11. Nina
CHAPTER 11
NINA
N ina’s head was spinning, though not because of illness this time. Rashad, a man known for his ruthless business practices and lack of regard for anyone else’s story, had just offered to go into business with her. Nina could hardly believe it. Perhaps Rashad had an ulterior motive — or perhaps he was just a better man than she’d thought. Either way, she had a lot to think about before she gave him an answer, even though her heart told her to just say yes.
“All done?” Miles asked, looking up from his book.
“Yes, honey, the meeting is over.” Nina got up from her chair and stretched, not trusting herself to look at Rashad just yet. “Did you have fun coloring?”
“Yeah, but I’m hungry.”
“Perfect, because it’s time for a snack.” Nina helped her kids clean up, her thoughts still distant. Rashad had given her time to think about whether she wanted to accept his offer, but Nina was sure that no amount of time would be enough. She had no idea how to decide. All her previous business decisions had been based on calculations — potential customers reached, potential money saved, potential investment gained. Yet this time, Nina worried that her decision would be influenced more by how she felt than by logic.
Rashad appeared from the kitchen a few minutes later with a plate of apple slices and crackers. The kids dug in enthusiastically, and even Nina found herself reaching for an apple slice.
“Thanks, Rashad.”
“No problem. Hey, I was thinking — there’s an uninhabited island up ahead. If you’d like, after our snack, we can take the kids swimming there.”
“Swimming!” Kate’s eyes lit up and Nina grinned.
“That sounds like a yes. Let’s do it.”
“Excellent. I’ll set the course.”
“Can I help drive?” Miles asked.
“Honey, Rashad might be busy this time,” Nina said. Just because the businessman had so kindly watched her kids the day before didn’t mean that he wanted to spend all his time with them. Rashad, though, was already nodding.
“Sure, Miles. Nina, it’s no trouble. I’ll keep a close eye on him. Kate, do you want to come?”
“Yes, please!” The little girl wiggled with excitement.
“Then we can all go.”
They finished the snacks before climbing to the deck, where Rashad helped Kate and Miles take turns steering. Slowly, a small island appeared in the cerulean water. Just as Rashad had said, it was uninhabited, with white-sand beaches and a collection of palm trees. Cerulean waves capped with white foam lapped against the shore, and a few seagulls flew overhead. The whole island looked like an image cut from a postcard.
“Nina, would you like to try steering?” Rashad asked.
“Oh, I’m not sure I know how to steer a boat.”
“It’s okay, Mommy, you can do it,” Miles said, grinning up at Nina with a gap-toothed smile.
“All right, then.” Nina took her place in front of the wheel, putting her hands at ten and two like she would on a car steering wheel.
“Actually, you want to hold it like this.” Rashad reached around her and gently repositioned her hands on the wheel. Nina felt a shiver rush down her spine at his closeness and the feeling of his hands on hers. From this near, Rashad smelled like aftershave and something spicy, a manly smell that made her want to lean against him.
Nina took a deep breath and focused on the yacht. She couldn’t let herself get distracted by Rashad’s soft voice in her ear.
“This does feel more natural,” she said.
“Perfect. Now try this…”
In retrospect, Nina didn’t remember much of the sailing lesson. All she remembered was the feeling of Rashad’s hands on hers, strong and confident, and the way he joked with her in a kind way whenever she struggled to do something. She remembered his warmth against her back and his aftershave scent and how he guided her gently towards the scrap of land in the near distance.
Soon, they arrived at the island. Rashad took over the last bit of steering, bringing them in at a safe distance from the island’s sandbar.
“We’ve arrived,” he said. “We can go over to the island in the dinghy.”
“Excellent. I’ll take Kate and Miles to get our swimsuits on.”
“See you in a few minutes.”
Back in their cabin, Nina helped the twins into their swimsuits and slathered them with sunblock. She helped Kate gather her wispy hair back into two ponytails and found both kids’ goggles. Finally, Nina changed into her own swimsuit. She’d brought a functional dark blue swimsuit, the same one she wore when she went to the pool to swim laps in the mornings, but now she half-wished she’d brought something a little more flattering.
Nina quickly shook that thought out of her head. The blue suit was a good choice, and it wasn’t like she had anyone to show off for. Certainly, she wasn’t trying to look nice for Rashad — just because he’d turned out to be a lot less of a jerk than she’d anticipated, that didn’t mean that she was interested in him. She could be around an attractive, nice-smelling, intriguing man while wearing her regular, practical, boring swimsuit.
Nina put on a little sunblock of her own, then led the kids out to meet Rashad. While they were gone, he’d prepared the dinghy and changed into a pair of swim trunks with no shirt. Nina tried not to stare at the clearly defined muscles of his chest, abs, and shoulders as he effortlessly tossed a cooler bag and an inflatable raft into the dinghy.
