Page 60 of Cherish my Heart
“That sounds like three desserts crammed into one.”
“Exactly. Try it.”
I open my mouth to argue, but she’s already ordered it. I stare at her as she takes the cup from the server and hands it to me like she’s won something.
“You’re ridiculous,” I mutter.
“And you’re welcome,” she says with a wink.
“So I always wanted to ask,” She says as she licks her spoon clean, “Why do you wear this broken ring around your neck?”
I look down at the ring attached to the gold chain. “It’s all I have of my mother,” I reply. Her eyes soften as a small smile forms on her lips.
I shake my head slowly, letting out a breath. “You’re observant.”
She shrugs, licking the side of her cone. “You’re not exactly a mystery, you know.”
That’s where she’s wrong.
She doesn’t know that I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since last night. That when she left the office, I kept checking the time, wondering if she got home safely, if she had dinner, and if she was warm enough. She doesn’t know that having her in the same room as me isn’t just a convenience—it’s a need. A quiet, gnawing, persistent one that’s making it impossible to keep my head straight. And it’s not only because I want to keep her safe from Anil; it’s more personal. It’s because I like having her closer to me; it makes breathing easier.
I look at her now, sitting across from me, her hair slightly windswept, her face glowing under the streetlight, and I wonder—when did this start?
“Why are you staring at me?” she asks, cheeks pink from the heat or maybe the attention.
I take another slow spoonful of my ice cream. “I’m not.”
“You are.”
“You’ve got something on your face.”
She blinks. “What?”
“Just your entire personality,” I say, deadpan.
She gasps, then smacks my arm. “You’re such a jerk.”
I grin. Can’t help it.
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling too, and for the first time in a while, it doesn’t feel like I’m forcing something that isn’t there.
“Come on,” I say, finishing my ice cream and tossing the cup. “Let’s get back before you get too cold.”
“Aw,” she mocks, “worried about me?”
Always.
But I don’t say it. Just shake my head and start walking. She falls into step beside me, close enough that our arms brush every few steps, and for now, that’s enough.
CHAPTER 33
ADITI
The moment the door opens, my heart stops. My lungs forget how to function.
No. Freaking. Way.
Standing there, in all his annoyingly smug glory, isAarav. My brother. My elder brother. My overprotective pain-in-the-ass brother.
