Chapter 6
JASMINE
Sunlight spilled across my apartment through the open, floor-to-ceiling windows. The sheer linen drapes billowed in the warm breeze. Car horns drifted up from the streets below, blending with the familiar hum of millions of people starting their day. I padded barefoot across the cool marble floors.
With my coffee in one hand, I strode out onto my balcony and sat down on the lounger I’d dragged out here. Moving into my own apartment had been one of the best decisions I’d ever made.
While I adored my family, I’d never realized how desperately I needed a little space from them until Deja had gotten married. Once she’d moved to Chicago, I’d suddenly become the only daughter in a house full of brothers and it had been suffocating.
That was why I had escaped to Chicago for a few months.
I had hoped to move their permanently but my father had shut down that idea quickly.
It was a wonder I had been allowed the time I’d gotten.
Being on my own had shown me how amazing it was to live alone, which was why I had gotten my own place when I flew home to Egypt.
Plus, living alone meant nobody questioned why I stayed up until two in the morning researching travel destinations I had never been to before and didn’t know if or when I would visit.
Nobody burst into my room to reclaim a charger they were convinced belonged to them, and best of all, nobody was all up in my business.
It had only been a few months so far, but I already couldn’t imagine moving back home. Besides, I wasn’t that far away from my family.
A point that was proven once again when my phone buzzed on my lap and I glanced down to see my mom’s name on the screen. Smiling as I answered, I pressed the phone to my ear and leaned back against the chair.
“Good morning, Mom.”
“Are you on your way over to the estate for breakfast yet?” she asked, neglecting to care whether I’d agreed to go over there at all.
Even so, my smile widened as I rose from the lounger. “I’m on my way now.”
“Excellent.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s killing me, being alone with all these men. I need backup.”
I laughed. “Call Ashanti and ask her to bring Amari for breakfast too.”
My oldest brother, Khaled, and his wife, Ashanti, lived in the same gated estate as my parents, which meant that Ashanti could easily grab her eight-year-old daughter to go save my mom from drowning in testosterone.
“I’ve already tried,” she lamented playfully. “They’re on their way to yet another children’s party. I’ve never known kids who have so many friends.”
She said the last part proudly, as if her first—and so far only—grandchild was somehow braving a whole new world by being sociable.
In response, I almost asked her if she’d met herself, or any of the rest of us for that matter, but in the end, I just kept smiling and slid my feet into my pumps beside the door.
“Well, don’t worry. I’ll be there soon.”
“Hurry,” she stage-whispered, then started scolding somebody in rapid Arabic before she hung up.
I chuckled as I left my apartment, locking up before going to meet my driver in the parking garage downstairs. “Good morning, Rashid. We’re going to the estate first.”
He gave me a curt nod. “You got it, Ms. Saad. Double-time?”
“Always.”
He pulled the door open to the backseat. I climbed in and relaxed against the buttery soft leather, knowing he’d get me there as fast as humanly possible.
He navigated Cairo’s busy streets with effortless ease, never tensing up or letting people cutting him off get to him. Because of that, we arrived at the Saad compound in no time. The gates swung open to admit us entry to the long drive.
Warm stone glowed under the morning sun as we snaked our way up toward the front doors. Gardens dotted with fountains stretched out on either side. Mom met me at the door, pulling me into a tight hug.
“Finally! I thought you were never going to get here.”
I laughed. “It’s been twenty-something minutes.”
“Exactly. You took forever.” She kissed both my cheeks and linked her arm through mine. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys, but I do so miss my girls.”
I leaned my head against her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mom. We’re still here, and some of us are starving.”
She stiffened at my side. “Never let Nanna hear you say that. She will either move in with you to make sure you’re eating or she’ll pack up all your things herself and move you right back here.”
“Well, you’re not wrong about that.”
My paternal grandmother—Nanna—was not to be trifled with. It was also advisable not to mention food or being hungry around her unless you were ready to face the consequences, which was being fed until it felt like you were about to explode.
As I thought about her, I smiled and followed my mom to a shaded terrace overlooking the gardens where the breakfast table had already been set up. Fresh fruit was laid out with warm breads, dips, spreads, eggs, and tea.
I let out a contented sigh. “This looks amazing. Maybe I should poach Nancy to come cook for me.”
Mom gasped and reached out to give my shoulder a teasing smack. “Don’t you dare. If we lose her as a cook, there will be an uprising.”
I laughed. “Complete mutiny, I’m sure.”
She winked. “Absolutely.”
As I sat down, she fixed us each a cup of tea and handed mine over before taking the seat across from mine. “How’s the campaign going?”
“The final textile shoot is today.”
“Ah. Wonderful,” she said, smiling as she pushed a plate of fruit toward me. “Eat. It’ll be a busy day for you.”
