That sensual mouth against my skin. His hand sliding around my waist.
‘That polka-dot shirt? Absolutely not.’
The kiss was all I could think about. And our conversation the morning after.
‘Look at that hairstyle.’ Rhea’s cackle brought me out of my thoughts. ‘His hobby is clubbing. Red flag.’
My eyes went to her phone. One of our favourite pastimes was doomscrolling through Hinge and roasting all the cringe profiles. On the rare occasion that someone decent showed up, Rhea would give him a shot, only for it to inevitably fail.
Would Jai and I ever have a real shot, or would we fail?
‘Okay, enough!’ Rhea said. ‘You’ve been in this weird zone since you got back, and if this—’ she turned her screen to me ‘—isn’t distracting you, nothing can. So will you tell me what happened on that trip?’
My eyes lowered. I traced invisible designs on the sofa. Rhea was an optimist. In any other situation,she would tell me to hell with it and follow my heart. But this time, I wasn’t sure.
And hearing it from her would only confirm what I was thinking: getting involved with Jai wasn’t a good idea.
But keeping this from her was impossible. ‘Jai and I kissed.’
She blinked. ‘Your boss Jai?’
‘Yes.’
‘Holy shit.’ She gripped my arm, eyes wide. ‘This is serious, Ananya. Spill.’
I exhaled, warmth unfurling at the mere thought of it. ‘We got the deal, and I was so excited, I just hugged him. And then … I don’t even know who moved first, but we kissed. And it wassogood, Rhea. The-best-kiss-of my-life kind of good. I can’t stop replaying it.’
‘The late nights and working on the weekends, all without complaints. Makes sense now,’ she said. ‘Then what happened?’
‘I panicked,’ I groaned, sinking into the cushion. ‘Told him it was a mistake, then locked myself in my room.’
‘Way to handle it like an adult.’ She slapped her forehead. ‘That would’ve made things so awkward this morning!’
‘We actually spoke about it.’ I sighed, the memory of our conversation still sharp enough to make my stomach flip.
I woke up with the ghost of Jai’s lips on mine.Was I dreaming?My eyes flew open.Oh no.
Oh my God.
What did I do? What didwedo?
This wasn’t supposed to happen.What if I lose my job? What if I’m forced to go back home and they make me marry Parth?
One step at a time, Ananya. First, get ready, then go out and talk to him.
Yeah, I could do that. We were both mature adults, and we could move past it; it didn’t have to get that far. And if luck were on my side, he would pretend it never happened as he did after our almost-kiss.
I was still jittery when I stepped out into the living room. Jai was sitting at the dining table, reading the newspaper while sipping his chai, completely unbothered.
My heart flipped.
His hot breath against my skin. The press of his body. The way my knees felt weak under his touch. My mind had been replaying the kiss since I woke up, but it hit different after seeing him again.
Jai’s eyes locked onto mine, and for one reckless moment, I wanted to bridge the distance between us once again.
‘Good morning.’ He carefully folded the paper and put it down. ‘Have a seat. Laxman made us chai and breakfast.’
‘Ananya, you’re going to be the death of me.’
