Descending into his chair, William reached over the table and grabbed the spiciest dal makhani. ‘No, I’ll eat it.’
‘You can’t eat that. Nobody can eat that.’ Jason shook his head.
‘Then I suppose I am nobody.’ Wearing a grin, William grabbed a piece of his naan and dipped it in the brown lentil dish. Jason and I watched him with awe as he raised it to his mouth, and we waited in suspense for a reaction. But barely any came. William merely nodded and tore off another piece of his naan.
‘I’ll admit it’s quite hot.’ He shrugged. ‘But it’s perfectly edible.’
‘You’re not normal,’ Jason grumbled.
‘You’re just a wimp. Haven’t you lived in Mumbai? What have you got to show for it if not this?’
Jason rolled his eyes. ‘You have to maintain a tolerance like that.’
William shrugged again. ‘Well, you should have. You’re missing out.’
‘You just lack taste. Make of that what you will.’
William glanced at me. ‘How rude of you to insult Cara like that.’
Jason snorted. ‘Not counting Cara. She’s the only choice you’ve ever made where you’ve shown good taste.’
I couldn’t help giggling. Their antics were so entertaining that it distracted me from thoughts of Aaron, so much so that when William and I finally settled to sleep, the main thing on my mind was how happy I was to have both him and Jason in my life. I hated to think I might have lost a cherished friend, but at least I had gained William, and I wouldn’t change that for the world, because something told me he would be there for the rest of my life, making my days brighter and happier than ever.
Snuggling deeper into his embrace, I smiled in the dark. He was so warm and big, and he smelled so good. Nothing could beat this feeling. I had never felt so at home in an embrace before – like I belonged.
‘William?’ I whispered, unsure if he was asleep.
‘Mm?’
‘Thank you.’
‘For what?’
‘For being there for me – for being you.’
He squeezed me against him and nuzzled his nose in the crook of my neck. ‘I’ll always be there for you.’
My chest brimmed with rapture as I closed my eyes and reminisced about the moment when we first met. Thank goodness I had gone with Olivia to that bar, and thank goodness I had succumbed to those spellbinding blue eyes and that enchanting, crooked smile. When the present was this promising, I could only imagine what the future held.
Riding on that train of thought, I finally fell asleep, drifting into the night on dreams of our future.
