Chapter 16

"I can't believe that I'm actually tired...I mean...we didn't even do anything today!" Anjali rolled her eyes as she made her way into shantivan along with Khushi.

"Are you surprised? Wasn't it like this for you every semester? Being tired after the first day of classes?" Khushi shook her head and laughed.

"We're celebrating this Friday...with drinks and all..." Anjali poked Khushi's shoulder. "Girls' night out! No excuses."

"Anjali--" Khushi didn't get to complete her sentence as Anjali whirled around and stopped Khushi mid-stride, the annoyed glare taking Khushi by surprise.

"I miss this, damn it!" Anjali threw her hands up in frustration. "You and me, just hanging out...having a drink every now and then...watching a movie..."

"I was about to say that it sounds like a great plan..." Khushi frowned slightly. "And we can still do all that stuff..."

"Please don't get offended, okay?" Anjali softened her tone. "At first I was so excited that you married Arnav...that you'd be a part of this family. But now...I can't help but wonder whether I've lost my best friend because of it. Maybe I'm being selfish but I haven't really seen you all week...we haven't spent any time alone together since you got engaged to him. I've had you to myself for two years and now I'm sharing you with what feels like twenty other people! I miss us...I miss my best friend..."

Anjali looked wounded and genuine upset as her rant came to a finish. Khushi sighed dejectedly, knowing in her heart that Anjali wasn't entirely wrong. A bit childish in her thoughts, she may be...but she was not completely wrong.

Khushi hadn't deliberately avoided Anjali. Between post-wedding rituals and getting accustomed to being a wife, between merging into this family and getting to know Arnav, Khushi hadn't spent too much time with Payalor Anjali. Did Payal feel the same way? What about Aman? Was she really changing despite her thinking otherwise?

Whatever the case was, she owed her friend an explanation.

"I'm sorry I've been distracted Anju, but you must know that I miss us too!" Khushi spoke earnestly, hoping that Anjali would understand. "Now that we've resumed work, you'll see more of me. And I promise that from today on I will try to divide my time better."

"I know you're not doing it purposely, Khushi..." Anjali smiled gently. "I know you're still figuring out the new life that you'll be leading but I'm just...I'm scared. What if you change? Women tend to become different once they're married and I don't want that to happen with you."

"I'm not going to change, Anjali. I promise you that. I may wear two rings more than I ever have but apart from that, as a person, I won't change..." Khushi reassured her friend and herself as well.

"How about a movie right now then?" Anjali grinned.

Khushi knew this was a test. If they were back in New York, Khushi would never turn down an invitation to watch a movie. "You get the DVD, I'll get the popcorn."

Anjali grinned from ear to ear and threw her arms around Khushi. "Oh I love you! I'm going to pick a movie with lots of hot guys for us to drool over! I'll even call over Payal."

In her excitement to spend some time with her best friend and her new friend, Anjali hustled away not even noticing her mother who watched with a disappointed expression. Khushi took a step towards the staircase to follow Anjali when she saw her from the corner of her eyes. Khushi smiled in her direction and instantly noticed the way her mother-in-law's eyes skittered to Anjali.

She knew that look well. Normally with her Maa, this look would follow a long lecture. Khushi changed her path and walked towards Asha.

"Please don't say anything to her." Khushi pleaded right away.

Asha glanced back at Khushi with slight surprise. Seeing the faint anxiety on the young lady's face, Asha relaxed and smiled. She closed the remaining distance to Khushi and caressed her cheek affectionately.

"I really want to have a talk with her...to try and explain it to her but I won't if you don't want me to." Asha smiled kindly. "Anjali has always been that way, Khushi. Even when she was a child, she couldn't stand it when Arnav was in the spotlight. As the youngest in the family, she's been spoilt with attention and now you're facing the repercussions."

Khushi smiled in response and shook her head. "It's not like that. In a way she's right. I haven't seen her much this week...with time, I'll learn how to balance everything...it's still very new."

"Trust me sweetie, I understand. You're doing a much better that I did..." Asha chuckled and shook her head. Oh how she had been tearful for nearly two weeks...missing her home and parents and siblings. She recalled she didn't want to be a wife, she just wanted to go back home. Khushi had been nothing but a burst of delight in this house in the past week.

"How was your first day at work?" Asha changed the topic, deciding that she'll deal with Anjali in a different manner.

"Oh, it was great! Dad was nice enough to show us around and personally introduce us to everyone." Khushi smiled thoughtfully. "I think he even subtly threatened everyone to not mess with me or Anjali."

"Yeah, I bet he did. Where do you think Arnav got his possessive nature from?" Asha chuckled and winked at Khushi conspirationally.

Khushi talked a bit more about her first day at work as they headed upstairs. Asha listened with utmost attention, intrigued by Khushi's enthusiasm about work. In this instance, she somewhat reminded Asha of when she was younger. When she had newly joined the office with Arvind after a couple months of being married to him, she had felt the same kind of enthusiasm and excitement.

"Is Arnav home yet?" Khushi questioned, trying to come up with a way to tell him that she would be spending the evening with Anjali without telling him about how Anjali was feeling about this new setting.

Asha smiled knowingly. "No...he should be here in another hour."

"Oh...okay. Are you going to join us for the movie?"

Asha laughed at the innocent request. Why she would want her mother-in-law there was beyond Asha but at the same time, she was glad that Khushi was comfortable enough to even consider the idea. "Some other day. I need to go pick up Maaji from her friend's house."

Khushi nodded and smiled politely, ready to turn away and walk to her room when Asha's voice stopped her again.

"Khushi, if Arnav or Anjali give you a hard time...about anything...you let me know. I will put them back in their place." Asha winked again, making Khushi laugh.

Khushi closed the few steps between them and without any hesitations, gathered Asha in a hug. "Thank you, mom! You're the best."

Chuckling along with her, Asha pulled away. "Yes, my son and my husband have mentioned that quite a few times. Run along before my crazy daughter gets to you again..."
_____

"OH my God!" Anjali gasped.

Khushi grinned and nodded slowly, letting the female instincts in her do the work. Even to this day, this teenager-like reaction hadn't left her.

"As Emma Stone would say..." Payal spoke and then cleared her throat to make the hoarseness go away. "It's like he's photo-shopped."

"It's a fine Photoshop job..." Khushi spoke absent-mindedly.

"Wow...get me one like that!" Anjali whistled appreciatively and fanned herself with her hand as a shirtless Ryan Reynolds paced leisurely on the large TV screen.

"Me too!" Payal agreed putting a potato chip in her mouth, her eyes trained unblinkingly on the TV.

"Me three." Khushi chimed.

Anjali snorted. "Too late for you. You're married." She turned to scowl playfully at her friend. "To my brother!"

Khushi rolled her eyes. "Oh, honey...you bring me Ryan Reynolds and I will forget I'm married to your brother."

"Good to know."

Khushi bit her tongue as his husky voice finally made them aware of his presence. Embarrassed, she lowered her head and covered her eyes with one hand. She could practically hear him smile at her state. Her traitor friends burst into laughter at her expense.

Not being able to contain the grin of amusement on his face, Arnav walked around the couch and settled himself between his sister and his red-faced wife. Much to Khushi's horrification, Aman and Akash followed him in, taking a seat in the unoccupied spots.

"So this is what you girls are up to? Shamelessly ogling at shirtless men on TV?" Akash rolled his tongue into his cheek, glancing at Payal who frowned at him.

"Oh please..." Khushi spoke up at the jab, her embarrassment slowly fading. "As if you men don't ogle at the actresses in movies!" By the time she finished her sentence, her eyes settled on Arnav.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Guilty as charged."

"What chick flick are you girls wasting your time over now?" Akash sighed.

"This guy was in the Green Lantern, was he not?" Aman raised his eyebrows, finally recalling the familiar face.

"Green lantern? Really? " Anjali laughed. "You are such a nerd."

"And what are you? A sixteen year old swooning over a mediocre looking actor?" Was the quick retort from Aman.

Anjali gasped, indignant, while Khushi and Payal echoed the sound.

"You did not just call him mediocre!" Payal narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah...have you seen your own face in the mirror? You make a buffoon look good!" Anjali snickered.

"Says the woman who has the face of a scrawny cat..." Aman sat back and smirking, loving the instant flicker of annoyance on Anjali's face.

And just like that, another argument began between Aman and Anjali. Arnav and Khushi's heads turned to look at whoever was speaking out of the two and within minutes it was as if they were following the ball in a tennis match. The four of them didn't even realize when Payal and Akash had snuck away.

"They fight like an old married couple." Khushi murmured.

"Old married couple?" Arnav rolled his eyes. "They remind me of kindergarten kids who just recently learned about cooties."

Khushi stopped following the argument to laugh and look up at her husband who smiled down at her. Just as her laughter subsided, a wicket glint entered his eyes.

"So...are there any other men that would make you forget that you're married to me?" He smirked as she became flustered again.

"Arnav! That was...I wasn't...you know how it is!" She glanced away, pressing her lips together to keep the goofy grin at bay.

"Do I?" Arnav countered, enjoying her flustered state.

Then, unexpectedly, she responded with the last thing he had expected to hear.



"There's a handful other celebrities you should watch out for...I can name a few off the top of my head...but I know that my husband's a possessive man and I can't risk him going after these guys that are gifts to women from God so I won't tell you their names." She smiled sweetly.

Arnav couldn't help but laugh when she batted her eyelashes innocently. Relaxing into the couch, he draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"What do you say to escaping this mini war?" Arnav nudged his chin at the bickering duo.

Khushi nodded in response and much like Payal and Akash, the two of them stealthily made their way out of the media room, catching the last few words of Anjali's retort.

"...A hairy rat's ass!"

Khushi was still giggling over the term when Arnav nudged her arm with his elbow.

"How was your first day at work?" He spoke in a quiet tone"which Khushi has learned was his normal way of speaking--as they walked side by side, keeping their conversation private...not that there was anyone around to hear them.

"It was good. A typical first day...not too much work just yet so you'll be saved from watching me go into my workaholic mode. How was the conference?" Involuntarily, her eyes flickered down to the tie around his neck, which she had tied in the morning and he hadn't removed yet.

"I'd rather be in the OR." Arnav shrugged. "Conferences are quite dull in comparison."

"And here I thought I would be disturbing you if I called you..." Khushi rolled her eyes.

"You were going to call?" Arnav sounded surprised.

Khushi shrugged. "I'd thought about it...but then I didn't want to bother you so I let it be."

"Then why didn't you answer my calls?"

