Siya turned back to Abhay and flashed him a flirtatious grin. She met his gaze with such a burning display of desire that he could swear that time slowed down. ‘Let him bark. I’m tired of humouring him. Shall we begin our celebration?’
‘Of course, baby,’ he agreed.
‘Enjoy your little moment. You won’t be able to hide behind each other forever,’ Dhruv announced, and muttering something under his breath, he stalked away through the thinning crowd.
‘Woah, that was so satisfying to watch,’ Kashvi said as soon as he was out of earshot.
‘Siya is taking after me. I’ve never been prouder,’ Swayam praised, wiping off fake tears from his eyes. Abhay felt the same way.
He turned to tell her that and he felt the change in her behaviour the second she looked up at him. The affectionate, besotted smile she had worn so convincingly in front of Dhruv had vanished. There was a hint of anger in the depth of her brown irises and it was then that Abhay noticed what he’d missed earlier.
Siya wore a pastel-hued, lavender jumpsuit with a string of pearls draped over her shoulders in thin straps. The satin fabric clung to her upper body like a second skin, then flared out in folds until her knees.
She’d left her hair open in soft, wavy curls falling till her lower back. The little sapphires in the earrings glittered when they caught the light.
And while she looked every bit as breathtaking as always, Siya wasn’t wearing the dress he’d chosen for her.
Since the moment he’d seen the blue dress hanging on her door, he’d been dying to see her in the same colour she’d worn the night they had met. The memory of that night when she’d looked divine in that icy blue saree, laughing at his silly jokes under the starry sky, lived in his mind like a cherished photograph.
But she wasn’t wearing it, and that knowledge cracked a piece of his heart beyond repair.
Still, he managed a small smile and said, ‘You look beautiful today.’
Siya averted her gaze and her tone was laced with disbelief. ‘You don’t have to say that, and you don’t have to play the hero just because we’re putting on a show. You also shouldn’t waste your time picking out dresses for me. Don’t forget that… whatever this is between us, it has an expiration date of one year.’
His voice dropped into a whisper meant only for her. ‘I’m not saying it for the cameras. I said it because I meant it. Also, I picked that dress because I remember how you shone in that colour, and because I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night.’
For a moment, it looked like Siya might believe him but whatever flickered behind her eyes didn’t last before it shifted back to feigned indifference.
Abhay was tempted to kiss that indifference right off her face. He wanted to brush his knuckles along her jaw, and whisper reckless things in her ear to make her blush. He was burning up with the need to pull her into his arms and tell her she wasn’t going anywhere, even if she didn’t want to hear it.
Meera interrupted his thoughts with a scolding look. ‘Okay, you two need to either get a room or wait until the cameras stop rolling. I’m going to go blind with those flashes.’
Luv leaned in from behind Kashvi, grinning far too broadly. ‘Actually, don’t behave. Have you seen that #Abhiya is trending literally everywhere? This is exactly what the public wants.’
‘I’m having more fun watching the guest reactions. It goes from awe to judgement. I wish I had popcorn.’
‘Do you think these fancy chefs will make us some? Now that you mentioned it, I want it too,’ Kashvi said, poking her elbow into Swayam’s torso, whooofed.
Siya groaned, dragging a hand down her face. ‘I hate all of you.’
Abhay bit back a smile. He didn’t say it aloud, but a part of him cherished the sound of their names being spoken together in the same breath, even if the world believed the lie and Siya refused to.
Before he could linger in the thought, a sharp clink rang through the room. It was enough to bring the crowd to a hush. Abhay turned around to see his father next to Kartik on the elevated platform.
His gaze flicked to Abhay, signalling them to join.
Luv lightly bumped his shoulder and whispered, ‘Hey lovebirds. Now would be the perfect time to hold hands, don’t you think?’
Siya shot him a glare, but Luv simply gestured toward the raised cameras and DSLR flashes.
Their eyes met and Abhay could see panic beneath her practised calm exterior. He reached out and threaded his fingers with hers, snugly tucking their hands away as he began walking toward their fathers.
He couldn’t say anything around the close proximity of the mics so he squeezed her hand once in silent assurance, and whether she understood it or not, she didn’t let go.
Chapter 13
Siya and Abhay stepped onto the stage, as the sound of clinking glasses and murmured congratulations blurred somewhere in the background. Her hand rested in the crook of his arm, and her fingers gripped his sleeve when she came face to face with the full force of the media set-up. But when he covered her trembling hand with his, she didn’t feel quite so alone.
