Jacqui leaned across the table and hugged her mother and then her father. “Thanks. I love you both.”
They finished their cake and left, but Jacqui kept playing the conversation over and over in her head. Her parents had a point. Khizar said he was in town for business, but other than those few jewelry store owners—or people he said were store owners—she didn’t know anything about why he was here.
Surely, it didn’t take weeks to convince stores to carry a jewelry line. At least not weeks of in-person meetings. Why did he need to spend so much time here?
And if he wasn’t here on business, why was he really in Milwaukee?
While he continued to shower her with lavish gifts and extravagant dates, he didn’t get into serious discussions with her. He asked her a lot of questions, but didn’t talk much about himself or his family. And even though Khizar talked some about his work, Jacqui didn’t really know anything about his life.
She supposed he might have made the business excuse in order to spend more time with her. He could have just told her that; Jacqui knew that she didn’t need an excuse to spend time with him. But she didn’t know what his family would think about them dating—as a member of royalty, maybe he wasn’t supposed to date without approval, or allowed to date a non-royal.
And it wasn’t as though they were moving that fast—even though, since Hawaii, they had spent more time cuddling and kissing, Khizar hadn’t even hinted at anything more physical. Jacqui was fine with that. She wanted to be sure this was a real relationship and not something that would end in a few weeks when he went home.
In the end, that was the thing. Even if he was just killing time while doing business in Milwaukee, he’d treated her with respect and kindness. Their relationship didn’t have to be a permanent one… Even though, if Jacqui was being honest with herself, that was something she was starting to hope for.
Chapter 9
Khizar
Khizar held his hands lightly pressed over Jacqui’s eyes, not letting her see where they were just yet. He’d spent a week planning this moment, and, more importantly, the moment after, when he would ask Jacqui about Bill Bauer.
Surprisingly, though, he found himself caught up in the moment. He wanted her to enjoy that evening, and if he were being honest with himself, he was looking forward to enjoying it, too.
“Okay, now you can look.”
Khizar dropped his hands, running them down Jacqui’s arms.
She took in the water, the empty lakefront, and the picnic setting, looking from one side of the scene to the other. There was no one else for as far as they could see in any direction; even the boats on the water were staying at a respectful distance.
There was an open pavilion draped with billowing lengths of light pink fabric, tied with white and yellow ribbons. The back of the pavilion was filled with large arrangements of flowers, creating a wall of roses, orchids, violets, and lilies.
In front of the pavilion, a large, soft picnic blanket stretched out over the grass. The blanket was covered with piles of lush pillows, and rose petals were strewn everywhere. On one corner of the blanket, a picnic basket waited for them, as well as a champagne in a bucket of ice and two crystal glasses edged in gold.
“Oh, Khizar, it’s lovely.” She looked around again, and Khizar saw a moment of puzzlement cross her face. “It’s always so crowded out here, especially this time of year. Where is everyone?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Sheikh’s privilege.”
Jacqui laughed. “I don’t think that works here.”
He laughed with her, liking how it felt.
“Okay, fair enough. I got a special event permit from the city for tonight. It just happens that our event is only for two people.”
She leaned back against him, and he found that his arms automatically wanted to wrap around her.
“Well, in that case, I’m looking forward to this special event.”
If she knew what was coming, Khizar thought, she didn’t give any sign of it. So, he took her hand and led her to sit on the blanket. He poured a glass of champagne for each of them.
“Jacqui, this last month has been unexpected. I didn’t come to Milwaukee looking to find the one woman in the world I want to spend every second of time with. Being with you has been a gift, one that I don’t intend to squander.”