"You called?" Khushi frowned in confusion.

"You probably have around 6 missed calls from me in the past hour..."

"Oh..." Khushi looked at her hands, realizing that she didn't have her phone with her. "I think I left my phone in the study before we started the movie..."

Automatically, the two turned and began walking in the direction of the hall that would lead them to Khushi's study. A few steps away from the door, Arnav's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, and looked at Khushi as if asking for permission.

Khushi smiled and nodded. "It's okay...take it. I'll just get my phone."

As Arnav put the phone to his ear, Khushi turned on her feet and walked towards her study, an extra bounce in her step. She threw the door open only to stand stunned at the threshold. A gasp escaped her while her hands dramatically flew up to cover her mouth.

Akash and Payal broke the lip-lock and jumped apart guiltily. Payal glanced at Khushi and turned away in embarrassment while Akash offered a sheepish lop-sided smile.

"You. Two. Are. Dead. Meat." Khushi threatened.

"Akash, run!" Payal screeched as soon as Khushi took two strides into the room, aiming for Akash.

Taking advantage of the two to one ratio, Akash and Payal managed to slip around and past Khushi. Behind him, giggles and yelps broke out and Akash knew that if he ran fast enough, he would be saved Khushi's beating.

Payal on the other hand nearly ran into Arnav at the end of the hall. Finding the perfect guard, she immediately jumped behind him while Khushi stopped short in front of him. Like young girls chasing each other around a pillar, Khushi and Payal hopped and teetered around Arnav, nearly toppling him over in the process.

"Arnav, save me from you vicious wife!" Payal chuckled dodging another slap Khushi had whisked her way.

"No one's going to save you from me...how dare you hide this from me?!" Khushi glared over Arnav's shoulder where Payal was peeking from.

"What's going on?" Arnav asked Khushi calmly.

"If you don't move away right this moment, you're dead meat too." Khushi narrowed her eyes at Arnav who was unintentionally guarding Payal.

Holding his arms up in surrender as if she had him on gun point, Arnav immediately took a side step, giving Khushi a straight clear path to Payal.

The yelps and squeals began anew as Khushi resumed her chase. Shaking his head at them, Arnav followed their path down the stairs noticing that Aman and Anjali had taken a break from their bickering to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going on?" Anjali questioned, running past Arnav on the staircase.

"She caught Payal and me kissing." Akash sighed, confessing at last, knowing there was no way out.

"What?!" Arnav, Anjali, and Aman chimed in together.

"How long has this been going on?" Khushi demanded, crossing her arms.

She couldn't help but feel a little betrayed by Payal. Did she not trust her enough to share this news with her? Something as big as being in a relationship with Akash?

Aman grinned widely, internally giving himself a pat on the back for having a hunch about this. He shared a glance with Arnav who half-smirked half-smiled.

"A year and a half..." Akash smiled sheepishly.

"Did you two know about this?" Anjali whirled to face Aman and Arnav.

"I started suspecting things a few weeks before Khushi and Arnav got engaged...but we didn't know for sure." Aman explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Khushi spoke quietly, directing her query at Payal, a tinge of hurt evident in the dropped octaves.

"It was my idea Khushi." Akash stepped forward to defend Payal. "I...I wanted to keep it under wraps for a bit...Payal considered telling you but then with you in New York...it was easier to keep the secret going..."

Payal took Khushi's hands in hers. "Look...I know you feel bad that I didn't tell you...I wanted to when you came back but with your engagement and your wedding...I didn't want to steal your thunder...we were actually planning on telling you guys this weekend but...I'm so sorry..."

"So you lied to me when I asked you if something was up?" Khushi withdrew her hands and sighed.

"I'm sorry Khushi...I know I should have told you. I know you hate being lied to..." Payal turned to Akash for help.

Arnav pressed his lips together and threw an accusing glance at Aman. This was just a preview of what would happen if she found out what Arnav was hiding from her...

"NO." Aman mouthed at him.

Arnav clenched his jaw and glanced away. This was the one and only thing him and Aman didn't agree on. Between his promise to Aman, Shashi, and Garima and keeping his wife's trust, Arnav found himself in an extremely uncomfortable position.

"Do you love her?" Khushi questioned Akash.

"More than anything else in this world." Akash answered without a missed beat.

"And you?" Khushi turned her questioning gaze to Payal.

Payal nodded meekly, somewhat glad that Khushi was still talking to her. "I do..."

"Well then don't just stand there...at least give me a damned hug because this is Amazing!" Khushi laughed and moved towards her friend, choosing to forget the fact that she was kept in the dark about this for so long. Their friendship, she decided, was more important.

Payal and Akash sagged with relief when Khushi threw her arms around them both, gathering them in a hug. A squealing Anjali also joined the trio.

"Ah what the hell..." Aman threw his arms up and joined the group as well while Arnav stood a little distance away, smiling at them.

Even as he watched Khushi smile and interact with the others for the next hour or so, he couldn't completely shake off the feeling that the slight emotion he saw in her eyes was bordering betrayal.


Why was it that the smallest, most harmless secret makes you feel like crap if it was kept from you by someone you had trusted? Someone you would share almost anything with. She had wondered whether she was over-reacting to the whole news of Payal and Akash being a couple but was she wrong to expect that her best friend would have confided in her about something like that?

She was happy for her friend. After having lost her parents at a tender age, she had found someone she could call her own...she had found love in Akash. Khushi was happy for her...what she couldn't fathom was why Payal had felt the need to hide this.

She broke out of her thoughts when she heard the sliding door behind her open. She tore away her eyes from the shimmering water in the pool to look over her shoulder.

Arnav stood a couple steps from the now closed French door, dressed in black track pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was still slightly damp from the shower he had just taken. In the back of her mind, she realized that they were matching again.

"It's a nice night." Arnav nodded towards the glass rooftop, pointing out the cloudless sky"a canvas of millions of glimmering stars.

"It is..." Khushi followed his gaze and sighed lightly. "And it always smells like heaven out here with all these flows...its perfect."

"And you complete the picture..." Arnav took a seat next to her on the black marble ledge.

She looked at him questioningly and in response, he offered her a lopsided smile. Immediately, Khushi's heart skipped a beat and raced.

"You look beautiful..." following the urge, he reached up and gently brushed her bangs away from her eyes. His fingers lingered on the smooth skin of her cheek for a fleeting moment before he moved his hand away.

Khushi frowned, not understanding what had earned her the compliment. "Arnav...I'm in my PJ's..."

"And?" Both of his eyebrows perked up on his forehead. "How does that make any difference?"

Khushi searched his face for some kind of explanation but found nothing but amusement and sincerity etched in his handsome features. She couldn't help but grin at his response which could make any girl's insides melt.

"You know...I'm surprised a charmer like you didn't have a girlfriend." She chuckled, moving her hands from her lap to her sides, splaying out her palms on the smooth rock on either side, leaning her wait on them.

"If you want, I can go searching for a girlfriend now." Arnav smirked.

"Behave Dr. Raizada...you have a wife now..." Khushi tried to give him a stern look but couldn't keep her grin at bay. "Don't even dream about searching for a girlfriend."

Arnav laughed lightly, admiring the rapport they had built in the last week. He had laid his cards on the table this morning. He had told her how he'd felt about her and after her own confession in the car, there was no reason to hold back the most basic instincts. He reached out with authority and took her hand in his, entwining their fingers before he pressed his lips to the back of her palm.

"I wouldn't dare...besides, my wife has taken all of my attention lately..." Arnav winked. "I would like to think I have her attention too but she's a tad distracted tonight...I think something's bothering her."

Khushi smiled sadly and shook her head. "Nothing escapes your eyes..."

"Your friends didn't hide it from you out of bad intentions...Payal did admit that she didn't want to steal your thunder." Arnav's thumb moved back and forth on her hand, caressing soothingly.

"I know...I just...I expected her to share such things with me. I would have...when you trust someone...when you confide in them; you want them to feel the same way don't you?" Khushi turned to look at him. "You want me to confide in you...to share my issues with you...obviously I wouldn't like it if you couldn't share your problems with me...you know what I mean?"

Arnav glanced away lest she read the guilt in his eyes. "Sometimes other things keep you from sharing things...like when we hid the news of our engagement from Anjali...we didn't do it for the intent of hurting her...we had her best interests at heart, right?"

Khushi thought for a couple of seconds before nodding gently. He was right about that. Besides...it wasn't like she was all truthful. Considering that she was keeping a considerable amount of information from Arnav, she shouldn't be mad at Payal.

"You're right...maybe I overreacted...Anyway..." Khushi sighed and shrugged, wanting to change the subject. "You didn't tell me how the conference went."

For the next half hour or so, Arnav and Khushi talked about the specifics of their day at work and what the next day looked like for them. Arnav turned her hand over and then back in his hand as he spoke and listened, playing with her slim fingers, fondling the engagement ring and wedding band on her ring finger as if his hands were trying to memorize the feel of every detail. Khushi would glance at him and offer him her small smile--the one that shined brilliantly in her eyes, making his heartbeat fall into all sorts of irregular rhythms--when she liked a particular way his fingers caressed her skin.

Though they wanted nothing more to sit and talk a bit more, both of them reluctantly stood to call it a day and head to bed. Arnav didn't let go of her hand until he needed to close the door behind them. Khushi automatically walked to her side of the bed and crawled in.

She glanced up at him just in time to see him grab hold of the hem of his t-shirt and smoothly slide it over his head. Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth opened to form a small o', both from the surprise of his actions and the sight before her.

He may not be as muscular as a lot of the celebrities her, Anjali, and Payal would ogle over but the chiseled muscles of his chest complimented by those bulged bundles of muscles on his arm made it nearly impossible for Khushi to look away. He was evoking those wayward thoughts in her mind again!

"W-what are you doing?" She questioned, her eyes flickering to the shirt he had tossed onto the recliner.

"What?" He looked at her innocently. "I need to step up my game if I'm competing with Ryan Reynolds and other celebrities..."

"Argh!" Khushi fell back on the pillow and threw her arm over her eyes. "You're the worst!"

She felt his side of the bed dip with his weight. Making up her mind then and there, she sat up slightly so that she was leaning against the dashboard, mirroring his position. Nonchalance at its best, Khushi reached into the drawer on her side and pulled out a copy of Persuasion by Jane Austen.

As she began reading, she heard him pull out his own reading material. She sighed internally. Two can play at this game. She read through a couple pages before lying down comfortably on the bed facing him, one arm bent neatly under her head while the other held the book.

