“Does Rishi know?” Meghna interrupted. “Have you told him?”
“No, I…I don’t think I’m going to. It was one kiss. And Samir’s back in India and we’re never going to…It’s never going to happen again.”
Meghna stared at her in disbelief. “So, that’s it? You’re going to lie to him too?”
“IloveRishi. I just…lost my head for a moment. It was a mistake.”
“Yeah. Obviously. But don’t you think keeping all of this a secret from yourfiancéwould be another one?”
Ankita paled, but offered only an anemic shrug.
Meghna sighed, pulling out two slices of pizza and handing one to Ankita. Ankita picked off the olives one by one, tossing them back into the box.
Meghna was still upset, but things between the two of them were tense enough right now. And she was too tired. Too confused. Too hurt. She didn’t want to say anything she’d regret later. She needed time to process all of this.
They ate their pizza in silence until Ankita asked about the trip to New York. Meghna filled her in on what had happened and told her about the upcoming bachelor party.
“How is that going to work?” Ankita asked. “He’s going to party with you and Seth and the guys?”
“I can’t really picture Karthik partying, but yeah, that’s the general idea. It’s going to be so awkward. I tried to convince him it was a bad idea, but he’s right. It’d be weird if he didn’t come now, after he told Seth he would.”
“Well, just think of it like an opportunity,” Ankita said.
“An opportunity for what?”
“I just meant that if you ever wanted to make Seth jealous, now’s a good chance.”
“I don’t see how. He already knows I’m engaged.”
“Yeah, but you’re going to have to convince him and everyone else that the engagement isreal.”
“Right.”
“So that involves stuff like holding hands, being touchy-feely, kissing…”
Meghna’s brain short-circuited. She hadn’t seriously thought about kissing Karthik before, but now a picture of it popped into her head. Him towering over her, his warm hand on her lower back, his other hand cradling her cheek. A wave of heat swept through her body.Whoa.She hadn’t expected that.
“Seems like it could be fun,” Ankita said.
Meghna shot her an annoyed look. They finished eating, but instead of turning on the show, Meghna said she wanted to have an early night. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t really in the mood for two hours of reality television. Ankita left quickly, and Meghna shut and locked the door behind her.
She was still so angry. And frustrated. And irritated by what Ankita had done. By what Ankita had said. She thought this trip could befun? Fun for who, exactly? The whole thing sounded stressful.Pretending to be engaged to this confusing and irritating man, convincing her ex and his friends that their relationship was real, all while pretending she didn’t have any leftover feelings for Seth? What about that sounded fun?
The image of Karthik kissing her suddenly popped back into her head. His dark eyes staring intently at her, his stubble scratching her cheek, his body flush against hers. Nervous energy fluttered in her stomach, along with something that felt a lot like excitement. Who knew what could happen on this trip? Maybe there was a chance it would end up being a little fun after all.
—
“That’s not right,” Meghna said. “I called and confirmed this yesterday. They told me the room had two queen beds.”
“I’m sorry,” the man behind the front desk said. “Our system shows you booked a king bed suite. But it’s a great room. Much nicer than our two-queen standard.”
A breeze swept through the hotel lobby, carrying the scent of the beach toward them. Salt water, coconut sunscreen, and something floral. It blew quickly, disturbing Meghna’s hair, and Karthik watched with interest as she absently removed a hair tie from around her wrist, gathered her curls, and twisted them in one sharp movement into a bun.
“No. You need to move us back,” she told the hotel employee. “We don’t want the upgrade.” Meghna turned toward Karthik, an uneasy expression on her face. “I booked a room with two beds. I swear.”
“I believe you,” he said. Her panic seemed too real for it to be fake. He would almost be offended that she was so upset at the thought of sharing a bed with him, except the idea was making him equally panicky. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead. He wiped it away quickly.
“I can sleep on the floor,” he told her. “It’s not a big deal.”
