Jacqui had never been so happy—not that she could remember, anyway. Even the prospect of having to shut down her bakery seemed like a minor concern. She felt, somehow, that things would work out, one way or another.

She was spending the same amount of time at the bakery, but her time outside work was mostly taken up by the handsome man that had blown into her life only three weeks earlier.

Khizar had taken her out almost every night during those three weeks and continued to treat her like a princess. They visited the theatre, attended concerts, and ate at fabulous restaurants. Jacqui had stopped questioning the extravagant gifts and dates; she didn’t need them, but they were fun.

The Sheikh had a business trip that took him to Los Angeles for a few nights, and he tried to get Jacqui to go with him. She declined, wishing she could go, but also not wanting to leave the bakery again. While he was gone, he called every night and sent her flowers and gifts every day.

As much as Jacqui loved their evenings out, she did insist on a quieter evening here and there. She cooked dinner for them a few times, and they spent those evenings curled up on her couch watching movies.

Khizar asked her about what her childhood was like before her parents died, about culinary school, and about everything in between. Jacqui felt like no one had ever known her as well as Khizar.

He talked occasionally about his work, telling her about the pieces he was acquiring and the mines he was considering buying. There were stories about store owners and master craftsmen, but he didn’t mention his family very often.

Jacqui got the feeling that Khizar was trying to distinguish himself from his royal relatives, and even though he felt the responsibility and worked hard to do right by his country, he didn’t want to spend a lot of time talking about being a sheikh.

By being open herself, Jacqui hoped to build trust between them. She wanted to show Khizar that he could talk to her, that she liked him for who he was, not for his title or wealth. So, she told him her fears and desires, and shared her life with him as best she knew how.

One night, while Khizar was in Los Angeles, Jacqui realized she hadn’t called her parents in over a week. She settled on her couch and dialed the number. When her father answered, Jacqui felt a pang of guilt for not calling sooner.

“Hi, darlin’. Your mother and I were beginning to wonder if you’d fallen into that giant mixer of yours.”

Ah, dad jokes. She really had missed her adoptive parents.

“Hi, Dad. Sorry, it’s just been a busy few weeks.”

“How’s business?”

“Picking up, actually. New customers are coming in, and we seem to building some word-of-mouth buzz.”

“That’s great, Jacqui.” There was a pause on the other end. “Hang on, your mother wants to talk to you.”

There was the sound of shuffling from the other end of the phone, and then Jacqui heard her mother say, “Hi, sweetie. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Mom. I’ve just been swamped with things. Good things, though.”

“Well, that’s good,” her mother said. “Why don’t you come over for dinner this weekend? Maybe on Sunday after you close up?”

“That sounds great, Mom.” Jacqui had an impulsive thought. “Hey, do you mind if I bring someone with me?”

Jacqui could practically hear her mom’s thought process through the phone.

“Sure, sweetie. Is it Lyssa, or one of your other friends?” she asked with a hopeful note in her voice.

“Subtle, Mom. No, actually, I’ve been seeing someone and I thought I might introduce him to you and Dad.”

“Oh, we’d like that, Jacqui. Of course. Bring your young man, and we’ll have a nice dinner.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll bring dessert from the bakery. See you Sunday night.”

“See you then, sweetie. Take care of yourself!”

“Bye, Mom.”

Jacqui hung up. Then, she had a moment of second thoughts. She hadn’t asked Khizar if he wanted to meet her parents, but he was so interested in her family that she couldn’t imagine him saying no.

When he got back into town the next day and stopped by the bakery, she proposed the idea to him during a lull in business.

“Of course, I’d love to meet your parents,” Khizar answered. “I can make reservations for us, if you’d like? I want to make a good impression.”

Jacqui shook her head. “A good impression is easy. Show up, let them tell you embarrassing stories about my teenage years, and praise my mother’s cooking and my father’s garden.”

“I do hope that those stories come with pictures,” Khizar said, grinning.

“Oh, there will be pictures. Of that, I’m certain.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’d like to show you where I grew up. It’s no palace or anything, but it’s home.”

Khizar chuckled. “Palaces can be overrated. I’ll be delighted to see the place you call home.”

Jacqui told him he didn’t need to bring anything, but of course, when he picked her up at her apartment that evening, he had a large bouquet of flowers for her mother and a bottle of expensive wine.

