“Wow. That’s difficult to get in on.”
“It is, but I hear money talks, so maybe our father will have some connections or something.”
Julian hums. “Your parents?”
“My mom is kind of quiet. She doesn’t work all the time. Sometimes she can be convinced to do an interior design project, and it’s always totally stunning, but I think she’d much rather be home taking care of her kids and grandkids now. My dad is a lawyer—a partner in one of the most high-profile firms in Mumbai.”
“Wow. That’s really cool.”
“It is.”
“Is it completely different living here than it was in India?”
I don’t answer for a minute as I think about it. “So, culturally, yes. But I’m probably not the best person to answer that question. I have lived a very privileged life because my family is very wealthy. My circumstances aren’t very common anywhere.”
“That’s fair,” Julian agrees. “I can get you a chef, if you want.”
Grinning, I shake my head. “No. I kind of like not having anyone picking up after me and learning to take care of myself. It’s almost… I don’t know. Validating to know I’m capable ofdoing these things, maybe? I feel like I’m contributing to my life, even if my life is kind of standing still since I’ve paused my studies.”
“I’m sorry if you’ve felt like you weren’t,” Julian says.
“No,” I assure him. “It’s fine. I’m really enjoying meeting so many colorful people in this building. It’s like a window into how people live in this country. I love it. And… I’ve also been looking at beginning my classes again in the fall when you start hockey again.”
“That’s great, Arush,” Julian says, hugging me. “Where are you thinking of attending?”
“Well… you have been concerned about being traded since that’s your pattern.” Julian snorts. “So I guess I don’t know where yet. There are some universities where I can take a few online courses. I might enroll in them to get started. That way, I will have something set up for fall, regardless of where we go.”
If you want to keep me with you.The words don’t leave my mouth, but they’re loud in my head. I’m not sure why I’m still a little insecure in this relationship. I feel like we’re definitely in a relationship now, so I can’t quite put my finger on why I feel so… uncertain.
“I’ll talk to my agent next week and see if he has any ideas about whether I’ll be traded. He usually has a heads up that someone is talking to someone about me, since they need to involve my agent. Then we’ll know a little more.”
“When would a trade be announced?”
“Anytime. The bulk usually happens right before the draft, as teams trade for picks in the draft and whatever. But they can happen any time, really.”
“That’s inconvenient,” I say, frowning.
“It is. But we’ll get through it.”
We. I love that pronoun best of all pronouns. Trying to contain my grin as that one word does a lot to dissuade myuncertainty, I ask, “What about your family? I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you mention them except about cooking.”
“I’m the only child of two generations of only siblings on both sides. It’s always been just me and my parents. My great grandparents—all of them—had many siblings, so I do have many extended cousins. We grew up in the same city for the most part, so I was surrounded by family. I always say I’m close with my family, even though we don’t talk often.”
“I can’t imagine being an only child,” I say.
“I have mixed feelings about it.” Julian chuckles.
“Do you want kids?” I ask, remembering what I talked to my father about and thinking this is a good opening for that discussion.
“Not particularly,” he answers and leans back to look at me. “It’s something we can talk about, though, if you do.”
Okay, now I’m far more convinced that he definitely wants a future with me. I’m a little too nervous to ask outright, but I like that question a lot. A whole lot!
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I kinda don’t either.”
A soft smile rests on his lips. He leans in, pressing his forehead to mine. “I have a confession.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