And then it began. Every couple of sentences, she found her eyes skimming over the edge of the book to glance at him. He looked utterly focused as he pored over the stapled bundle of paper--some medical material from the looks of it. Sometimes his eyebrows would be knit together in focus; sometimes his eyebrows were raised on his forehead as if what he was reading had intrigued him.

Once, he turned to look at her and caught her staring. She immediately turned her eyes to the book, pretending that nothing had happened. His gaze had lingered on her a few seconds before he had turned his attention back to the research paper in his hands. He had wondered whether she was angry or uncomfortable until he had caught her staring.

He was acutely aware of every glance she had thrown in his direction thereafter. Often he was tempted to glance back at her and catch her eye but didn't lest she glance away of felt embarrassed. After another half an hour of this, he'd had enough.

He turned to look at her once again when he felt her eyes on him.

"What? Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?" He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I can't help it..." Khushi shrugged innocently and winked. "I'm just admiring the view."

Khushi failed to suppress a giggle as his jaw dropped open slightly. He looked at her with a stupefied expression for a couple of seconds before closing his mouth. The faintest hue of red appeared on his cheeks and he looked away, smiling as he looked down at the document in his hands, deliberately avoiding her teasing glance. He heard her giggle again"the sound reminiscent of tinkling bells.

Arnav Singh Raizada Blushing...! And that shy smile...!

Taking advantage of the rare moment where she had him flustered rather than the other way around, Khushi leaned up on her forearm and kissed his cheek gently. "Goodnight, Arnav."

From the corner of his eyes, he watched as she put the book back in her drawer, turned off her bedside lamp and snuggled into the duvet, his back facing him. His lips lifted at the corners once more as her words echoed in his mind.

It was unexpected and that in its own held its own surprises. Firstly, he hadn't expected her to admit that she was staring at him...and the comment about her admiring the view was far from expected. The grin refused to fade from his face and he tried to force himself to continue reading the article in his hands.

He tried very hard to continue reading but with her next to him and her recent remarks, he was distracted to say the least. Another ten minutes later, he gave up and stowed away the manuscript in the drawer. After turning off his bedside lamp, he slid under the duvet, turning to face her. Scooting into the neutral territory on the bed"namely the arbitrary gap between his side of the bed and hers"he snaked his arm over her waist, finding her hand that rested flat on the bed.

No words or pleasantries were exchanged as Khushi interlaced her fingers with his, welcoming the warmth he always seemed to bring with him. Before she knew it, she was drifting into peaceful slumber.
_____

When the sun rose outside, Arnav woke up before the alarm, ready to begin another day. He didn't need to look to know that her head was resting on his shoulder, her arm carelessly thrown over his torso. As he glanced down at her, he noted how young she looked when she slept. Her bangs had curtained over her forehead and eyes, shielding half of her face from him. He was tempted to brush the strands away but didn't want to wake her.

Just as the thought had crossed his mind, she stirred a little and opened her eyes slowly. Tilting her head towards him, she caught his eye and smiled brightly.

"Good Morning..." Arnav smiled at her.

"Good Morning." She nestled her head in its original position on his shoulder, not about to move any time soon from the looks of it.

They lay there in silence until their synchronized alarms blared. Both moved away to turn off their respective devices. She sat up on the bed, twisting her hair into a messy bun before securing it with a hair-band that had spent the night on her wrist while Arnav crawled out of bed and headed towards the lounger to pick up his t-shirt.

"Of course, now he puts the shirt back on." Khushi muttered to herself.

Arnav, who had overheard couldn't help but grin as he turned to face her. "I don't want you to trip and fall while we're running so I'll wear a shirt...wouldn't want you distracted by a view that you might want to admire."

Khushi rolled her eyes and crawled out of bed. While Arnav headed into the washroom to brush his teeth, Khushi made the bed. After she'd had her turn to get ready, the two left for their morning jog together for the first time, unknowingly falling into a new routine.

Once they'd returned from the run, they'd taken care of their morning schedules like they always did. Khushi also took the tie out of his hand, suggesting that it was her job, and then tied it around his neck while they made small talk.

After a chatty breakfast with the family, they drove together to AR. After sharing an odd hug across the front seats, Khushi left a soft kiss against his cheek. Smilingly, Arnav cupped her face and kissed her forehead chastely.

After spending a typical day in their usual workspaces, they'd come home and spent time with the other family members. Jokes, teases, and peals of laughter had become a norm. Expectedly, Arnav and Khushi were usually the victims of the teases.

On the third day of the week, Khushi's family had been invited to Shantivan for dinner so that the two families could watch Arnav and Khushi's wedding video and thumb through the photographs together. Khushi's already high spirits had been lifted even higher in her parents' company.

By the time they had retired to their room, it was well past midnight but that hadn't altered their pattern of having a poolside chat before going to sleep.

When Friday came to an end for them, both Arnav and Khushi were excited for the weekend...because that meant more time together.

On her way to the elevator, Khushi ran into Anjali and Payal who seemed to be waiting for her. Before Khushi could utter a word, Anjali shoved a bag in Khushi's hands.

"Change! We're going out." Anjali grinned. "Bhaiyya, Akash, and the Gorilla will join us there."
____

"One. Two. Three. Go!"

Another shot swallowed, another lime wedge pressed between perfect sets of teeth. The three ladies slammed their shot glasses on the counter simultaneously. Payal pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Ugh! I hate that stuff!" She took another lime wedge and bit into it, hoping to find some relief from the biting bitter taste of the alcohol.

"You should stick to your pina coladas..." Khushi rolled her eyes. "Leave the tequila shots to me and Anjali. Another round?" Khushi turned her attention to Anjali who was swaying to the blaring music.

"Easy there." Anjali laughed. "Bhaiyya has told me to take care of you and he will have my head on a plate if you get too drunk."

"So he's sent you here as my bodyguard?" Khushi snorted.

"If he has, he needs to rearrange his facts. Out of the three of us if someone's capable of being a body guard, it's you." Anjali rolled her eyes.

"I agree with her...I think your comment to Akash actually scared him a bit." Payal chuckled.

"Ha!" Anjali threw her head back and laugh. "Maybe Bhaiyya knows this about her...maybe he's scared of Khushi too...that would explain why they haven't kissed yet!"

"You what?? Still? Why not?" Payal gasped, fixing Khushi with a look.

"Who says we haven't? And why should I tell you?" Khushi raised an eyebrow challengingly. "You probably wouldn't have told me about you and Akash if I hadn't caught you red handed..."

"Are we still on that?" Akash groaned, joining the table with Arnav and Aman.

Aman gave a quick brotherly hug to his sister before scooting over to make room for Arnav. He watched with a sense of contentedness as Arnav and Khushi shared a quick side hug. Akash settled on his other side and he immediately regretted taking a glance when he found them share a quick kiss.

Great. I'm officially the third single wheel with two couples. He almost rolled his eyes but stopped when Anjali spoke up.

"Alright you love birds...there's a single lady here. Don't rub it in."

"Mom's all ready to find you a nice man...you just have to say yes." Arnav smirked at her sister.

"Oh please." Anjali rolled her eyes with an air of attitude. "I wasn't talking about myself. I was talking about him."

She jerked her chin in Aman's direction who was scowling"not at the fact that Anjali had just called him a lady' but rather at the unsettling feeling Arnav's words had left behind.

Find a nice man for Anjali...? But why should that bother me? He shook his head to clear it and smiled at the skimpily dressed waitress who stopped by to take their orders.

The conversations resumed around the circular table as they all shared stories and amusing things they'd found out in the past week.

Akash sat with his arm draped around Payal's shoulders, pulling her in every now and then to kiss her cheek or temple.

Anjali and Aman made faces at each other across the table because any time an argument started brewing, the others would step in to act as a buffer. The last thing they needed now was a childish fight.

Arnav and Khushi shared glances, smiled, and fleeting casual touches, like they usually did when in the company of others. For the moment, he wanted to leave so that they could be alone. He was learning quickly that with each passing day that he didn't particularly like having to share her attention.

Arnav caught her eyeing his drink curiously a few times and pushed the bottle towards her. "Give it a try..."

"So why were you bringing up having caught us in your study earlier?" Akash questioned just as Khushi's fingers curled around the bottle.

"Oh she's just jealous because you and Payal were kissing but her and Bhaiyya haven't yet...OW!" Anjali yelped as a horrified Khushi kicked her shin sharply under the table.

Aman made a face as if he'd swallowed a fly while a surprised Arnav looked at Khushi, silently questioning whether she'd shared that piece of information with them.

Khushi curbed the urge to cover her face with her hand. Could this be more embarrassing?

Anjali and Akash burst into laughter while Payal watched Khushi wearily. Khushi didn't particularly look too impressed with the jab.

"Alright...that's my sister...can we please not talk about this?" Aman sat back in his seat.

"Thank you." Khushi muttered.

Arnav leaned closer so that only she could hear. "You women really do talk about everything, don't you?"

Khushi shrugged, unsure whether he was upset with her or just teasing. Absent-mindedly, she raised the bottle in her hand to her lips and took a swig.

"And that's as close to kissing as they're gonna get today." Akash guffawed again and Anjali joined in.

Khushi paused mid-swig and put the bottle back on the table. Arnav's eyes were trained on Akash, a disapproving scowl on his face as his friend and sister laughed away. Payal looked at Khushi apologetically but Khushi barely noticed. She forced herself to swallow the beer in her mouth and pushed the bottle back towards Arnav. She glanced at him briefly and forced a small smile.

"Excuse me everyone." Khushi slid out of her barstool and walked away swiftly.

"What?" Akash spoke innocently in response to the glares he got from Aman, Payal, and Arnav. "It was a joke."

"You can be such an ass sometimes." Payal narrowed her eyes at Akash.

"Of course he can be. His name pretty much spells it." Arnav scowled and moved to follow Khushi.

"Excuse me." Payal slid out of her seat smoothly and nodded at Arnav. "Don't worry...I'll talk to her."

"Oops..." Anjali looked at her brother sheepishly as Payal walked away.
_____

Payal caught up with Khushi by the bartender's counter. Pulling her reluctant friend to a secluded corner of the table, Payal ordered two margaritas. She stood with Khushi quietly until their drinks were served to them. Payal watched on as Khushi immediately took a long sip, drinking in half of the margarita.

"This is why." Payal smiled gently, taking a sip of her own drink.

Khushi looked at her questioningly, unsure of what she was talking about.

