Kyra M. Suarez"Mom!"Kyra turned to see her son, still wearing his airplane pajamas, clopping down the hall in a series of hops and jumps. Her heart filled with warmth at the sight of him, as it always did. Omer, five years old but keenly aware of his approaching sixth birthday, had AJ's big brown eyes with Kyra's gold flecks, AJ's messy curls, and Kyra's button nose. He was an adorable child, even now when he was going to make both of them late."Omer," Kyra said gently, crossing to her son and smoothing a hand over his curls. "I thought I told you to get dressed. We need to be out the door in ten minutes.""But Mom," Omer said, sticking out his lip, "I can't find my green T-shirt with the airplane."Kyra took her son by the hand, leading him back towards his bedroom. "How about you wear a different shirt today?" she suggested."I don't like my other shirts," Omer said sadly. "I like the green one." He blinked up at Kyra, showing off his long lashes.Trying to hide a smile, Kyra squ
Ali Ahmed POV"And finally, I agree to the four percent subsidy on dates and nuts," Ali said. When his advisors nodded around the table, he closed the folder in front of him with a snap. "Thank you all. Meeting adjourned."Slowly, his advisors started to trickle out, moving on from discussions about Al Jumeirah agriculture to comparing their dinner plans. Ali followed, glad that the meeting was over. He was dedicated to Al Jumeirah and invested in any initiative to make it a better place, but agricultural meetings tended to be very dull. Today had been no exception.Bidding a few last goodbyes to his advisors, he turned towards his mother's rooms. After her husband had died, Ali's mother, Fatima, had moved to a spacious cottage on the palace grounds, giving the rooms meant for the Sheikh to Ali, despite his arguments against it. He'd worried that she would miss the rooms where she'd lived for most of her life, but he had to admit that she seemed happier in the cottage.The loss of Ali
Kyra Suarez POVThe weeks flew by, full of preparations for the reunion, worries about seeing Ali again, and joyous celebrations for Omer's sixth birthday. After what felt like little more than a few heartbeats, the evening of the reunion was here.Kyra thought she might keel over with nerves. Instead, she went to work and, distracted, spilled tea all over a stack of reunion agendas, which she then had to reprint. Then she came home and spent a long hour sitting at the table with Omer while he did his homework, trying to stop herself from staring at the clock. Finally, at five, she fed Omer a quick dinner of fish sticks with mashed potatoes and carrots and headed upstairs to get dressed while Omer played in his room.When she opened her closet, Kyra felt her heart sink. She wanted to look nice for this evening. Even if Ali wasn't going to be there, she would want to look put-together for the rest of her former classmates who she'd be seeing again for the first time in years. She didn'
Ali Ahmed POVAli stepped off the stage and into the crowd of his former classmates. He was hardly paying attention to their congratulations, though.Before he'd gone to give his speech, he'd spotted Kyra across the room. She'd been just as gorgeous as she was in college, though she was different, too. She was wearing a green dress that perfectly complemented her wavy brown hair, which had been up in a sophisticated twist with a few strands loose to frame her face. She'd looked a bit nervous, but still beautiful and elegant. Ali had wanted nothing more than to run to her, but instead he'd gone to give his speech and lost sight of her. Just now, he'd seen her again, but she'd answered a call and turned to leave.Ali tried to follow her to the doors, wanting to catch her for at least a moment. His bodyguard, Mohammed, followed close behind. Why was Kyra leaving now? Did she not want to talk to him? Ali wouldn't blame her, but he also couldn't stand to leave things this way. No way was h
Kyra Suarez POV Kyra flopped back on the couch, letting out a deep sigh. She'd just gotten Omer settled, after determining that his 'stomach ache' was nothing more than a wish for her to come home, and sent Jenny off with her full payment. Now she was here, home, in her familiar living room. And she'd failed. This had been her one chance to tell Ali about their son, and she'd failed. Maybe now she'd send Ali an email, breaking the news of Omer over the internet. There wasn't another option, after all. Kyra rubbed her forehead with one hand and wished, not for the first time, that she had someone to talk to. She didn't have a lot of friends. Her coworkers often invited her out for drinks, but she was always rushing home to be with Omer. And when she wasn't with Omer, she was working. There was no time for the kind of closeness that would let her pick up the phone and call someone to talk over what to do. Just as Kyra was considering getting up, putting together a snack, and leaving
Ali Ahmed POVOmer was his son?That didn't make any sense.Ali stood, frozen, by the door. He was too hot in his jacket in the warm living room, but he didn't dare move to shrug it off. He just stared at Kyra across the room still in her green dress, her hair now coming out of the formal twist to send ringlets down her shoulders. That little boy, with the airplane pajamas and the messy hair, was his son?"Ali, say something," Kyra said. She stepped closer to him, though they were still separated by a few feet. "I know this must be a huge shock and I don't blame you for that.""I have a son." Ali repeated her words, hoping that they would help him make sense of what was going on. There was no way that he had a son.Except for that one night, years ago, when he and Kyra had finally let the barriers between them slip away. It had been the best night of his life, something that Ali could never forget. Had that night led to something permanent? Had it led to that little boy in the hallway
Kyra Suarez POVKyra was angry. Angrier than she'd expected. Years ago, she'd pushed away any feelings about Ali Ahmed, leaving her heart closed. She'd turned all her attention to Omer and to making a life for both of them. She'd turned down offers of dates, not wanting to open up her heart again when it could so easily get broken.But now, with Ali Ahmed here, all her feelings were rushing back. Earlier, at the reunion, she'd felt her memories of love resurfacing. At home, Ali Ahmed looked around her living room like it was a hovel, it was anger that was the stronger emotion. Kyra had been angry years ago when she'd found Ali Ahmed's note and understood that he'd left without saying goodbye. But she was even more angry now. Now she knew that Ali Ahmed was a sheikh. Surely, he had the resources to find her again. And now, when he found out about Omer, it seemed that all he could think about was how happy he was to be with Kyra again.Well, they could have had years together. He was th
Ali Ahmed POV Ali Ahmed stood outside the door to Kyra's apartment, feeling nerves sweep through him. Last night, he'd been filled with thoughts of seeing Kyra again. Today he was going to meet his son. That was even more stressful. What if Omer reacted badly? What if his son didn't like him?Ali Ahmed wasn't sure how one dressed to meet their long-lost child, so he'd settled on his usual semi-formal slacks and button-up shirt. The fact that he hadn't brought many clothes to the reunion, since he was only staying overnight, also made things difficult. He would have liked to dress a little more casually. That kind of thing appealed to children, right?After what seemed like hours, Ali Ahmed knocked and braced himself. He expected to see Kyra again, but instead, the door opened to reveal a little boy in a small pair of jeans and a green airplane T-shirt. His hair was messy and curly, just like Ali Ahmed's, and his brown eyes had the same gold flecks as Kyra's."Hello," Omer said, wavin