Page 20 of No Other Love

I bit my lip as a wayward thought struck me.

Vikrant had stood up for me now. He’d not insisted I go down and welcome his parents, saving me from an awkward conversation.Andhe’d arranged for a buffer for my first family lunch with the in-laws.

The leastIcould do was dress appropriately.

I sighed and reached down for the sari and blouse I had also packed. ‘Fair’s fair, Anika. You owe Vik for being decent, right now,’ I murmured.

Although I would have preferred paying him back in a far more creative way.

***

If Vikrant’s mother had any qualms about having a daughter-in-law who lived hundreds of miles away from her son, she didn’t let it bother her during the family lunch. She was even cordial andalmostgracious when I came down in the mauve designer sari with contrasting three-fourths blouse.

Vikrant’s eyes widened at the outfit before he went back to serving his parents at the lunch table. And they almost popped out when I went straight to Kaka, Kaki and bent down to touch their feet. Then did the same with his parents.

They smiled and blessed me when I asked for their blessings.

I gave him a conspiratorial smile. He wasn’t the only one who could be the ideal child, especially when he was on my side.

‘Aunty, I love your earrings.’ I settled into a chair next to Vikrant’s aunt and uncle. And way away from his parents.

‘Thank you, Anika. Raghu got it for me from Thailand,’ Smita told her. Raghuvansh was her son who worked as the vice-president of a bank.

The second generation Pandits were all brilliant in their own ways.

In fact, Vikrant had the distinction of being the first doctoreverin their family. A fact his mother had taken vicious pleasure in informing me when we first met. She’d not said it outright, but she was aware who Vivek Chakraborty was and how I had gotten a seat in medical college through a favor from the management.

Unlike her hard-working, merit-holder son.

‘They’re very pretty,’ I said, spooning some spicy-sour aamti lentil dal over my rice.

Vikrant sat next to me, and two seats away from his parents. His body heat licking flames down my side. Both at the unexpected gesture and because I was starved of his warmth.

Oh dear, that wasn’t going to go down well with Aai.I thought in consternation. I snuck a quick look at Aai-Baba. They continued eating blissfully.

I reached for the fish curry just as Vikrant did and he jerked his hand away.

I smiled and poured some for him first. ‘Enough?’ I asked him innocently.

His fingers clenched on the spoon he held, and he nodded.

My belly jumped at seeing his hairy legs under the shorts he wore. Apparently, he’d given up pretending to wear only full pants around his folks. Or maybe they’d come to some kind of understanding regarding decent outfits.

This was allsoconfusing.

I forked a spoonful of the delicious food in and almost moaned in ecstasy. Marathi and Bengali cuisine were almost the same with just enough differences to keep things interesting, so food had been a major bonding factor for us. And I had not had this good a fish curry in ages.

***

‘So, the Ganesh statue installation will happen early tomorrow,’ Aai said abruptly. ‘Vikrant we have to mop and sweep the house and get the decorations in place.’

‘Anika and I will do it,’ he said shortly. ‘You all can rest after such a heavy lunch. Reena is also there and she’s sending her son Sagar too.’ He named the maid and her son.

‘But…’

‘Ma, you’re tired,’ he said firmly. ‘Baba also. You can make dinner with Smita aunty. That’s your job. Anika and I’ll take care of everything else. This is our house, and we will do the needful.’

I almost choked at his authoritative voice and the casual dominance behind it. And his use of the pronoun ‘our’.FUCK. Why did I have to find this stupidly hot?

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