"This is why Akash and I didn't tell anyone about us." Payal sighed and played with her bracelet. "The moment others find out...suddenly your business is everyone's business. People like to question about the progress of your relationship...with Akash and I, it would have been questions about when we were getting engaged or married...we didn't want the stress of that early in our relationship...we wanted to take it easy...one day at a time."

Khushi nodded slowly, at last understanding completely. She could attest to the fact that everyone else's interest tended to spike with new relationships. Her mother had expressed her wishes of seeing her grandkids a mere week after Khushi's wedding day. Her friends constantly pestered her about the progress with Arnav. Why couldn't their relationship status just be personal? If Arnav and she didn't have an issue with the pace they'd mutually set, should the others be concerned about it?

She knew it was a matter of days, if not hours, before something happened with Arnav. Their recent proximity was slowly leading to something. She may be inexperienced but she wasn't naive. She was aware that she was moving at a snail's pace but if Arnav hadn't complained or shown any annoyances with it...but did that mean that he actually didn't mind? What if it bothered her but he never expressed it?

Khushi smiled gratefully at the bartender when he replaced her now empty glass with a fresh mix of margarita.

"Look..." Payal placed a hand on Khushi's shoulder. "Don't worry about anyone else...just take it at your own pace. Akash can be a bit of a nutcase...and Anjali...well, I'm sure you know her better than I do but from what I've gathered, she can be quite absent-minded when it comes to joking around."

"I can take a joke, Payal..." Khushi shook her head. "But see...it's a tease once...maybe even twice but when it's repetitive...it almost feels like a taunt...and Arnav doesn't need to hear any of it. He has been nothing but a perfect husband."

"Is there something that's holding you back?" Payal asked bluntly, seeing the alcohol taking over Khushi's system. "You said you're happy..."

"I am..." Khushi chuckled. "Oh, I am...I just...I don't know...it's only been two weeks..."

"But you've known him way more than that..." Payal casted a calculative gaze over her friend's expressions.

"He makes me feel all sorts of things...tingles and butterflies...blushing and smiling and butterflies...but..." Khushi's words slurred together.

"You're over thinking this." Payal approached calmly. "Remember what I'd said to you...? When it comes to Arnav...don't think with your mind...just follow what your heart tells you."

Khushi giggled giddily, twirling the once again empty glass on the table. "My heart? That little blood-pumping sucker tells me that I want to go over there right now and...and prove them all wrong..."

Payal grinned at her response. "Alright...but maybe not tonight...not until you sober up anyway." She grabbed hold of Khushi's elbow. "Let's get you back to your husband..."

"Oh shit...everything's spinning." Khushi held out her free hand to balance herself.

"Aman and Arnav are going to kill me..." Payal muttered to herself as she helped Khushi back towards their table.


"Learn to know when to shut up." Arnav pointed out seriously once Payal was out of earshot.

"I'm sorry, man..." Akash sighed apologetically. "I didn't mean to put you two in an awkward position..."

"Me neither..." Anjali looked at her brother hopefully.

Arnav didn't bother to mask his annoyance and disappointment in Akash and Anjali...especially Anjali. Just because she had done something stupid, it didn't mean he was going to put her in an embarrassing spot by giving her a piece of his mind. He decided that he would find a time later to talk to her.

When his mother had told him about Anjali's complaints to Khushi, he had decided to not interfere between two friends...even if one was his sister and the other his wife. He knew the two of them would figure out a way to work out what little differences that may have come forth. This, however, was out of line.

Khushi and he had been working to make this transition easier for both of them. The past week had been perfect and blissful, flirty and playful...this over-the-top teasing was not necessary at this point for them. It would only add an odd pressure and strain to their newly formed bond.

He glanced over his shoulder, in the general direction where Payal and Khushi had walked off. His eyes scanned for a glimpse of mint-green dress in the crowd and within seconds, his eyes singled out Khushi, standing at the corner of the bar-table with Payal. He relaxed in his seat, seeing a small smile on Khushi's face as the two ladies conversed.

He turned back around in his chair only to find that Anjali had also found them and was in the middle of getting out of her seat, presumably to go to them.

"Just sit down, Anjali..." Aman warned before Arnav could.

Anjali didn't need to be told twice. Obediently followed and sat back down, twisting her fingers together, guilt pushing its way through the haze of alcohol.

"When they get back...please change the topic." Aman sighed, seeing that Payal and Khushi were beginning to make their way back to the table.

Aman had quieted his mother that night when they had gone over to Shantivan for dinner. Both Shashi and Aman had pleaded with her to not make any comments about the future grandkids that she wanted to see. If he had known that his friends needed some explaining too, he would have gladly given them a lecture. Surprisingly, Payal had been mature about the whole situation...perhaps because she understood the concept of a personal life better.

Aman couldn't help but frown when he saw Khushi sway just a tad bit as she walked. The protective brother in him worried instantly.

"We're back!" Khushi slumped down in her seat and smiled at everyone. "Wow, Payal...that margarita was good!"

"Khushi..." Aman spoke to her as if talking to an upset child.

"I'm fine, Bhai." Khushi smiled at him before casting a curious glance at everyone else. "What's the matter? Oh come on guys! I'm fine...a little tipsy but fine!"

Anjali leaned forward to get Khushi's attention. "Khushi...I'm sorry about bei--"

Khushi waved her hand dismissively. "Water under the bridge! Everyone can relax...I'm a big girl, I can hold my crap together."

Arnav watched her silently, observing the slight changes in her behavior, wondering whether it was actually the intoxication or residual annoyance from earlier. As the others began a new, safe topic to converse about, Khushi turned to look at him.

"I'm fine, Arnav..." she dropped her voice so that he barely heard her over the loud music.

"Sure?" Arnav's frown deepened.

"Yes...I'm sure." She reached across under the table and found his hand. "Ease up, hubby..."

Payal introduced a new topic of conversation for them and thankfully, everyone reverted back into the easy camaraderie, the small glitch from earlier forgotten.

After helping themselves to a few more drinks, the ladies stood to make their way to the dance floor. Payal managed to drag Akash with her as she followed a very willing Aman and Anjali. Khushi took her seat again when Arnav politely refused.

"You don't have to sit here and give me company." Arnav suggested to Khushi, knowing how much she enjoyed dancing.

"Oh I know..." she smiled at him and took another sip of her cranberry-vodka.

Arnav frowned at the drink in her hand and looked at her cautiously, trying to gauge just how sober...or how intoxicated she was.

"This isn't me trying to tell you what to do but I think you've had too much to drink." Arnav took a sip of his own beer as he spoke.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm still not completely drunk..."

"I doubt that Khushi..." Arnav leaned closer, boring his eyes into her as he spoke with a small smirk on his face. "How many of me do you see?"

"Just one." For some reason, he voice dropped considerably. She tilted her head to the side as she scanned his face as if considering an idea in her mind. "You're a pretty boy..."

Arnav chuckled at the term that she had chosen. "And that's how I know you're out of it...come on."

"Where?" Khushi frowned in confusion as he hopped out of his seat and helped her up by the waist.

"What good am I as a man if I don't take advantage of your drunkenness?" Arnav smirked, leading her towards the dance floor.

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, innocent confusion written all over her face.

"The only reason I'm doing this is because you probably won't remember tomorrow." Arnav rolled his eyes.

"I won't?" She frowned thoughtfully and then yelped as Arnav spun her out gently.

After she completed a rather clumsy twirl, Arnav pulled her back towards him and held her steady. Giggling freely, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and effortlessly fell into step with the thundering beat.
____

"Khushi..."

His deep voice caressed her to consciousness even in her alcohol induced slumber. She opened her eyes slowly only to have them clash with warm depths of hazel.

"Arnav..." she whispered drowsily.

Arnav stared at her, taken aback by the way his body had responded to her saying his name. What the--! As if she wasn't already alluring enough in her graceful, mad, simply-Khushi ways...she had to go on and add one more thing to the list. His own name!

"If you don't get up, I'm going to have to carry you in..." And I don't know where that will lead us...

That seemed to jolt her awake a bit more. She sat up straighter in her seat and looked around. She registered that they were waiting in the driveway of their home. She could see that a slightly tipsy Anjali stood behind Arnav.

Khushi's vision spun again and she swore under her breath. She was aware of her surroundings in spite of being in that awkward phase where she wasn't drunk out of her mind but nowhere close to sober either. She felt tired and something else that she couldn't name...

She murmured her gratitude when Arnav helped her out of the car. Anjali and Khushi hooked an arm around each other's waists and giggled cheekily.

"That was a good night!" Anjali smiled.

"So you're not mad about me not spending time with you?" Khushi questioned.

"Nope!" Anjali shook her head. "You're not mad about what I said earlier?"

"Nope!" Khushi shook her head and imitated Anjali.

Arnav hoped that his mother and grandmother had gone to sleep. Granted that Anjali and Khushi weren't staggering around, but the residual haziness from the alcohol was still there and he didn't want them to worry. He mentally gave himself a thumbs up for drinking responsibly.

Luckily, the living room was drowned in darkness except for the dim glow of the night lights that were strategically placed around the perimeter. He held on to their shoulders from behind as the three awkwardly made their way up the stairs. Not wanting to leave either one of them on their own, Arnav led them both towards Anjali's room.

"Off to bed you go." Arnav pulled Anjali towards the bed, recalling when they were younger and she would drag him to bed so that he could read her a story.

How the times have changed...now I'm putting my drunken sister to bed.

"Wait!" Anjali twisted out of his grip and made a beeline for Khushi.

The two women hugged and grinned widely, swaying side to side. Anjali pulled away and kissed Khushi's cheek loudly.

"I love you Sushi!"

"And Sushi loves you!" Khushi returned the kiss to Anjali's cheek.

Arnav watched in amusement as the two women made their way back to bed. His amusement only spiked more when Khushi, with a visible maternal aura, helped Anjali lay down on the bed and then covered her up to the chin with the duvet.

"Sleep tight Anji..." With a sigh, Khushi moved to lie down on the bed next to Anjali but Arnav reached out to stop her.

"Alright you...time for you to go to bed too." He looked down at her authoritatively.

"That's where I was going..." Khushi whined, pointing at the bed, trying to get out of his grip again.

"Oh, to hell with it." Arnav murmured under his breath and bent to scoop her into his arms. She squealed and giggled loudly even as her arms went around his shoulder. When she started kicking her legs in the air, Arnav gave her a gentle, stern jerk in his arms. "Shh."

She looked at him sheepishly and pouted, immediately sending Arnav's thoughts into a tempting whirlpool. She unwound her right arm from around his shoulder and put her index finger against her lips, gesturing that she would be quiet.