“I’m counting on it, but it’s been a great shoot so far, so I really don’t mind. I loved that we used some historic locations on this one.”
I speared some fruit onto my fork and popped it into my mouth, then reached for a bread roll and broke it open on my plate. Mom watched me closely, only leaning back once she was satisfied that I was eating properly.
As much as she liked to tease Nanna about her propensity for feeding us, Mom was the exact same way. Her dark brown eyes swept fondly across my face, like she was genuinely happy to see me gorge myself. Then she finally set down her tea cup to dish up some food of her own.
“What are your plans after the shoot?” she asked. “Or maybe I should rather just ask when you’re leaving on another one of your worldly trips.”
“Oh, I’m not,” I said, clearly taking her by surprise.
She frowned, abandoning the butter she’d been raking closer to gawk at me instead. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve decided to stay home this summer,” I explained quickly, not wanting her to think there was something wrong. “I’m looking forward to lazing around in the sun. I just want to relax and stay put for a change, you know? It’s been a busy year.”
“That’s true.” She smiled again before going back to buttering a warm roll. “It’s great to hear that you’ll be in town, actually. The timing is perfect.”
I reached for another strawberry. “The timing for what?”
“Well, we have a guest.”
“Right.” I popped the strawberry into my mouth, not surprised that my parents were apparently having someone stay for the summer.
That really wasn’t unusual around here. People flowed through the Saad estate like water, business partners, family, friends, architects, or designers coming in for one thing or another.
“He’ll probably be your neighbor in Heliopolis,” she said casually. “Your father told me he’s just signed for an apartment in your building.”
I blinked hard. Now that? That is a surprise.
“I thought you said you have a guest for the summer, not me.”
“It’s not like he’s going to be living with you.” She chuckled. “And I believe the word I used was we. We have a guest, but it’s not just for the summer. He’s here for the foreseeable future. Who knows how long it’ll last?”
“How long what will last?” I asked, dabbing at the corners of my mouth with a napkin as my eyes narrowed, suspicion suddenly tearing through me like wildfire. “Who exactly is this guest, Mom?”
“It’s Isaac,” she said as if I somehow should’ve known already. “Isaac Thayer? Colin’s brother.”
If I’d still had the strawberry in my mouth, it would’ve come shooting straight back out again. “Isaac? Are you sure? What’s he doing here?”
“Dad hired him as a structural engineer for GlobalStar,” she said. “They’re going to be working together.”
For the foreseeable future.
“Why?” I asked, the question coming out of its own accord. I was too shocked for my brain to have given any conscious command to ask it.
Mom just shrugged one elegant shoulder in response. “I imagine he grew tired of rain and gray walls.”
“Seriously, that’s it?”
I tried to picture Isaac in Cairo for some undetermined length of time, but I couldn’t do it. He just wasn’t the type for dusty old markets or getting lost in Old Town, wandering around between buildings that had been standing for centuries.
Well, okay, he probably is the type for that last one, but still.
Mom reached for the teapot, acting like this was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. “I think you’ll enjoy having him nearby.”
My eyes rolled. “Thanks, but Dad should’ve talked to me before he put him in my building.”
“Dad didn’t put him anywhere, and it is a very nice building. They had a furnished place available, so why not?”
I let out a soft scoff. “Why not? It’s my building.”
“It’s his now, too.” She refilled my tea cup and set the pot down carefully between us. “Would you do me a favor and take him with you on some of your adventures this summer?”
“I’m not a sightseeing operator, but I tell you what. Just because it’s you asking, I’ll put him in touch with the best company in the city.”
“Jasmine.” She blew out an exasperated breath. “I’m not asking you to sacrifice your kidneys to the man. Just show him around.”
I was saved by the bell, my phone ringing just as my brain scrambled for an answer. Relief swept through me when I saw my assistant’s name light up the screen. “It’s Sasha. I should take this.”
“Of course.” Mom smiled. “Duty calls.”
Instead of rolling my eyes again, I slid my finger across the screen, practically feeling Sasha’s panic reaching for my throat through the phone. “Jasmine, where are you?”
“I’m at breakfast. Why?”
“The textile team moved the final fitting forward. The photographer is already here and everyone is freaking out because they can’t find you.”
I sighed, immediately pushing back my chair. “I’m leaving now. Just breathe, Sasha. Everything will be fine.”
Hanging up once I’d assured her that I’d be there in just a few minutes, I slung my purse over my shoulder and looked back at Mom. “I have to go now. You know, since my family has been working me to the bone lately.”
She smiled at me. “You poor thing. At least you have the whole summer to relax in the sun and go adventuring. Just be a dear and remember to take Isaac with you sometimes. Who knows, you might even find yourself enjoying the company.”