When they arrived at Yasin’s home, they were greeted in the foyer by the entire staff, who welcomed Yasin and his new fiancée warmly.

“Fiancée,” Yasin murmured. “That’s something that I’ll have to get used to,” he whispered to Olivia as he led her through the estate.

“You’re telling me,” she replied.

Having grown up at his family’s estate, Yasin was used to the size of the rooms, the ornately decorated furniture, and the lavish lifestyle that he had seen his whole life. Seeing Olivia’s reactions to each of the different parts of the property was eye-opening. This was what Yasin had taken for granted his whole life. He’d never thought it was so special.

“Your home is beautiful,” Olivia said as they walked into the sitting room.

There was a crimson rug on the floor which was intricately weaved with various other colors; vibrant strands of orange and yellow threads danced across it. Surrounding the rug were various other sitting room accoutrements: a long, white couch, a couple of wingback chairs, and a teak coffee table. There were a couple of end tables on either end of the couch with delicate stained-glass lamps on them. Lining the walls were built-in bookcases filled with leather-bound texts.

“This is the most beautiful space I’ve seen yet,” Olivia gushed.

“This is my favorite room of the house, too,” Yasin replied. “It’s so cozy when it gets chilly. I just have to light the gas fireplace over there.”

He pointed to a small glass fireplace inlaid in the far wall.

“I spend a lot of time at the office, but when I do come home and have a spare moment, I love to read in here.” He motioned for her to look around with a slow wave of his hand. “I know that you said you’re an avid reader. You’re welcome to read any of these books, and I can have books brought here if you have any favorite authors that aren’t already here. Most of these books are in English, but you might run across a few in Arabic.”

He watched her slowly move around the room, taking in all of the details. It was as if she was trying to memorize it. Yasin was delighted to watch her as she took it all in—her eyes were wide with wonder, almost like children’s eyes often are.

Rashad was childlike as well, but in a juvenile way. He had a good heart, but his immaturity needed to be reined in and refocused. He needed someone to teach him how to be responsible, and goodness knew he wasn’t taking any pointers from Yasin.

Olivia was different—her childlike wonder seemed equally balanced with a weight of responsibility. It was almost as if she needed someone to take her by the hand and show her that it was okay to go out and explore, have adventures.

“Maybe,” Yasin said after a moment of thought, “I can take you out and show you what Rebayah has to offer. After we get you settled in and we introduce you to everyone.”

“That would be great,” she said. “I’d really love that.”

Next, was her wing of the house. The hallway that led to her portion of the estate was lined with landscapes that looked much different than those she had witnessed during the plane’s descent.

“Did you say, my wing of the house?” Olivia asked as she gazed into the familiar-looking cityscape of New York at night.

“Yes. I just assumed that this would help you feel more at home. We need to live on the same property, but you are your own person, and as such, you should have your own space. I don’t want you to feel as though I have control of every aspect of your life. Our public face is shared, but your personal time is yours.”

He showed her the bathroom and her bedroom, both of which were lavishly furnished.

“Feel free to change what you want,” he said. Then, he opened a door to a third room. It was an empty space that was wallpapered with yellow floral print. There was a large window that overlooked the garden in the back along with a skylight which let in some wonderful natural sunlight.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Whatever you need it to be. You could make it your own library. A reading nook. A craft room. I’m not sure what you want to do with it, but it’s yours.”

She walked around the room, her footsteps echoing in the bare space.

“How are you doing?” he asked as she stopped to look out the window.

“I’m…” She took a deep breath. “I think I might be a little overwhelmed. It’s a lot to take in. Don’t get me wrong—your home is lovely and you’ve been incredibly welcoming. I love this space, and the fact that you gave me my own wing of the house—not just my own room—is tremendously generous. It’s just…”

“It’s a lot. I understand. Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe of her room.

“Actually?” She turned to face him. “This is kind of stupid, but…” Olivia paused. As she let out a small sigh, her face flushed pink. “Whenever I get anxious, I watch my favorite movie. Maybe we could watch it together?”

He nodded. “Sure. I cleared my schedule today so that we could spend some time together and so I could help you get more acquainted. So, I’m all yours. If you want to go to the media room, I’ll go to the kitchen for some popcorn and snacks.”

Her face lit up. “Okay, let me just freshen up first. I’ll meet you there.” She began to walk toward the bathroom but stopped before she got there. “If I get lost, though,” she said, “I’ll send up a flare.”

He laughed. “I’ll send a search and rescue team if I don’t hear from you in an hour,” he joked.

She gave him a playful grin. “Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

Olivia squealed in delight when she stepped into the media room a half hour later. Yasin had arranged a practical fort of pillows and blankets on the comfy-looking leather couch, there were bowls full of snacks all around them, a cooler full of drinks, and boxes of movie candy in a little basket next to the couch.

“I didn’t know what you liked,” he said. “So I brought it all.”

“This is amazing!”

He shrugged. “It’s been a while since I last watched a movie. I figured that I might as well go all out.”

“Really?” she asked. “Jennifer and I always make time to watch a movie with each other once a week. When she feels up to it, we go to the theater, but when she’s had a bad day, we spend the night on the couch and watch movies on TV.”

“That sounds like a great tradition,” he said, taking a seat next to the cooler.

Olivia sat in between Yasin and the basket full of boxed candy.

“Maybe we could do something like that?” she asked him. “I mean, it’d be a good way for us to stay on the same page. We could meet here for a movie and talk about what we need to do for the week or whatever.”

He nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.”

She handed him a box of chocolate-covered peanuts and he happily accepted it.

“My favorite,” he said. His hand reached for the bowl of popcorn and brought it up, setting it in between him and Olivia. “So,” he said. “What are we watching?”

The movie was a cheesy-but-classic romcom. Yasin normally avoided romance comedies, but he found that he had been grossly mistaken about this film. Equal parts witty comedy, romance, and action, he enjoyed it immensely, but it wasn’t just the movie that made him laugh.

Olivia’s laugher and smile were contagious. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her mouthing the words along with the characters in the movie.

“No,” the rugged main character said. “That’s not yours for the taking; my heart belongs to Claire.” Olivia paused dramatically, just as the actor did. “And I’ll deliver that myself, thank you.”

Yasin laughed at her impression. “That’s pretty good, but I don’t think you have nearly enough facial hair for it,” he said.

She laughed with him. “I might need to smoke like thirty packs of cigarettes, too,” she said. “His voice is way huskier than mine.”

“Are you kidding?” he said. “His voice is even huskier than mine!”

They finished the movie and let the TV play as they talked through the night.

Yasin had never felt so comfortable with anyone before. No one had ever been able to break down the wall that he used to surround his heart, and yet it had taken all of 24 hours for this bright-eyed, beautiful woman to open him up. It felt as if they had known each other since childhood.

What was it about her? Yasin pondered that question right up until he fell asleep with his arms wrapped around his new fiancée.