Searching. Expecting him.
Something moved in his chest.
He walked around the bed and lay down beside her.
The mattress dipped. Her body settled closer on its own. Her fingers curled lightly against his shirt, the way they did every night now, as if making sure he was there.
He looked at the ceiling for a moment.
Everything outside this room had an answer. A plan. A next move.
In here, there was only her hand against his chest, the sound of her breathing, and the pendant catching the light.
He turned his head slightly toward her.
She didn't wake up. But she moved closer anyway, the way she always did, trusting him even in sleep.
He looked at her for a long moment.
For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to imagine it. A child. Theirs.
With her tendency to climb walls she wasn't supposed to. And his tendency to calculate the safest way down.
With her laughter and his focus. With her heart and his mind.
He knew the surgery was reversible. He had never considered it before.
But lying here, with her hand curled against his chest and the pendant resting against her throat, he found himself wanting something he had spent years refusing to want.
A different future.
And for the first time in his life, that frightened him far more than any invisible enemy ever could.
CHAPTER 59
Dal Lake in the late afternoon was so beautiful that it was difficult for Yamini to remember she was working.
Warm light spread across the water. Snow-dusted mountains rose in the distance. Houseboats drifted slowly. The air smelled faintly of cedar and kahwa.
Yamini adjusted the focus ring on her camera.
Click.
She shifted the lens.
Bharat sat across from her in the narrow shikara. Jacket off. Shirt sleeves folded once at the wrist. Collar open. This time, the sunglasses weren’t shielding his eyes.
The breeze moved through his hair, and he didn't bother correcting it.
Even on water, relaxed, he looked exactly like what he was. A maharaja.
She zoomed in slightly.
He sensed her watching him and turned.
His expression softened at her.
It lasted half a heartbeat.
