Read Online Pyramids and Promises (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 2) by Kimberly Loth - Free Book Online

him, and he didn’t think he’d win her over with some gorgeous lilies, but he couldn’t stop himself. He needed something to have in his hands.
    Jessica’s eyes flew open when she saw the flowers. At least she didn’t scowl at him.
    “Thank you,” she said with a coy smile. “I don’t have another vase, but I bet I can work these in with the others.”
    “Sorry, if I had known, I would’ve sprung for a vase. But they are easier to carry this way.” He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck. She had this way of making him feel like an errant child.
    She shrugged. “Nonsense. They’ll be beautiful all together.”
    Conner watched her work the new flowers into the arrangement he’d gotten her in Luxor. The similarities between her and Nour stopped at the physical side. Their mannerisms were different. The way Jessica flipped her hair, the way Nour kept her head down when she walked. His decision to see Nour that afternoon only highlighted that for him.
    Conner turned his back and looked around her apartment. It was still pretty impersonal. There were no pictures hanging on the walls or knick knacks on the shelves.
    ”When do your things arrive?” he asked.
    “About six weeks. You wanna help me unpack when it comes?”
    “Sure.” He was pleased she thought he’d still be around by then. “You ready to go?”
    “Yep, where are we going?”
    “I thought we’d wander around Road Nine, and you could pick a place.”
    “Melinda mentioned Road Nine. What’s down there?”
    “A lot of restaurants and shops. If you ever want to get gifts for your family back home, that’s the place to go.”
    People packed the street even at this time of day. Conner watched Jessica as she walked. Her shorts fit her tanned legs a little too well, and her blonde hair played around her shoulders in the most alluring way. Conner wanted to run his fingers through it, and he wasn’t the only one. The men on the street stared at her, and a few said things, but she didn’t notice. He wondered how long it would be until something freaked her out. The single women here were tough as nails because of the harassment they faced on a day-to-day basis.
    “Hey, Jessica, you should know something,” Conner began, and when Jessica turned to look at him, her eyes went wide, and she grabbed his hand.
    “They have a Baskin Robbins?” Her eyes sparkled. Conner chuckled and turned to look behind him.
    “Oh, yeah, it’s pretty legit too. McDonalds doesn’t taste the same, but Baskin Robbins does. You wanna get some?”
    Her smile deflated a little. “But we are going to get dinner?”
    He shrugged. “Dessert first.”
    They sat in the back of the shop and eagerly devoured their ice cream cones. She was so innocent and childlike at times. He wondered about her past, but she hadn’t been very forthcoming about her divorce or anything really.
    “Listen,” he said around a mouthful of rocky road. “I have to warn you. Egypt has one of the highest sexual harassment rates in the world. You are guaranteed to have rude comments thrown at you on a regular basis. Most of the time if you are with someone else, they won’t be as frequent, but your blonde hair is a bit of a magnet.”
    “I don’t speak Arabic, so I won’t know what they are saying. It’s a bit of a blessing, I guess. Russian men yelled things sometimes too, and I always understood them.”
    Conner leaned forward. “I don’t think you fully understand. It’s more than that. I don’t have a single female friend who hasn’t been grabbed or touched in some way. You need to be careful.”
    She covered her mouth. “Why don’t they do something about it? Surely, the government doesn’t want this happening.”
    “They try. But Egyptians don’t follow rules. The only thing that will change it is if society turns on them. It’s starting to change, but they have a long way to go.”
    She shivered. “It makes me not want to go out on my own.”
    “Don’t let it cripple