Shaking his head at her, he made his way out of Anjali's room and paused at the threshold. "Can you get the door?"

Nodding, Khushi reached out with her right and closed the door behind them. The index finger returned to her lips, her eyes returned to his face and they remained there until he carried her to their room. After closing the door behind him with his foot, he walked around to her side of the bed and reluctantly set her down on the plush bedding.

Almost immediately, she shuffled back up until she was standing on her knees in front of him, her hands on his shoulder.

"You are a pretty boy..." Khushi murmured.

Arnav guarded himself against the proximity. The soft scent that had lingered around her all night was hitting him with a wild force as she held herself close to him. Even as he reminded himself to keep himself in check, one of his arms found its way around her way as if acting on its own will.

"So I've been told..." he smiled at her.

She dazzled him with a smile of her own and bore her eyes into his. "I love your eyes...they remind me of honey...and warmth..."

Arnav watched her cautiously. She looked so utterly sober at the moment that he wanted to hold on to every word that she spoke...wanted to attempt taking the next step and see how she would react...but the alcohol-induced speech had warning bells ringing in his mind. She may not be fully in her senses and that in no way gave him the permission to lose his.

He swallowed to clear his dry throat when she gently put the tip of her index finger against the tip of his nose.

"And your nose is so cute!" She chuckled lightly. The sound faded softly as he eyes dropped a tad lower from their point of focus.

"Khushi..." Arnav warned. He was holding on by a thread here and she wasn't helping him keep is resolve.

Curiosity dripped into her expression and her eyes dragged up to his, her eyelashes making a flirty sweeping motion albeit unintended by Khushi. She held his eyes for a long second before puckering her lips into a small pout. Still obviously curious, she inched closer to him and it took every fiber of control in him to pull away slightly.

"No, Khushi..." his voice was barely above a whisper.

The curiosities left her face and were replaced with a tinge of hurt within the blink of an eye. She refocused on his face and blinked slowly. "You...don't want to?"

Arnav gave her an exasperated look before offering a resigned smile. Reaching up with his free hand, he brushed away her bangs from her eyes. He cupped her neck, his fingers curling around her nape while his thumb traced a line back and forth along her jaw-line.

"Sweetheart, you have no idea..." his voice reached her ears like a husky caress, bringing heat to her cheeks. "Not like this, though. As sober as you claim to be...I'm pretty sure you won't remember any of this tomorrow...and I don't want you to forget our first."

"Oh..." she blinked up at him.

Arnav's lifted in a humorous smile as he nodded gently. "Oh."

Closing the distance that he had put between them earlier, he pressed a tender, chaste kiss to her forehead. "You ready to sleep?"

Khushi nodded obediently and sat back down on the bed. She gazed at him with uninhibited admiration as he removed her heels and then tucked her in much like she had done to Anjali. Her eyes followed his movements as he walked around the foot of the bed and then crawled into bed on his side.

Seconds after Arnav and repositioned them into their usual sleeping arrangement, Khushi drifted into a sleep, deep, vodka-induced slumber.
____

The moment she returned to consciousness, she registered the headache. She groaned lightly, silently berating herself for not being wiser with her choice of beverages last night. She lay there on her stomach, the side of her face smashed into the pillow as she opened one and then the other eye slowly.

Immediately, she realized that his side of the bed was vacant. The next thing her mind registered was that a small pile of her bracelets, earrings, and necklace that she had worn last night was sitting on the corner of his bedside table. The third thought in her mind was that the room was too bright for early morning.

She reached out with her left hand and groped for her cell phone. When her hand didn't find what she was looking for, she rolled onto her back to glance at the small porcelain decorative clock piece on her vanity.

11:10am...what?!

She sat up in bed with a jerk and then regretting her quick movement when a wave of pain surrounded the insides of her skull. She pressed her fingers to her temple to alleviate some pain. Looking down at her mint-green dress, she panicked for a second, not being able to recall how she had gotten home. She glanced back at the pile of jewelry on his side table and immediately scanned the room for him.

He was working away in the poolside garden of his. Khushi watched him for a few seconds before hopping out of bed before he saw her. She had a nagging feeling that she had done something embarrassing last night. She wondered if he would be angry with her for being so juvenile.

Oh God...I hope I haven't done something stupid!!

After brushing her teeth and taking a long warm shower to wash away some of the fatigue, Khushi cautiously headed back into the room. She had braced herself for his anger but he still wasn't back. Deciding that it was best to face him now, rather than later, she made her way to the French doors.

The second she slid the door open, he turned to look at her. She froze with the door half-open and watched him with wide eyes, cringing internally, and waiting for the outburst.

"Good morning, sleepy head." He smiled at her, a teasing wickedness in his eyes.

"Good Morning...err...afternoon." She took two steps towards him, twisting her fingers.

"There's an aspirin and coffee on the table by the lounger." He pointed his chin in the room's direction.

Khushi glanced over her shoulder and saw the thermos with a small bottle of aspirin. She looked back at him and offered a small, controlled smile of gratitude. "Arnav, I--"

"Aspirin, Khushi." He insisted.

Khushi sighed and walked back into the room. It was probably not the time to argue with him. After pouring some hot coffee into the mug, she took two pills with a big chug of coffee"thankfully he had added sugar to it. She took another welcome sip of coffee and paused with her mouthful when she felt his presence behind her.

She gulped. Uh oh...you are so dead, Khushi...
She turned slowly to face him. He looked at the mug in her hand momentarily and then back at her.

"I hope the headache is not too bad..." he genuinely looked concerned.

Khushi frowned in confusion. He's not mad at me...? "Uh...no..."

He tilted his to the sight and raised an eyebrow. "You're being odd..." an almost devilish smirk lit up his face. "Nothing happened between us...if that's what you're worried about."

"No!" Khushi exclaimed at once. "I know that...I know you enough to know you wouldn't let it get to anything like that...but...why do I get the feeling that I've done something stupid?"

His smirk turned into a shy smile and Khushi could swear she saw a faint blush on his face. She narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to decipher his reaction.

"You didn't do anything you should be embarrassed about..." Arnav explain calmly. "Come...its almost time for lunch."

A puzzled Khushi followed him out, not understanding his reaction, or his statement.

Lunch was a busy affair as usual. Thankfully, no one had questioned Khushi and Anjali's absence at breakfast. From what Khushi could gather Anjali was just as uncomfortable as her. Khushi spent some time with Anjali, Asha and Devyani, trying to pick up the knitting pattern than the elderly ladies weaved expertly. When Anjali dozed off in Dadi's room, Asha and Khushi cajoled Devyani into taking her afternoon nap as well.

Together, the Saas-Bahu duo planned the dinner menu and then sat in the living room, chatting over the afternoon tea. Asha was just about to launch into a funny incident from her honeymoon when her husband bellowed for her attention.

Khushi took a sip of her tea in solitude, admiring the beautiful relationship her father-in-law and mother-in-law seemed to share. She had noticed the way they would steal glances at the table, or make subtle flirty comments, sweet fleeting touches...the playfulness, the respect, the obvious love that they shared.

She could definitely see similarities between Arvind and Arnav in terms of how they treated the women in this household. She couldn't help but wonder whether she and Arnav would share this same type of relationship when they're as old as Arvind and Asha were now.

Smiling at the thought, she made her way upstairs to look for Arnav. She already knew that the first place to check for his presence was the poolside and her knowledge hadn't let her down.

When she got there, he was fussing over a group of potted jasmine plants.

"Do you ever stop working?" She approached him, feigning annoyance.

He flashed her a brilliant grin. "Just a little bit of pruning..."

"And then?"

"I was thinking of transferring some rose plant clippings from the rooting pots...you're welcome to join me if you want." Arnav shrugged, clipping away another dead flower.

Khushi gasped. "I thought I wasn't supposed to touch your precious little plants."

"Well you haven't killed any yet...we'll give you the benefit of the doubt." He gave a lopsided smile.

Khushi averted her eyes as that simple smile unleashed something within her...something that made her want to get closer to him.

For the next half an hour, he taught her how to plant rose plants from clippings. The excitement was so evident in the way he spoke and worked that Khushi found it impossible to not be just as excited. Minutes into it, she could see why he loved this so much. She could hardly wait before the stems she had planted would flower. The anticipation was akin to organizing a surprise party and waiting for the person of the party walk in.

Once their task was done and they'd cleaned their dirt covered hands, they stood by the ledge of the pool, admiring their handiwork.

"Arnav I--" Khushi began but stopped when his head whirled around to face her. "What?"

He looked at her for a long moment, shook his head, and looked away. "Nothing."

Khushi's eyebrows shot up. It wasn't like him to not tell her what was on his mind. "Arnav?"

His head tilted to the side slightly as if something had intrigued him.

"What? Tell me, Arnav!" Khushi insisted. Her bemusement increased when he shut his eyes for a long second before opening them again and focusing on something straight ahead.

"Arnav--"

"Stop saying my name..." he spoke in one breath.
"What?" Khushi pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. What have we here? "I don't understand, Arnav. Can you please tell me, Arnav?"

"Please stop." He groaned lightly. Did she have no idea what she was doing to him? Ever since last night, he couldn't control the odd urges that followed hearing his name roll off of her tongue, after seeing the way her lips moved...especially the way that bottom lip curved in to form the v' sound.

Stop it Raizada! He berated himself.

"Why, Arnav?" Khushi chuckled. "Does this bother you, Arnav?"

"Khushi, if you say my name like that one more time, I'm going to end up kissing you." Arnav blurted.

Khushi had just opened her mouth to say his name yet again when his words registered. Her eyes widened and she shut her mouth at once.

Embarrassed at what he'd just blurted, Arnav glanced away. What the hell is wrong with me?!

Khushi looked away in the other direction, feeling her cheeks blaze.

She bit down on her lower lip and out of nowhere; her mind conjured up an image of Arnav doing the same. An inaudible gasp escaped her at the wayward though and she took a deep steadying breath to calm her suddenly frantic heartbeat. As she waited for her heart to stop racing, she realized that this wasn't so much from the thought of him kissing her as much as it was from the anticipation of it.

She realized, at that particular moment, that she wanted this. For this once, she didn't want to think with her mind. She wanted to go ahead and follow her heart...just like Payal had advised her to do.

She glanced at him sideways and smiled seeing that he was resolutely looking away from her.

He was particularly focused on a daffodil, berating himself for his inability to control his words or thoughts or reactions around her.

What must she be thinking now? Arnav wanted to groan out loud in frustration.

