He looked at Reena for a full three seconds before his gaze shifted to the ground in front of her as he removed his suit jacket and tossed it on the chair. “She’s not my type. It’s been a long day. You mind if I have a beer?”

Reena watched his back as he walked toward the fridge. He was wearing a suit today instead of athletic gear, so his impressive physique was a little more hidden. The suit looked good, though. Went well with that upper-crust Brit voice. Was this the image he had wanted her to see for their first meeting?

“Go ahead,” she said.

“I don’t have much to offer you. Water? I have some soda water, too, but it’s not cold.”

Reena removed Nadim’s jacket from the dining chair and folded it, before planting her own butt on the chair. “Beer is fine.”

He turned and stared at her. “You drink?”

“Yeah. I love beer. Why?”

“Your father … ” He shook his head with amazement. “I’ve had to hide my evening pub habit since I started working for him. Does he know you drink?”

Reena laughed. “Yes. He doesn’t approve.”

Nadim smirked as he joined her at his table, two tall cans of beer in one hand and two pint glasses in the other. He opened one can. “This is an English special bitter. My favorite type of beer in the UK, and this local craft brewery does a bang-up job of it. Shall I pour?”

She nodded. The matte black can had an artfully drawn elephant on the front of it. He poured the beer slowly down the side of the glass, eyes glued on the copper brew. She could see why Shayne said Nadim had intense eyes. He had a way of zoning in with razor focus that left her a little breathless.

He really was handsome. She didn’t know how she ever thought of him as less than impressive. She felt her body flush.

Ugh. No. She couldn’t let her libido win.

To break the spell of his beer-pouring mastery, Reena looked around his apartment. Since the layout of his place mirrored her own, she expected it to be spacious, with low ceilings and simple midcentury moldings, but she didn’t expect its emptiness. Save for the old kitchen table and chairs they were sitting on, Nadim had only three pieces of furniture in his living area: a purple sofa, a strangely familiar olive-green armchair, and an ancient dining-room sideboard that held his electronics. No paintings or pictures on the walls, no cozy throw on the sofa, not even any books or magazines. Only one decorative element adorned the room—an ebony wood-carved African elephant on the sideboard next to the TV. The elephant wasn’t entirely unexpected—the man was from Tanzania, and most East Africans had at least one carved animal in their home. She herself was partial to giraffes and had a few in her bedroom.

“Love the minimalism in this place,” she said.