With the brigade singing with her, Jana belted out the lyrics with feeling, emotion, and, more than anything else, joy. She let go of all her inhibitions, didn’t think at all about how terrible she sounded or what the aunties and uncles were thinking right now. Or about Dr. Lopez. She didn’t care that everyone in the room knew she was groveling to the man she loved, begging for another chance.
She watched Anil the whole time, and she saw the moment that the song did what it was supposed to do—and his expression went from skepticism and surprise to joy. He laughed and cheered with the others, and Jana could swear she saw tears in his eyes.
Jana pointed right at him when she sang the wordsI love you so, and she swore his face almost split with the size of his grin. And everyone in the room cheered even more.
While Jana was still singing “take a chance on me”as the song was ending, Anil crossed the room and climbed the stairs to the stage. She didn’t even get a look at his expression before he took Jana’s face in his hands and kissed her the moment the song ended. The brigade cheered loudly on the stage, high-fiving each other. Anil looked at Jana’s eyes, and now she could see that there were tears there.
He wrapped her up in a hug and whispered in her ear, “I love you, too.”
***
Jana hoped they wouldn’t stay long after her ABBA song. They were arm in arm, climbing down the stage stairs, when he whispered into her ear that he hoped she would come home with him. Jana knew they needed to talk, that even if those ABBA lyrics were pretty close to how she felt, not talking is what had gotten them into this mess. And this would never work without communication.
But when they were on their way out of the restaurant, Jana was stopped by Sam Lopez, asking her if she had a minute. Anil said he’d go ahead and meet her at his place. She had her own car here, anyway.
Jana sat with Dr. Lopez at a table near the back of the room. He smiled widely. “That moment was so romantic. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. Farzana was entranced with your song.”
Jana laughed. “You didn’t think it was a bit over-the-top?”
He waved his hand. “Nonsense. I admire your bravery in going after what you want. I just wanted to speak to you alone about what happened at the office yesterday. Maria was mortified. She wanted to call you and apologize directly, but I told her I’d speak to you first. She’s a bit of a gossip, but she wouldn’t have said such things if she’d known your history with Anil. She learned a hard lesson yesterday. I wish it hadn’t been at your expense, though.”
“Thank you, Sam. I should apologize, too, for storming out of there.”
“There is no need. I felt it was important to let you know, now that you’ve signed the employment contract and are stuck with me, that I was aware of your personal history before I interviewed you. I didn’t know your connection to Rohan, or who your parents were, but I had heard gossip through the grapevine in the development community before your resume ended up on my desk.”
Jana blinked. Dr. Lopezknew? He knew she was the other woman, that she had never been divorced, and that she’d lost a job after being labeled a home-wrecker?
He knew all that and he interviewed her anyway? And he didn’t say a word in Tanzania about being well aware that Mom and the aunties were all lying?
Jana didn’t know what to say.
“As I mentioned earlier to you, I am no stranger to professional scandals. Your personal life should have no impact on your employability, but I know that others hadn’t always given you that grace. I was determined to give you a fair chance precisely because others hadn’t. But then after interviewing you and getting to know you, I wanted to have you on my team solely because of your skills, education, and professionalism. And the rest of the team who you met yesterday all agree. We are all looking forward to seeing you in the office on Monday, Jana.”
Jana couldn’t believe it. This man was everything. She was thrilled she would be working with him. Instead of shaking his hand, she gave him a hug and told him she was also excited to start working at Think on Monday.
***
When Jana finally walked out of the elevator onto Anil’s floor in his condo building, she found him waiting for her in his doorway, still wearing the suit and tie from the party but without a jacket. He looked…intense. Certainly not as joyful as she’d left him earlier but instead serious. The second she was at his unit, he pulled her in by the arm and closed the door behind her. She didn’t even have a chance to look around the condo before his mouth was on hers.
And it was like everything was right again. This kiss wasn’t like the relatively chaste but joyful kiss after she’d sung the song earlier. This was all emotion and passion and heat. And having Anil back in her arms was…amazing. She’d had several moments of extreme relief today. When Kamila agreed to help her get Anil back. When Anil’s face broke out into a smile while she was singing. When Dr. Lopez said his team was looking forward to seeing her at work.
But they all paled in comparison to this. This…unravelingas they were once again the way they were supposed to be—with his lips on hers. She could never get enough of him. The feel of his big, hard body against hers. His sandalwood scent. His stubble against her face. Everything. She eventually pulled away. “This…this is breakable,” she said, putting her bag that still had the soapstone carving in it gently on a nearby table. Then she reached up to put her hands around his neck and pulled him down for another consuming kiss.
She held on to him hungrily as his tongue swept through her mouth. Her eyes were pressed closed and she didn’t think—she just felt…everything. She felt like she was back in Tanzania, at Hatari, like she was in the shower stall in London, and like she was in bed with him in D.C.
She felt like she was home.
Eventually, the kiss slowed into something else. She was pressed against his condominium door, and she could feel his hardness against her. She ground into him, considering stripping her jumpsuit off right there so he could worship her body with no barrier between them. Or better, unbuckling his belt and sinking to the floor soshecould worshiphim. But she needed another door between her and her sleeping child for that. She pulled away from the kiss, but kept him close, and opened her eyes to look at his.
His big brown eyes were glassy. His lips were swollen. He was so, so gorgeous. She was never going to walk away from him again. She smiled lightly. “Hi. Can I assume the babysitter left?”
He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “Hello. Yes. I paid her for the whole night even though I’m home way earlier than I thought I’d be. I didn’t know you could sing.”
She laughed. “I can’t really. Did you like it?”
He chuckled. “Yes. Very much. I especially loved the lyrics.”
She looked at his beautiful face and took a deep breath. “Song lyrics are great, but…”She bit her lip. “You and me, we haven’t communicated very well on our own. I think we should have that talk before we get carried away.”
