His Sabah

XVIII

"So, what would you like to do now?" Salim asked, tightening his hand around Sabah's as they strolled along the beach, admiring the lovely view of the pristine water and warm, white sand under their feet.

Sabah blushed and shrugged with a small smile, a feeling unlike any other overcoming her at the undivided attention her husband was showering upon her. Apart from the irritating "prank" he had pulled on her in the restaurant earlier, he had been nothing but sweet, giving her compliment after compliment, stealing innocent kisses on the cheek when she least expected and, best of all, keeping her hand in his and refusing to let go, which regardless of how much she pretended she disliked it, she truly loved more than anything else he could do.

It was a simple action, but one of the most tender, and it made her continuously break into smile after smile, whenever he would tighten his hold just a bit or brush his thumb over her knuckles or pull her a little closer.

"Hey, I have an idea," Salim said suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts. "How about I take you shopping."

Sabah gasped, surprised at his proposal. "Well, I'll be," she feigned shock, covering her mouth with one hand and simultaneously hiding her smile.

Salim's brows wrinkled in confusion. "What?" he asked, coming to a stop and turning to face her.

"I never thought I would hear the day that a man would suggest shopping," Sabah said, still smiling. Salim rolled his eyes at her comment, but she could see the corners of his lips turning up in amusement.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, shaking his head and continuing to walk again. "Very funny. I just thought you could use some new clothes."

Sabah's smile fell at that. "What's wrong with the clothes I have now?" she asked, trying and failing to keep her voice from sounding defensive. She looked down at her outfit, a loose, simple dress that came down to her knees paired with black tights.

"Nothing," Salim said, putting up a hand in protest. "I just thought...well, I mean we're going to be in Thailand soon and the weather there is quite different from the weather here, and--"

"Oh," Sabah said. "Right. Sorry...I thought you meant--"

"Sabah, how many times have I told you...don't apologize for things that need no apology."

At this, Sabah smiled and looked up at him. "Sorry," she said.

Salim groaned, a response she knew was coming, and she laughed, realizing just how fun it was to annoy him. He ignored the laugh and pulled her along, distastefully studying the number of stores lining the pier until finally settling upon one. "What about this one?" he asked, jerking his chin at the large sign fixed above the store as they came to stop in front of it.

Sabah's eyes widened as she turned to look between the sign and her husband, at a loss for words. "Th-this one?" she asked, shocked. "But..."

"But what?" Salim asked, shrugging nonchalantly. "I've heard their clothes are nice."

"Yes, and expensive," Sabah said, turning back to look at the sleek black sign reading in bold, confident letters: Versace. She didn't even know there were such expensive stores along this pier, let alone ones of such luxury and prestige. Then again, they were staying on one of the most expensive islands of the Maldives, as Salim had informed her before they had docked.

Beside her, Salim let out a long sigh, causing her to turn back to him with a slight frown. "Money is not a problem," he said, looking down at her with a somber expression, as if her mention of it bothered him. "You know that."

Sabah grazed her bottom lip anxiously. "I know," she muttered after a moment, distracted by the mannequins in the display windows, donning beautiful shimmering gowns of lovely chiffon. "But.."