Rashad turned, smiling, and caught sight of Nina. For a long moment, his eyes seemed to catch on her as he swept his gaze from her flip-flop-clad feet to her broad sunhat, then quickly to her face. She saw something there — desire, perhaps. Or perhaps the warm sun and excitement of the day was making her jump to conclusions.
“Ready to go?”
“Yep.” Nina crossed her arms over her stomach self-consciously, before quickly returning them to her sides.
“Let me help you in.” Rashad held out a hand to Nina, who used it as a stabilizer while she climbed into the dinghy. Next, Rashad handed Kate, then Miles, into the dinghy, both kids giggling excitedly at the prospect of an adventure. The dinghy had a small motor on the back, which Rashad used to navigate them to the white-sand beach nearest the yacht. When they arrived on shore, Kate and Miles couldn’t wiggle out of the boat fast enough.
“You know the rules,” Nina said.
“Stay in sight. Only go in the water with you,” Miles and Kate chorused.
“Good job.”
With everyone satisfied that the rules were being followed, the twins leaped from the boat and began to chase each other around in the sand. Nina and Rashad disembarked at a more sedate pace.
“This is beautiful.” Nina scuffed her foot through the warm, soft sand, leaving a line in her wake. The sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls calling and the wind in the palms made her feel like she was on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific, far from all her worries. “Have you been here before?”
“No, but I spotted it on the map this morning.” Rashad smiled. “I thought the kids would enjoy it.”
“Cleary, you were wrong.” Nina winked to show that she was joking, though it would have been obvious from the way the twins were now making sand angels on the ground.
“Clearly.” Rashad nudged her shoulder with his own. “I’m hoping their mother will enjoy the excursion, too. It seems like you could use a vacation.”
“Do I look that tired?” Nina raised her eyebrows.
“No, not at all?—”
“I’m messing with you. I could definitely use a vacation — but so could you. You clearly work incredibly hard.”
“Running a business is a lot, but you run a business and raise a family.”
“Honestly, it’s hard, but I think my family reminds me of why my business is so important. It might be harder to do one without the other. I want to leave a legacy for Aunt Katherine, but I also want to create a legacy for them .” Nina nodded to the twins, who were now trying to draw sandy smiley faces on the sand angels they’d made. “I want them to be proud someday when they tell people who their mother is.”
“They’ll definitely be proud.” Rashad nodded slowly, then took a seat on the sand. Nina sat beside him, stretching her legs in front of her and enjoying the warmth of the sand on the backs of her bare legs.
“Thanks. I hope so.” Nina dug her toes into the sand, hesitating. “Do you think you’ll ever want a family?”
“Maybe.” Rashad shrugged. “I feel too busy to be a good father or husband, though. I wouldn’t want my family to come second.”
“I understand that.” Nina sighed. “I always try to make sure my kids come first, but it can be hard.”
“Mommy!” Kate came running over, her cheeks pink with excitement and her hair and limbs already sandy. “Can we go swimming?”
“Of course.” Nina rolled to her feet. “Rashad, care to join us?”
“I’d love to.”
“Then I’ll race you to the water!” Nina took off across the beach at a sprint, little storms of sand flying up behind her. Giggling, Kate fell into step beside her, and Rashad passed them both, running with the form of someone who did marathons in his spare time. He splashed into the water, Nina and Kate coming in behind him. Kate jumped into the shallow water, giggling, and her brother came running past Nina to join her.
The water was warm and refreshing on Nina’s feet. She listened to the sounds of her children shrieking with joy and watched the ocean stretching on towards the horizon and, in that moment, she felt that all was well with the world. Yes, there was Rashad’s business proposal to deal with, but even that didn’t seem as overwhelming right now.
“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?” Rashad asked. He was standing beside Nina now, looking out towards the horizon, his brown eyes thoughtful.
“It is.” Nina dragged a hand through the water, then splashed Rashad with an arc of clear water. For a moment, Rashad just stared at her, and Nina thought she might have made a mistake. But he dipped his own hand into the water, sending a torrential wave over Nina and soaking her entirely. Kate and Miles caught on to the fun, and soon both twins were wildly splashing the adults, calling out to each other gleefully. It all came to a head when Rashad lifted Nina out of the water and into his arms before carrying her out into the ocean and submerging her entirely. Nina came up, spluttering and laughing, in time to hear Miles and Kate clamoring to be the next one Rashad picked up and set in the water.
It had been a while since Nina had felt like this, completely free and with abandon. Sure, she played with her kids often, but as much as she tried to focus on them, there was always a to-do list playing in the back of her mind. Today, Nina felt like a little girl again, splashing and laughing and swooping her kids through the air and trying to knock Rashad’s feet out from under him so that he’d take a dip in the water too.
