The butterflies in my stomach were now doing full-on acrobatics. It was a struggle to keep myself from smiling like a freak and passing out in my chair.
If this was how my night was going to go, maybe I really was lucky.
Maybe I was the luckiest nurse in the whole darn world.
SIX
I meant to leave after having one drink with Jalaal. I was on a girls’ weekend, after all. Not to mention the fact that there was only so long I could suppress San Diego Skyler before she started wondering if her son had gotten to sleep okay and if he missed her as much as she missed him. Honestly, I was surprised I’d managed to keep her at bay so long, and I felt a little guilty about it.
Nobody—and I mean nobody—had ever been able to distract me from thinking about my son for so long. It wasn’t just because Jalaal was a sheikh, either. The pope wouldn’t have been able to hold my attention so well. Jalaal was just so charming and sweet, but he had a real roguish sense of humor that led me to wonder whether he had a little bit of a dark side.
And I hadn’t wondered that about anyone in a long time. Such a long time, in fact, that the thought kind of blindsided me around the same time Jalaal asked me to stay for another drink. It must have frazzled my circuits, because I found myself agreeing.
San Diego Skyler resurfaced and asked Las Vegas Skyler what the hell she was thinking. Where did I think this was going to go? What, were we going to have a few drinks and then decide to go steady? Did I think I’d be introducing him to Sam as his new daddy when I saw him next week?
No.
I didn’t even know where this guy lived, but it definitely wasn’t San Diego. It might not even have been the United States. No bond we created tonight would be long-lasting. Best-case scenario, I found out something horrible that immediately made me not interested in him. Worst-case scenario, I had an amazing night and spent the next few weeks (or months, depending on how amazing) pining over a guy I would never see again.
Not just any guy, mind you, but the first guy since Sam’s dad that I’d felt this strong of an attraction to. And I hadn’t felt it this soon with Sam’s dad, either. I hadn’t felt this attracted to Jackson until after we’d been on three dates.
I’d known Jalaal for less than two hours and was already so invested that my better judgement had been forced to take a backseat to my baser impulses. I wanted him. No amount of better judgement would help me now.
And thus, San Diego Skyler slid silently into the background and Jalaal and I ordered two more rounds of drinks.
It was starting to get late, and I was starting to wonder where this evening would take us. More importantly, where did I want it to take us?
I wasn’t sure. On the one hand, it had been a long time since I’d had this much fun with a guy who wasn’t Sam. But that was also my main issue. What if things ended up moving too fast and I woke up filled with regret?
“Is everything all right, Skyler?”
Jalaal’s honeyed voice coaxed me back to the present. I loved it when he said my name. His accent made it sound like he savored every syllable. I stared at him over our empty glasses, still composing my thoughts in my head.
“Yeah,” I said. “I was just thinking.”
“What about?”
I chuckled nervously. “I guess I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my evening.”
“Trying to ditch me already?” His lip quirked up in amusement.
I grinned. “Therein lies the question.” I swirled the straw in my empty glass and took a deep breath. “I think I’d like to grab a nightcap with you, if you’re interested.”
Jalaal smiled approvingly. His dark eyes swept over me and sent a wave of shivers over my skin.
“Would you like to come back to my hotel?” he said. “It’s only a couple blocks away.”
I thought about what my friends would tell me to do. Undoubtedly, all of them would tell me to go. They were probably having more fun without me than they had with me. Wasn’t that proof that I should go with Jalaal, if nothing else?
“I’d like that,” I said. “Lead the way.”