Jacqui’s parents greeted them at the door with enthusiasm, and Jacqui watched them closely for their reaction when she introduced Khizar.

“Mom, Dad, this is Khizar Jamshidi. He’s the CEO of Jamshidi & Company, and he’s from Nudushan, where his uncle is the ruling sheikh. Khizar, these are my parents, Alan and Michelle Danvers.”

Her mother raised her eyebrows and gave Jacqui a look that said they would talk later about this little piece of information Jacqui had neglected to provide.

But all Michelle said out loud was, “Khizar, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Danvers. Thank you for inviting me to dinner.” Khizar handed her the flowers and wine. “For you, a small token of my appreciation.”

“They’re lovely, thank you!”

Alan Danvers shook his daughter’s boyfriend’s hand, adding, “Our girl doesn’t bring too many guys home, so you must be something special.”

Jacqui blushed. “Dad!”

Khizar looked at Jacqui. “It’s an honor to meet you both. And if I may say, Jacqui is the one who is something special.”

Her mother looked like she approved, but Jacqui’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. To cover her blush, she held out a cake.

“Here, Mom, I brought your favorite.”

“Oh, thank you, sweetie. Why don’t you put it on the counter? I’m going to get these in some water, and maybe you can help me finish up dinner?”

“Khizar, why don’t we let these lovely ladies catch up? Come on, I’ll show you what I’m working on right now, and we’ll get out of their way,” Alan said.

Jacqui set the cake on the counter and gave Khizar an encouraging smile. He kissed her on the cheek before following her father outside.

Her mother was apparently reserving judgement, because as they finished preparing the meal, all she said was that Khizar seemed nice.

Jacqui wanted her mom to like the man she was seeing, so she told Michelle stories about the surprise dates Khizar had taken her on, about the ballet and picnic in the park and the fancy restaurants. Her mother listened and asked a few questions, but other than that, didn’t say much.

Conversation throughout dinner was lively, though. As Jacqui had promised, her parents told a few embarrassing stories about her teenage years, but nothing that Jacqui wasn’t planning on telling him anyway.

Michelle did pull out pictures after dinner. Khizar was especially interested in seeing young Jacqui, and Jacqui teased him that she couldn’t wait to see pictures from his youth as well.

Michelle and Alan seemed surprised to hear about Jacqui’s trip to Hawaii with Khizar, but Jacqui convinced them that she had a wonderful time. And when Khizar excused himself for a moment, she explained that he had been a perfect gentleman the entire time, and it was that trip where Jacqui realized that she wanted to pursue a relationship with him.

Jacqui cleaned up the kitchen so that her mom and dad could talk with Khizar some more. She wanted to them to like him as much as she did.

From the kitchen, she could hear her dad ask Khizar about his family, and Khizar told them a few of the stories he’d already told Jacqui. He talked a little about what it was like to run a large company, and work with precious gems.

Her parents seemed to like him, Jacqui thought as she finished loading the dishwasher. When her mom came into the kitchen, carrying their after-dinner coffee cups, she said as much.

“He’s lovely, sweetie. I’m glad you’re having a good time.”

Jacqui leaned against the counter, twisting the dish towel in her hands.

“I think it might be more than just a good time, Mom. I really like him.”

Michelle hesitated, then patted her daughter’s arm. Before she could say anything, Khizar walked into the kitchen and Jacqui looked at the clock.

“Sorry, Mom. I didn’t realize how late it’s gotten.”

Her mother smiled. “You’re always welcome to stay as long as you like, Jacqui. But I know you have to be at the bakery early, so if you need to go, it’s fine.”

Jacqui reached over and gave her mom a hug.

“Thanks. I’ll call you later this week?”

“I look forward to it, sweetheart.” Michelle gave Khizar a brief hug, which he returned. “Khizar, it was so nice to meet you. Hopefully, we’ll see you again soon.”

Later that night, Jacqui got a text from her mother.

Forgot that we’ve got plans to have dinner with the Thompsons on Tuesday night in the city. Mind if we stop by the bakery before we meet up with them?

Jacqui texted back: Of course, you should stop by! I’ll save you some cake if you want dessert before dinner.

It was always nice to have her parents stop by her bakery. They usually visited when they came into the city, and Jacqui always baked something extra special when she knew they were going to be there.

