“Oh! I am so happy it’s you, Raashi,” Rhea said grinning from ear to ear.
Both the girls swooped down and hugged her tight, planting kisses on her cheeks. They looked delighted and Raashi wondered what in the world was going on. She tried to slide away from Sameer but he held her hand tight, shaking his head.
The girls quickly sat down.
“It’s been Raashi all along and you kept it from us?” Shauna asked with an accusatory frown.
“How could you? You know we love her,” said Rhea, making a face.
“Hi, girls. I’m happy to see you too. You’re interrupting a perfectly good date, by the way,” Sameer told his sisters who gave him a sassy smile in return.
“Oh, just a little heads up. Mom’s headed here as well,” Shauna told him. She rested her chin on her hand and gave him a sweet, innocent look.
“Along with dad,” Rhea said, mimicking her twin’s pose and expression.
“You two are having a lot of fun at my expense, isn’t it?” Sameer scolded them.
The twins looked at one another before saying in unison, “Of course we are!”
Raashi’s gaze snapped to Sameer. Seeing the resigned expression on his face, her lips flattened. He knew. He knew they would be here. God! His parents were going to be here soon and she had no clue what to expect or what he had told them about her. She was so annoyed with him for not preparing her for this moment.
She glared at him and Sameer gave her a placating smile in return.
Seeing their exchange, Shauna said, “Oh! Don’t worry Raashi, they will love you.”
“You see,” Rhea said, “he’s been keeping you a secret.” She pointed an accusing finger at her brother. “So we decided to find out which woman has captured our brother’s heart and here we are. Oh, look, here come mom and dad.”
Raashi looked up to see Sameer’s parents headed their way.
Rita Sehgal knewit was time to take matters in her own hand. Her son was spending lesser and lesser time at home. In fact he hadn’t been home several nights in a row. Sameer was love-struck and she wanted to know which girl had caught his attention.
She had tried asking Sameer many times but he had refused to tell her anything and Rishi was as tight lipped as ever. Luckily, her two girls were relentless when they wanted to find out something about their brothers. One call to Sameer’s secretary in the morning and they knew where he was.
Rita was proud of all her kids. Sameer had always been her good son. He wasn’t as wild as his younger brother and neither was he a rebel like his sisters. But he was stubborn, fiercely independent and very successful. Sameer attracted attention wherever he went, particularly female attention and he knew it. This one girl, however, had brought him to his knees.
She recognized Raashi as soon as they walked into the restaurant and saw Sameer sitting close to her. She had met her before at Sheena’s wedding and then at Keya’s and had also met her at Janak’s party. She was well aware that Raashi was close to Sheena and Keya and that Janak doted on her.
Rita had learned through her sister-in-law, Mina Sehgal, Kabier’s mom’s experience that once these Sehgal men made up their mind regarding the woman they wanted, there would be no stopping them. Not that she would stand in the way of her son’s happiness. She only wanted the best for him and she just needed to see and judge for herself if this girl was right for her brilliant son.
They reached the table and she waited and watched as Sameer stood up with Raashi and introduced her to them.
Raashi had met Sameer’s parents briefly in the past, during both her friends’ weddings and at Janak’s party. But it was nothing compared to meeting them now. She was so nervous. But they were nice and friendly and treated her like she was their future daughter-in-law. It was strange because Sameer had never spoken of marriage to her.
So she smiled and spoke to them pleasantly and answered their questions as best as she could. His parents were equally surprised, fascinated and impressed that AquaNox was hers and that she owned a small but successful restaurant business. They were a lovely couple and although his father was a man of few words, he had a sharp intelligence in his eyes. His mother on the other hand was bubbly, vivacious and talkative. Raashiunderstood where the twins had inherited their outgoing nature. At the end of the hour she felt like she was on the hot seat. She breathed a sigh of relief as they all stood up to leave after their lunch.
Sameer held the exit door for his mom as their driver brought the car around. Just before she settled inside the car she kissed his cheek and whispered, “I like her. Don’t you dare mess this up, okay?”
Sameer smiled at his mom and shut the door. His father glanced at him briefly from the other side of the car and gave him a thumbs-up sign before they drove away. He turned to walk back into the restaurant to see Raashi waiting for him at the exit, staring daggers at him. His sisters were nowhere to be seen.
Reaching her, he put his hands out in an appeasing gesture.
“I just found out. I swear. I didn’t know they were coming. That text message earlier? It was Rishi. He found out my parents and sisters were headed our way and gave me a heads up. I tried to tell you, but the girls got to us before I could.”
“Sameer, I wasn’t prepared for your family to find out about us so soon.”
He raised her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Well, you had to meet them sometime. And since you’re going to marry me, I think it’s best to meet my family as well, isn’t it?”
Raashi gaped at him, her mouth open wide. Did he just announce to her that she would marry him? That was so typically arrogant of him. She stepped back, away from his hold.
