Can they get a second once in a lifetime?
Synopsis
A True Love Match?
Mustafa DuBois-Arazi doesn’t give second chances. But Zaina Bakari needs one to redeem herself.
The legacy of his family’s luxury resort, Grand Amour is on the line, and he’ll stop at nothing to preserve it. Even if it means working with the woman, he vowed never to set eyes on again.
For Zaina, life is great, well almost. The way she handled Mustafa years ago, constantly weighs on her conscience. Now, she finds herself in his presence again as his environmental consultant. She wants a chance to explain but quickly finds out, he’s not the same man she once knew.
Excerpt
Zaina decided to create distance between them. She turned but Mustafa grabbed her arm. He pulled her closer to him. A feat she didn’t think was possible with how close they already were. Her eyes moved from their point of contact back up to his eyes. He loosened the grip on her hand and bent toward her ear. It was only the two of them in the room, so he didn’t need to whisper. His being so close to her neck was him playing dirty.
He remembered.
“Don’t flirt with my staff to get a reaction out of me.”
Zaina shook him off. “Then don’t try and regulate who I can and cannot spend time with.”
“You’re not allowed to spend time with my staff outside of business.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Not allowed? Are you kidding me?”
“You know I don’t kid.”
“It must be something new for you because you can’t be serious.”
Mustafa stared at her for a few second then sauntered to the door. “It will be in your best interest to heed my warning.” He threw the words over his shoulders.
She was so frustrated with this man that she wanted to scream. Of course, she wasn’t going to date anyone while she was here. But what made him think he had a say in what she did? He didn’t want her but was upset that somebody else did. This was part of their problem, communication. She wasn’t going to just go with the flow anymore. Mustafa placed his hand on the doorknob when Zaina decided to try one last time.
“Musa!”
He froze but didn’t turn around. She continued.
“For the millionth time. I’m sorry. But this is where I draw the line. You can’t have it both ways. It’s clear you don’t want me, but you can’t regulate who does.”
He turned. His fiery eyes roamed her body before landing on her face. “People here have families to feed or people who depend on them. I’ll hate for you to be the cause of someone…or two losing their jobs.”
Her brows came together. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
“Ugh!! I can’t believe you.”
“Believe it, chérie.”
Mustafa’s eyes dared her to challenge him. However, she was stuck on him using the French term of endearment he used for her years ago. She wasn’t lost on the fact that nothing about this moment was endearing but to hear it come out of his mouth was something she longed many nights for. Despite that fact, she was tired of fighting with him. She had to think of a way that she could monitor the work from Garborne and come to the resort only once a week. This wasn’t going to work for her. She had done a lot of work to get to where she was mentally and emotionally. Too bad, he hadn’t done the same.
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Character Visuals
Learn more about the DuBois-Arazis here
Mood Music
Unoma Nwankwor 