Pyramids and Promises (The Omega Alpha Mu Brothers Book 2) Read online

  It had been months since he’d actually seen her. Not that it mattered. He’d never get over her. At first, he thought he could, but as time went on, he found his love for her had only gotten stronger.

  Thirty minutes later he climbed out of the pool, exhausted and with sore muscles. Tomorrow morning, he would ache like the devil. He dried off and dressed. He might as well grab a drink before he went home. Visions of Nour would be tormenting him for hours. He could get a jump-start on getting drunk before he headed home.

  Conner stopped dead on the patio. That woman, the Nour lookalike, sat at a table, alone, with a fruity drink in her hand. While swimming, he managed to convince himself that he was kidding himself about the woman. That she hadn’t looked that much like Nour. But the resemblance was even more pronounced now. He stopped a waiter and asked him for a Tom Collins.

  Cautiously, he approached the woman’s table. She had no phone in her hand or a book. Nothing to distract her from being alone. She seemed content just sitting there.

  He sat down without asking permission.

  “Are you new around here?” he asked before she could tell him to get lost. Her eyes. They were exactly the same heart-stopping shade of blue.

  She gave him a tired smile. “Yeah, landed yesterday. Is it that obvious?”

  “Not at all. It’s just that if you come here often enough, you start seeing the same faces. Are you embassy?”

  “Yep. What about you?”

  “Oil. I’m Conner.” He stretched out to shake her hand, but she lifted her glass.

  “Jessica,” she said. “How long have you been here?”

  “In Egypt, five years. I’ll probably be here for life. Though I suppose I could end up in another part of the Middle East. I like it here.”

  That and he would never leave because Nour was here. She couldn’t be his. He knew that now, but there was always an off chance, and he would be here if it came up.

  Jessica nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “What’s your impression of Cairo so far?”

  “It’s loud and chaotic. Honestly, this wasn’t a place I wanted to come.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s a dry hot desert with nothing to do.”

  Conner shrugged. “I can understand that. But everyone has read about Egypt at one point. Come on, what’s the one thing you’ve always wanted to see?”

  “Valley of the Kings.”

  She surprised him. He asked almost every reluctant, and even eager, expat he met the exact same question. They always answered—“The pyramids.”

  “You know that’s an unusual response.”

  She grinned, and he felt his insides warm. It was exactly like staring at Nour.

  “Yes, but when I was a kid, I read a book that was set in the Valley of the Kings, and I’ve wanted to see it ever since. I was actually going to try to find a tour guide tomorrow or Friday to take me.”

  He thought about telling her that it wasn’t close, but at the last second something possessed him. He changed his mind.

  “I could take you.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Sure, but I have work tomorrow, so it will need to be on Friday. One of the best things to do there is to take a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Queens. But the balloons only go up first thing in the morning. Like five a.m., so if you want to do that, we’ll need to stay overnight near there.”

  “I’ve never heard of the Valley of the Queens.”

  “It’s right next to the Valley of the Kings. We can’t take a balloon over the Kings.”

  Jessica played with her drink for a few seconds. Her blue eyes clouded over, and he could feel her hesitation.

  Conner laughed. “I’ll book us separate hotel rooms.”

  She let out a breath. “Okay. Sorry, I’m not good at this stuff. I wasn’t sure if you implying something more.”

  “Maybe I was.” He gave her a wicked grin, and her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. “But you looked like you were considering turning me down. So now I only offer you my services as a tour guide. Can I pick you up tomorrow evening around six?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay, I gotta go.” He handed her a napkin. “Write down your address.”

  Her hands were shaking when she took the pen from him. He wondered what had made her so skittish. Though, he supposed he did just offer to take her to a hotel, and they’d only met fifteen minutes before. He’d be careful with her, do his best to draw her out of her shell, find out what her fears were and be better. If he could win her over, and if he couldn’t have Nour, maybe he could have the next best thing.

