Read The Sheikh's First Christmas - A Warm and Cozy Christmas Romance Online
Authors: Holly Rayner
As they left Dr. Farber’s office after setting Mia’s next few appointments—appointments she would mostly be attending alone—Rami turned to her. “You didn’t think that I was going to just forget about taking you shopping, did you?” Mia blushed.
“How did you even remember that after that huge information overload?”
“I’d already researched the process and kind of knew most of what she was going to say before she said it,” Rami admitted.
“We really don’t have to do this,” Mia said, brushing her hands against her skirt self-consciously.
“Oh but we do,” Rami said, grinning. “Especially since we just got bad news. A good shopping trip will take us out of the blues.”
“Are you even serious right now? Am I the type of woman you think can just spend money and feel better?” Rami looked at her in disbelief.
“Every type of woman is that woman,” he said, shaking his head. “And secretly every type of man is that man, too. Men just usually spend their money on different things.”
“Like expensive cars?”
Rami grinned again. “Cars, stereos, tools…” He shrugged. “And for some, a nice suit here and there.” Mia sighed as Rami held the door open for her.
“If you’re going to insist,” she told him, rolling her eyes at the extravagance of it, “the least I can do is give in gracefully.” Rami laughed.
“So shall we go to Nordstrom first, or Saks?” Mia sighed, shaking her head with a little smile.
“First I kind of want to eat. Then you can take me to as many department stores as you can stand.”
Mia followed Rami in her car, thinking about all of the things that would go along with receiving IVF treatments. She couldn’t even estimate the cost. Artificial insemination alone had been so expensive—she couldn’t imagine how much more the hormone shots, ultrasounds, blood tests and all the other elements of the more aggressive treatment would be. “But if he wants to pay for it, then that’s his business,” she told herself.
Their first stop was at a tiny boutique restaurant; the kind of place Mia had rarely seen, let alone visited, before Rami had come into her life, but Rami always insisted on taking her to lunch after their appointments, and he was a man of expensive tastes.
Hesitantly, Mia pulled up to the valet stand. Even after three months of valet parking, she still couldn’t get used to it. She had her tip money ready, and handed it with her keys to the gawky young valet, averting her eyes from the inevitable questioning glance when he spotted what kind of car she drove.
“You know, lots of rich guys drive clunkers,” Rami said, as he greeted her by the restaurant’s entrance. “It’s not like anyone’s going to notice.” Mia smiled.
“I’m sorry, I still feel weird handing over a mid-nineties Volvo to a guy in a suit.”
“Then don’t drive a mid-nineties Volvo,” Rami suggested.
“Right, because it’s totally responsible for me to spend money on an expensive car right now.”
Rami laughed, taking her arm and leading her towards the entrance. “Once you’ve had the baby, you can be as irresponsible as you want. And if you need more money…”
“I am not going to ask for more money just to buy a car when the one I have is still perfectly functional,” Mia said flatly.
“I’m just saying, you could. Especially with this IVF stuff; it sounds like it’s going to be really tough on you.”
“Rami, stop,” Mia said, blushing as she started to feel more than a little guilty at his generosity. “You take me out to lunch after every one of these appointments, you’re taking me shopping for clothes… I already feel like you’re being too generous.”
“Lunch is nothing,” Rami said. The woman at the hostess stand smiled warmly as they approached, and Mia saw her give Rami a long, appreciative glance. Rami turned to the woman and smiled. “I believe I have a standing reservation? Rami al-Hassan.” The woman nodded and keyed Rami’s name into the tablet in front of her.
“I see that right here, Mr. al-Hassan,” she said, with a slightly smaller, but still polite, smile. “Just the two of you?” Rami nodded. “Right this way.”
Mia could never quite get used to the feeling of walking into a high-end dining room, even having followed Rami’s lead into a more than a dozen of them over the course of their partnership. She tried not to feel too conspicuous and out of place as the hostess navigated them around islands of white linen, silver, and glittering crystal.
