Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
Though they’d moved a little distance away, they were thankfully still within earshot, giving Taliana an opportunity to eavesdrop.
“What is this about?” Khalid asked, dipping his head to meet his sister’s narrowed gaze. “Why can’t you just be civil around them?”
The last time Taliana had seen Khalid Bakhtiar, she’d nearly swooned over his wide smile, good looks, and kind eyes. She’d vaguely recognized how similar he and Blair looked, but that smile made him much more approachable, and Taliana had almost forgotten they were related. But in that moment, as he scowled and shook his head, he and Blair looked so much alike. He truly was a Bakhtiar.
“I am being civil,” Blair snapped, crossing her arms. “Besides, Khalid, this is just how it is between us. Just accept it and stop trying to meddle.”
Eyes softening, he reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Just move on with your life, Laleh.”
“You don’t know anything,” she hissed, shrugging off his touch. “And don’t call me that.”
“But it’s your name .”
“My name is
Blair . Not Laleh.”
“Come on, that’s just a nickname you came up with to blend in with the other kids.” Khalid’s eyes narrowed as he took a step forward. “I’m not going to call you by a name your parents didn’t pick. You may hate your father, but at least show your mother that respect.”
Her hands were trembling by the time he finished, and it seemed like she wanted nothing more than to snarl a reply. But instead of making an even bigger scene like Taliana expected-and, okay, really wanted to see-Blair drew in a deep breath and took a moment to calm herself. Taliana had to strain to hear her next words.
“Look, if you’re going to call me out, have the decency to do it in private,” she murmured, the fire in her eyes dying out. “At least give me that courtesy, Khalid.”
As if just noticing they weren’t alone in the room, Khalid glanced around before his lips settled into a thin line. “We’ll continue this later. But do me a favor and lay off Sebastian and his friends, all right? You have no right to act like this when you were the one who ruined that relationship.”
A flash of rage once again crossed her face, but it faded quickly. Taliana knew better than to think Blair had gotten over it that quickly, and she had a feeling Khalid did too.
“You’re right,” Blair agreed easily. “It was? absolutely all my fault, and William had? nothing to do with it. Thanks for reminding me. I’ll see you later, okay?” Blair let her fingers brush his forearm as she slid around him and made her way back to their table. She shot Taliana and Sebastian an apologetic smile as she grabbed her purse off the back of her chair. “I hope you can forgive my incivility. Apparently, it’s not welcome, and neither am I.”
They both watched silently as she lifted a hand in farewell and swept out of the restaurant without another word. After she disappeared, Taliana turned to Sebastian to see if he had anything to say about what had just happened, but he only offered a confused shrug.
Luckily, Khalid’s arrival at the table saved them from the arduous task of figuring out what that had been about. With a sigh, he slid into the seat his sister had just vacated and ran a hand through his black curls.
“I apologize for her,” he said, fixing them with a you know how Blair is look. “She’s been acting out more than normal lately. After she was suspended, Amir called me here to look after her for a while.”
“Sounds like you do a lot of babysitting,” Taliana said, leaning into the arm Sebastian had put around her shoulders. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”
Khalid chuckled and relaxed back into his chair. “I’m supposed to be in Madrid with one of my friends from university right now, actually.”
“It’s a shame you have to miss out on that.”
“She’s my sister,” he said, obviously resigned to that fact. “I have no choice but to put family first, but she’s hard to handle when Amir’s not around.”
“Still in Iran?” Sebastian asked.
“Saudi Arabia now,” Khalid answered. “More business, though the last time I talked to him it sounded more like he was brokering a marriage than making an oil deal.” He shook out a linen napkin to place in his lap. “But enough about that. How are you two doing?”
Once again, Sebastian and Taliana glanced at each other, but she had to look away to hide her blush when his eyes met hers. She was pretty sure that answered Khalid’s question.
He smiled and sent Sebastian a congratulatory wink. “Keep up whatever you’re doing to this girl, Phillips. She’s practically glowing.”
Personally, Taliana thought he’d confused blushing with glowing, but she wasn’t about to correct him, especially once Sebastian pressed his lips to her jaw.
“You can count on that.”
* * *
When brunch ended a few hours later, Taliana was stuffed beyond belief but content. She barely heard the voices babbling about their plans for the rest of the day, but to be honest, all she wanted to do was sleep.
“What do you say we go back to the house?” Sebastian proposed, gathering her into his arms as they waited for the valet to bring his car around. “Maybe we could go back to bed.”
Something about his tone told Taliana he wanted to do a lot more than simply get in bed. “I have no problem with going back, but nothing is going to happen, buddy. I’m exhausted.”
If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it. “Fine, we’ll get in bed, watch a movie, and see where the day goes from there. Yeah?”
She slapped his bicep, though the blow was far gentler than anything else she’d ever landed on him. “Nothing on your mind but sex.”
“Can I take that as a yes?” he asked, grinning hopefully.
“We’ll see, Cry Baby. We’ll see.”
32
Honeymoon Daze
By Monday afternoon, Sebastian had persuaded Taliana to change her tune.
“Damn you and your charm,” she murmured against his neck as she straddled him, but her words held no threat. “I need to learn how to say no to you.”
He laughed and brought his hands up to cup her backside. “You know you don’t want to.”
“So says you. But…you might be right.”
He grinned, but before he could say anything back, there was a knock on the door.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Michael called from the other side. “You planning to come out of there anytime soon?”