  The Ms insisted on helping Jessica carry in her groceries. They had been kind enough to take her around to the best shops. She was able to get most everything she needed and would only have to order in a few things. Jessica tried to head the ladies off at the door. But Melinda wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was determined to make a friend of Jessica, whether her name started with “M” or not. What if they had been the ones to help Rick place all those awful flowers? It would be like him to charm all of her neighbors into working against her.

  That was terrible of her. Jessica immediately felt awful as they carried the bags down the hall to her apartment. She had to shake off the suspicion and unfriendliness. The girls were only trying to be welcoming. Kind to the new girl. And Jessica hadn’t felt any of that mistrust when she had agreed to let that green-eyed devil from the pool be her tour guide. He was the one she should probably be wary of. What had she been thinking? Or more appropriately, what had she been drinking? She’d only had one drink. Yet she had no real explanation for why she thought it would be a good idea to go sightseeing with a handsome stranger. For now, she was choosing to blame it on the lure of the Valley of the Kings.

  “Thank you so much for the help,” she said as she fumbled for her keys and tried to be as sincere as possible. She would be living and working with these people. There was no way for her to hole up and hide. Especially since she was a therapist. Approachability was supposed to be part of her profession. Jessica simply needed to fake it until she felt it.

  “Happy to help.” Melinda smiled so genuinely that Jessica felt another pang of guilt in her stomach.

  She knocked the door open with her hip, and identical to when she’d arrived, a look of pure shock crossed the Ms’s faces. This time though, without the delight.

  “The flowers?” Melinda’s gaze darted to her.

  “What happened to them?” asked Molly. She crept into the apartment like a flower-eating monster might jump out and gobble her up too.

  Jessica’s cheeks burned. She shrugged and carried her bags into the kitchen with her guests hot on her heels.

  Melinda froze when she saw all the vases lined up like little glass soldiers on the counter.

  “I had to get rid of them.” Jessica sat her bags on the counter and ignored the hot sting of tears in her eyes.

  “How come? They were so pretty.” Marcy whined.

  “They were gorgeous,” Molly agreed.

  Jessica reached for the bags they carried.

  “Allergies?” Melinda leaned against the counter. Suspicion written all over her face.

  “Yes.” The lie came smoothly off her lips, and Jessica regretted it. She’d been covering up for Rick for too long. “No, my ex-husband sent them.”

  Melinda opened her mouth and closed it again. Jessica started to empty the bags in the hopes that she wouldn’t ask more questions. A box of crackers went in a cabinet; she didn’t pay any attention to which one. A single tear escaped down her cheek. She dashed it away. She’d promised herself no more of those when she left Russia.

  Melinda joined her. She emptied the bags and handed them to Molly. Together they went over and placed the vases in the paper sacks.

  “We’ll get these out of here. I can donate them to one of the local churches. Vases like this would be too expensive for them, and you don’t need to see them an
ymore.”

  Jessica paused and watched. With the vases sacked up, a weight she didn’t know she carried was lifted.

  They spent the next hour arranging Jessica’s cabinets. Melinda demanded order, and Marcy and Molly followed her every command. Melinda was definitely the lead fairy godmother.

  “Crackers with mac and cheese?” Molly giggled.

  “Makes sense in my world.” Jessica risked a small smile.

  “I can see it. Some crackers and butter would make a great topping for mac and cheese.” Marcy shrugged.

  “Of course, you’d have the perfect recipe right off the top of your head.” Molly rolled her eyes.

  Jessica laughed. Melinda joined her, and before long the other two did too. They laughed until their stomachs hurt.

  Jessica began to feel in control of her environment, and that settled her nerves. When everything had found a home, Marcy and Molly hugged her and promised they’d come by on Sunday to see how her first day of work went. Friday-Saturday weekends would take some getting used to. Melinda hung back.

  “I’m here if you need to talk. But I need to know one thing,” said Melinda once they were alone.

