Chapter 44
JASMINE
After days of feeling like I couldn’t think straight, the brain fog finally seemed to have lifted. Standing in the shower on the yacht, I’d realized that it was well and truly over. The prospect of becoming Mrs. Maher was completely snuffed out.
Isaac had fought for us, and while I knew we still had to face the music over me kicking David’s ass to the curb, at least I wouldn’t have to spend the rest of my life with him.
It was still a little surreal that it had gone down the way it had, and I was confident that there was a lot of fist-shaking and chest-thumping going on back in Cairo, but it was done.
I was free, currently in the Serapeum of Alexandria with the man I loved, and no matter what happened from here, we would be facing whatever came our way together. It was an incredible feeling, knowing that the future was a blank slate we would get to turn into whatever we wanted.
Isaac looked from me to the towering stone columns disappearing into the darkness above. His head shook slightly as he took it all in. “How is it that you keep managing to rent entire archaeological sites?”
I smiled. “I don’t rent them. I just borrow them for a couple hours.”
The elderly caretaker standing beside the heavy wooden gate chuckled before unlocking it with an iron key that looked almost as old as the temple itself. “Enjoy your evening, Miss Saad.”
“Thanks, Ahmed.”
He gave a polite half-bow before he backed away. “Call if you need me.”
“Thank you,” I said, the gate groaning open when I pushed it. “We should be okay, but I’ll let you know if we need anything.”
“Please don’t hesitate,” he replied, then turned around and disappeared back into his little office while Isaac gaped at me.
“Did he just literally hand you the keys to the Serapeum of Alexandria?”
I winked. “What can I say? I asked nicely.”
“Exactly how nicely did you have to ask?” His voice was hushed, either with awe or because he was afraid we were doing something wrong and would be discovered.
With a chuckle, I carefully lit the two little oil lanterns the caretaker had given me. Warm amber light flickered across the weathered stone and Isaac’s eyes widened.
“Oh.” He looked around with that expression of pure, uncomplicated wonder on his face that had made me fall hopelessly in love with him. “Jasmine, this is…”
“Incredible?” I finished for him when he trailed off. “I know, right? Come on. You haven’t even seen the best part yet.”
“There’s a better part than exploring a temple that’s thousands of years old with a lantern?” he asked, scoffing. “As it is, I might actually cry.”
“Ah, no.” I handed him his lantern. “No more crying. I, for one, have done enough of that recently.”
“Good point. Okay, so no crying. Got it.” Isaac wrapped his fingers around mine, tugging me toward one of the carved walls but being careful not to touch the stone. He held his lantern high so he could inspect the ancient walls. “Did you know they did this by hand?”
“Yeah.” I let go of him so he could do his thing, simply watching him trace every ancient relief with his gaze. The lanterns produced shadows that danced across the walls as we moved.
For a little while, as I followed him down the corridor, everything felt normal again. We were just us, with Isaac falling into a captivated trance while he explained why it was so incredible that this place had been standing for so long.
Eventually, we climbed a narrow stone staircase leading to a courtyard that overlooked the rest of the temple. In the distance, I could make out the sea glittering under a crescent moon and I wandered closer to the wall. Sighing, I took in the view.
“I’ve never been here at night before,” I said softly when Isaac came to stand at my side. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
I glanced at him, smiling. “I thought you were going to say that it’s not as beautiful as me.”
He chuckled. “Well, it’s not, but it’s still pretty spectacular. I can’t believe you have exclusive access to places like this. It’s incredible.”
“My family donates to just about every historical and cultural preservation society in Egypt,” I explained.
“As soon as my dad started making his money, he pushed a lot of it back into the country that allowed him to become what he is. It’s important to him that our heritage is preserved.
Over the years, I’ve met a lot of the people in charge of these sites, so it’s not that hard to arrange a special visit. ”
I pushed away from the wall, already turning to carry on with the tour, but Isaac remained still. He faced me, but he wasn’t walking. “Can we talk yet?”
My heart skipped, but I stopped moving and held his gaze. “Do you really want to have the big talk here?”
“I literally can’t think of any place that could possibly be better,” he said, his gaze drifting away from mine to take in the city lights twinkling across the skyline and the temple stretching out all around us.
“This is magic, being here with you. I never thought we’d get to explore another ancient site together, but here we are. ”
“Here we are,” I agreed quietly. “Alright, Isaac. Let’s talk.”
Honestly, I didn’t know what to say. I’d been grappling with coming to terms with the fact that he’d shown up when I’d least expected him to and taken me away from a party that had felt like it would crush my soul.
While I’d finally realized that I had a say over my future again, I was nowhere near figuring out what the heck to do with it.
“Personally, I thought we’d just be taking things day by day for now,” I admitted. “There’s so much we still don’t know and it won’t help to make any plans when right now, we don’t even know when we’ll be able to go back to Cairo.”
“True, but there are a few things I do know.” He closed the distance between us in a few long strides and took my hands, holding them in his firm, warm grip. “I know that I meant everything I said back at that party, but that I’d like to say it again, only to you this time.”
Tears pressed at the backs of my eyes and I nodded. “I can’t promise that I’m going to have anything to say in response. Not yet, but okay. Go ahead.”
“I won’t be able to give you the lifestyle you’re accustomed to, Jasmine,” he said softly, and even though he’d said this exact same thing before, it was more meaningful and a lot more passionate now.
