Vegas to Varanasi (Fortytude Series Book 1) (7 page)

Twelve

I arrive at the front door of the Kapurs’ home, which sits on a huge lot at the end of a cul-de-sac. Most homes in Las Vegas are stuccoed; however, the entire front of this house is covered in stone. With gables, two chimneys, two balconies, and a shaker-style roof, rather than the typical Spanish tile, it’s quite beautiful.

Kiran’s father answers the door. “Anna, it’s good to see you again!”

“Good to see you, Mr. Kapur,” I say as I step inside.

“I told you before. Call me Ahsan. Please.”

Geena spots me from across the room and makes her way toward me, no longer walking with her cane. “I told you not to bring a present,” she says as I hand her a small gift bag which contains a silver necklace I bought.

I smile and give her a hug. “How can I not bring a gift for your seventieth birthday?”

“Well, thank you. That was very sweet. Ahsan, dear, would you please take this and put it on the table with the others while I speak with Anna?”

“Absolutely.”

Geena wastes no time linking her arm in mine and leads me to the next room where live music can be heard. “I’m so sorry to ask this of you, but Kiran really needs your help,” she says in a hushed voice.

“Help? What do you mean?”

“It’s Miranda.”

“Miranda? Oh, you mean the one he came to the wedding with?”

I haven’t the slightest clue where she’s going with this. We stop at the entrance of a large bonus room where lots of people are milling about, some of them dancing, and I see Kiran sitting in the corner next to Miranda. She’s talking, leaning in toward him, while he sits with a drink in his hand, his body slightly turned away.

“I’m confused. Why does he need my help?”

“I’m just going to make a long story short,” she says hastily. “I invited her mother, who is my friend, but I didn’t know she was bringing Miranda. Miranda will not leave him alone, and I don’t like her.” She looks me straight in the eye and I can’t help but chuckle.

“I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

“Of course he can, but he doesn’t like her either, and he’s too much of a gentleman to give her the slip.”

I slowly shake my head, speechless. Don’t get me wrong. I adore Geena, but to say she’s a little too involved in her son’s business is a bit of an understatement.

I shrug. “I’m not sure what you want me to do.”

“Just follow my lead.” She takes me by the hand and leads me toward Kiran and Miranda.

Kiran sees us and his face brightens. He stands to greet us. “Anna, hi!”

“Hi there. Hello, Miranda. Nice to see you again.” I can fake pleasantries when I have to.

“Hello.” She cocks her head and stares at me.

“Sorry I’m a little late,” I say to no one in particular. “When I got in my car, the battery was completely dead, and I had to wait for my daughter to get home so I could borrow her car.”

“Don’t give it a second thought,” Geena insists with a wave of her hand. “Kiran, now that your date has arrived, why don’t the two of you have a dance?”

I freeze in place, but my eyebrows pop up and my gaze slips to Kiran.
This is the lead I’m supposed to follow?
His brow furrows, I’m assuming with confusion, as he looks at Geena.

Miranda narrows her eyes, surveying each of us, while Geena takes the now empty seat beside her.

When no one speaks after a few seconds, Kiran offers me an easy smile and holds out his hand. “Well, I’m game if you are.”

This is the absolute worst! Nothing like a mother hurling me at her son.

“Miranda, I’ve been looking for your mother, but I don’t know where she’s disappeared to.” Geena places her hand on Miranda’s knee. “How about you come help me find her?”

Miranda looks just as confused as Kiran did a moment ago, as I take his hand and follow him to the center of the room to dance.

“Wha-a-a-t just happened?” I ask.

Kiran shakes his head and puts his hand on my waist. “I have no idea, but you just witnessed the infamous Geena Kapur in action. I’m sorry she put you in such an awkward position.”

“No, it’s fine.” I smile as I watch Geena leading Miranda around the room, as they try to “locate” Miranda’s mother. “She pounced on me the minute I got here, saying that you needed rescuing.”

He backs away a few inches and stops dancing. “What? I apologize. That woman is crazy sometimes.”

I can’t help but laugh at this. It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak in such a personal, informal manner.

I scan the room and the extravagance of the evening begins to sink in. I’m glad I chose not to dress as casually as I usually would for a birthday celebration, because this is quite a fancy party. In addition to the live band, there’s an open bar, along with all sorts of scrumptious
hors d’oeuvres and desserts on serving tables at the far end of the room.

When I turn my attention back to Kiran, he’s got those greenies on me again. “You look very pretty, Anna.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I swallow a gulp of air. “You look very handsome yourself. But then again, you always do.”
Gahhhhh! That was too much!

My cheeks catch fire.

“Thank you.”

“So, explain to me why Miranda is so enthralled with you tonight, when she wasn’t at all interested the night of the wedding.”

“That’s a good question, but here is my theory. I think it’s all for your benefit.”

I blink a few times and frown. “My benefit?”

“She wasn’t showering me with attention until my mother mentioned that you would be here tonight.”

I glance back in her direction to catch her eyeballing us with an annoyed expression on her face. Okay, this woman clearly has some issues.

“Personally, I think you made an enemy of her that night when you took the waiter’s side over hers.”

“Oh my hell.” I roll my eyes.

I have the most difficult time looking directly at Kiran. For someone who comes off as reserved and somewhat shy, he has no problem with the constant eye contact. In fact, I can feel his gaze on me at this moment.

“You know, you make me very nervous,” I admit.

“I make you nervous?” He gives me an incredulous stare. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Anna. I know that you’re in a relationship.”

That’s another thing about Kiran. He seems to say my name a lot when we speak. Most people don’t do that.

