He laughed, shaking his head. “True. You’d fit in like an arctic penguin in that jungle.”
“Who are you calling a penguin? My legs are longer than average for a South Asian woman.” She lifted one high to prove her point, then rubbed her foot briefly on his on the coffee table.
He chuckled. “Kam, there is no way I’d ever forget about your positive traits since you’re always reminding me of them. By the way, it still stinks of melted plastic toaster in here.”
Kamila rolled her eyes and got up to light a scented candle. Then she sat next to him on the sofa.
“That’ll work,” Rohan said. “Fire to mask the smell of fire. Anyway, I’m sure your father is fine. He seems to be making clearheaded decisions right now.”
“Why’d you say it like that? Has he been making other big decisions lately?” She wouldn’t put it past Dad to tell Rohan things he didn’t tell her. Dad still felt the need to protect his precious daughters from big issues.
Rohan shrugged. “He’s been talking about planning for the future—that’s all.”
Ah. Estate planning. Since Rohan was the executor of Dad’s estate, it was good he wanted to make sure Dad was of a clear mind and all that if he was working on his will. She wished Dad would talk to her about it, but he probably thought talking about his death would upset her. Which it would.
“Well, even if I didn’t get those big clients,” Kamila said, “Dad has to see that I can take on more at Emerald. I have signed three new clients recently, got two comped shellac manicures, and a stunning balayage hair treatment in the last month alone.” She pulled her long hair from behind her back and ran her fingers through it. Kamila’s hair was one of her best features and she loved to show it off since she worked so hard on it. Past halfway down her back, it had a natural wave she could coax into a curl if she used a diffuser, and it was a deep, rich brown that lightened to golden chestnut at the ends.
“I have no idea what those things are, Kam.”
“That’s fine. You don’t need to keep up with nail and hair-color trends. One of my new clients is a tattoo studio who is looking to open a new location. I got a tattoo.”
That seemed to interest him. “Really? Where?”
She pulled her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. “That’s a personal question, Mr. Nasser.” She leaned closer to him to inspect the new scruff on his face again. “Speaking of hair, I think your beard is growing in salt-and-pepper. You really are embracing the old-man vibe, aren’t you?”
He chuckled, running his hand over his chin. In actuality, Kamila saw it as a good thing that he’d have a heavy dose of salt in his black-pepper facial hair. She loved a silver fox and had no doubt the gray would suit him.
“Do you still approve?” he asked.
“I do,” Kamila said, smiling. “Very distinguished. So, you still going to go climb walls for no real reason?”
“You trying to get rid of me, Kam?”
She settled in next to him, curling her legs under herself. “Nope. Stay here and veg with me on the couch. We can split my salad.”
“We got one for me, too.”
“Good.” She plucked the TV remote from him and restarted the movie. “I’ll even watch this movie with you. I don’t think I’ve seen it.”
“You should show it this week for Bollywood night.”
“I told you, I already picked the next movie. I need to stay with a romance. I’m hoping to inspire love for some friends.” She intended to invite Dane this week, so she needed to set the stage for his perfect meet-cute with Maricel, to wash away the memory of Byte trying to bite her butt.
Kamila was in the mood to make others fall in love.
***
After they ate their salads (which turned out to be fancy ones with grilled ahi tuna and sesame dressing—totally Rohan’s doing), Rohan left for his downtown condo. Kamila finally was able to talk to Dad about the doctor’s appointment while they were having hibiscus tea after dinner.
“So tell me the truth. What did Dr. Anchali say?”
Dad waved his hand. “I told you—it’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”
“Dad…” Kamila gave him the look. When her mother had used that look, it had always worked better on her dad than Kamila.
“Kamila, beti, there is nothing we can do until we get the blood test results. You worry about me too much.”
“What did she say about your blood pressure?”
