Chapter 6 Samir
Inever got tongue-tied. Never. And yet all I was in front of that sexy hunk was tongue-tied. I had no idea if I even made any sense when I spoke or if I made horny caveman sounds that would get me locked up.
Never in all my life had I been so taken by a man to render speech—heck, even coherent thought—impossible.
Yes, I was attracted to men, yes, I fantasized about men, but any time I met a real-life hunk, I’d always been completely unfazed by them.
Which had been half the battle of understanding my sexuality and embracing it.
So it was bizarre to be trapped under his spell, especially considering Zay’s and Alina’s prodding mere moments ago. Was this a sign that they were right? Or was fate playing dirty tricks on me?
Whichever was the case, the little toddler in the stroller was the perfect distraction to help me recompose myself.
Of course, as soon as I got down to talk to the little human, I realized my mistake.
It was strange, being at war with myself, trying to control my gaze from veering to my right, and Cole’s dominant presence beside me.
No. I wasn’t going to let my body betray me. It had never betrayed me in all my life. I wasn’t about to let it betray me now.
“You’re such a pretty little girl,” I told Ella, and pretended to tickle her neck without even touching her, not that she noticed, because she giggled loudly as if I had.
Enzo had said she was his goddaughter but hadn’t specified if she was Cole’s daughter. He was so young. Was it possible he had a kid already? He barely looked twenty.
“Do you have any books for toddlers?” he asked, and it took me a second to notice he was talking to me and not whispering to Enzo.
When I did, I shot up so fast, I nearly knocked the poor guy over.
What’s wrong with you, Sami? Get a grip.
“Sure thing. Follow me,” I mumbled and spun around, practically running toward the kids’ section.
When I finally got the nerve to look behind me, I found only Cole had followed me. He must have noticed my confusion, because he rushed to say, “Cat.”
And it didn’t need further explanation. One of the cats must have paid a visit to Ella, probably even jumped in her stroller to get acquainted with the young human. Probably Lord Bookworm if I knew my cats. Which, I did.
“Ha, I hope you’re ready to leave with one today,” I told him. “Along with your books.”
Cole smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Is it, like, a buy-one-get-one-free deal?”
I laughed.
“No, but that actually sounds good. I’d be out of cats in no time. Although that would make me sad.”
Cole paused and narrowed his eyes.
“So you run a cat shelter, but you don’t want to give them away?”
I shrugged.
“I guess so. It’s hard when you look after them all day every day.”
“So no buy-one-get-one-free deal for me, I suppose.”
“I guess not.” I sighed.
He could take me home with him if he wanted. Though I wasn’t sure what his wife-slash-girlfriend-slash-partner would think of that.
“Ah well. Probably for the best. Honeybee is a terror as it is.”
I cocked my head. “Honeybee?”
“My brother’s lab. She’s a sweetheart really, but she doesn’t need an accomplice.”
I stared into his eyes, struggling to even listen to what he was saying. How could I when his gray eyes were so fucking beautiful, so piercing, so hypnotizing?
He truly was one hell of a man. Did he have any flaws or had every inch of him been graced by Allah?
“Is there something on my face?” he asked, putting his hand on his cheek, and that snapped me out of my daze.
“Huh? What? No. Why?”
He shrugged, his fingers slipping to his lips and staying there as if framing how perfect and plump they were for my benefit.
“N-nothing,” he said, and was it me or did his face turn red?
And just like that, I was enchanted by his charm, forgetting who I was, where I was, and what I was doing.
But he seemed to be just as… taken. Or maybe I was projecting. It wasn’t as if I had any experience with men. As if I’d dated, flirted, or anything. I didn’t know what others saw when they looked at me, but if Cole’s face was anything to go by, it was… good.
“So…” he said after a moment or several. I really had no idea how much time had passed just staring into each other’s eyes as if we were lovers.
“So…?” I drawled too.
He took a deep breath, and that prompted me to do the same, then he said, “Books?”
I pushed myself off the shelf I was leaning on and blinked.
“Right! Books!” I said, feeling flustered.
Not that Cole seemed to mind. He chuckled and nodded as I stepped aside to show him all the picture books.
“They’re categorized according to age group. How old is Ella?”
“She turned three in August,” Cole said.
Three! Was he even legal when he had her?
And dear heavens, I was salivating on the guy.
“So you’re looking at board books but depending on how advanced she is, you could have a look at picture books. They usually have more words and more complex concepts and stories.”
He pressed his lips together, glancing from one section to the other before he put his hands to his hips and said, “What do people normally go for?”
“There’s no normal when we’re talking about kids.
Every child is unique, and so is their development.
I’d say if this is her first foray into books, and she’s still learning to string words together, a board book is probably better.
You can use them to learn colors, animals, sounds.
There are some that are more sensory too.
If she’s already putting sentences together and can communicate more clearly, or if she can watch a cartoon and follow the story, I’d recommend a picture book.
Or you can go for a mix and figure out her needs from there. ”
He seemed to ponder my suggestion for a while as if he was unsure what to do.
For a dad of a three-year-old, he seemed a little torn.
I wondered what the story there was. Was he one of those dads that always worked and let the mom do all the raising?
Or was he simply the kind of parent that had to weigh in every decision because he was too worried what kind of effect a simple choice would have on his daughter’s life?
Or was there something more, something beyond the surface that I wasn’t privy to?
“I think I’ll do that. Go for a mix,” he said, and I helped him pick a few titles before returning to the check-out counter where, just as expected, Lord Bookworm was getting friendly with Ella and Enzo.
“Have fun?” the latter asked as soon as we approached.
“Um… what?” I said, but it seemed the question had been directed to Cole more than me, because he groaned and turned his back on his friend.
“Don’t mind Enzo. He’s an idiot,” Cole said.
“Hey!” Enzo whined from behind him.
“How much will that be?” He pulled his wallet out, and as I rang him up, his gaze seemed to land on the Christmas bachelor auction poster still lying flat on the counter.
“Oh God,” he mumbled.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Just glad I’ve not been roped into this,” he said but then shook his head and turned his attention—and his credit card—to me, leaving me to wonder what that was about, and if he too, had been made by his friends to attend the auction.
Though I couldn’t see why, if he had a wife-slash-girlfriend-slash-partner. It did make attending more appealing, however, if Cole was going to be there too.
I shook my head and sighed.
Why does it matter? Even if he’s attending, it doesn’t mean he’ll be interested in me.
Yet the thought kept haunting me the rest of the day, refusing to leave me the fuck alone.
I blamed Zainab and Alina entirely. They started it.
They were the ones trying to get me laid or whatever.
Even though they had no control over my head and body, I could very easily blame them for planting seeds in my head and making me feel like nothing but a horny teenager who had just discovered his first crush.
“Yup. It’s their fault,” I grumbled and turned in my bed, trying really hard not to think of the sexy, possibly-single dad who had set my world on fire from the word go.