by Holly Rayner
FOURTEEN
The next morning, Amie woke up with her left leg sprawled across Malik’s. Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and she felt the heat of his skin as he breathed in the morning air.
Malik was already awake. He looked down at the beautiful, pale naked body lying in his sheets and looked beyond pleased.
“Good morning, habibi,” he said softly, taking her lips into his. Amie knew that Habibi meant my love, and all but swooned when he said it.
She eagerly embraced his kisses, happy to be so close to him, finally; to lay on his chest and watch their fingers intertwine without a thought to whether it was right or wrong. She didn’t have to hide her feelings any longer.
“Good morning,” she finally responded, resting her leg atop his and snuggling into him as though she couldn’t be close enough.
He put his arm around her as she nestled closer and began to stroke her hair and arms in a soft tickling motion. Finally, he let out an easy sigh and manage to chuckle, “I’m relieved.”
“About what?”
“That you’re still here,” he shrugged playfully, “And you’re not crying, or anything!”
“Is that a woman’s usual reaction after you make love to her?” she sassed, her fingers dancing across his chest.
“Hilarious,” he breathed. “No, I’m just relieved. No more hiding my feelings, trying to be professional,” he laughed. “It’s just you and me now. Real you and me, back in Chicago, eating American food, seeing American films and holding hands in public without eliciting shock and awe.”
She giggled, then paused, hearing the yearning in his voice. “You miss it?”
“Chicago?”
She nodded.
“Desperately.”
His answer surprised her on some level, especially because she hadn’t felt homesick in weeks. She certainly didn’t miss fast food, bad jobs, or rude people, and was readily embracing the Middle-Eastern culture she’d found in her faux family.
Speaking of family, Amie realized she could now breathe a giant sigh of relief that she wouldn’t have to give up her new mama-Sadira once her job was over. She smiled to herself at the thought that she’d be able to travel back to Rabayat with Malik and get even closer to his family.
“I like it here,” she said with a shrug; just happy to be feeling happy. “I’ll miss it.”
He smiled and kissed her nose before moving back to her lips; the contact instantly missed as soon as he pulled away. “I can’t stop kissing you,” he teased in a husky voice.
She giggled and returned his embrace. “Well you’re going to have to at some point,” she said shyly. “These are my last three days and I just know you have something absolutely fantastic planned for my send-off.”
Malik brushed his fingers through her hair and Amie relished the feeling of being close to him; being warmed by his body. His facial expression turned so mischievous she couldn’t help but laugh.
“What?” she asked with a smile.
“Now that you mention it, I might have something planned.”
Her eyes widened with excitement. “I knew it!” she exclaimed happily, hoping she didn’t sound too spoiled or expectant.
“Picture this,” he said enthusiastically, his hands becoming an extension of his speech. “Today, you and I visit an art museum, so you can get your last fill of Rabayat history. Later, we head out for a romantic dinner, come home, watch old movies, take a swim, then get ready for the biggest finale yet. The final part of your contract.”
“I’m liking it so far,” she giggled. “So, what’s the finale?”
“A wedding,” he revealed.
She grinned and lifted her head from his chest, staring into his eyes. “Who’s getting married?”
“We are,” he said with a laugh, as though it should have been obvious. “Not really, of course—the officiant is an actor I hired; very good, great reviews in his latest play. None of the paperwork will be binding, but I figured what better way to allay my parents’ fears than to show them a full-blown wedding?”
“Ah,” was all Amie managed to say in response.
Her heart sank over and over again while he just stared at her, expecting some wildly ecstatic response. What was she supposed to say; yippee? In truth, the very thought made her a little sick to her stomach; a small part of her still hoping he was joking.
“Was that really in the contract?” she asked flatly.
A fake wedding ceremony presided over by a hired actor? Could he possibly be serious?
“It was mentioned as a possibility, yes,” he said, somewhat taken aback by her reaction as he sat up in the bed. “I thought it was a good idea; my parents want to see me settle down, so long as they think I have, they won’t have to worry.”
Suddenly furious, Amie pulled the sheets up to hide her body from the man she’d been so happy to have spent the night with just minutes ago.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” she said; brows furrowed.
“Amie, what’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem?” she repeated, her voice full of disgust. “Um. Let me think, how about the part where you monumentally lie to your family?”
Seeing her anger, Malik made an attempt to coo her, stroking her shoulder with his hand. “It’s only pretend, is what I’m trying to say. Please, please help me satisfy their desire to know that I’m okay. I mean, how could I not be okay with such a precious pretend wife like you?”
“That’s not funny.”
Amie’s frown grew harder and she backed away from his touch. There was nothing charming about what he had just said. The level of deception involved was beyond anything she could comprehend.
She stood from the bed and began pulling her clothes on as quickly as she could.
“Amie, come on,” Malik said softly. “Don’t be like that. Please.”
“What, exactly, are we supposed to say? Oh, hey, we’re getting married like, right now, without Amie’s parents, or her friends and family? How does that make any sense to you?”
“They won’t even think about it,” he reassured her. “They’ll assume we’re having one ceremony here, and one back in Chicago. Last-minute ceremonies happen all the time here; they won’t suspect a thing.”
Amie laughed unenthusiastically, grabbing one of her shirts and buttoning it up. “And what about afterwards, when they want to see me, and you can’t provide an Amie understudy to step into the role?”
“We’ll figure it out when that time comes,” he offered.
“We’ll figure it out?” she scoffed. “I can’t believe you would put them through that.”
“What do you even care?” he asked, stepping out from the warmth of their bedsheets. “You agreed to do this in the first place, didn’t you? You had no problem lying to them about us being a couple or about your job. What difference does it make?”
“Malik,” she laughed softly, “Listen to yourself! It’s like you’ve put no thought at all into the consequences of what you’re about to do.”
He walked over to her and grabbed her hands in his; his eyes frustrated as they beamed into her. “Please,” he repeated firmly. “Please fulfill the contract and help me quell my aging parents’ fears.”
Yeah, great, use your aging parents against me. That’s totally fair.
Unable to look into his eyes and deny him his request, Amie’s harsh demeanor fell as he asked her once more to do this favor for him. She stared at the floor as she slowly nodded.
“Thank you,” he whispered, pulling her into him and putting his arms around her. “We’ll figure this all out, I promise.”
