Chapter 16 #2
“You’re very welcome.” I meant it too. “Sharing this stuff with someone who actually appreciates it makes it worthwhile for me too. But here’s a serious question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Are you interested in seeing any of the really touristy things?”
“What, like the Pyramids? Yeah. Absolutely.”
“Wow. Like, no hesitation whatsoever?” I chuckled. “Okay. Well, I promise I’ll take you to the Pyramids as soon as we get back to Cairo, but today, we’re hanging with the locals.”
“I’d do that with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever too,” he murmured. “Another snorkel first, though?”
“Definitely. Let’s just grab that breakfast we got out of the water for, and then I plan on staying in until every inch of my skin is completely wrinkled.”
He cracked open an eye again, apparently surprised by something, but instead of explaining, he just laughed and shook his head. “Yeah. Totally. I’m in.”
We baked in the sun for a few more minutes before hitting the breakfast spread the staff had laid out for us, and once we were finished eating, we dove back into the warm water and spent the next few hours exploring underwater valleys and gardens.
We docked back in the city by mid-afternoon. Isaac stretched as we climbed off the yacht. “What’s next? You said something about hanging with locals?”
“Yeah, there are some people I want to introduce you to, so it’s back to my favorite place.”
“The Old Market?” he guessed out loud.
I smiled. “Don’t you know it.”
We strolled from the marina to the market, drifting down its winding streets while I introduced him to the shopkeepers who knew me by name. Today, I’d brought him to the part of it where Nanna was a regular—and practically a rockstar.
Everyone here knew her and, by extension, knew me too.
As we wandered deeper into the maze of narrow streets, however, we had to stop every few seconds because Isaac simply couldn’t help himself.
He kept running his fingers lightly across hand-carved stone walls or pausing to study archways.
He patted the brickwork and squinted thoughtfully at balconies.
I’d noticed the same thing last night, how he just couldn’t seem to get enough of the architecture around here. While I didn’t mind it since I was pretty fascinated myself, I’d never gotten quite as touchy-feely with it as he did.
“You pet buildings,” I finally said when he stopped again, this time to curl his fingers around the rounded corner of a wall.
He glanced at me, those blue eyes covered by dark sunglasses, but the amused curve of his lips betrayed him. “I do not pet them. I appreciate their design.”
“With your hands.”
“It’s tactile observation,” he said like it should’ve been obvious. “It’s a real thing. I promise. You can look it up. It provides immediate, direct feedback on characteristics visuals might miss.”
“Oh, baby,” I joked, bringing both hands to my chest and pretending to be wooed. “I love it when you talk like that.”
He laughed, pushing his sunglasses into his hair to waggle his eyebrows at me. “If you like it that much, I can keep going.”
“Please don’t.”
He sighed, doing a pretty good job of pretending to be disappointed as he shook his head. “Fine, but now you’ll never learn how to assess the physical properties of?—”
“Oh, my God.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it as I tugged him forward with me. “Here. At least now I know you won’t get lost while you’re getting distracted by all these buildings.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t wandering off intentionally.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean you’d have gotten any less lost in here. I think you have architectural ADHD.”
“Somehow, I doubt that’s a medically recognized thing.”
“And yet, every few seconds, I had to double back for you. Ten minutes ago, I found you halfway inside the door to somebody’s house.”
“It was a very interesting door.”
“It was great, but since they didn’t invite you into their home, it was also a great way to get arrested for trespassing. Or breaking and entering.”
He laughed and continued to hold my hand.
We walked through the market that way, with me feeling when he stopped to admire another balcony, walls, or a carved facade.
The interesting thing about it was that he pointed out so many details I’d never seen before that pretty soon I was slowing down too.
Even though I’d walked here with Nanna just yesterday, it was different being with Isaac. The world was a pretty interesting place through his eyes and seeing this city that way made me fall in love with it all over again. I loved the way his mind worked.
Eventually, we weren’t holding hands out of necessity anymore. Somewhere along the line, both of us had shifted our grip and it had become more of an intentional weaving of our fingers. His fingers slid naturally between mine and I wasn’t tugging him along so much anymore as just touching him.
While I’d held plenty of hands in my lifetime, it had never felt quite so intimate before. Somehow, this felt intimate, with him gently pulling me closer while he nerded out over architecture, sharing his passion in a way that made it truly addictive.
“Look at that mashrabiya balcony,” he murmured at one point, drawing me close to his side and pointing up with his free hand.
“They’re not just elaborately carved window coverings?
They’re actually designed to let air move through while keeping direct sunlight out.
It’s for privacy and ventilation. Genius, right? ”
I leaned into him a little, unable to help myself. “The lattice work is gorgeous. I love the aesthetic they add, but I love it even more that you know they’re not just there to look pretty.”
“Are you kidding me? Of course, I know that. Does anyone not?”
When he looked at me again, it was like I could see the inspiration welling inside, almost like the atmosphere here was intoxicating him. My grip on his fingers tightened and he smiled, holding my gaze for just a beat before he seemed to remember himself.
“Shit, I’m sorry. Are you hungry? It must be way past lunchtime.”
“It is, but I’m fine. Let’s keep going. I’m starting to understand why you kept almost getting lost earlier.”
He laughed and pointed at an archway next, explaining how complicated it must’ve been to bring the design to life back in the eighties.
We spent the whole afternoon in the end just wandering around like that, walking hand in hand through the market while he pointed out things that interested him and I introduced him to the locals.
When we finally got back to the house, we were both sun-kissed with our hair windswept. Personally, I felt like I was sweating like a pig after spending that long in the market. Isaac, however, was a little worse off than me.
I hadn’t noticed it before, but when I turned to face him as we walked in the door, I realized his cheeks and neck were definitely pink. “Oh no. Isaac, we had sunscreen with us the entire time. Why are you so burned?”
“I’m not,” he argued immediately. “I might be lightly caramelized, but I’m not burned, and even if I am, it was worth it.”
I laughed. “You’re going to feel so bad in about three hours.”
“Hey, at least that still gives me three hours,” he joked as we reached the hallway to the courtyard.
As we walked out toward the shaded veranda together, however, I stopped so abruptly that Isaac bumped lightly into me. My smile disappeared, and as soon as he realized why, all traces of amusement faded from his face as well.
David stood beside my father in the courtyard, presenting him with an ornate wooden box I recognized as containing expensive cigars. Gift or bribe? Probably a bribe to get into Dad’s good graces.
When David looked up and saw me, a wide, confident grin appeared on his face and I suddenly felt like someone had shoved a big bag of ice into my stomach. Isaac’s hand left mine and he brought it to rest in the small of my back.
It was just a small gesture, protective and a little possessive. Even so, it melted most of that ice immediately and I drew in a slow breath, lifting my chin. I would not be intimidated in my own home.
Especially by a man I didn’t even respect, and with Isaac backing me up, I felt powerful. Capable of facing absolutely anything.
I just didn’t know yet exactly what we were facing.