“It doesn’t matter how hard I work, I don’t have a trust fund to fall back on anymore.
Thayer Steelworks is recovering, but it’ll be a while before it owns a jet.
And in the meantime, we’re going to have to fly commercial. ”
I smiled through the tears. “I’ll survive.”
“Will you?” he asked, and I couldn’t quite tell if he was serious. “I know how much you hate even first class.”
“I won’t hate anything if I’m doing it with you,” I said, squeezing his fingers with my own. “Besides, I’ll get used to it.”
“That’s the thing, though. You don’t have to.
” He looked right into my eyes and inhaled a deep breath.
“If you don’t want the future I can offer, I’ll understand, Jasmine.
Joseph said your father is still trying to push the contract through and maybe something will come of it, but maybe not.
At this point, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to stay in Egypt or if I’ll have to go to work at Thayer in the States. ”
“We’ll figure it out.”
He smiled, but it only lasted for a moment before he grew serious again.
“I honestly don’t know what my future looks like right now.
I can’t promise you that I’ll ever be able to charter a private yacht or make donations to historical or cultural societies.
I probably won’t ever own more than one property and I’m not even sure that you’ll never have to worry about money.
There’s my brothers and their student loans, and?—”
“I don’t care about any of those things,” I murmured, my eyes fixed on his. “We’ll build together, Isaac. We’ll grow together. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
He brushed his thumb gently across my knuckles. “God, I love you. I just hope that’s enough while I rebuild my life.”
I let go of his hands and wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing up on my tiptoes to go for a kiss, but at the very last second, Isaac ducked out of the way and I frowned. “Did you just dodge me?”
“Yeah, but it’s not what you think. This is only temporary.”
Before I could ask what that meant, he took a step backward and lowered himself down on one knee, those eyes shining in the soft light of the lanterns as he looked up at me.
“I didn’t exactly plan to do this here, so you’ll have to bear with me, but it feels right and I don’t want to wait any longer. ”
My heart tripped and started pounding like crazy, those tears that’d been pressing at the backs of my eyes all along now welling on my lids. As I watched, he slid his hand into his pocket and came out with a ring box, the velvet a little scuffed and worn in places.
“I don’t have champagne, or a violinist, or any of that other stuff,” he said, bringing his eyes back up to mine. “I don’t even have a proper speech.”
“You’ve already made one, and I don’t need any of that other stuff,” I whispered, staring down at him in complete and utter disbelief. “I think you’re coping remarkably well.”
He slid his thumb into the join of the little velvet box and popped it open to reveal the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. An antique ruby sat nestled between delicate old-cut diamonds, the setting carrying the unmistakable, intricate design of a bygone era.
As I stared at it, I couldn’t breathe for a moment.
Isaac lifted it a little higher and spoke again, drawing my gaze back to his.
“You should know that this isn’t new. It belonged to my great-grandmother on my mother’s side.
” He smiled softly. “She was a firecracker. I think you would’ve loved her. ”
“I’m sure I would’ve,” I murmured, my voice catching as I glanced between the ring and his eyes. “It’s gorgeous, Isaac.”
“I thought about buying one, but this is the only thing I have left from that part of my inheritance. It means something to me. It means a lot actually, but if you don’t want it, we’ll?—”
“No,” I said quickly, my eyes stinging as the tears finally slipped free. “I love it, Isaac. Truly.”
“The ruby seemed fitting,” he murmured. “Seeing as how I’ve been reliably informed that I’m in love with the Ruby of the Nile.”
A choked laugh escaped me. “Only the tabloids call me that.”
“It still seemed appropriate,” he said, then drew in a deep, steadying breath. “Jasmine Saad, will you marry me?”
I didn’t even hesitate for a second. “Yes.”
His shoulders dropped in relief, but he still arched an eyebrow at me. “Yeah?”
I laughed. “Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
I held out my left hand. “I’m starting to think you’re having second thoughts.”
He grinned and took my hand, gently sliding the ring into place on my finger. “Never.”
As he rose, I threw myself into his arms, and this time when I went in for the kiss, he didn’t dodge me. He held me tight as he sealed his lips over mine. We kissed until my knees were weak, but before I lost all sense of reason, I broke away from him and took his hand.
“Let’s finish the tour so we can get back to the yacht and start celebrating,” I said, tugging him forward and struggling to remain patient as we explored the dark catacombs and open stretches of space that would’ve housed all sorts of halls and rooms.
When we eventually got back to the yacht, I couldn’t stop looking at my hand, smiling every time the ruby caught any light and inspecting the intricate design from every angle. Isaac chuckled and pulled me closer as we walked onto the deck.
“It’s still there,” he said, his voice warm and light. “You don’t have check every two seconds.”
“Fine, I’ll check every five,” I shot back, winding my arms around his shoulders and smiling up at him. “I still can’t believe you dodged my kiss.”
“I still can’t believe you said yes.”
“Can I say yes again? I’ll say it every day for the rest of my life if you want me to.”
He chuckled, but before he could respond, there was a low murmur of the crew and someone climbing aboard behind us. My spine straightened and an ominous shiver snaked through me.
Whoever our surprise visitor was, I had a feeling our celebration was going to have to wait. The outside world had found us and there was no way that could be a good thing.