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I let out a breath of frustration. “Fine, you win.”
“That’s like my girl,” he says with a wink.
Without bothering to react, I walk to the passenger seat and slip in while Ranveer moves behind the steering wheel and kickstarts the engine, pulling the car out of the parking.
The few minutes it takes for us to reach his house seem to drag. The awkward situation is unnerving at first. However, once Mili starts blabbering, it’s hard to think about anything else. She lists down all the puzzles which she wishes to solve with me and even mentions the puzzle where Ranveer blundered big time. Though Ranveer lets out an exasperated sigh, I can’t help but turn around and give her a high-five. There is at least something that Mr Know-It-All isn’t good at. The thought gives me a strange satisfaction. A few minutes later, he is parking my car at my usual spot when finally Mili takes a breather.
As soon as I step out of the car, Mili comes next to me and tugs on my arm. “Can you do a sleepover with me?”
“I am sorry, Baby, I can’t. My parents will be waiting for me,” I say gently as Ranveer comes to stand on my other side.
“That’s sad, I wanted you to stay,” she frowns and then takes my hand as we step inside the building with Ranveer following closely behind me.
“No sleepover. That’s really sad,” Ranveer whispers near my ear.
I shiver. His proximity always makes my cheeks flush and my heart pound in my chest. Refusing to pay any heed to it, I turn to glare at him. “Stop being annoying.”
“I can’t.” He grins at me.
Not bothering to argue with him, I focus my attention on Mili, who doesn’t let go of my hand and leads me to the elevator. Once we reach there, we all step inside and Mili presses the button to the top floor. Her little hand pulls me towards the house while Ranveer gives us an amused look. The moment we step through the door, the familiarity greets me. I stand stock still and look around in a daze.
“Aunty, can we start solving the puzzle now?” Mili asks, dragging me from my thoughts. I notice Ranveer walking towards the living room. I avert my gaze towards her and am about to tell her that we can, when Ranveer cuts me off.
“Change your dress first, Princess.”
“But I want to do the puzzle first, Daddy.”
He shakes his head. “We just got back from the hospital, Princess. You need to first change your dress and wash your hands.”
She lets out a frustrated breath but goes to the room without arguing further. As she leaves, I take my seat opposite Ranveer on the couch. When his eyes meet mine, I go blank about what to say. It’s a struggle to think straight while the thoughts are running helter-skelter in my mind.
“I have something to say,” he utters quietly.
Without waiting for my reply, he rises from the couch and walks towards me. I hold my breath and look at him with uncertainty, wondering about what he wants to discuss.
“I wanted to let you know how beautiful you are looking in this black jumpsuit,” he mutters as he bends, his lips almost touching my ear, making my heart leap into a gallop. “Too bad I can’t ravish you the way I want to, with my daughter a few feet away. But once I have you to myself, all bets are off.” He pulls himself straight and moves back to his seat on the couch opposite me. All this time, my mouth is open and I don’t dare to move a muscle while I ask myself if it’s even possible for a kaleidoscope of butterflies to flutter around in my tiny tummy.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I take a deep breath and watch him scroll through his mobile. I keep staring at him and wonder how he is able to cut himself off that quickly, whereas my heart is fluttering at the sight of him such that I have to force my eyes off him. God, how I wish to run away from here! Nonetheless, I fight back the urge, glueing myself to the couch.
“What did the doctor say about Dad’s report?” Ranveer asks while placing his mobile on the coffee table.
I look over at him. “Everything looks good, it’s just the weather. It won’t take him long to recover.”
He gives me a look that is filled with relief. “Good.”
“Where is Soha?” I finally ask, meeting his gaze.
He shrugs. “Busy partying.”
“Oh.” I purse my lips together, not sure how to respond to that.
Brief silence fills the room. Before either of us can say anything, Mili comes running and climbs up onto the couch next to me.
“I’m done changing,” she says, pointing at the cute pink tracksuit she is wearing.
“I love your outfit.” I smile at her.
“Thanks. Can we solve the puzzle now?” Mili asks.
