Page 79 of Not Your Basic Love Story

“That’s your boyfriend’s sister?” Kyle asked.

“Myfiancé’slittle sister. And don’t even think about it. She’s basically a child, you perv.”

“Doesn’t look like a child to me.”

I glared daggers at him.

Shawan and Jag appeared a moment later and were extraordinarily welcoming. Shawan greeted me with the typical two kisses, Jag with a bear hug, and then proceeded to hug everyone else as if he’d known them his whole life. Honestly, I couldn’t have picked a better father-in-law. I could tell Dev got a lot of his personality from his father, and the looks, too. I tried to imagine him without the turban and beard, to see what I’d be looking at thirty years in the future, but it all was such a part of him I couldn’t imagine him any other way.

Shawan was dressed in an orange saree with an ornamental jewelled bindi on her forehead. I sensed a bit of sadness in the way she looked at me, though she was doing her best to hide it. Then we were overrun with people, all introducing themselves with hugs and two-cheek kisses, with smiles both genuine and guarded.

We made our way slowly into the house, and I did my best to retain as many names and faces as possible, though with everything going on I could barely even remember my own name. Inside wasn’t any better. Crowds of people gathered, eating, drinking and laughing, and all of them turned to look at me, the main attraction.

I hugged my trench coat tighter around my body, instantly regretting the white dress underneath. I wanted to disappear. I wanted a margarita. I wanted to be back at home in my sweatpants. I wanted Dev.

Then, granting my wish, he appeared. The crowd, the noise, the chaos, it all dimmed to a dull roar in the background. Angels began singing, and light descended upon him from the heavens. He was an oasis in the middle of the Sahara desert, and I was a parched and weary traveller.

And damn, he looked sexy as fuck.

His hair was styled perfectly. The black suit he wore was expertly tailored, worshipping his body, accentuating his broad shoulders and tapering down to his narrow waist. He floated towards me, and I found myself lost in his eyes and the playful grin flitting across his face. The gentle aroma of his citrus and clove cologne wafted ahead of him—no hint of tequila.

He stopped in front of me and took one of my hands, lifting it to his lips; a gesture I now knew to be risqué, especially in front of his entire family. Even so, I wanted more. I wanted his mouth on mine, his hands on my body, to be enveloped in his embrace.

Then I blinked, and the world came back to life around us, a crowd of people gathered to lay eyes upon me for the first time. I blushed, suddenly self-conscious and a little embarrassed by the thoughts that had just permeated my mind. I hoped none of his family were mind readers.

Dev reached to help me remove my trench coat, but that was the last thing I wanted. Not only because the buttons weren’t done up in the back, but because the coat had become a security blanket. It was the only thing separating me from this huge group of strangers. The white, somewhat prudish dress I’d so carefully selected felt more like lingerie. Maybe Priya had something that would fit me.

I looked up at him, wide-eyed, pleading for him to understand. He looked back at me with concern, and then recognition came alight on his face. He nodded subtly and then began leading me through the crowd, hopefully to find somewhere quiet where I could have a panic attack in peace.

Dev introduced me to people as we went out of politeness. Auntie so-and-so. Uncle so-and-so. So many aunties and uncles! There was no way Shawan and Jag had this many brothers and sisters. I tried my best to remember everyone, but the effort was futile. I’d have to get flashcards made or something.

Just when things couldn’t get any more overwhelming, there she was. I recognized her from the photo in the hall, from the expertly curated images on her Instagram, from her flawlesseverything.

Sonja.

And holy hell, she was fucking perfect.

Her giant, gorgeous eyes were framed with long lashes and thick brows. Full lips turned up in a quirky smile as if the person next to her had made a witty comment. Her long, dark hair hung in waves down to her mid-back. The red dress she wore hugged her body, much more voluptuous and sensual than my own, but the dress still managed to be conservative and tasteful for the event. And the shoes. Real Louboutins.

I remembered the images from Priya’s presentation, the cultural implication of the colour red. She may as well have been wearing white.

Instead of walking past her, Dev took us up the stairs. Once we were safely in his room with the door closed behind us, I found my breath and tried to calm myself.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, reaching out to touch my shoulder.

I pulled away. “I thought this was supposed to be just family. So my parents could meet yours.”

“It is just family.”

Unsure if he was playing dumb or what his schtick was, I glared at him. “Oh, is Sonja, your ex, actually your cousin or something?”

A note of anger touched on his face. “Her family and my family go way back. Our mothers were best friends growing up, and Sonja is only a few months younger than me. We grew up together. They’re practically family.”

His explanation only made me feel worse. “What you’re saying, is that your ex-girlfriend was your childhood best friend, your high school sweetheart, the girl who took your virginity,andyour mothers pretty much planned your wedding as soon as they found out your complimentary genders? And she’s here, right now, at our engagement party?”

Dev tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “I guess so, yeah.”

I turned away from him and walked toward the window, watching as even more cars pulled up, boxing my dad’s sedan in. Now there was no escape.

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