  Jessica steeled herself. Her Russian colleagues had thought her crazy for running away. Melinda would probably think the same.

  “Are you safe?” Melinda asked, concern in her deep brown eyes.

  “Safe?” Jessica echoed.

  “He somehow got those flowers in here. Are you safe? Do we need to see about putting in for a new apartment?”

  Relief flooded Jessica. Gratitude as well. Melinda wasn’t trying to pry or get a good story. She was only looking out for Jessica’s safety.

  “I don’t believe so, and I’m careful with my locks.” Jessica smiled as best she could.

  “If that situation ever changes, you tell me immediately. Jeff can help. He knows some people in the housing office. Also, you should get to know your boab. He can keep out unwanted guests.”

  “My what?”

  “Your boab. They usually live in the basements of apartment buildings and take care of your trash and building maintenance. Sometimes they act as security. I’ll ask Marcy and Molly how good your boab is tomorrow. Some are excellent, and others are useless.”

  “Thank you,” Jessica said and truly meant it. The landscape might be brown and monotone, but it seemed maybe she could find a couple of real friends here. More than a couple, if Conner didn’t turn out to be psycho. She really hoped he didn’t. His green eyes made her think things she had no business thinking about.

  After Melinda left, Jessica dug out her laptop. She needed to email home and let them know she was okay. She had 122 new emails, and 113 of them were from Rick. She shut the laptop and went out on to her balcony. Beneath her, people hollered at each other in Arabic. Car horns honked, and tires screeched. She’d get used to the noise. Across the street was a florist, and the flowers were beautiful. The air here smelled different than in Moscow. The breeze brought images of sand and flowers. The balcony was nice, and it would be the perfect place for a cup of tea and a book. It was time she learned to love the sun.

  Tommy was waiting for Conner when he stepped off the elevator, with a cup of his favorite coffee and his iPad. His ever-pressed suit and slicked back brown hair as perfect as always. As one of only two male assistants in the company, Tommy insisted on being better than all those lazy women. Or so he claimed.

  “Good morning.” Tommy offered him the coffee first. “I’ve got your morning reports and a few juicy tidbits on Cahill’s retirement.”

  “Thanks,” Conner said absently. He sipped his coffee as they strode down to his office. Tommy spouted something about who was next in line for the VP spot that would soon be vacated. Conner wasn’t listening though. His mind was still at the pool last night with the beautiful, blue-eyed Jessica.

  “Boss?”

  Conner kept walking.

  “Conner!”

  He stopped and turned around, fully intent on giving Tommy a lecture about bothering him while he was thinking. However, Tommy was standing by his desk. Conner had blown past his own office. The other assistants were watching him expectantly. His cheeks grew warm. It was like that recurring dream where he showed up for prom in his underwear. A couple of the female assistants giggled at him. He rolled his shoulders and tried to shake off the embarrassment.

  “Got something on my mind, Tommy,” he said loudly for everyone one to hear. He walked to Tommy’s desk and hoped he didn’t sound too much like a clueless executive that needed his assistant to tie his shoes for him.

  “I know. You’ve got that big project you’re working on.” Tommy shooed him inside his own office and shut the door.

  “Preoccupied much?” Tommy raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s not June 1st yet. You shouldn’t be this distracted. Did you happen to see her on the street? Please don’t tell me you’ve taken to hiding in the bushes outside her building.”

  Sometimes it was great that his assistant knew him so well. Sometimes it was a pain in the ass.

  “No.” Conner slouched down in his chair. “But I did see someone who looked amazingly like her. I need you to find out if Nour’s mother has any family that work for the embassy.”

  Surely, Jessica would have mentioned family when they talked. Then again, she might not have. Conner drummed his fingers on his desk.

  “Alright.” Tommy rolled his hand and offered up the iPad again. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to look at this. You jumped all over me for not having it yesterday.”

