How could Jaime think anything about this stupid gene was a good thing? “What? Why?”
“Because I canseesomeone’s true colors. It’s like… a shortcut to level up your relationships.” Jaime suddenly looked at her watch. “I need to head to the support group. The meeting room is in the office building upstairs. Do you want to join me?”
Marley thought about it. She did want to. She wanted to talk to Jaime more, and to meet the people who were Jaime’s lifeline. Even just listen to them. But… maybe next time. Marley needed to think now. And she was tired. She promised she’d come next month when she’d have more energy and said thank you to Jaime. She called an Uber to take her home.
Jaime’s words didn’t leave Marley’s mind as she got into the car—namely, that she shouldn’t let someone who’d stuck through all this chaos and uncertainty walk away.
Nikhil had been there for her in a way that no one else had. He had told her—many, many times—that he wanted to be there and support her. He said he was all in. They never talked about commitment, but heshowed herhe was committed. Yes, his life was a circus. Hers, too. But at the end of the day, he was more than willing to step into her circus to support her. And he was willing to let her into his chaos, too.
Was it fair to give him even more chaos in his life?
But maybe that wasn’t her decision to make. Marley wasonly now realizing that the reason she shut people, including Nikhil, out of her life was because she didn’t want to burden them. She didn’t want them to feel the way Marley felt when Maryam Aunty was sick. And with Nikhil, when her feelings for him got stronger, she became so scared of letting him into her life when she had no idea what the future would hold for her. Part of it was because she didn’t want to be a burden on him, but also?
She was afraid he’d walk away. Like her uncle did. Marley didn’t think she was a worthy enough partner for Nikhil. She had asked him to leave because she said she was too private for his public life, but a big part of ending it was because she thought she was too defective.
But Jaime was right. There was a hell of a lot more to Marley than this gene. Nikhil had been her friend long before she knew this BRCA mutation even existed. He’d been her rock, and if she let him, he’d continue to be her rock whenever she needed it. Even with his chaotic life, and even if they were apart for months while he was on a shoot, he’d be there for her. He’d be all in.
And Marley wanted that. She wanted someone all in—someone who supported her, brought her tea, helped her empty her drains, no matter how gross they were. Someone who she could talk to when she was scared. She was strong enough to face whatever came, and she was determined to get support—from people who understood. But also? Marley was worthy of having a partner love her.
She wanted to be all in for him, too. Help him with his wardrobe, of course, but also help him unwind after a long day, help him with his lines, be a sounding board when he needed to vent about his challenging job.
But was it even possible? At the end of the day, he was still a public figure. And as much as she’d learned in the last month that maybe she was a bit tooprivate, it was one thing to speak to a support group and a whole other thing to date a movie star.
But… if she wanted to bemorethan just her defective gene, then maybe she had to see him asmorethan just his job. The movie star was him professionally. She wanted him personally.
“Excuse me,” she called out to the Uber driver. “Can I change the destination for this trip?”
“You have to do it on the app,” the driver called back.
Marley opened the app and input an address in Markham. Seconds later, the driver wordlessly changed course.
It was a long trip, so she started rehearsing what she would say to him. She had no idea if he would even want to see her, but Marley needed to tell Nikhil how she felt.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Nikhil
Nikhil was in the basement watching cooking videos when his sister came down the stairs.
“Nikhil,someoneis here for you,” she said in a singsong voice.
Shit. The paparazzi had found him. He hopped to his feet. “You can’t admit to anyone I’m here! Is it a photographer?” He’d been parking in the garage in case any of those vultures knew his car, but he wouldn’t put it past someone to follow him from the gym. Hell, a Serena superfan could have tracked him down.
Nalini’s eyes went wide from his reaction. “It’s okay. It’s not a photographer; it’s Marley.”
Holy crap—that was worse. Well, not reallyworse, but more… surprising. What was she doing here? The last time Marley had come to this house it was to yell at him after Lydia had hired the store for all his styling. Was she here to yell at him again?
He’d almost called her or texted her so many times in the last couple days, but she had asked him to leave. She’d said she needed him out of her life, and he would always do what she needed.
“Why is she here? Is she okay?”
Nalini shrugged. “I dunno. I came down from my room and she was talking to Mom about saris or something in the living room. Dad’s making her a plate of food.”
Hismotherwas talking to Marley?
This was bad. He rushed past Nalini and saw Marley at the top of the basement stairs with a plate in one hand and a mug in the other. His breath hitched. She looked beautiful. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, and she was wearing slim white pants with a pale-blue button-up shirt tucked into them. And minimal makeup, which was still more than he’d seen on her in weeks. He immediately rushed to meet her so he could take the plate and mug from her hands. The mug was full of his father’s steaming chai, and the plate was filled with pakoras and samosas.
“Your parents insisted,” she said as he took the plate.
