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“Maybe I like you enough to talk easily with you.” He answered her bold question with a bold reply of his own. And the answering flare of heat in her eyes was delightful. She dropped her gaze for a short second, and her expression was clear when she looked at him again.
“Apart from that,” she continued, “you are very private, quiet and intense, much unlike your brother. Oh, and I haven’t read a single interview about you anywhere.”
He rubbed his lower lip, angling his head to her. “I didn’t know you were so interested in me.”
She made a face. “You and I have enough people in common who talk about you, the good and the bad. I’m privy to both sides.”
The good being Rithwik, Rhea, and Nirvaan. Nirvaan was one of his closest friends, as Rhea was hers. The bad would definitely come from Raashi and Keya; he was certain of that.
“However, I don’t get influenced easily,” she said. “And I prefer to make my own mind about a person. What I have observed during our short interactions in the past and now is that you don’t talk a lot, and when you do, you take time between your sentences to think.”
His brows shot up. She smiled at his response. She’d read him perfectly and correctly. Fuck. This woman was too…too…much. Too bold, too smart, and too sharp.
“Also, much unlike your twin, you don’t come across as dreamy or romantic,” she added.
Ugh! Definitely not qualities he had or even wanted to ever have. Love, dreams and romance were not for him.
She must have read his expression because she narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong with being dreamy and romantic?”
“Did I say there was something wrong?”
She scowled. “No, but it was written all over your face. I’ll have you know that I am a dreamer. I love fairy tales and romance.”
He tipped his head to her Kindle. “I suppose you must’ve been reading a mushy romance novel before you saw me.”
“I’m a voracious reader. And so what if I was reading a romance?”
He spread his hands up placatingly. “Each to his own. I don’t believe in love and fairy tales.”
Her eyes widened. “Despite the fact that your parents have been happily married for years, and the same goes for your brother?”
“Two happy marriages in front of me doesn’t make me a believer.”
“Oh my God!” she gasped. “Have you not met Rithwik’s friends? That whole gang symbolizes happy marriages. Seeing them, anyone would become a believer in love and fairy tales.”
He rolled his eyes. He wasn’t interested in Rithwik’s gang…not in the least. Besides, his birth parents had been a perfect example of how people in love could ruin one another and eventually destroy each other. Their marriage had been a complete and utter disaster, one which he had lived through and experienced first-hand. And because of that, he’d decided at a very young age that romance, love, and marriage weren’t for him. He was happy being single.
Jiya clasped his hand.
“A day might come when you’ll change your opinion,” she said softly. “Everyone deserves love, including you.”
“I seriously doubt that, but let’s not argue the point.” He removed his hand from under hers, annoyed that her touch managed to make his heart beat a little faster.
“My sister always taught me that you have to believe you deserve happiness in order to be truly happy. Until then, you’re a lost cause.”
“I suppose that makes me glad that she’s not my sister and is not filling my ears with such nonsense.”
Jiya glared at him. “You may have your reasons for not getting along with Raashi and Keya. However, that doesn’t mean I will allow you to say anything you want against either of them.”
“First, I just made a point; it wasn’t to criticize anyone. Second, bad mouthing anyone is not my style. I’d rather say things directly to someone’s face than talk behind their back.”
Jiya nodded, her cold expression thawing.
He rubbed his chin, studying her.
An idea took shape in his mind.
An idea that included her and would definitely ruffle a few feathers, and of course, that was the whole point of the idea. It took him less than a fraction of a moment to sort it out in his head and decide to act on it. He just hoped the woman in front of him took the bait he was going to throw.
