She smiled and then said, “Speaking of work, we are meeting on Monday morning, right?”
Janak waved a dismissive hand. “Yes, yes. I’ll ask Reema to schedule it. But tonight, we are not going to discuss work.” He took her hand and twirled her lightly, laughing as she spun once before facing him again. “Tonight, I want to see you dance and let your hair down. Can you do that for me?”
Smiling, she accepted a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. She took a small sip, the cool bubbles fizzing across her tongue.
And then, without warning, her senses sharpened. A quiet certainty settled in her chest, and the same awareness she’d felt all afternoon washed over her. She didn’t need to look to know. Akash was here.
Slowly, she turned and found him near the entrance. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and navy trousers, his hair pushed back casually, he looked gorgeous. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the broad expanse of his chest andoffering a tantalizing glimpse of the dark, arresting tattoo that curved along the side of his neck and shoulder.
For a moment, the room seemed to blur around her as she watched him. His gaze swept across the crowd, moving from one group to another until it finally settled on her and lingered there, as though he had been searching for her all along.
Shauna shook her head at herself. God, what was wrong with her? She was imagining things. Why on earth would he be looking for her?
And yet her heartbeat quickened all the same as he started moving forward. Akash began to walk toward her, and a warmth unfurled in her stomach. She had no idea why. It was ridiculous. She’d spent the entire afternoon with him, without feeling this odd nervous energy. Still, a strange sense of panic filled her as he drew nearer.
She murmured something to her grandfather and slipped away, joining her elder brother Sameer, who stood chatting with Raashi, Dev, and Avantika Luthra. They greeted her easily and pulled her into their conversation.
But a moment later, her eyes drifted across the room. Akash was standing with Janak, a glass of whiskey in his hand. His eyes met hers. And then, he left Janak and began making his way toward her.
Her pulse jumped.
Smoothly, as though nothing was unusual, she excused herself once more and crossed the room, this time joining a group near the bar. All too soon, she drifted away again, moving easily from one cluster of guests to another, smiling, finishing her drink, taking another, and making polite conversation.
All the while, she remained acutely aware of him. Of his gaze following her across the room, watching her every move. And worse, of the fact that he seemed to be patiently trailing her from one group to the next.
She finally reached Sabrina and Aditya. Seeing them together always made her smile. It seemed so long ago that she and Sabrina had shared an apartment in Singapore. So much had happened during that time. And somehow, out of all that madness, Sabrina and Aditya had found each other.
Shauna couldn’t help thinking about the strange coincidence of it all. On the very same night she’d had her impulsive one-night stand with Akash, Sabrina had had one with Aditya. Only in Sabrina’s case, it had turned into something real, and now they were married.
“Hey,” Shauna said, slipping easily into their conversation. “How are you two?”
“We’re good,” Aditya said with a relaxed grin.
“Very good,” Sabrina added, her eyes bright.
“Tell me, how is married life treating you both?” Shauna asked them. “And how is Ahaan adapting to it?”
Sabrina smiled, explaining how happy her son, Ahaan, was with Aditya as his stepdad. Shauna listened with only half an ear. Her entire focus was on the man across the room who had somehow created this chaos in her heart and mind that refused to go away.
Akash’s eyes met hers from afar, and she quickly focused back on Sabrina and Aditya. Both of them were watching her.
Sabrina leaned closer. “So how are things between you and…” She tipped her head in Akash’s direction. “…him.”
“Fine,” Shauna said rather quickly.
“Fine?” Sabrina repeated, clearly unconvinced.
Sabrina and Aditya were the only two people who knew about her and Akash and that night in Singapore. And they also were well aware of her chaotic history with him.
Shauna shrugged. “It’s the same as always. Rarely good. Most of the time… not so good.”
Aditya lifted a brow. “And right now?”
She hesitated for a beat.
“Good,” she admitted. “I think.”
“Hmm,” Sabrina said. “Is that why you can’t stop looking at him?”
