Page 61 of The Ex Factor

“It means whatever fears your brother communicated to you arehisfears, not your father’s. He said your father’s legacy is at stake, but does your father feel that way? Will he be willing to put your happiness on the sacrificial altar to save his name and face?”

Dad had not cared about asking me before approaching some random family with a marriage proposal. Was it in a bid to find me happiness, or was he trying to dispose of me like a risky investment?

I shook off the thought. I knew my father. He had his faults, but the one thing I was always confident about was his irrefutable love for his family—for Ma, Aakash, and me. He called me his pride, and I had never taken it lightly. Neither had he.

“What are you thinking?” Mary Beth interrupted my deliberations.

I shook my head. “All this is futile, anyway. I don’t think I can scour up the courage to tell Sujit how I feel.”

“Why not?” she asked with a gentle frown.

“What if he doesn’t feel the same way? We began on a note of friendship. Something to help us wade through the sea of heartache that was threatening to consume us both. What if he still sees me as a friend or, worse, a charity case? He’s a good man, I won’t be surprised if he’s spending time with me because he thinks I need it, that I’m benefiting from it emotionally.”

She extended her hand and covered mine. “Alright, take a breath and calm down. If you ask me, you are overthinking it. You’ve known him for just over a month, and you’re considering life decisions?Life-alteringdecisions,” she reminded gently.

I pulled myself out of the quagmire with a deep breath and a sip of the wine. “You’re right. I don’t even know if we’d be good together. I also don’t want to make a decision that could end up hurting my father. Or worse, disappointing him. I am not going to make the same mistake I did with Sameer and jump into a relationship based on an attraction.”

“Well…” she said and let her words trail.

“What?”

“I see how you look at him, and believe me when I say this. You never had the same look in your eye when you were with Sameer.”

A gasp escaped my lips. “You mean to tell me this time I’m in trouble.”

“Deep trouble, Battie. You’ve found yourself in deep, deep trouble, which makes this even more complicated. He is and will always be Tara’s ex, sweetie.”

We had polished off a bottle each and a staff member had miraculously appeared with another two and a set of fresh goblets.

“Thank you,” I said as Mary Beth handed me a glass.

She picked up her glass and said, “It might be a terrible idea to pursue this, but I think you should still sleep with him. You need it, and I bet he’s a fantastic lover.”

“Mary Beth Arlington!” I reprimanded her teasingly. “Your very handsome husband is sitting right there, and you’re ogling at other men, tsk tsk.”

“I’m doing it as a favor for you,” she argued with a wicked smile. “And it’s Mary Beth Arlington-Strauss now.”

“Precisely. Let us not forget that and check out other men,” I teased, and we both burst into chuckles just as the two devilishly good-looking rogues approached us.

“I think we should leave,” Sujit said. “It’s starting to snow.”

AARTI

The snowfall was mild, but I spotted a look of worry on Sujit’s face.

“Is it the weather, or is it something else?”

He threw me a glance.

“I’m trying to figure out the reason for that frown,” I explained.

“Ah!” he responded with a grin. “It’s the weather. I’m trying to figure out if we might be able to make it to the city safely.”

“What’s the other option? I asked.

He hesitated and gave me another glance.

“What?”

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