“Don’t you take that tone with me.” Vihaan wagged a finger up and down at Arjun. “Not when your shirt isn’t tucked in properly. Jeez guys, justsomefucking control please. This is my parent’s house.”
Kaya’s eyes went wide, her face flushing furiously. In contrast, Arjun shrugged. “It wasn’t in the house. We were reliving our first meeting.”
“You told me you just kissed that night,” Vihaan frowned, pointing between the two. “You guys look like you did a hell of a lot more right now.”
Completely ignoring Kaya’s indignant squeak, Arjun answered, smirking, “We upgraded the experience tonight.”
“Arjun!” Kaya gasped, turning a brilliant shade of red.
“What? You know he’d be christening his parent’s massive grounds with Vera if she was here. He’s being a jealous hypocrite because he’s alone.”
“I thought Aditi was going to come find you? She was with Rian,” Kaya mumbled, patting Neil when he got a little fussy.
Vihaan shook his head, catching sight of the very couple they were talking about strolling past the open door, almost missing the entry because they were too busy whispering to each other. Rian reached for Aditi, laughing when she spun away with a giggle, both stumbling to a stop when they realised their friends were staring at them.
With a heartfelt sigh, Vihaan twisted his neck to look at Neil, tilting his chin up once. “Seriously, BFFs, ok? Mine are worthless.”
“What?” Rian asked curiously.
“Nothing,” Vihaan snarked. “Wipe your wife’s lipstick off your mouth, Shetty.”
Shamelessly grinning, Rian pulled Aditi into his side, while she reached up to clean the pink off his lips. He nodded at Arjun. “What’s got him in a snit?”
Arjun smirked, lifting his son to help settle him against his shoulder. “Vera’s away and he’s lonely.”
“When will she be back?” Aditi asked, leaning over to tickle baby Neil’s tummy with a single finger, giggling along with him.
“Supposed to have been yesterday but the shoot went longer than expected.”
Vihaan checked his phone for the hundredth time that night, hoping for a call or a message. He knew she was working on something important but if she didn’t contact him soon, he’d end up driving out to the village she was in just to see her. He was going insane worrying about her while she’d been travelling. At least she had security with her. He’d made sure of that. But damnit, he missed his wife.
“I saw your mom looking for you, V,” Aditi cooed in a baby voice, too busy playing with Neil to spare a glance to the man she was talking to. “Something about a problem with the fountains in the northern gardens. She’s waiting for you there.”
Vihaan’s brows furrowed, taking his leave to go find his parents. The northern gardens were his mother’s favourite. As he made his way there, trying his best to avoid being dragged into conversation with the guests, he tried calling Vera again, going straight to voicemail. Grumbling about the injustice of being an ignored spouse, he stomped into the darkened garden, deserted by the guests in favour of the more decorated and lively areas of the masquerade grounds. He tapped the edge of his phone against the stone wall, the sound of water slapping against the edges louder now that he was here. He cast a glance around him, the lines in his forehead deepening when his mother was nowhere to be seen.
The sudden gush of the fountain gurgling behind him had him glancing back, his brows knitting when he noticed someone standing across, on the opposite side. The lights came on, one string at a time, just as the figure moved. Vihaan watched, his curiosity turning to surprise when Vera came into view, dressed in a simplekurta that had his heart rate doubling. The deep red he so loved on her was striking, the gold bangles on her wrists glinting as the dim lights caught it with every graceful sway. She looked like a village belle who’d come to entice a city boy away from the crowds.
“Princess?”
Vera grinned, sauntering straight into his open arms.
“Surprise! Came right from work so I messaged Aditi to send you out here. Even if I wasn’t dressed for it, I didn’t want to miss out on a masquerade dance with you.”
“You look stunning,” he said, causing Vera’s eyes to twinkle even as she rolled them, clearly pleased with his response.
“I’m a mess. I’m dusty, wearing day old clothes and look. . .”
“Perfect.” He kissed her, whispering against her mouth. “You look perfect.” Vera let out a happy giggle when he kissed her deeply, showing his appreciation for her surprise quite enthusiastically. Lifting her off the ground, Vihaan tilted his head up, smiling at his beautiful wife who was glowing with a joy that was hard to fake.
“Planning on carrying me around everywhere, Charming?”
“Not a bad idea,” he admitted, holding on as she kicked her shoes off. “It would stop you from going on these long work trips. I missed you. How did the shoot go?”
“Very well. This mini-series is going to be a bit controversial, but it’ll blow the lid off these illegal child-sex determination rings. Some villages have a disconcertingly low female birth ratio. Did you know that the doctors there say ‘Jai Mata Di’ at the end of an ultrasound if it is a girl, and ‘Ram Ram’ if it is a boy? The final reveal is going to ruffle feathers—”
“Is that going to stop you?”
Vera’s lips curved in that slow, confident smile that always had his blood heating with how sexy it made her look. Yep, he was going to have to hire more security for her.