  Conner took the tablet. Old Man Winston Cahill was the VP for the drilling department. It shouldn’t have been a question that when he finally retired, Conner would step into his position. However, about six months ago, Cahill Jr. decided he not only wanted a piece of the business, he wanted his dad’s position. Since then he’d been working a couple of shady deals and had undercut two of Conner’s drilling teams. Those projects came in late. Conner came out looking like an ass. Now he had Tommy investigating Junior and his minion, Trent, to see what kind of dirt he could drum up on them.

  “Also, see if the jet is free this weekend. I want to go down to the Luxor.” He laid the tablet down.

  “Why?” Tommy propped his hip on the edge of Conner’s desk. “Need a getaway? Need a date?” He winked.

  “I took you to see the Valley of the Kings six months ago.” Conner rolled his eyes. Tommy had a major crush on him. Nothing too serious, and nothing that prevented them from working together, quite the opposite. Tommy was as loyal as they came.

  “A wonderful trip.” Tommy sighed dramatically. “And who will be gifted with your touring abilities this time?”

  “The girl I met last night.” Conner studied the tablet, hoping Tommy would get the hint and go work. But no.

  “The Nour impersonator.” He choked out a laugh. “And she agreed to go? I know you’re adorable, but damn.”

  “She’s not an impersonator.” Conner frowned. “I don’t really think she has anything to do with Nour at all. I just want to be certain.”

  “I’m sure you’re going to take her on that romantic balloon ride.” Tommy shook his head. The morning sun glinted off the ridiculous glasses he insisted on wearing, even though he didn’t need them.

  Conner waved him away. “I’ve got work to do. Get lost.”

  “I’m assuming if the jet is available, that I should make all of the usual Luxor arrangements.” Tommy paused by the office door.

  “Yes, that would be great.” Conner flipped open his laptop. He had a big presentation later that afternoon, and he needed it to go well.

  “Oh wait, one thing,” he said, without looking up from his screen. “I need two rooms.”

  “Two?” Tommy didn’t hide his surprise. “Seems wasteful.”

  “Just going as friends,” said Conner. He ignored Tommy’s snort.

  He put the computer down and turned to look out his window at the gorgeous view of Cairo. Miles and miles of rooftops that spread
out in every direction, cut by a silver ribbon that wound its way through the middle—the magnificent Nile.

  What to do about Jessica?

  He didn’t want to hurt her. She’d already been hurt. That much was obvious. Even so, she agreed to go with him to Luxor. Of course, she hadn’t realized how far they would be going.

  Maybe he wasn’t being fair to Jessica by hanging out with her until he could see Nour again. If this was a business situation, it would be a sound idea. Always have an ace in the hole. Jessica wasn’t a barrel of oil though. He needed to make sure he treated her well and that she always had an out if she got spooked. Be kind, considerate, take things slow, and most of all, show her a good time. Whatever happened would happen—Inshallah, as the locals said.

  Packing had been a chore. Jessica spent two hours tossing jeans in her bag and then taking them out and putting in shorts instead. Back and forth it went. Cairo was warm, but so far the heat wasn’t unbearable. Melinda told her that would change soon enough. In the end, Jessica went with everything—the jeans, capris, and the shorts. She added a sundress for dinner and a sweater in case it was cool. Basically, she packed for every possible weather scenario.

  Jessica waited in the lobby of her building. This was stupid. She’d been in Egypt for less than forty-eight hours, and she was going to stay at a hotel with a strange man. Sure he said he was getting separate rooms, but this was still a really bad idea.

  Every therapist instinct told her to cancel. However, the lure of being a little reckless thrilled her in a way she never had been before, or at least in a very long time. She went inside. This was crazy. Insane. There was no way she could go through with this. She’d send down a note and tell him that she contracted dysentery or something equally gross. No wait. She sighed. This could be good for her. She needed to do things that were out of character. She went back outside to wait.