Jacqui looked forward to their visit, especially since Khizar would be flying out of town again for a few days that night. Before he left, he hinted at a surprise he had for her when he got back.

Instead of trying to figure out what the surprise was, Jacqui focused on filling several special cake orders for that week. Because, really, when you’ve already been surprised with a trip to Hawaii, what else could Khizar possibly surprise her with?

* * *

When Jacqui’s parents arrived at the bakery on Tuesday, she’d delivered three of the special order cakes, done the bank deposit, and started prep for the next day’s baking. She had her father’s favorite cake baked and sliced and a fresh pot of coffee brewing when they walked in the door.

“The shop looks wonderful, dear,” her mother said by way of greeting.

“It smells even better!” her dad said, laughing at his own joke.

“Thank you,” Jacqui said to both of them, giving them hugs.

She flipped the closed sign over and locked the door so they could chat without customers coming in. It was about the time she normally closed anyway, and she knew her regular customers had already visited that day.

“I’m so glad you had time to see us today,” her mother said, sitting at one of the little tables.

“Of course, Mom. I’m glad you had time to stop by.”

She poured coffee and handed it to her dad, who carried the cups to the table. Jacqui followed with the cake and three plates; she sliced the cake into generous pieces, putting one on each plate.

“I’ll send the Thompsons your apologies for ruining our dinner,” her dad said, nudging his daughter’s elbow.

“Tell them I said hello, too,” Jacqui said, laughing.

Her mother took a small bite of cake and then put her fork down.

“Jacqui, we wanted to talk to you about something.”

Jacqui looked between them. Her father was suddenly, unusually, serious. And her mother looked nervous.

“Is everything okay?”

“Well, that’s what we wanted to ask you,” her father said.

“I’m fine. The bakery is fine—well, there’s still the question of if I have enough business to cover a rent increase—but it’s the normal worry.”

Michelle took a deep breath.

“It’s just, we were a little surprised when you brought Khizar home with you. He seems nice; we just didn’t know you were seeing someone so seriously.”

Jacqui thought about it. It was sweet that her parents were worried, and to be honest, things were moving fast with Khizar.

“I know it’s a bit sudden, but I’m really happy.”

“We can see that, Jacqui,” her father said. “But we don’t even know how you met.”

“He came into the bakery, bought everything I’d baked that day, and gave it away to some charity organizations I suggested. I went with him and we got to know each other.”

Her parents exchanged a look that Jacqui couldn’t decipher.

“He’s in Milwaukee for business?” Alan asked.

Jacqui nodded. “He’s been talking to jewelry store owners about expanding his company’s jewelry line here.”

“He doesn’t talk a lot about his family,” her mother said.

“No, he doesn’t,” Jacqui said. “But we’ve only been dating a few weeks.”

Michelle laid a hand softly on the table. “Exactly.”

Jacqui looked from her mother to her father. “What’s bothering you both? Is it that I’m dating someone from another country?”

Alan shook his head. “No, though I expect the two of you are going to have to have a difficult conversation about location in the near future.”

“I know, the location difference isn’t ideal. But it’s nothing we can’t work out. I mean, he owns a jet, after all.”

Her parents exchanged another look.

“Sweetie, we know that things haven’t been great here at the bakery, and you’re worried about having to close. We’re concerned that you’re only seeing the financial security Khizar offers,” her mom said.

“The trips and the gifts—they’re a little over the top, aren’t they?” her dad asked.

Jacqui shook her head.

“He’s got money and he likes to spend it. Come on, he gives money to charity. He buys cakes and hands them out to people who don’t have any money to buy them.”

Michelle asked hesitantly, “Are you sure he doesn’t see you as a charity case, too?”

Jacqui started to deny that idea, and then took a deep breath. Her parents were just watching out for her.

“He’s never patronizing, and he’s never done anything as crass as just give me money. I’m not being bought, Mom.”

“No, of course not. But don’t you think he’s being a little mysterious about who he is and why he’s here?”

“I know who he is, Mom, and why. He’s here for business.” Jacqui held up a hand. “Look, you’re concerned, and I get it. It’s a crazy story—CEO sheikh meets Milwaukee baker—but I’m really happy with Khizar. And it has only been a few weeks, but I want to see where our relationship is going.”

Alan nodded. “And we trust you. The only thing we want is for you to be safe and healthy and happy.”

Michelle patted her hand. “You know we’re always here if you need anything.”

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.