and hugged her closely. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
She grinned, feeling like an idiot with her happiness hanging on her sleeve, but she couldn’t help it. The way he looked at her made her feel special and beautiful. She stood on her tip toes and kissed his jaw. “I can’t wait,” she said, then pulled out of his arms.
He caught her around her waist and pulled her back. “That’s not going to work,” he growled and wrapped his strong arms around her. She didn’t mind at all, had actually been hoping for just such a reaction. So when he bent low to kiss her, she pressed her body against him, her face automatically turning up towards his and kissed him back with all the passion she was feeling despite her orgasm of only two hours ago.
When he finally pulled away, she smiled up at him, her face beaming with her excitement but she stepped back and hurried down the dirt path in the direction of the village. She didn’t want to go, but knew she had to hurry before Laura woke up. Sidra rushed through the wet fields, hurrying towards the bakery for coffee and muffins. She was out of breath when she reached Laura’s flat but her friend had overslept. Thankfully.
She placed the bag and coffee cups on the breakfast bar, then settled down with her cup of coffee, savoring the memories of her secret morning with Rashid, her body still singing from the memory of how incredible it had felt to be in his arms to experience that kind of excitement.
“Why are you blushing?” Laura asked, her mouth hanging open and her robe only partially closed as she stood in her bedroom doorway, looking at Sidra as if she’d grown a second head.
Sidra jumped and turned guiltily to her friend. Her mind worked quickly and thought up an excuse. “Oh, I was just thinking about that book I told you I was reading,” she said and was relieved when Laura smiled and tightened the robe of her belt.
Laura laughed and shook her head as she picked up the cup of still hot coffee, slipping the lid off carefully. “You’re going to have to give me the name of that book. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that would put that kind of expression on my face.”
Sidra was relieved that her friend accepted her explanation, not feeling guilty at all for lying to her. Laura was like a pit bull when she thought something was going on and Sidra wasn’t ready to talk about Rashid just yet. It was silly, but she had a feeling that telling Laura anything would make the feelings she had for Rashid go away and she loved this special feeling. Or maybe, Sidra knew that this was just a special moment in time and when she had to leave, she wanted these precious memories all to herself. Telling Laura might make them dirty, sully them in some way. Her feelings and actions were too wonderful to be wrong, so silence was the best option.
Within an hour, the two of them were off on another spree around London. This time they hit all of the decorating sites, enjoying an afternoon of shopping and Sidra found several unique pieces that she had shipped back to the States for future projects. They laughed and lunched at a cute café, but when Laura received a message from one of her clients just before dinner time, their fun was at an end.
“Sidra, I’m so sorry but I’ve got to get over to this house and help this client. Apparently, something is wrong with her light fixtures and she’s just furious about whatever it is.”
“No problem,” Sidra replied. “Go and get things fixed. I know how demanding some clients can be.” Secretly, she had a plan and didn’t want Laura tagging along so this was the perfect opportunity.
As soon as Laura left, Sidra locked up her friend’s apartment and headed for the drug store in the village. She was painfully embarrassed but she persevered, making her purchase and then getting back to her friend’s flat with a bag full of groceries. She had a pile of cheesy pasta, garlic bread and a bottle of red wine all set up as soon as Laura walked wearily into the flat.
Over dinner, they shared stories about various clients, laughing about some of their requests as they devoured the pasta and finished the bottle of wine. With all the carbs in their