She waited for a few seconds and then some for him to look her way but he didn't. His words replayed in her mind.

If you say my name like that one more time, I'm going to end up kissing you

And just like that she knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"Arnav."

Chapter 15: Part 2

They drove in companionable silence as the playlist of old Hindi songs continued in the background.  Khushi absent-mindedly sung and hummed along while Arnav just suppressed his smile and let her continue.  He knew that this quality, the comfortable companionable silence, in their relationship was going to be a boon.

By the time they got home, it was a little past midnight and yet, Khushi looked at Shantivan and turned back to face Arnav who was watching her reaction intently.

“I don’t want to go…”  She pouted.

Arnav smirked, leaning back in his seat, rolling his head to the side to look at her.  Truth be told, he didn’t want to go either which was weird because they were going to be together in their room too.  It wasn’t like they were separating their ways here.

“Aren’t you going to walk me to the door?”  She teased, tongue-in-cheek.

Arnav chuckled shortly and shook his head as he stepped out of the car and walked around to open her door.

“Thank you for yet another amazing evening despite the...err...event at the club.”  Arnav smiled sheepishly as she took his hand and stepped out of the car.

She smiled in response as they continued to walk towards the entrance.  The house was still and calm which was proof enough that Anjali was probably slumbering away.

When Arnav and Khushi entered the great room, Arnav scowled in disapproval seeing his mother sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine.

“Mom!”  Arnav groaned.  “I’ve asked you not to wait up for me…”

Asha’s eyes lit up with maternal affection as they found her son and daughter-in-law.  It had little to do with the way they subtly released each other had and more to do with the fact that now all of her children were home and safe.

She knew how much Arnav disliked anyone waiting for him to return home.  Despite the numerous explanations, he just couldn’t understand that the gesture was done out of love and affection rather than worry.  This time, Asha had the perfect excuse.

“I wasn’t waiting for you.  I was waiting for my Daughter-in-law.”  Asha smirked at his frown as she stood up to embrace a grinning Khushi.  “As far as our duo is concerned, you and your dad should keep your noses out of our business...some things need to remain between a Saas and a bahu.  Right Khushi?”

Khushi giggled at Arnav’s sullen expression.  “Right.”

Arnav raised an eyebrow in question.  “So let me get this straight...I need to keep my nose out of Khushi and Anjali’s business, Khushi and Dadi’s business, and Khushi and yours?”

“Exactly.”  Asha grinned.  “Girl things, you see.  You and your father wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh Good...You’re home.”  Arvind appeared over the fence on the second landing.  

Khushi shifted from one foot to another, feeling as if she was inappropriately dressed in front of him.  

With Asha, it was different.  She was more of a friend rather than a mother in law hence with her; Khushi was comfortable in whatever she wore.  With Arvind, there was still a sense of casualness.  Not that she thought he didn’t like her...he was usually caught up in work and Khushi hadn’t had enough time to converse with him.  She hadn’t gotten the chance to get to know him as well as the ladies in the house.

“Hi dad...We just got in.”  Arnav smiled up at him.

“I know...can I have my wife back?”  Arvind pouted and Khushi couldn’t help but chuckle at how similar he looked to Arnav in that moment.

“You can have yours if she gives me back mine.”  Arnav retorted with an obvious trace of humor in his voice.

“Come on Khushi...Do your father-in-law a favor…”  Arvind joked.

“Yeah Khushi...do him a favor!”  Arnav smirked at her.  “Think about your father-in-law and your husband….”

“What have I done to deserve this?”  Arvind spoke dramatically.  “Come back, Asha!  Please don’t be so cruel, Khushi!”

Khushi flushed. What the--!  Was I just thinking that things are almost formal between me and him?

Asha laughed looking at Khushi’s flustered state.  She swatted Arnav’s arm playfully.  “Stop bothering her.  Give her a few days and I’m sure she’ll stand right next to me to dish it right back to you and your father.”

“Hey!”  Anjali drowsily appeared next to her father on the second landing looking agitated.  “People are trying to sleep in this house.  Mom, dad....at this age, you shouldn’t be bouncing off jokes at this hour...go to sleep.”  Anjali scowled and focused on her brother and friend.  “And you two...can you at least behave like a newlywed couple and lock yourself in your bedroom so that I can get some sleep?”

“Hey!”  Asha scolded lightly.  “Be nice to them...go and get your beauty sleep.  We’re all going to bed too.”

“Finally!”  Arvind threw up his hands while Anjali grumbled lightly and padded back to her bedroom.

Chuckling and exchanging quick good night wishes, the two couples parted ways and retired to their own bedrooms. 

In the homeliness of their room, with a rhythm of two people who knew each other well, who were well accustomed to each other’s routines, they began winding down for the night.

While Khushi sat at the luxurious vanity, removing what little of the makeup and jewelry she had on, Arnav took a quick shower.  Then, while he took a quick assessing look through his poolside plantations and blooms, Khushi took her shower.  This routine had just established over the past one week, without being discussed.  Both of them had observed the other’s routine and worked around it to settle into this comfortable arrangement.

While Arnav looked through a few of the blooms, one particular flower caught his eye.  There, among the manicured shrubs of red, white, and pink roses was a single bloom of yellow.  He smiled down at it the way a father smiles down at his child. 

This was the newest addition to his collection—one that he’d added on the morning of his engagement with Khushi.  Now, today, after exactly a week of their marriage, the plant had bloomed its first flower.  What a coincidence….

He caressed the soft petals with a gentleness that would never be associated with a man, unable to shove aside how much this flower made him think of her.  Surrounded by like flowers of various shades but different and brighter.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a botany major.”  Khushi broke him out of his reverie and walked up next to him.

“If I hadn’t gotten into medical school, that’s the path I probably would have taken.”  Arnav shrugged.  “This is like meditation…”

“I can tell…I can’t get over how amazing this area of the house is.  You’re clearly an expert with this…I can’t even keep an air plant alive.”  Khushi spoke with the slightest tinge of sadness, recalling the time when Anjali and Khushi had bought an air plant. 

The damned thing apparently didn’t require water too often, not did it need too much care, yet somehow she had managed to kill it.

“Probably over watered it.”  Arnav murmured, still staring at the rose.

“Something special about that one?”  Khushi asked, noticing the way he was looking at the rose as if trying to make a decision.

“It’s the first one for this plant…”  Arnav turned to flash her a boyish grin.

Khushi watched him in slight disbelief for a couple of seconds and then shook her head.  “I can’t believe how gentle you are with that rose after seeing you nearly break someone’s jaw.”

Arnav’s hand dropped from the flower and his eyes rolled skyward as a low groan escaped him.  “Are we back to that again?”

Khushi giggled and shook her head.  “No…I’m just teasing.”

Out of habit, like she normally did with her friends when she teased them, Khushi poked his side and then stood astounded when he jumped lightly and flinched away from her fingers.

She pressed her lips together to keep from bursting out laughing.  Well, well, well…what have we here?  “Did you just…?  Are you ticklish?!”

Arnav glanced away, somewhat flustered after the poke and now at her question.  “No, I’m not.”

He walked right past her, eager to put an end to this before it turned into a discussion...or something worse.

Khushi pressed her fingertips to her lips to keep from giggling as she turned and followed him in with an added bounce to her steps.

“Yes you are!”  She challenged as she stepped in.

“Goodnight Khushi.”  He crawled into bed and Khushi chuckled to herself as she closed the sliding door behind her.

Clad in her navy sleeveless shirt and baby blue pajama bottoms with navy bows printed all over it, she placed her hands on her hips momentarily, a plan cooking in her mind.  She crawled onto her side of the bed and sat with her legs folded under her, leaning over slightly to look at him.

“Don’t lie Arnav…you’re ticklish.”  Khushi grinned with barely contained glee.

Arnav rolled onto his back and regarded her cautiously.  When she looked like she just wanted to know out of curiosity, he made the mistake of telling her the truth.

“Yes I am.  Happy?  Can we sleep now?”

Just like she had done mere couple minutes ago, she poked his side again, on purpose this time.  As expected, Arnav jumped and tried to push her hand away but that only urged her on.  Before he could do anything more, he found himself doubling over in laughter as her soft hands continued to poke and jab at the ticklish spots around his torso.

Tickling was one of those things.  One couldn’t stop ticking another after learning just how ticklish they were.  Khushi found herself laughing alone with him as she continued to tickle him, despite his choked protests.

Khushi found her opportunity and grabbed it with both hands, taking the liberty to invade his space and tickle him further.  Seeing him struggle to make her stop, Khushi laughed again, echoing the sound of his laughter.

“Khushi…..stop….don’t…” he managed between rumbles of laughter and gasps.

His arms flailed about, trying to grab hold of hers so that he could end this madness.  Until this day, he had so carefully hidden the fact that he was ticklish and then she struts into his life and not only unravels his secret but also takes advantage of it!

“Khushi!”

“You’ve handed over useful information, Arnav…I’m not a good businesswoman if I don’t capitalize on it….”  Khushi chuckled, her torturing looking no closer to coming to an end.

He managed to block his side with his arm and Khushi faltered in her torture a bit.  Finding the gap, Arnav’s free hand shot out to grab a hold of hers.  His fingers closed around her wrist and she yelped, afraid that he would take revenge.  Before she could free her hand, her other hand was in his grasp.

He rolled over, effectively pinning her beneath him as he hovered over her, still laughing from earlier, restraining one of her hands on the pillow by her head and the other on the bed by her side.

As their laughter subsided slowly, they finally registered their position.  Her smile faded to be replaced by a serious, slightly nervous expression as she watched him watching her.  Her heat set off into a sprint and her mind clouded over with an unfamiliar haze.

Their breathing was heavy from all the laughing but now, their proximity ensured that they remained breathless.

Arnav felt that pull towards her again while she gazed up at him, the color slowly making its way across her face.  He gazed into the luring depths of her eyes while they scanned his face.  He could see them move slowly from his hairline, down his forehead and then the length of his nose after a short pause at his eyes.

Something which was becoming more familiar by the day unfurled within him when her eyes paused again at his mouth.  His lips curved into a smile on their own accord and he cursed himself mentally when she glanced away, embarrassed at being caught.

She hadn’t meant to stare at him so bluntly.  She’d been stealing glances at him all week, trying her best to not ogle but as the days, hours, minutes, and seconds passed by, he was becoming more irresistible to her eyes.  Never before had she felt the need to stare at a man.  The only men she’d actually shamelessly ogled at were usually on the television screen.