They sat down, and the hostess gave each of them a menu—they had a choice of
à la carte
items or a lunch-sized tasting menu. “How long do you want to be here?” Rami asked her.
“Considering we were in Dr. Farber’s office for over an hour and you didn’t forget about going shopping, I don’t think it matters how long we’re in here.”
Rami grinned. “You’re starting to figure me out!”
Mia laughed. “Maybe a little bit,” she admitted.
“The tasting menu here is amazing. Seasonal, incredibly fresh—the chef is just a wizard.” Mia looked over the fine calligraphy on the menu in front of her and saw a dozen things she barely recognized, names and cooking terms that she could parse mingled with others that she wasn’t sure she could pronounce.
“No wine, though,” Mia said, glancing at the suggestions that accompanied the various dishes.
Rami shrugged. “Have you really missed it?”
Mia considered. “Not really. One of these days though, after this is all over, I’m going to do one of these tasting menus the way it’s really supposed to be done.” Rami chuckled.
“You’ll have a million dollars. You could do all of the tasting menus in the U.S. with that—wine included.”
The waiter arrived at their table and both Rami and Mia ordered the tasting menu. Out of courtesy for Mia, Rami got water with his meal. Mia relaxed as one perfect, tiny item after another arrived at their table: salads perfectly dressed with vegetables she must have eaten before, only they’d never tasted so good; game, meat and fish in three-bite portions, all cooked to perfection; sauces that danced bright, rich flavors across her tongue. Over the many courses, she and Rami discussed which shops they would go to, and their plan once inside each one.
“At Nordstrom I will have to make sure my personal shopper is there. She is sure to know exactly what will be best for you even as you start to show—although, maybe we’d better go shopping again if you start to outgrow your clothes.”
“Rami,” Mia said, blushing as she took a bite of medium rare filet of grass-fed beef, “No. I will buy my clothes with my own money from a maternity store if I have to. I am not going to let you take me on another shopping spree.”
“How are you going to stop me?” Rami asked with a little grin.
“I’ll refuse to go and by then I’ll be so heavy you won’t be able to make me.”
Rami laughed. “Fine. Only this once. But I think we’d better go to Macy’s too, for some everyday things.”
“This was just supposed to be for New York! You are not giving me a whole new wardrobe, Rami. No, you’re not doing it.”
“It’s my money,” Rami pointed out. “I can spend it how I like.”
“I don’t want you spending it on me in the first place!” Mia looked around, taking a sip of her water to cover the embarrassment she felt at raising her voice. “I just…I’m not used to this, okay? I’ll let you buy me clothes for New York because you’re insisting on it, but please don’t make me feel guilty by giving me a lot of clothes I don’t need. No one ever sees me except you, my mom, Dr. Farber and the people at the grocery store.”
“Okay Mia, you win,” Rami said, though a gleam in his dark eyes suggested that he hadn’t quite given in on the idea of giving her a complete wardrobe. “So just Nordstrom and Saks, maybe Bloomingdales?” Mia sighed.
“Fine,” she said. “But I’m giving you a limit. You’re not spending more than…a thousand dollars. Okay?” Rami shook his head.
“Not going to agree to that; what if I find the perfect everyday dress for you and it’s three hundred? That’s almost a third on just one thing!”
“You are not buying me an ‘everyday dress’ for three hundred dollars!” Mia insisted.
“Let me use my judgment,” Rami said firmly. “I won’t buy more than you can wear in New York for like… a week. That’s how long you’ll be there, right?” Mia sighed, putting the plate in front of her aside.
“Yes,” she said. “Okay. A week’s worth of clothes, that’s it.” She still felt weird accepting extra gifts and attention from Rami, but after three months of meeting with him on a regular basis, she knew arguing about it wouldn’t get her anywhere.
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Thank you for reading, and look out for more of my Sheikh Romance stories in future!