Anni narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed. ‘Okay, that explains so much,’ she said sarcastically. ‘But Kaavi, this totally makes sense now, why you never let me set you up with any guys.’
‘No, Anni. I didn’t let you set me up because you wanted to match me with dweebs.’
‘Hey! Not all of them were dweebs. Gavin isn’t a dweeb.’
Neel, trying hard to sound indifferent, asked with a perfectly flat tone, ‘Gavin?’
‘Yeah, Gavin. His family owns The Grand Meyer,’ Anni said.
Neel nodded slowly. ‘Ah, I’ve seen him around the hotel a couple of times. Also, Riya’s Lounge, right?’
‘Yeah, he’s a silent partner. Bought the bar for his ex-girlfriend,’ Sen explained.
‘Oh. People do that?’ Neel asked.
‘You should talk,’ Kaavi shot back, not even thinking about it. ‘Here you are having supper with your soon-to-be ex-wife.’
There was a sharp gasp from both Shona and Anni.
‘It’s complicated,’ Kaavi and Neel said at the same time.
That was Sen’s cue to change the subject.
About 20minutes later, once the plates were cleared and the dishes done, Sen asked Kaavi to join him in Shona’s sewing room, which doubled as his study.
He closed the door behind her.
‘What’s going on with Neel?’ he asked, arms folded.
Kaavi leaned against the wall. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Are you guys splitting up?’
‘There are divorce papers at the apartment,’ she replied.
‘When did he serve you?’
‘He came to Rally just to serve me. Then my father died. So you can see how that looks, right?’
‘No, I can’t. What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying he’s only here because he feels sorry for me. He can’t go through with the divorce now, not right after my father died. That’s why he’s sticking around. But let’s be honest Sen, he came here for one reason – to end it.’
Sen didn’t flinch. ‘Okay. So why haven’t you signed the documents then?’
Kaavi rolled her eyes. ‘I hate when you go into lawyer mode.’
‘Just answer the question.’
She looked away, studying the hem of a half-sewn dress on Shona’s work table.
Sen started laughing. When he finally stopped, he shook his head, grinning.
‘Almost two years ago, you called me dumb because I couldn’t tell Shona how I felt. You practically yelled at me. Now look at you.’
‘Hey, it’s not the same thing,’ Kaavi protested.
‘How so?’
