Page 17

There you are.
Her long red hair burnt like a shinning copper in the sunlight as kids surrounded her, running and playing with her while still being careful. She laughed again when the little Asian boy whispered something in her ear. Her face was bare of any makeup, making her look younger. Far younger than her real age. My eyes traced the edges of her lips, her pert nose red with laughter, with her cheeks dusted pink.
It was decided. Valeria was my muse, and I would do anything to paint her.
Oronher.
Valeria
I huffed out a breath when the children continued to giggle and run around me. I should be helping the others in the kitchen or in the laundry and volunteer but instead, I was with the kids who had dragged me in the backyard to play as soon as I had arrived with home-baked cookies.
I had a prickle of sensation that someone might be watching me, but I ignored it. It could be one of the kid—
“Who’s that tall man, Valy?” Keon, a four-year-old boy, asked, tugging on my white tee shirt.
I had my wardrobe set up according to the colors from light to pastels to dark so on most occasions, I knew which colored clothes I was wearing.
“Which tall man?” I asked, turning around, “Is someone there? Keon wants to meet you—”
“Hello Valeria.”
I was not expecting to hear someone reply. I was especially not expecting Khalid’s velvety smooth voice to reply.
“Khalid? You are here. I…hello.” I tugged on my loose white tee shirt nervously. I was wearing a tee, jeans and sneakers in front of the Prince of Azmia.
Last night, I had a boost of confidence because I knew I looked good in a dress with my hair styled and face donned in minimal makeup. But at that moment, I had no makeup on and my hair was all over the place. Only if I had known that he might see me so soon then I would have—
What the hell was I thinking?So what if he saw me in a tee shirt and jeans? I was still wearing my signature scent. I knew I still looked good without makeup or my hair styled. I didn’t need to make myself presentable. Especially while volunteering.
I looked decent, and the kids adored me, and that was enough.
“Yes, I am here. I came to visit you this morning, but Benjamin told me that you would be here. So I came.”
Khalid’s voice became clear and loud as he got closer, standing directly across from me. He smelt of his musky male cologne and… roses. It was distinctive, but I had noticed.
The night before, I was wearing heels. But standing across Khalid Al Latif in sneakers, I realized how tall he must be to make me feel tiny just by standing close. I remembered searching his name on the web page and hearingSiridescribe his attribute, especially that he was six feet five.
My brain took some time processing what he meant. I sputtered, “You came to my house? You talked with Benjamin and he said… you came here tomeet me?”
I felt him smiling as he answered, “Yes, sweet one. I had to see you this morning, so here I am.” The scent of roses wafted through my nose as Khalid gently placed my palm around something. “This is a bouquet of roses.”
“Oh.” I smiled and took a long sniff from the smooth petals. “They smell lovely!”
“They are for you, Valeria.”
My face must be the same color as the roses. “Why?”
My belly churned with an unknown warm emotion when I heard Khalid laugh for the first time. It was low, soft and everything more than I could handle. It made me happy hearing his laugh. I wanted to record it and hear it over and over again. His laugh was adorably precious.
“Of course, it’s for you,” he managed to say through his laugh.
I was still spell bound from hearing his laughter. “I like your laugh,” I whispered. “You should do it more often, Khalid.”
I heard him take a sharp breath, and I didn’t know what his expression said at that moment. I wished, just for a moment, to have my sight back so I could decipher what he was thinking, what he looked like, or if his cheeks get warm like mine when he gets flustered.
To end the weird silence between them, I introduced Khalid to the kids and handed each one of them a rose to take care of. They took it happily and thanked Khalid for them.
“It’s lunchtime!” one of the volunteers yelled and like a hoard of sheep, all the children ran towards the dining with hoots and cheers.