“Did something happen between Kabir and you?”
She choked, shock causing the paneer to lodge firmly in her throat. She saw Kabir half rise out of his chair even as Ved thumped her on her back, dislodging the paneer before offering her a glass of water. When she gasped, breathing heavily and taking the glass, Kabir sank back into his seat, his gaze still fixed on her from behind those sexy, mysterious Chopard shades.
“I’m sorry,” Ved murmured. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?”
She nodded, waving embarrassedly at the others to continue eating. Rehan, she noticed, already was.
“I’m, um,” she faltered, her cheeks fire engine red. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Did you guys have a fight or something? You’ve been avoiding each other this whole trip.”
Oh! Tani shook her head, her heated cheeks feeling like they were steaming. “No, no fight. We just…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
Ved’s eyes were sympathetic. “Does Jay have a problem with how close you guys are?”
Tani nodded, taking the out he was giving her. It was true after all. Jay had a massive problem with her relationship with Kabir and that was without him knowing the true nature of her feelings.
“That’s got to be hard on you guys,” Ved said quietly. “But I understand that you have to prioritise the man you’re in love with.”
But she wasn’t doing that, Tani thought. The man she was in love with was sitting at the end of this table, not touching his plate, looking at her.
“It explains Kabir’s mood also.”
Don’t ask, she warned herself. DON’T ASK!
“Kabir’s mood?” she asked, keeping her voice low enough to not be heard at the other end of the table.
Ved sighed. “He’s like a bear with a sore head. Angry, bitter, reclusive…it’s almost like he’s regressing to his childhood.Maybe losing you as a friend is taking him back to that time in his life.”
“No,” she whispered. “He’s come so far from those days. Why would it?”
“Because you’re the first friend he ever made, Tan Tan. Losing you probably makes him feel like he’s losing his grip on this life and who he’s become.” Ved sighed. “But this is not your problem. You focus on your marriage and the life you’re building with Jay. Leave Kabir to me.”
“So, are we going shopping now?” Maya’s voice broke into their hushed conversation. “Post lunch?”
“Yeah.” Tanisha nodded. “I need an outfit for the haldi. Ma has got the rest of it under control.”
“And Kabir needs clothes too,” Kimi put in bossily from the other end of the table. “And I’m going to choose them. I know the perfect colour palette for his outfit.”
Advik raised an eyebrow. “I thought Kabir’s colour palette was black or was it shades of black?”
“Midnight, an hour past midnight, the sooty ink, and,” Rehan pretended to think it through, “oh yeah, darker than dark black.”
Kabir reached over and smacked the back of his head, almost sending him face first into his food.
“But you can’t wear black,” Kimi declared.
“Why not?” Kabir sipped from his glass of fresh lime soda.
“Because Tani isn’t,” Kimi said blithely. “And you always twin with Tani.”
Time slowed at the table, sound fading away, as Tani met Kabir’s gaze.
“Not anymore,” Kabir said slowly. “Tani’s twinning with Jay now.”
“Oh shit, yeah!” Kimi exclaimed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t still twin with her.”
“That’s exactly what it means, Kimi,” Tani said quietly but firmly. “Don’t cause trouble, Shit Stirrer.”
