“It’s…”
Varsha’s uncharacteristic hesitation had him glancing up at her. Ahh, this was about the other thing. A cruel sneer traced his lips. “She’s not dead, is she?”
Varsha shook her head.
“Let me guess.” His crooked smile widened. “She’s not even dying.”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“Who are we talking about?” Ayaan looked from one tight face to the other. “And why do we look angry about her not dying?”
“No one,” Kabir said, a warning in his gaze as it met Varsha’s. He was about to say more when there was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal his father and sister.
“Are we interrupting?” Ved asked, looking around the room with that calm, genial smile of his.
“Not at all,” Ayaan said grinning at Kimi who was looking around with big, awestruck eyes. “We were just discussing someone who is apparently not dying.”
“Who’s not dying?” Ved’s eyes snapped to Kabir’s, worry darkening them.
“Nobody important.” Kabir said, rising and walking over to hug his father. For a moment, he let the solidity of the man who’d saved him, literally and figuratively, wrap around him, grounding him in the chaos and noise of his life.
Kabir pulled back and looked over to where Kimi was flirting with Ayaan. He sent his friend a death glare over the top of her head and Ayaan immediately pulled back, stonewalling her coy remarks.
“What are you guys doing here?” he asked his father now.
Ved’s thoughtful gaze went from Varsha’s tense face to Kabir’s but he didn’t push it. “We were in town for a little wedding shopping so we thought we’d check on you and see if you could join us for lunch.”
“Did you text me?” Kabir pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Did I miss it?”
“No.” Kimi walked over to where they stood, giving up on Ayaan. “We ambushed you.”
“Kim-“
“No.” She shook her head, her long, highlighted hair flying in an arc around her head. “No excuses. You’ve been avoiding us since the farmhouse weekend. No more. Let’s go.”
Great. An intervention. Exactly what he needed when his brain was already a walk through hell.
“I’ve got practice,” he said, looking to his father for support. But Ved was looking at him, with a suspiciously contemplative look in his eyes, one that said he saw too much, and understood even more. Yikes. Kabir couldn’t afford to have his father trying to dig through to the bottom of the mess that was his life.
“Who is coming? For lunch?” he asked instead. If she was coming…
Kimi shrugged. “We sent out a message on the group. We just need to update the restaurant we pick. Whoever turns up, turns up.”
His stomach clenched. Of course they’d sent it on the group. Of course she would’ve seen it.
“You need clothes for the wedding too,” Ved said now.
“Wait!” Horror suffused him. “You said lunch. You didn’t say shopping.”
“What were you planning to wear to the wedding?” Kimi asked, looking up at him with a cheeky grin.
He glanced down at his faded jeans and black vest.
“Nope.” Ved shook his head. “I have to draw the line at that.”
“I’m a bit too old for you to be ‘drawing the line’ Dad.” Kabir groaned.
“You think?” Ved arched a brow. “You’ll be my son when you’re old and grey. And no Kashyap is turning up at a family wedding dressed like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz.”
