Page 63 of Knot So Romantic

“You look pale,” she laughs, teasing me as usual. “Is everything okay?”

I nod. “Yeah, I’m just...just—I’m fine.” I can’t explain what just happened. Not here. Not now.

She narrows her eyes. “Are you sure?”

I smile to lighten the mood. “I heard a few people say great things about the event. I uh, well, I got chutney on my shirt, so that feels—” I laugh, trying to push down the wave of emotions threatening to surface.

She looks at me, her eyes shining with that soft, tender gaze that’s only for me, and in that moment, I realize I’ve fallen for her. Hard.

Except I don’t know how to let go of the squeeze in my heart that makes me feel so vulnerable. I think it was a terrible mistake to think this could work.

Today has been more than a revelation. I feel so pathetic right now. I’d hoped to spend a few hours with Kavita after the event, but now I simply can’t. I just want to get out of here.

Her glance drops to my shirt. “How did you get that on your shirt?” She grabs my hand, pointing to the restrooms. “Let me help you clean that up. And…” She pauses. “I’d really like you to meet my parents. I think this is as good a time as any other.” She smiles dreamily. “I wish I had done it earlier.”

I wince. I have to leave before she can persuade me to go with her and further rub in my misery. “Actually, I’ve got to get back to the office. Something came up,” I say.

“Oh. Okay. Everything all right?”

“Yes. Just need to sort out a last-minute thing,” I shrug. It’s not exactly a lie. I have something that’s come up urgently, but I don’t need to spend the rest of the day to finish it. Still, with all the insecurities that have reared their ugly head, I might need more than that to nurse my bruised ego.

I step forward and give Kavita a quick hug. “You did great today. I think you should go home and rest after this. I’ll call you later?”

She nods, but I don’t miss the hurt in her eyes.

Just as I can’t hide the hurt in mine, no matter how hard I try.

CHAPTER 27

Kavita

Is Neel out of his mind? Go home and rest?

I don’t know what happened while I was gone.

Neel clearly doesn’t want to explain his odd behavior. Or talk about anything, apparently. Because he took off from the venue like he was running away from a fire.

Or just running from me.

The thought makes me sick. I wanted to introduce Neel to my parents. I wanted to tell them I loved him. The entire time I was looking for my parents, I was practicing the “I love Neel” speech, and now this?

I can’t stop myself from thinking the worst. Maybe I was being too starry-eyed. Maybe he really isn’t ready to meet my parents. Perhaps this...us...it’s too good to be true.

I rub my face and pace the grounds, ignoring the looks people are giving me.

Could he have changed his mind about us? Could he have suddenly gotten cold feet?

Or did he decide he didn’t want to meet my family after all?

No matter how hard I try, I can’t come up with any logical explanation as to why Neel left, looking so disturbed. Was it really a situation at work or something else?

“Oh, crap!” I say out loud, pulling out my phone and dialing Neel’s number before I can overthink it.

He doesn’t pick up. But then, it’s still only been half an hour since he’s gone. He’s probably still firefighting the issue in his office.

Or he’s ignoring me.

I’d much rather believe the former because I’m tired of worrying.