Page 32 of Tiger's Voyage
“And, uh, how exactly do you plan toresolvethese issues?”
“That’s a good question. I guess the best thing to do is to get things out in the open.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do right now?”
“Yes. It’s probably for the best.”
“Fine. Then you start.” He folded his arms across his chest. “How do you feel about me?”
I sucked in a breath and muttered, “Well, why don’t we just go ahead and dive right intothathornet’s nest? Okay. Open and honest, right?” I tucked my hair behind my ear and sat back in the chair. “Here it is. I rely on you. I like having you around. I feel … more for you than I should. More for you than I want to, which makes me feel incredibly guilty. And Phet said …”
“Go on.”
“Phet said that I’d be happy with either one of you, and that I would soon have to make a choice.”
Kishan grunted and studied me. “Do youbelievehim?”
I twisted my fingers and mumbled, “Yes.”
“Good. I’d like to think I could make you happy. Is it my turn now?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. To be blunt, Kells, I want you. I want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. But I see how you look at Ren, even now. You still have feelings for him. Strong ones. And I don’t want to be your backup boyfriend. If you choose to be with me, I want it to be because youloveme. Not because you can’t havehim.”
He stared at me with his intense golden eyes, and I dropped my gaze under his scrutiny.
“What if it ended up being both?” I asked softly.
“I think I could live with that as long as I had your heart in the end. One more thing …” He picked up my hand between his and traced imaginary lines along the back of it. “If you do choose Ren, it’s okay. The main thing is … I want you to be happy.”
“You mean no more catfights?”
“Ren and I have spent a lot of time together lately,” Kishan shrugged. “He’s forgiven me for Yesubai and for all of the other things I’ve done. If you two end up together, I’ll just have to live with it.”
“He’s right. Youhavechanged.”
“I like to think I’ve just become better with age.”
“Well, you have.”
As I stood to leave, Kishan wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me back. He trailed his fingers down my bare arm, causing goose bumps to rise.
“That doesn’t mean I’ve given you up, though. I still plan on winning you for myself,bilauta.”
He kissed my fingertips before letting me go. I stumbled back and braced myself to have a sit-down with Ren.
The problem was … I couldn’t find him. I searched the pool, the grounds, the kitchen, the music room, the media room, and the library. There was no sign of him. I knocked on his bedroom door.
“Ren? Are you in there?” No answer.
Twisting the knob, I found it unlocked. I sat at his desk. Poems were spread all over, some in English and some in Hindi. A book of Shakespeare quotes was open and flipped upside down. I sank into his leather chair and picked up the page he’d been working on.
Remembering
Where is The X?
A pirate’s treasure lay hidden
