“You really can’t see the necessity of this?”
My eyes sweep shut on a wave of acceptance. From his perspective, yes, I can see why he’d had me monitored, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
“My dad isn’t –,”
But he shakes his head, squeezing my hand. “Let’s not have that conversation.”
Bitter tears wet my eyes. I blink them away. “Fine.” But the fun of learning about him has left me. His thumb runs over the back of my hand, drawing invisible circles.
“There are many things I don’t know about you, things I have been wondering about. Would you care to enlighten me?” He prompts in a voice that is gravelled and soft.
Hurt must show in my eyes when I look at him. “Such as?”
“You dated your college boyfriend for two years.”
I think of Ryan with a soft smile, but it falls when I realise how much of my personal life Zahir is privy to. “Yes?”
“Why did you break up.”
“Your spies didn’t tell you?”
His gaze clashes with mine. “No.”
I go to pul
l my hand away but he tightens his grip, shifting to lace our fingers together. The touch is doing something to me, pulling at a thread in my belly. I swallow hard and look to the table.
“We sort of just grew apart,” I say after a while. “We had a lot of fun together, but the relationship ran its course.”
“No hard feelings?”
Another smile. “No, none whatsoever. We’re still friends.”
His thumb pauses for a moment, before resuming its journey.
“What about you?”
His lips quirk in a cynical expression. “You want to know about my love life?”
“Sure, why not?”
“There is not much to tell. I’ve been involved with women, never seriously.”
“You’ve never had a girlfriend?”
He considers this, then shakes his head. “Not by the definition you’re using.”
I fight a smile. “How do you define ‘girlfriend’?”
“A woman I spend time with.”
“Is that a euphemism for sex?”
His gaze shows agreement.
I can’t help but laugh. “I see.” I sober quickly. “So you’ve never been in love?”
His shoulders tighten. “No.”