But with him barely inches away, she couldn’t help but take note of the details at this proximity.  She found it absolutely adorable how a few stands of his hair had fallen onto his forehead.  It made her want to brush them away with her fingers like he’d done to her bangs a few times.  His hazel eyes were bright as they bore into hers, drawing her into the warm, safe, protective depths.  His perfectly pointed nose atop that set of lips that she’d found herself intrigued by earlier in the night as well.

And then that faint smile which had made her knees tingle in the aftershocks of the sudden butterflies in her stomach.  A small yet surprising pang of disappointment hit her when he released her hands slowly so that he could roll off of her.  In a quick, lithe movement, he was next to her on the bed, on his back.

Khushi released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding only to suck in a lung-full of air again.  She suddenly felt as if she had run a marathon.  She tried to cling onto the warmth that had emanated off of him but it was fading quickly.  She felt him reach out and take her left hand in his but today, for the first time in these few nights they’d slept hand-in-hand…this wasn’t enough.

She closed her eyes and sent up a quick prayer to Devi Maiyya, hoping that he wouldn’t judge her or ridicule her for what she was about to do.

Before she could change her mind, she pulled his hand up and over her head while simultaneously moving to close that small gap between them.  She rested her head on his shoulder gingerly and waited, with bated breath, for him to react.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement.  From what he had gathered about her, she was a reactive person.  She would react to something someone initiated but she was rarely the initiator.  To glance down and find her snuggled up to him with her head on his shoulder had caught him on the back foot.  And to think that a week ago, he was sleeping on the lounger…

Even so, he couldn’t deny that he was pleasantly surprised.  In her gesture, she conveyed her trust in him, her sense of comfort with him and the only way he could respond was by wrapping his arm around her shoulders, letting her know he was fine, more than fine, with this new arrangement.

“Good night, Arnav.”  Khushi spoke quietly, smiling at the fact that he hadn’t brushed off her advances.

_____

Khushi shifted in her sleep again, trying to bury herself deeper into the duvet.  She groaned in frustration and opened one eye to look at the vacant space next to her.  Finding her husband gone, she shot-up on the bed and looked around the room only to realize that he wasn’t here.

She grabbed her cell phone from the side table and swore seeing the time on it.  Hopping off the bed, almost tripping over the blanket in the process, she ran into the washroom to begin her morning routines.

It was there on the mirror of the washroom—a small sticky note with barely legible writing.

Gone for a run.  Will be back by 8.  –Arnav

Khushi smiled and picked the note off of the mirror.  As she placed the toothbrush in her mouth, she glanced at the note again, studying his writing.  At a single glance, it looked like a prescription!  Figures.  Even Aman’s writing was horrendous.  One would think that people who’re smart enough to be doctors would have decent hand-writing.

Seriously?  You’re going to stand here and dissect his handwriting?  You have more important things to worry about, Khushi!  Last night, for one.  You were quite brave with your little gesture then but what now?

The toothbrush paused in her mouth and her frowns knit together.  Clearly, she hadn’t thought about the aftermath of her sweet innocent gesture.  She didn’t know how that would change their morning or the rest of their day.   A subtle cloud of nervousness surrounded her instantly.

Focusing all her attention on the task at hand, she finished brushing her teeth and then splashed ice cold water on her face to calm down.

It’s no big deal…it’s no big deal.

She repeated the mantra over and over in her head as she tied her hair in a high messy bun.  The lukewarm water in the shower seemed to calm her nerves a little bit.

The moment she stepped out of the washroom, her feet paused on the threshold when her eyes found him standing at the foot of the bed, holding two shirts up in front of him.

“Good Morning.”  He gave her a brilliant smile and Khushi automatically responded with a smile. 

“Morning.”  She approached him slowly, taking note of his face which was flushed from the exertions during the run.  A thin sheet of sweat covered his arms, neck, and forehead. 

“Did you have a good run?”  She managed to croak out.

“It was okay.”  Arnav shrugged.  “It’s humid out there…”

“If you don’t mind, can I join you tomorrow?”  Khushi spoke as she eyed the powder-blue shirt in his right hand.

“For a run?”  He raised an eyebrow at her.

No, for tango lessons!  Khushi raised a challenging eyebrow in return.  “Yes.”

Arnav gave her a one-over, not even trying to be subtle about the way his eyes raked from her face down the length of her body to her feet and then back to her face again. 

“Don’t tell me you’re on some ridiculous diet and exercise routine, Khushi…wait a minute…is that why you haven’t been eating breakfast all these years?”

“Easy there, doc.”  Khushi rolled her eyes.  “Just trying to get some daily exercise in my routine.  Anjali and I used to run together…I kind of miss it.  If it’s something you do alone then I’ll convince your lazy sister to start up again.”

“No, it’s not that…no one else likes to run in this family so…”  Arnav smiled lazily.  “I’m glad I’ll have company….”

And amazing company at that.  Arnav smiled to himself.

While she busied herself with making the bed, Arnav walked into the shower after tossing both shirts on the lounger.  She was just about to leave to make breakfast when her eyes caught the immaculate fabrics.  She glanced at the closed bathroom door once and then back at the shirts, making a decision in her mind.

Striding over to the lounger, she picked up the chocolate brown shirt and returned it back to the vast closet, leaving the powder blue shirt on the lounger.  Smiling at her little venture, she walked out of the room and headed towards the kitchen.

Maa would be so proud right now…  She couldn’t help but shake her head at the thought as she began the preparations for a hearty breakfast for Arnav.

After working at an efficient speed and settling the finished dish on the dining table, Khushi rushed back to their room to change into her work clothes. 

Throwing a quick glance in Arnav’s direction in the poolside, Khushi smiled briefly realizing that he’d worn the shirt she had left out for him, coupled with black trousers.

Grabbing her knee length Navy dress, Khushi stepped into the bathroom.  After washing her face once more, she pulled the dress on and reached behind her to zip it up.

“Oh come on!”  Khushi groaned when the zipper got stuck.

She tried to move it up and made an impatient sound when the stubborn knob refused to move.  She opened the bathroom door in a huff and headed towards the vanity, muttering under her breath.  Twisting this way and that, she finally noticed that some of the dress’s fabric had gotten in the seam of the zipper.  Cursing under her breath, she began struggling with it again.

Arnav, who had been busily watering his plants, had just stepped into the room when he found her at the vanity.  Half of her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth as she tried to do up her dress.

Well, there’s a new sight…  Arnav watched with amusement as she continued to struggle and fight against her outfit.

Before he could help it, the words tumbled out of his mouth.  “Need help?” 

Khushi yelped lightly and jumped, startled by the sudden question.  She’d been so busy trying to get the chain to get unstuck; she hadn’t even realized that he’d walked into the room.

She glanced at the mirror and found him standing merely a couple feet behind her.  She realized that her back was completely exposed to him at the moment but she knew she couldn’t get the stupid chain moving again.  She nodded at him through the reflection and slowly moved her hands out of the way.

She let them drop to her sides and clench into fists as she waited for him to move.  Arnav shoved back the inappropriate thoughts and reached up to hold the chain between his fingers while her heart jump-started.  His fingertips brushed against her skin and she stopped breathing altogether.

A faint charge formed in the air around them and Arnav focused on the task, unaware of the way Khushi’s eyes had shut closed.  It wasn’t as it if was the first time he was touching her but this was definitely the first time when there were no barriers.  His fingers bumped and brushed against the smooth skin of her back often as they worked to free the fabric from the chain.

After a few seconds, it managed to get moving and slowly he pushed the small knob until her nape, shrouding the expanse of ivory smoothness beneath the contrasting navy.

“Done.”  He rasped out, blood rushing fully charged within his veins.  This is what she did to him.  Every time.  Without even doing anything!

‘Tha—” Khushi paused to clear her throat realizing that she sounded hoarse.  “Thank you.”

In search for a distraction, Arnav walked towards the closet and rummage through, rather pretended to, until he gained control over his teenage-boy thoughts.  Khushi took the minute or so to expertly apply eyeliner and a dash of mascara—the most make up she wore on a regular day.

When she glanced at him through the mirror again, he was choosing between two ties.  Almost as if reading her mind, he picked the navy blue one over the powder-blue one which would get camouflaged with his shirt. 

Just as he began smoothing out the strip of silk, Khushi turned to face him.

“May I?”  Khushi asked gently, unsure of what had made her ask in the first place.

Perhaps it was the fact that she had always seen her mother knot the tie on her father.  Every time she saw them interact through this simple, mundane task, she would smile to herself at the thought that sometime in the future, she would be doing the same for her husband.  Today, that opportunity had come to her on a golden platter.

Arnav looked at her, a faint frown on his face.  First the new sleeping arrangement last night, then the zipper, and now the tie…?  He wondered whether she was doing these things out of some wifely duties that society expected of her or because she actually wanted to.  Giving her the benefit of doubt, he handed over the tie mutely.  

With a slow, graceful smile on her face, she took the strip of fabric from his hand and smoothed it out.

She glanced at him watching her as she lifted the tie over his head and balanced it around his neck.  As she began the knot, Arnav couldn’t help but note the ease with which she worked.  She’d done this before, obviously.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did last night.”  Khushi looked up at him for a second and then focused back on the tie at her eye-level, a part of her mind realizing how much taller he was than her.

“For…?”

Khushi sighed as if she didn’t like what she was about to admit.  “For going all protective…”

“I thought that scared you.”  Arnav raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“It did…Like I said, I don’t like violence but now that I’ve had time to calm down and process everything…I think, and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I liked the fact that you were protective to that degree over me and Anjali…it made me feel…special.”  She glanced at him shyly once more.  “A part of the whole worrying thing was also the fact that I didn’t want you to get hurt...”

“I know…”  Arnav smiled gently.  The worry in her eyes when she was pleading him to stop fighting was unmistakable.

Khushi nodded and looped the end of the tie through the small gap to complete the knot.  “But more than all that, thank you for the talk on the beach, for calming me down and for addressing my worries…as irrational as they were.”

He waited until she pushed the knot closer towards his throat, tightening the tie around his neck.  As soon as her hands dropped from the tie to her sides, Arnav sighed and held her by the shoulders.  

She needed to know why he tended to behave the way he did around her.  Why he wanted to kill those guys yesterday night, why he always found an excuse or a reason to stay around her, why she often caught him staring at her, why he was unable to pull away from their proximity sometimes.

It was time to voice some important things.  

Taking a deep breath, he began.  “Look...I’m not good at putting my thoughts or feelings into words.”