“Well, no... I’m not, actually. Not anymore. And I didn’t say you make me uncomfortable. I said you make me nervous.”

“You’re not? You’re not what?”

“I’m not in a relationship. David moved out a couple weeks ago.”

His hand slides from my waist to my upper back, like he might pull me in for a hug. He looks into my face with concern and squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll be fine,” I reply promptly. “These things happen.”

I expect him to conclude our dance when the song ends, however, we continue through the next song, neither of us saying anything for some time. I move in a little closer to him, mostly to avoid the intimate gazes.

My stomach is in knots. By all appearances, Kiran is attracted to me. Either that, or he truly is hiding out on the dance floor to avoid Miranda.

But no, he’s given me this feeling each time I’ve seen him. At my office, that day at Starbucks, even a little at the wedding reception. Though, I didn’t want to admit it when Luke made his comment about Kiran being “smitten” with me.

Pft! Anna, you’re crazy. There’s no way someone who looks like Kiran...

“I was just thinking.” He breaks into my thoughts. “About something else I’ve always remembered about you from high school.”

“Please tell me this isn’t going to be about my Madonna phase. If so, be kind.”

Kiran purses his lips together, as if he’s considering that visual. “No, not about your Madonna phase, which sadly, I missed.”

“I’ve got pictures I can share with you sometime. If you’re ever interested.”

“I’d like that.” He gives me an appreciative chuckle. “But what I remember is that there was this one student who, I think, must have been autistic. I never knew his name.”

I nod because immediately I know who he’s referring to. “Yes! His name was Benny!”

“Benny? Well, Benny almost always sat by himself in the cafeteria. In fact, he seemed to prefer it. But I remember seeing you, on several occasions, go over and talk to him. Once, you even managed to get him to join you and your friends.”

I smile at the memory. “Yeah, I think after that he decided there was a little too much estrogen going on at that table and it wasn’t for him.”

When I look up, Kiran is regarding me so intently, I swear he’s mentally calculating the diameter of my pupils. “It was truly exceptional, for someone your age to be so compassionate toward others.”

This is becoming far too intense. My insides feel as if they’re playing musical chairs. “I could really use a drink. You?”

“I’ll get it for you. What would you like?”

“A glass of white wine, please.”

“Any particular kind?”

“Whatever they have is fine.”

I sit down on one of the sofas while he walks to the bar for our drinks.

This is childish. Why am I acting like I’ve never had a man give me attention before? It has to be because I’m letting his looks intimidate me.

Luke never flustered me, but maybe that was because he was my buddy first. Despite his good looks, he was approachable. Kiran, on the other hand... I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone in real life who was so arresting.

I feel flushed and touch my face.

He’s not full of himself, and he genuinely seems to like me. Clearly, he has these idealistic memories of me which are far too much to live up to. I’m not Gandhi, for crying out loud!

He returns with my drink and sits beside me.

“Thank you.” I bring the glass to my lips and look straight ahead.

“I’m sorry I’ve been making you nervous,” he says gently.

My mouth goes dry, despite taking a sip of wine. “It’s nothing.” The words come out as a whisper and sound ridiculous.

“No, it isn’t.” He pauses to sample his on-the-rocks concoction. “Can I tell you something, at the risk of making you nervous again?”

I realize I’m nodding and grimacing at the same time, but it seems I have no control over my facial muscles.

“Now that my father has returned, he’ll be bringing Mother for her visits with you, and there aren’t many of those visits left. I would hate to lose touch.”

I draw my lips in. My pulse skips.

“You’re just coming out of something,” he continues. “I don’t know how long or how serious it was. I assume the breakup was significant if you were living together, and I don’t want to disrespect that, but... I would like to still see you.”

Lightly pulling at the tips of my hair, I frantically try to think of something to say so he’s not left hanging, but nothing comes.

He leans forward on his knees, bringing his face in closer. “Would that be alright with you? If it isn’t, please don’t feel like you can’t say so.”

“I’m probably being dense, but when you say you’d like to see me, what do you mean by that?”

“I mean in whatever capacity you’d be comfortable with. If it’s as friends, or perhaps more than that at some point...” He straightens again and turns toward the dancing guests before taking another drink. “Sorry if I’m being too forward, but this might be my last opportunity to say anything.”

I take a deep breath and place my hand on my chest. “I’m so flattered, Kiran. And I like you, too. I just don’t want to disappoint you. You seem to have certain ideas about me, but you really don’t know me.”

He nods while I speak, and I realize how condescending that may have sounded.

“I know enough that I’m willing to learn more.” He briefly leans sideways and playfully bumps my shoulder with his.

I smile and take a sip from my glass. That was completely unexpected. And adorable.

“Why do I suddenly feel like there’s a skilled charmer hiding underneath that quiet disposition?”

He gives me a boyish grin and shrugs. “Maybe I’m so uneasy about this conversation, I had to lighten things up. But you still haven’t given me a direct answer, so I’m beginning to think that’s your polite way of telling me ‘thanks, but no thanks.’”

I want to say it has nothing to do with disinterest. The truth is, the thought of dating someone, or even having a fling with someone who looks like him, is pretty terrifying. God, how shallow am I? I’m no shrinking violet. I would say I have pretty healthy self-esteem, but I cannot even imagine a relationship with Kiran. I could easily
fantasize
about one. But realistically?

I won’t say any of this to Kiran, of course. Talk about too much information, and what an insult, really. I’m basing my feelings solely on his looks.

Luke’s idea about having some fun with the “hot guy” comes to mind. I can’t really do that, can I?