Page 55 of Dream On, Liar

He shook his head, and paused. “Does that mean in three years, I can say that not a single part of me has met your mother?”

I snorted. “If you can manage to evade her for the next three years, then, technically? Yeah.”

He mulled it over, and gave me a pointed look then. “You planning to get married anytime soon?”

My eyes widened.

“What?” I squeaked. “Dear god. No! Why in the world would you even ask that?”

“Your wedding would be the only place I meet her,” He explained. “On the other hand, whenever you do get married, that would also reset the cell cycle.”

“What makes you think she’d get an invite?” I asked, even though this conversation had gone on a tangent I didn’t like.

“She’s your mother,” He replied, like it was obvious.

“So? I haven’t spoken to her since my graduation either.”

Dad blinked, as though just being let into a secret. “You haven’t?”

I shook my head, unable to offer any words that could explain the reasons.

He tapped his table once, before nodding in understanding. “Back to the topic, does this also mean you aren’t seeing anyone?”

“That is so not the topic of our conversation.” I groaned. “And since when are you interested in my love life?”

He frowned. “That is no answer, young lady.”

“Ew, Dad. Don’t call me that. We’re not living in medieval times.”

“Again, not an answer.” He paused, a tiny flicker of horror creeping in his expressions. “You’re not seeing any of my players, are you?”

My face dropped. “No. I don’t date cricketers. As a matter of fact, I’m not dating anyone at all.”

He released a breath, relieved. “Okay, that saves me a conversation.”

My eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “The conversation where I tell you that no matter what, my players are totally off-limit. It may not be in your contract, but we have an unspoken non-fraternisation rule.”

My tablet pinged, pulling my attention and I waved my father off. “Yeah, thank yourself. No cricketers for me.”

Not now. Not ever.

I had two simple rules when it came to dating, but this was an absolute non-negotiable.

I flicked back my eyes to meet his, only to realise he’d been caught up in a thought of trying to figure out what my words truly meant.

Shit.

“Hey,” I spoke, pulling his attention. “Is the team doing something for you tomorrow, or do you want to grab some dinner just the two of us?”

“Dinner sounds great.” He gave me a smile that I returned.

“Any hints for a gift?” I asked, taking a step back to get back to my duties.

“Yeah,” He replied, making me pause. “Make up with Rihaan. I don’t care if it’s a temporary truce, or pretend. We can’t have a repeat of today, ever.”

“Now you’re just asking too much.”