She’d expected the attraction between them to lead to something fun in the bedroom. While their encounters so far had certainly whetted her appetite for more, she hadn’t expected his gifts and compliments to affect her so much.
There was something different about him today and try as she might, she couldn’t explain why she felt that way. She made no progress in understanding his changed behaviour as they drove to the Diwali party. Even after the enthusiastic welcome they’d received at Kaya and Arjun’s home, Rian remained silent and contemplative, leaving her with only Nanamma and her new friends for company.
Vihaan, glad to see her once more, seemed happy to entertain her when the others dispersed. She shot him a polite smile, walking alongside him in the garden and trying to focus on what he was saying instead of letting her mind remain mired in solving a puzzle she wasn’t certain existed.
Unbeknownst to her, the man who’d jumbled her thoughts stood just inside the widescreen patio doors, watching her like he would never tire of the view. There were a hundred people at this party, but only one who could keep his attention riveted like this. Now that he’d understood why, there was no sense in denying that these emotions felt permanent.
Which is why her unserious proposal from earlier kept playing in his mind over and over again. He knew she’d meant it as a joke, because she’d asked him exactly this question before when she’d been frustrated after her many failed dates. He’d shut her down immediately that night. But today? He sighed, held by the invisible binds her question had wrapped around him. Binds that led to her. He was her captive, and she held the keys to his freedom.
No, he corrected himself. Shewashis freedom.
“There you are. I brought you your favourites.” He turned to see Nanamma hobble towards him with a plate of snacks in her hand. She came to stand beside him, sighting Aditi strolling across the lawn with Vihaan beside her.
Chitra pointed towards Aditi with a jalebi in her hand. “She’s a nice girl, isn’t she?”
He nodded. “Yes, she is.”The best.
Nanamma seemed pleased with that response. “I was afraid you wouldn’t see that after how you reacted when you met her the first night.”
He had to bring a fist up to his mouth, coughing behind it to hide his laugh. He’d very literally fallen head over heels. He would never forget it.
“I’m glad you two have become friends,” his grandmother declared.
Friends? Sure. He could accept that. They were friends who had touched, hugged, kissed, and tasted each other’s bodies. Rian felt his collar grow tight.
He declined the delicacies his grandmother offered to him. Picking up her weathered hand in his, he placed it on the crook of his arm and led her down the deck to get some fresh air.
“She hasn’t had the best of luck on those arranged dates that her parents or I suggested,” Nanamma piped up again. For some unknown reason, she seemed determined to continue discussing Aditi today. Rian had no clue what sort of input was expected fromhim. As far as he was concerned, he was fucking ecstatic that those dates had been terrible. “Maybe I haven’t been searching in the right place. I should have been looking for a boy a lot closer to me.”
Rian’s pulse thumped eagerly. “Nanamma, I. . .”
“Vihaan and Aditi seem to be getting along well.”
What the fuck?He whipped around to see his grandmother, not bothering to conceal his shock.
Nanamma pointed towards the two of them in the distance, laughing at something together. Rian felt the warmth drain from him.
“Look at them,” she said, watching her grandson with a calculative look he missed due to his preoccupation. “They seem happy and make a good-looking couple.”
No they don’t!he wanted to yell, barely tamping down the urge to throw a fit at the mere suggestion.
“Vihaan is not interested in settling down right now.”
Did he sound anxious? If he did, his grandmother didn’t pick up on it.
“Nonsense,” she guffawed, as if Vihaan’s opinion wasn’t worth a consideration. “I was talking to his mother just inside and she is desperate to see him get married soon. He’s thirty-one already.”
“So?” Rian argued. “I’m thirty.”
“You'reonlythirty, and you don’twantto be married,” Nanamma volleyed right back, the smile on her face borderline sinister. “And you heard how happy Vihaan was to see Aditi, right? I’m sure if I bring her proposal to Mrs. Oberoi, something good will come out of it.”
Rian was positive he was going to lose his mind. The world was conspiring against him to drive him insane. He should tell Nanamma. He should speak up now before he lost Aditi.
“Nan. . .” He fell quiet when a group of ladies hailed her.
He watched his grandmother walk away, possibly continuing to plan Aditi’s wedding with his friend instead of him, and it felt likea cruel joke. He had only himself to blame, of course. He’d denied wanting to be in a relationship so many times, no wonder Nanamma had given up.
His mood dampened considerably when he caught sight of Aditi happily chattering away with Vihaan. Possessiveness threatened to rear its head once more, like it had the evening he’d crashed her date.