The Sheikh took a plate in each hand and tilted his head toward a doorway out of the kitchen. Lily grabbed her wine glass, an extra one for him, and the opened bottle, and followed him out of the kitchen. The sun had set while he had been cooking, and the blackened hallways held a haunted feeling with their peeling edges and aged appearance.

Lily stepped a little closer to Atnan as they reached a glass door.

“I’m sorry, can you open that? My hands are a bit full.”

Lily nodded, stepped ahead, and shifted her own cargo into one hand before she pulled on the curved handle of the door. She stepped outside, the flickering candlelight dancing in her eyes.

Atnan had set up a table for two in a private garden surrounded by plants that had died many years before. Surrounding them were statuettes and tiny fountains, and the only light came from two long white candles in the center of the table. A gentle breeze blew around them, sending a shiver down Lily’s spine.

“Is it too cold for you? This is generally where I like to have my meals. I like being outside.”

Lily shook her head.

“Not at all. This is…lovely.”

Atnan nodded approvingly. He set the two plates on the table and stepped to one side before pulling out a chair. After a pause, Lily realized he was waiting for her to sit in it, and she nearly jumped into it, not wanting to get too close to him. Her feelings were wildly conflicting, and it made Lily uneasy. She set the wine and glasses on the table.

“You told me you weren’t going to lie. The palace obviously needs quite a bit of work,” he said.

He sat across from her, the candlelight complementing his skin and his suit, giving an eerie yet magical feel to the night. Lily glanced up to see a sky laced with stars before she looked back at Atnan, who was watching her.

Did she like that he was doing that?

“While we’re on the subject,” she replied, leaning in, liquid confidence flowing through her as a result of the wine, “why was this palace left here to rot? It’s clearly stunning under all the grime.”

Atnan sat back in his chair, gazing up at the constellations above them. When he looked back at Lily, his eyes were troubled.

“This palace is one of many that belong to my family. I remember spending my early summers here, when my parents desired a bit of drier heat.”

He glanced down and poured a glass of wine before he looked back up at her.

“I was five years old when my mother died. This was her favorite place. My father found the memories too painful to bear, so he boarded the place up. When he remarried a few years later, his second wife hated the fact that this place reminded him of her, so we never came back.”

Lily stared at him, a wave of sympathy coursing through her. She wanted to reach her hand out and grasp his, to let him know he wasn’t alone in the world. In that moment, in the flickering light, he looked so terribly alone.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and he nodded.

“Yes, well, it was a long time ago. My memories of my mother are few at best, and my stepmother, while sometimes a jealous woman, is kind and loves my father very much. I couldn’t have asked for a better upbringing, given my situation.”

He took a breath and smiled.

“But here we are, about to let this perfect meal go cold. How can I accept a point deducted for temperature when you won’t stop talking?”

Lily laughed, happy to break free of the tense moment. Picking up her fork and knife, she cut a slice of the beef and dipped it in the sauce.

“You’re lucky that I just happen to adore anything that involves cheese.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. Try a bite, and then tell me it’s terrible.”

Lily did, lifting her fork to her mouth and tasting the perfectly moist, delectable beef. She allowed the meat to rest in her mouth for a moment longer, just to savor the taste of real food. When she looked back up at Atnan, his expression was triumphant.

“Okay, fine. It’s amazing, all right?” she giggled.

The Sheikh laughed, picking up his own utensils and digging in.

They ate in comfortable silence, Lily savoring every bite. Paired with the wine, it was a perfect meal, and the cool desert breeze was welcome, the fresh air penetrating her senses, allowing her to relax fully for the first time in ages.

“I’ll take that critique, now, whenever you’re ready,” Atnan said, sitting back in his chair with a cocky expression.

“I already told you it was delicious. Do you always need your ego stoked?”

“No, but I haven’t received a compliment in a long time. Actually, I haven’t shared a meal with anyone in a long time, either, so maybe I just like conversation. If that conversation just so happens to be how great I am, so be it.”

Lily grinned at him, taking the last sip of her glass of wine. The bottle was empty, and she was glad. If she drank any more, she might do something she would regret.

“A-,” she said, sitting back herself.

Atnan frowned.

“What could possibly be lacking?”

Lily shrugged.

“You didn’t include dessert. It’s the most important part of the meal.”

“What! Of course there’s dessert. You have graded me unfairly and prematurely. Don’t move.”

He stood, leaving her alone in the garden as he headed back into the palace and out of sight. Lily blinked, wondering if she had upset him enough for him to storm out like a toddler. After a few minutes, she contemplated following to see where he went, but he reappeared in the doorway, his hands once again loaded with two small plates.

On each plate was a piece of dark chocolate cake, a delicate chocolate drizzle design beneath each slice. On top of each slice there was rich white cream and a strawberry.

Lily bit back a smile.

“You just happened to have chocolate cake prepared on the off-chance you’d get into a car accident with a stranger and bring them back to your palace to hide with you?”

Atnan set the plate in front of her after removing their dinner plates and setting them on a small side table.

“What can I say? I have a lot of free time around here, and I enjoy culinary pursuits. You just get to be lucky enough to try my gâteau au chocolat.”

“Oh, so it’s a French chocolate cake. Good to know.”

“Do you speak any?” he asked, handing her a silver dessert fork.

She took it, eager to try the delicious dessert.

“I do not, but I can recognize the accent, so that’s something. Now let’s see if you deserve an A for this final last-minute contribution.”

She dug her fork into the light, smooth cake and dipped it in the cream before tasting it. An explosion of flavor caressed her taste buds.

“Mmm,” she exhaled, trying to do as she had with the main course and savor it before moving to the next bite.

She found that much more difficult to do with the cake.

“I take it that’s a sound of approval?” Atnan asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

She looked up at him. A man who could make chocolate cake like that deserved her full attention, and in that moment, Lily realized that being holed up with the Sheikh could be one of the better things that had happened to her in quite some time.

“A+,” she affirmed, and he beamed.

“Well, that is certainly a jump. How I could have forgotten something as important as dessert is beyond me.”

She pointed her fork at him teasingly.

“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

He placed a hand on his heart.

“Oh, you can rest assured, it certainly will not.”

They ate the rest of the dessert, Lily fighting the urge to lift her plate to her face and lick all traces of chocolate from it. When they finished, they stared up at the night sky for a while longer.

“You said you like being outside,” Lily said, and Atnan nodded.

“When I was younger, my father would take me hunting, and we would spend nights camped out with a canopy of trees above us and the starlight peeking through. The world was quiet and dark, and you could really think outside the obligations of life back in the city. Whenever I feel trapped or confined, I find I often feel better when I can get back to nature.”

Lily thought of all the hikes she had taken through the mountains of Wyoming and completely understood what he was saying.

“You get a sense of that here, even though we have a bit of shelter,” she said with a soft smile.

Atnan smiled back. In the waning candlelight, his face looked more defined, more handsome. As if that were possible.

“A bit of shelter, yes. Though I suppose it is getting late, and you must be quite tired from the day’s events. May I escort you to your room?”

Lily swallowed, thinking about the Sheikh being inches from her room, where a large bed stood in wait. She tossed the thought aside, chalking it up to the wine and the romantic atmosphere. Something flew overhead, and she gasped and let out a small scream.

“What was that?” she squeaked, ducking as she bolted toward the door.

“A bat, I imagine,” he answered, unperturbed.

“You have bats here? Are they inside?”

He stood slowly, meeting her at the door.

“I suppose one or two might have gotten in. Why? Are you afraid?”

His gaze was warm as he looked down at her, and Lily realized they were far too close for comfort. She stepped inside.

“No, I’m not,” she said.