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Being the eldest in that trio, Ananya was their designated leader and the two younger girls, Navya and Reina, followed her lead in everything. They were a riot and often ganged up against him, but he was extremely fond of them and proud of the brilliant women they were. Ananya was a journalist and, thus, was too perceptive and too damn nosy for her own good. Reina, the youngest of the trio, was studying to be a doctor in the UK, and she was in Dubai for a short break.
Navya was a fashion stylist and image consultant. Her taste was impeccable, and the other two girls always took her advice for anything sartorial. Case in point was tonight. The three of them were dressed fabulously and looked stunning.
He sneaked a peek at Sheena and found her going toward her mother. She’d barely lifted a foot in that direction when two women stepped in her path. She froze. Without a thought, he went to her.
“Well, well, the Sehgal Princess has come to Dubai,” the younger woman sneered.
He saw Sheena stiffen.
The younger woman studied Sheena from top to toe before her contemptuous gaze paused on her heels and then immediately switched to him as she saw him approaching from behind. He understood in a heartbeat that these were the two women who’d been speaking ill about Sheena in his study. He’d met them almost every year at this very same party.
Sheena’s shoulders dropped, and without thinking, he moved to her side. The women in front of him exchanged a look. Sheena’s lips pouted, and she flicked her gaze away from him defiantly, refusing to acknowledge him. His heart rumbled. This was the bold and brave woman he was getting to know. And he’d be damned if he let anyone take away her fire or dampen her spirit.
“Mrs. Sachdeva, right?” He looked at the woman and then at her daughter. “And I’m sorry, you are?”
“She’s my daughter, Karina,” the older woman said. “You’ve met before.”
“Have we?” he replied haughtily. “Pity, I don’t recall.”
Karina’s face fell, but Rajiv wasn’t concerned. He looked at each of them in turn and then put a deliberate hand around Sheena’s waist. She stiffened slightly, but thankfully did not shrug him off. Although, she still did not look at him.
“Have you met Miss Sehgal?” he asked, keeping his voice low and sharp. “She’s a friend.”
The Sachdeva women exchanged another look before they faced him again.
His gaze sharpened on them. “Do you know, I don’t take kindly to anyone insulting my friends, in private or in public? Definitely not within the walls of my home.”
Mrs. Sachdeva’s eyes widened, while utter shock crossed her daughter’s face. Her eyes alternated between Sheena and him, and then her gaze wandered down Sheena, once again stopping at her heels, and then back at his hand that was still on Sheena’s waist. In the next second, her eyes widened in realization. She’d made the connection exactly as was intended by him.
Sheena’s eyes finally met his as she understood he was protecting her in the only way he could.
“So, if I haven’t been very clear, let me spell it out for you,” he continued, his voice quiet, yet deadly. Dangerous. “If I hear one ill word has been spoken about Sheena to anyone ever, and I mean anyone, then your invites to my mother’s events and to those of everyone in her circle will stop from that moment on. You will be outcasted in Dubai as well. Isn’t that your biggest worry? If it is, then you’d choose wisely on what you’d do next.”
The two women gasped. And then, without waiting for them, he propelled Sheena away from them and out in the lawns.
The moment they were far away from them, she turned to him.
“What was that back there?” she hissed. “You didn’t need to come to my rescue.”
He looked heavenward. “For someone as bold as you, those women clearly managed to ruffle you up. Someone had to help, and hence I stepped in.”
“That was my issue to deal with and not yours,” she snapped, looking furious.
“Princess, you’re forgetting I was there with you in my study when they were speaking shit about you. I heard them planning to shred your reputation to bits in front of everyone at this party.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So? What’s it to you?”
He shook his head and sighed. “Drop the attitude. A simple thank you will suffice.”
She glared at him. “You’re insufferable. You don’t even know what I did in the past. Why would you side with me? Unless you have an ulterior motive.”
“And pray tell me, what motive would that be?”
“How would I know?”
“Do you think those women would have stopped at only humiliating you for whatever grudge they hold against you? They saw your heels. They would have announced to the world thatyouwere having a rendezvous withme. They would have maligned your name even more. I just saved you from a whole lot of embarrassment.”
“And yourself, clearly,” she stormed.
