Page 64 of One Hellish Passion

Maya couldn't help but ask Dhruv about the group of women who had been noticing her for a while.

“Why are they staring at me like that? Is something wrong with my dressing or behavior?”

Dhruv cleared his throat and tried to shrug.

“Ignore them. Have you tried the mocktails here? They are amazing.”

“Dhruv,” she interrupted. “I can take the heat. Come on, tell me what's wrong with them?”

Dhruv didn't want to share it, but he had no more excuses to make.

“They are the Crushers group,” he replied.

“And who are they?” she asked.

“Bro's exes.”

That information didn't sit well with her, but she burst out laughing.

“All of them?”

“Yeah,” he pouted. “Few just had a one-sided crush on Bro, and the rest he dated them at some point in his life. They have formed this group I heard, and they see each other quite often.”

“For what? To discuss how they enjoyed that not-so-serious affair? What they liked about him, disliked, and all?”

“That’s enough,” Ranveer came back. He realized Dhruv had just blurted out to Maya about his past linkups.

“Bro. Sorry. I didn’t want to share. She insisted.”

“Whatever!”

Maya held her laughter and got serious again.

“Okay. Why don’t you both hit the dance floor on the beach?” Dhruv suggested.

“No.” Maya snapped. “I am not very good dancing.” That’s the best excuse she could give.

“That’s great then. Even Bro isn’t a good dancer. But this is your party, Bro. If you both don’t enjoy it, who will?”

“Some other time, Dhruv, not today.” Maya kept resisting.

“We will dance,” came a shocking response from Ranveer.

She shot a glare at him, but as usual, he didn’t care.

“Take off your sandals.”

Maya swallowed. She watched Dhruv, who was grinning at them. Poor boy, he was so happy for his brother that he found a good partner. Maya eyed the makeshift dance floor on the beach warily, kicking off her sandals. Dancing on sand in heels was a disaster waiting to happen.

Ranveer wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She tensed as his hard body pressed against hers. His breath tickled her ear as he murmured, “You're a lucky woman to be in my arms and dancing with me. Many have dreamed of this.”

She raised her head and smiled outright.

“You mean the crushers group?” she bit back a smirk. “I can't imagine losing sleep over dancing with you.”

Ranveer's arm tightened almost imperceptibly around her. “You should at least pretend to be jealous.”

He was right. She had to pretend to dislike them, avoid them; otherwise, how would they think this affair was serious?

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