“Come on, grab his hands!” Nina called to Miles and Kate. Obediently, the twins grabbed a hand each and pulled on Rashad as hard as they could. Nina took advantage of his distraction to push Rashad back by the shoulders, and finally, with a stumbling splash, Rashad fell into the water. The twins and Nina cheered as Rashad came back up, shaking water from his eyes. Nina tried to ignore how good he looked, shirtless and dripping-wet with seawater.
“You’ll all pay for that!” Rashad announced, his brown eyes gleaming. He went for Miles first, holding the little boy under the arms and spinning him around before gently tossing him into the water. Kate put up a fight, running away and laughing before she let Rashad catch her, but soon he was spinning her around and tossing her carefully into the water, too. Finally, Rashad turned to Nina.
“Okay, okay.” Nina held up her hands as she backed up. “There’s no way you can spin me around like that, so let’s call a truce.”
“No way!” Rashad shook his head as he advanced on Nina. “You were definitely the mastermind behind pushing me in the water. I can’t let you go.”
“I’ve learned my lesson,” Nina said, still laughing.
“I doubt it. You’ve offended an Al Soubi sheikh. You have no idea what you’ve done.” With one quick motion, Rashad closed the distance between them and swept Nina into his arms. She was so surprised that she wrapped her arms around his neck as he spun her around then gently dropped her into the water. When Nina reemerged, Miles and Kate were clapping and shouting for their turn to be next.
The four of them played in the water for a long time. The twins had so much fun that they dragged their feet and moaned when it was time to get out, but Rashad suggested that they could have a sandcastle competition next, and eventually both kids got out of the water. As they all flopped side by side on the sand, still laughing and all tired, Nina had the feeling once again that they probably looked like a family to a casual observer. There was the playful and fun dad, who had tossed Kate and Miles in the air over and over again while they begged for more. There was the equally fun, if a little tired, mom, who splashed everyone and laughed as hard as either of the kids. And there were the kids themselves, both happy and excited for a day out.
Of course, the four of them were nowhere close to being an actual family.
“Thank you so much for playing with us,” Nina said as she reclined back on her elbows. The twins had quickly regained their energy and were working on a joint sandcastle that was already nearly as tall as Kate, but Rashad and Nina were still relaxing on the sand.
“Are you kidding? That was great.” Rashad flashed Nina a genuine smile that made her heart melt. “I’d play with you and the twins anytime.”
“The offer to join us is always open.” Nina rolled towards Rashad and sat up, crossing her legs. “Speaking of which…”
“Hmm?” Rashad looked up at her, his expression turning from playful to serious.
“I’d like to accept your offer.” Nina shrugged, trying to stay casual. “I think we should go into business together.”
“Really?” Rashad sat up too, his eyes wide. “What changed your mind?”
“I’ve seen a different side of you,” Nina admitted. “There’s more to you than just a ruthless businessman. I see that now. I think I can trust you.”
“You can trust me, Nina.” Rashad smiled at her, not a playful smile nor a conniving one, but simply the genuine smile of a man who cared. “And I think we can do amazing things if we work together.”
“I think so, too.” Nina smiled back. “There are a lot of details we’ll need to work out — like what exactly it means to be in business together. But I’m looking forward to figuring it all out.”
“So am I.” Rashad’s smile widened. “As long as you don’t try to knock me into the water again.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Nina winked.
“How about we enjoy this afternoon on the yacht, and when we get back to San Diego, we can work out all the details of our new partnership?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to work on it now?”
Rashad shook his head. “The twins were really patient with us this morning, but they deserve to have a fun vacation instead of just hanging out while we have a business meeting.”
“That’s sweet.” Nina drew a swirling pattern with her fingertip in the sand, suddenly feeling unable to meet Rashad’s eyes. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy a little more fun in the sun.”
Suddenly, Rashad’s hand was under Nina’s chin, tilting her head up. “They seemed very happy to play with each other while we met this morning, though.”
“Thanks for saying that.” Nina met Rashad’s eyes, her heart fluttering. Who was this considerate, thoughtful, unbelievably attractive man who cared about her and her twins? He didn’t seem like the same guy she’d met back at the event in San Diego at all.
“Mommy!” Miles came running towards them. “Did you see our castle? Were you looking?”
“Of course I was, and the castle looks amazing.” Nina moved away from Rashad, turning her full attention to her son. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
They spent the next half an hour playing on the beach, building sandcastles and chatting. Nina found that her eyes kept drifting back to Rashad, her new business partner. It was hard to believe that she’d agreed to go into business with a man she’d just met a few days ago, but Nina felt good about her decision. There was more to Rashad than first met the eye — even if she still had a few reservations about working with him.