getting me ready, all six Saad boys descending upon my bedroom loaded down with the finest silk garments, shoes, and even a few scarves and watches.
They’d made me feel like one of them, which naturally also meant that any notion of privacy had been obliterated, but I’d had a surprisingly good time.
It was sort of like being the newest recruit in a strangely affectionate, but exhausting military unit. They were an extremely close-knit group. They talked nonstop, there was always a snack nearby, and hugging was mandatory.
Even now, while the women surrounded Deja, showering her with hugs and love, I was pulled into the arms of her brothers as the party exploded into a full celebration. People started dancing and Nanna pushed a plate of food into my hands, her eyes twinkling with amusement when I sighed. But I ate.
Children darted between tables and the Saad boys appeared the second I was done eating, insisting I dance with them.
The next few hours blurred together, but as soon as I found a way to escape, I took it, excusing myself from an elderly gentleman who’d been speaking to me about the proper way to raise children in broken English for at least fifteen minutes.
I headed out to the gardens, knowing that was my best shot at getting a minute to breathe. The majority of the partygoers who’d been out here earlier were inside now, either on the dance floor or eating at their tables.
Stepping out into the warm night air, I strode down the garden path that offered the most greenery to disappear into, crossing the lawn and zigzagging through shrubs, palm trees, and jacarandas toward the furthest fountain from the house.
Once the music started fading behind me, I let out a relieved sigh, desperately needing just a few minutes to recover after all that. I was clammy with sweat, my muscles aching from how tightly I’d been holding them earlier, and my head swimming with the overload of simply being in that room.
When I stepped into the clearing, I wasn’t surprised to find Deja already there, sitting on the edge of the concrete fountain and running her fingertips through the water in the pool around it.
She looked up when I approached, smiling as she checked an imaginary watch. “We’ve been engaged for approximately three hours and this is the first time we’re actually going to get to talk.”
I slid my hands into my pockets, pausing for a beat just to look at the picture she cut on the edge of that fountain, her dark hair twisted into some elegant do at the back of her head and her features relaxed and open.
“I think we’re improving,” I said as I finally moved again, crossing the path toward her. “It could’ve been three days.”
“Fair enough.” She chuckled, rising as I approached and sliding her arms around my neck when I reached her. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m all good now,” I said quietly, living for the heat of her sealed against my front and the soft curves of her hips under my hands. “How about you?”
“Better now that I can breathe again.”
I smiled, bringing my forehead down to hers and holding her for another moment before I felt her starting to wriggle out of my grip.
My eyes opened again to find her reaching for the camera.
I hadn’t seen it before since it’d been hidden behind her while she’d been sitting, but she quickly turned it on and lifted it up.
“I want to capture the moment,” she explained, leaning into my side.
My arm automatically slung around her hips and we both smiled when the shutter clicked, then pulled funny faces, then kissed, then smiled again, but a lot more loved-up this time. After one more, she finally lowered the camera and glanced at the screen, holding it between us so I could see too.
“I love these,” she said as she scrolled through them. “We look so happy.”
“We do,” I agreed softly. “I mean, you’re stunning. I look tired, but it still might be my favorite photo anyone has ever taken of me.”
She chuckled, setting the camera back down and turning toward me again. As her eyes lifted to mine, she slid her arms back around my neck and leaned into me. “I think we’re officially allowed to kiss now.”
“I do believe that’s how it works,” I murmured, smiling, and lowered my mouth to hers, claiming her lips for a kiss that set my blood on fire.
Her fingers curled into the front of my jacket and I tightened my grip on her waist, moaning when she gave my lower lip a playful nip.
We crashed together again and again, the kiss quickly turning into a make-out session I doubted we were supposed to be having with several hundred people so close by, but neither of us stopped until a throat cleared only a few feet away.
We jumped apart to see Jasmine standing on the garden path, her arms folded and a mischievous smile on her face. “I was going to tease you, but instead, I’ll do you a favor. People are looking for you.”
“Thank you.” Deja grinned at her sister. “We’ll hurry.”
“You’re going to have to. I can distract them, but I won’t manage it for long.”
Without giving myself time to overthink it, I slipped an arm beneath Deja’s knees and another around her back, scooping her up.
Jasmine shooed us away with both hands. “Go. Quickly!”
She spun around and headed back to the party while Deja let out a surprised laugh and held on. I carried her across her family’s gardens and ducked away from the windows where the party, larger than a typical American wedding, was still carrying on.
I couldn’t believe the size of engagement parties over here, but when she looked up at me, her eyes bright under the lights illuminating the paths, I stopped worrying about how big the wedding was going to be.
Instead, I only focused on her, the woman I was now officially engaged to. The one who was going to be my wife.