Zeus padded into the living room and curled up next to the couch after nuzzling Hakim’s hand, checking in on his human. Hakim patted him once and then, feeling happier than he had in a long time, his eyes slowly drifted shut.
The next thing he knew, there was a beam of sunlight falling across the couch and the click of dog paws across the floor, just enough to wake him up. At first, he couldn’t recall why he’d fallen asleep on the couch, then he realized his arms were full of someone soft and warm.
Lauren. Asleep in his arms. She must have shifted in the middle of the night—not that he was complaining.
Feeling conflicted, he gently brushed a strand of hair off her face, wondering what they were going to do next. How could he like Lauren so much when he hated her mother?
It was an odd situation, there was no doubt about that. The auction, the rivalry with Patricia, making her wear that stupid maid’s uniform—could Lauren overlook the way they’d gotten to know each other and focus on what was growing between them? Could he overlook that fact that her mother was a bitter rival?
There was definitely a spark there, though, and Hakim found himself strangely reluctant to give up on it.
Chapter 10
Lauren
Lauren drove home to change clothes and pull herself together after waking up curled up against Hakim on his couch. She promised to be back at his house before he left for work, and he told her to forget wearing the maid’s uniform again.
As she took a quick shower and put on jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt, Lauren reflected on waking up in Hakim’s arms. It had been nice, a sort of cozy, protected feeling. At least until the inevitable question of what was going to happen next sunk in. There was something there, Lauren thought, something that had the potential to be amazing. But there was also the potential for the whole thing to blow up in her face when her mother found out.
Plus, it was just a weird situation. The auction, Hakim’s feud with her mother—could she get past the fact that the man she was so attracted to didn’t like her mother at all?
When she got back to Hakim’s house, he had coffee and breakfast ready again. Lauren couldn’t help but tease him about having the servant and master relationship all wrong.
“You know, I think I’m supposed to be the one doing that,” Lauren said when she walked into the kitchen and saw him cutting up fruit.
Hakim shrugged. “Technically, you worked overtime last night, so I thought I’d trade that time for breakfast this morning.”
“If you insist,” she said, not sure if his focus on breakfast was more about fair play or about feeling awkward that they woke up on the couch together.
Lauren helped carry the food to the table, where the coffee was already waiting. They sat and ate, not talking. If there was a place halfway between comfortable and awkward, Lauren decided that was where they were.
After breakfast, Lauren waved him off again. “Go. I’ll clean this up.”
Hakim hesitated, and Lauren thought he looked like he wanted to say something.
“Would you take Zeus to the park again today? Other than that, I don’t really need anything done.”
Lauren tilted her head and stared at him. “Hakim, are you telling me you don’t want me to work for you anymore?”
“No, I’m just… You’ve got work to do, too, right? I’m telling you to do that.”
“Seriously? No errands, nothing to pick up…”
“You demolished my to-do list the last two days, and then some. If it helps, I’ll have a whole new list for you tomorrow.”
She tapped a finger on the kitchen counter in thought. “Okay. But don’t be surprised if you come home and find your kitchen cabinets reorganized.”
Hakim laughed, and Lauren relaxed a bit. They were both feeling odd, but everything was okay.
“Will you be here when I get home?”
Lauren thought he sounded a bit cautious, and she hated to tell him no, especially with the reason why she couldn’t have dinner with him again that night.
“I have plans this evening, so I’ll head home around five,” she explained.
“Ah, well. I probably won’t be home by then.”
“It’s just… I have dinner with my mother tonight. It’s something we try to do every month, so that we have time to catch up.”
She couldn’t decipher the expression on Hakim’s face. It was part understanding, part something else. Just another sign that this thing between them wasn’t going to be easy.
“That’s good,” he said. “I’m glad you get to spend time with your mother.”
Before she could say anything else, Hakim whistled for Zeus, patted the dog goodbye, and then grabbed his suit jacket.