Page 92 of Stumped

“Where are we?”

“This is Chennai’s best kept secret. I don’t think they’ve named it yet, but this company is working to build gardens in and around old and abandoned buildings. This is the first one they’ve done so far and I’m not sure if they’ll do more, becausebureaucracy. But Tamara knows the people and I called in a favour.”

“Holy shit, Vera, this is gorgeous.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

I turn to her and she’s standing to the side, small smile on her lips. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she breathes out, blinking furiously.

“Peaches, what’s wrong?” I’m at her side instantly, framing her face in my hands, pulling her towards me.

“This weekend was a rollercoaster and I haven’t stopped crying.”

“Baby,” I whisper and hold her against me. “We’re good, though. Right?”

She nods, arms tightening around my waist. “We are, I swear. I’m so emotional.” With a laugh, she pulls back and wipes at her face. I catch a stray tear and smile as I admire her. “I love you, Elias.”

My heart stops. My lungs quit. And even my brain ceases to function. All I can do is stare at her. It’s not like she’s saying something I didn’t already know, but she said the damn words out loud. While staring deep into my eyes.

“You good, superstar?”

“Yeah. No. Maybe. I don’t…”

She laughs, hands resting on my chest. “Did I break you?”

“Do it again.”

Pushing onto her toes, she brings her mouth to mine and says, “I love you. So very much.”

I kiss her, one hand supporting the back of her head as the other pulls her back into me. Her arms slide around my neck and I feel everything in the world settle into a sense of peace. “I love you too, Vera.”

“I appreciate the reminder,” she teases and steps away. “Want a tour?”

I want you more. “Absolutely.”

She shows me around the huge indoor garden and we stop to read the little labels on the wall. Even the ceiling is covered in bright flowers. The fact that they managed to put all this beauty in one place is quite something. While Chennai weather isn’t always harmful to plants, I can see the benefit of having an indoor garden. Especially when all the colours are contained in one place. When we reach the other end, there’s a little grassy mound with a blanket and a picnic basket.

A small bottle of wine sits in the middle of an array of food that includes sandwiches, cupcakes, a plate of peda, what looks like beef fry and a whole lot of other things we’ve talked about enjoying in the past. “Is this our celebration?”

“Part of it. I thought we deserved a beautiful place to be together for a bit before we had to get back to reality.”

“Yeah? What’s waiting for us in reality?”

“Everything else.” She grins and sits down, crossing her legs under her. Her dress rises over her thighs and I can’t help but lean over and squeeze her soft skin. She’s with me, but she also looks really distracted as she fills our disposable glasses and plates the food.

“Vera.” She nods, but doesn’t look at me. “Peaches.”

She twists her lips to the side. “Thinking about all of this bullshit, right? This weekend got my wheels turning and it’s made me…reflect.”

“Is this because of what your ex said?”

“You read the article?” Her eyes are wide and I nod.

“Why didyou?”

She shrugs, looking away from me. “I resisted, butneededto know what kind of lies they were spewing. What kind of shit they were trying to stir up. Their words were not false, but it’s the way people interpret it that makes me sound like an asshole.” Vera pauses and finally meets my eyes. “Rakesh wanted me to spend less time working and more on making him happy. I met him well into my years with Lucky Shot, but he didn’t appreciate that I worked a lot. Or made more money than him. He wanted to be the alpha in our relationship and unfortunately I wouldn’t let him. So he claims. He found little ways to make me feel bad about building this business and being a boss, but when I refused to give into his demands, he ended things.”

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