Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
“I have no problem with you coming in late,” she assured.
“Thanks for your understanding,” Albert said. “This is a big break for us. He’d like us to clean every week. We clean his office at the airport, but the contract for a house that size would allow us to keep more of our workers on through the winter.”
Shabina nodded her understanding and forced herself to greet the four university students at the next table. It would have seemed rude if she’d skipped them. Since all four spoke the language, she greeted them with the traditional Arab greeting, using flawless Arabic. She repeated a greeting in French to Jules Beaumont. They answered her solemnly in the same languages. She asked if they needed anything. Deniz Kaplan from Turkey complimented the coffee and the breakfast dish she’d made specifically for him—fried eggs made with minced ground beef topped off with pepper and tomato paste, olive oil and parsley. It went perfectly with Turkish bread.
Emar Salhi and Jamal Talbi from Algeria both asked her to make a traditional Algerian breakfast for them. It consisted of eggs, peppers, tomatoes and onions. She served their breakfast with plenty of toast and their favorite coffee.
Jules Beaumont preferred the more traditional breakfast of potatoes and sausage. She’d served him stoemp (mashed potatoes) and pork sausage with gravy.
All four had seemed to savor the breakfasts from their homelands. She was happy to be able to provide them with something from home. She just wished she wasn’t so paranoid. Having Rainier close helped tremendously.
“Where did you learn to cook these dishes?” Deniz asked. “My mother would praise such an ability and want to keep you in the family. She would tell me to bring you home. Mashallah.”
Keeping her hands together, Shabina gave him a tentative smile. “Mashallah.” She returned the blessing. When he continued to look at her expectantly, she forced herself to answer the question. “I was fortunate enough to live in Saudi Arabia with a family for a year. In that time, I was given many valuable lessons I’ll never forget. Baking and cooking were just a very small part of what I was taught.”
Before she could turn away, he asked another question. “Would you consider returning?”
A note in his voice and the speculation in his eyes set her heart pounding. “My life is here. My family, my fiancé, this café.”
“That’s too bad. I can feel your love of the country in the food you cook. Perhaps you would change your mind if you came back.”
There was nothing to say to that. She did have love for the people. She gave another smiling half bow with her hands folded and wished them a good day as she moved on to the next table. She could feel Deniz’s gaze following her. He wasn’t alone in his staring after her. Jules did the same. What was it about him that bothered her so much? What did he want from her? Was Deniz simply interested in her because of her cooking skills? She had known men like that.
She greeted the three visitors from Washington, doing her best to push Jules and Deniz from her mind. The women were finished with breakfast and lingering over their coffee with scones in the hopes of having a word with her. Their faces lit up when she stopped at their table.
“It’s so lovely to see you again,” Shabina greeted them. “I certainly hope the food met your expectations this morning.”
“Favorite place to eat ever,” Val said. “Stella told us we’d love the food, and she was so right. It’s amazing.”
“I wasn’t sure about waiting in line, no reservations and no standard menu,” Theresa added. “But I am so glad Val and Janine insisted we give the café a try. I think I’m learning to be adventurous.”
“Wasn’t that the point of this trip?” Janine asked. “To prove to ourselves we could still do things we wanted to do, like we used to? Only in a much more mature fashion?”
The three women exchanged a look and then burst into laughter.
“I don’t know how mature we’ve been,” Val admitted, “but we’ve certainly had fun.”
“That’s wonderful. How long have you been friends?” Shabina asked.
“We lived in the same neighborhood as children and went to the same schools,” Theresa supplied. “I’m a little older, so I tell them I’m the boss.”
Janine nodded very solemnly. “She’s so good at being bossy.”
“I’ve had quite a bit of practice,” Theresa said. “These two get out of control. I never thought I’d see the day Janine lost her mind over a man, but she has. Now, here we are, still in Knightly while she does her best to reel him in.”
Janine tried to look innocent, but it was very clear Theresa was telling the truth. “Okay, they are the best friends ever to stay with me while I explore the idea of actually being in a relationship with someone after saying I would never do it.”