‘They’d been friends since childhood. Dad was your classic flirt, never took anything seriously except cricket and video games. Mom was the opposite so she thought he was charming but didn’t believe he’d ever grow up.’
‘And?’ Siya prompted.
‘On her birthday, before they were supposed to start college, he told her there was a party for her at his place. She showed up, expecting the whole gang, but found just him. He’d cooked a complete three-course meal and baked her a lopsided, amateur birthday cake. He said that if she wanted proof he could take them seriously, this was it.’
‘That’s so romantic,’ she cooed.
‘Yeah well, they’ve never looked back ever since.’
‘Your parents sound happy. It must’ve been nice to grow up around that,’ she said, looking down at her mug, brushing the familiar chip in it.
‘I guess so. They always wanted a big family, but it was just me in the end. When Raghav and I hit the “tearing down the house” stage though, they started saying one kid was more than enough.’
The corner of her mouth twitched, amused by the image of him as a hell-raiser teenager. ‘You were that kind of kid?’
‘I was an absolute menace,’ Abhay said, proudly. ‘My mom loves to tell the story of the time I dismantled the toaster to figure out how it worked and then blamed our pet dog when it caught fire.’
She gave out a laugh and said, ‘You were lucky.’
‘What about you?’ he asked.
Her smile withered away. ‘My family was… different,’ she muttered.
It felt like she was staring into a black void and before she could fall into it, she abruptly stood. ‘I should go get ready. We’ve got back-to-back client calls and Shyamlal’s gemstone tests are still pending.’
‘We’re not going in today,’ he said smoothly, casually.
Siya blinked. ‘What?’
‘You heard me.’
‘That’s not funny, Abhay. There is a backlog the size of—’
‘And it’ll still be there waiting for us tomorrow. I’ve already got our legal team looking into Shyamlal’s background and assigned the PR brief for the day to the Delhi branch.’
She opened her mouth to argue, to reason, but didn’t see it coming until his hand slipped behind her neck and his lips found hers, effectively shutting her up. It was a demanding, all-consuming, heart-wrenching kiss and she melted in his arms.
When they broke apart, he let his thumb linger against her cheekbone. She was still chasing her breath, and his searing touch didn’t help. She simply looked at him, unable to remember what they were arguing about.
‘You have not kept your end of the deal, jaan,’ Abhay said.
‘What deal?’
‘The one we made before we got married of how you’d give me a chance to win you back, but you’re still running from me. So how about today, we rectify that?’
She wasn’t sure if it was the kiss or the plea in his eyes that left her feeling exposed, so she simply nodded.
Abhay chuckled and cupped her face. ‘If this is what it takes to make you agree with me, I could spend the rest of my life kissing you. But enough flirting for now, because you need to go get dressed.’
‘For what?’
‘I’m taking my wife out on a date.’
She was stunned. ‘You’re what?’
‘A date. You know, one of those things that people go on when they’re together?’
There was part of her that wanted to argue, to retreat back into the safe fortress of solitude, but the larger part of her was still reeling from his kiss, so she mumbled, ‘Okay.’