Khushi raised an eyebrow questioningly, her expression clearly etched in a ‘really?’.

“I’m not.”  Arnav reiterated.  “I try to vocalize everything for you because you don’t know me well yet...but before I get distracted...pardon me for not being able to put this in any fancier words or anything cheesy….Besides, I think you already know and you might even think that I’m a typical superficial man but I’m going to say it anyway...and the blunt, bottom line is that I like you.  A lot.”

Khushi’s breathing ceased as she looked up at him, slightly wide-eyed.  He gazed down at her, unfazed by what he’d just admitted or by her reaction as he patiently waited for her to say something.  

He had never been in denial of his attraction towards her but last night, while she slept peacefully with her head snuggled against his shoulder, he realized that he was in deeper than he’d thought.  When he’d woken up this morning, he’d found his arm draped around her possessively as if he would never let go.  Before any of the alternative thoughts could over-power him, he’d left for a run to let off some steam. 

Until this moment, he had no plans of telling her about what he’d realized about his feelings for her.

But she may as well know why he reacted the way he did.  He knew that apart from some flirty remarks and trying to block their way, the three men had done nothing else to deserve the beating that they got.  Just the thought of them getting their filthy hands on his sister or his wife had enraged him to no extent.

He was sure that she knew how he felt--it’s not like he’d been subtle about it.

“Don’t look so surprised Khushi…”  Arnav chuckled lightly and shook his head.  “It doesn’t change anything...I just wanted you to know where I stand.”

Her lips lifted up in a small, genuine smile.  Which girl didn’t like hearing that she was liked?  That she had enough importance in someone’s life to have them contribute a portion of their feelings to them.

Her joy was doubled because of the fact that her feelings weren’t unrequited.  Surely, he knew how she felt…?

Arnav watched as her eyes glazed over, a clear indication that she was in deep thought.  He wrongly assumed that she was perhaps trying to conjure up a response to what he’d just said.

“I don’t need a response….”  Arnav spoke gently and squeezed her shoulders to get her attention.  “I just wanted you to know.”

Smiling at her surprised expression, he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll see you at the table for breakfast….”  And with that, he was gone.  

Once she was sure he was out of the room, Khushi tried to count her heartbeats which refused to slow down.  A wide grin spread across her face as his words reverberated in her mind over and over again.

He likes me…The grin grew wider and she could feel a girly squeal bubbling within her.   He likes me!!  The smile gave way to a small giggle.  He. Likes. Me!  She clamped her hands over her mouth as her face split into two with her smile and blood rushed to her face from the exhilarating emotions that surged through her veins.  Suddenly, she was ten years younger; being told by the guy she had a crush on that he liked her too.

She stood frozen in her spot for several minutes, grinning to herself like a teenager struck with the cupid’s arrow.  The odd warmth his words had evoked within her refused to fade in the least.

That is why when she finally made it to the dining table some fifteen minutes later, her face was glowing bright and positive energy poured from every pore of her being.  Her smile ran a few extra volts, her eyes shone a bit more, and her steps had the slightest bounce to them, even in her 3-inch pumps.

“Ready for you first day, Khushi?”  Asha smiled at her.  “Anjali’s sulking because it’s time to go back to work.”

“I’m actually pretty excited…”  Khushi chuckled, digging into her bowl of muesli.

“Don’t let Arvind boss you around at work.”  Dadi glowered at her son.  “He tends to get carried away with projects and deadlines.”

“I have every right to boss my daughters around.”  Arvind spoke proudly.  “I’m sure both Anjali and Khushi know that I’m going to have more expectations from them.”

Anjali groaned out loud.  “Please send my share of expectations Khushi’s way.  I’m sure she’d be delighted to do all the work.  She doesn’t have a single lazy bone in her system.”

“That’s because as your best friend, I have to inherit qualities that you lack…and let’s face it…you’re a couch potato…”  Khushi rolled her eyes.

“Unless you’re talking about shopping.”  Arnav murmured his two cents.

“Oh, Arnav…You’re too naïve son.”  Arvind shook his head vehemently.  “No woman is lazy when it comes to shopping.”

And the easy conversation continued at the table until everyone finished their breakfast. 

Arnav glanced at Khushi’s empty bowl with satisfaction.  For once, he was content with her choice of breakfast and the serving size.  Perhaps Muesli was her choice of breakfast like Aloo puri was his.  The fact that Khushi had gone out of her way to make it for him made the ordinary dish extraordinary.

“Thank you for the breakfast.”  Arnav leaned over to speak so that only she could hear.  “But you might be spoiling me…”

Khushi smiled brilliantly.  “Just returning the favor, Arnav.”

She pushed back her chair and stood up, as did everyone else, ready to leave for work.

“Just wait for a minute will you?”  Asha requested and then scurried off into the kitchen.

She emerged less than two minutes later, holding a ceramic bowl.  “Before Arvind and Arnav go on and on about superstitious things and how ineffective these things are…I just want to say that you can consider this my way of giving you blessings and luck for the beginning of your careers.”

Arvind and Arnav feigned a look of offense but relented a second later knowing that she was right.  They didn’t believe in all this hocus pocus but Asha did.  Neither Anjali nor Khushi protested as Asha fed them spoonfuls of sugar and yogurt.  Khushi even went the extra step and touched Asha and Dadi’s feet, seeking blessings while Arnav watched on amusedly. 

“You believe in these things?”  He questioned as they headed towards the exit.

Khushi shrugged.  “I believe in blessings…if that’s how they want to bless us, that’s how I’ll accept it.  Besides…I would have sought blessings from Maa and Papa so why shouldn’t I do the same with Mom, Dad, and Dadi?”

He knew it was a rhetorical question so he kept quiet, once again admiring the way she had blended into the family and the way she had embraced them as her own.

“Dad…you and Anjali go ahead.  I’ll drop Khushi to the office on my way to the hospital.”  Arnav called out to his father while simultaneously urging Khushi towards his SUV with his hand on the small of her back.

Ignoring Anjali’s frantically wiggling eyebrows, goofy grin, and Arvind’s knowing smile, Arnav and Khushi settled in the back seat of the SUV.  Khushi was somewhat surprised that Arnav was letting Ramesh, Mohan’s brother, drive the car.

“Excited about today?”  Arnav asked her as the car pulled out smoothly into the Mumbai traffic.

The air was already thick with the fumes from the numerous vehicles as individuals scoured to get to work, or get kids to school.  The sun was shining brightly and the heat from it was already talking a toll on the pedestrians.

“I am excited but I’m a little nervous too…I mean…for me to be the bridge between AR and Gupta textiles…it’s a bit daunting.  I bet you’re excited to go back, though.”  Khushi looked at him questioningly.

“Yeah…”  Arnav spoke distractedly.  “As wonderful as the last couple of weeks have been, I’ve missed work…”

“Won’t you be late if you’re taking this detour to drop me off?”

Arnav faced her and smiled gently.  “I have that conference today, remember?  It doesn’t start till 10.  I’ve got time.”

They spoke about their work and what their impending day’s schedule was while Ramesh silently focused on his task and weaved through the traffic to reach the building of AR.  After pulling into the curved entrance of AR, he was just about to step out to open Khushi’s door when his boss spoke.

“Ramesh, can you please give us a minute?”  Arnav requested politely.

The driver nodded politely and stepped out of the car, leaving Arnav and Khushi together in the enclosed space.

Arnav reached out and placed his hand over hers, his thumb skimming back and forth on the back of her palm.  “Thank you again for the breakfast this morning.  I appreciate that you took out time from your morning to do that.”

“Are we seriously doing this?”  Khushi was exasperated at his words.  After telling her how he felt, he was oddly formal.

“What?”

“This!”  Khushi gestured between the two of them.  “Arnav, if we sit here and make a list of who’s done what for the other…you’re beating me by a golden few miles.”

“I’m not comparing…”  Arnav intervened right away, lest she get the wrong idea.  “I’m just…as much as I appreciate these gestures--the shirt, the breakfast, the tie--you need to know that you don’t have to feel compelled to do these things because of some assumed wifely duties.”

“I didn’t do it out of wifely duties.  I picked out this shirt because I liked it better.  I made the breakfast because I wanted to and the tie…well…I wanted to do that too.”  She glanced at him from under her eyelashes, forcing herself to maintain eye contact as she spoke the next words.  “I may have been a step behind you since the beginning…but I don’t want it to be that way anymore.”

“Is this because of what I said this morning?”  Arnav raised an eyebrow.

“No.”  The crimson returned to her cheeks.  “I’m glad you told me where you stand in this marriage…”

She opened the door and set a foot out onto the concrete before turning to face him again.  He watched her curiously, wondering whether that was going to be her parting sentence.

Leaning in, catching him unaware, she gave him a hug, as graceful as it could be done in the backseat of an SUV.  “I want you to know that I’m standing right next to you.”

Before her words even registered in his hazy mind, she pressed a brief kiss to his cheek and stepped out of the car in one smooth move.

Arnav gazed after her, still dazed from what had just transpired between them.  A part of him was gaping, open mouthed, while the other part of him was certain that he was losing his mind.  She bent to look at him slyly through the rolled down window.

“Arnav?”

“Y--Ahem...”  Arnav cleared his throat in an attempt to gain control over his voice again.  “Um…yeah?”

“Have an amazing day at work.  I’ll see you at home.”  She smiled warmly before turning and walking away towards the building’s entrance.

Arnav watched her retreating back with a small frown his face.  It was such a mundane sentence.  One would even wish a good day at work to a colleague or a friend.  But the way she had spoken, with a subtle promise to see him at home at the end of the day was personal and even intimate in a way.  Or maybe it was the fact that he could still feel her touch against his cheek…

As Ramesh began driving towards the hospital, Arnav recounted all the small surprises she had presented him with, along with her confession that she had taken those steps because she wanted to, not because it was something that was an expected norm from a wife.

And she was standing next to him.  Arnav smiled recalling her words.

I want you to know that I’m standing next to you.  And immediately, his mind presented him with another recent memory:  A similar sentence spoken by him to her when he’d confessed that he liked her.

I just want you to know where I stand…  The gears in his mind whirred and set into full speed, replying the two sentences over and over in his mind until what she was implying finally settled somewhere deep in his heart.

He didn’t try to hold back the grin that made its way to his face.

It had taken a week to cross this milestone.  Lucky for them, there had been no hurdles in the way.  There was no guarantee for a smoother path ahead but that morning, both were blissfully engaged in this newfound realm of feelings to even remotely consider that idea.

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