“Your face when you tried to pull the trigger.” I clutch my stomach as I laugh, filing that away in my mind to remember the moment when I have to deal with Dad in the future, or a stubborn seller.
“Oh god, you’re never going to stop with the pranks, are you?” Gavin asks, speaking to the heavens for the answer.
I answer even though that feels rhetorical. “Why would I do that?” But they have been getting a lot gentler lately. Maybe I’ve subconsciously wanted to be with him for a while. Or maybe it was that damn perfect-hair, perfect-smile, perfect-body, perfect-brain combination making me weak with lust.
Gavin grabs my hands, now that the relationship conversation and the threats of mayhem are over.
“Come here and seal it with a kiss.” He tugs me down to his level.
I resist. “There are people around,” I say with all the shocked offense of a Victorian chaperone.
He drops my hands, accepting the fact that I’m not ready for others to know about...whatever this is.
“If that’s what you want, Riya.” He gives me a hot look. “But if you really want to make sure no one knows we’re involved, then...” He draws closer. I get closer as well, curious as to what he’s going to suggest. “Then we should keep up the enemy ruse.”
It takes me too long to catch on to what he means. When I do, I try to scramble back, but it’s too late and all I can do is close my eyes and mouth before Gavin throws a handful of powder at me.
In deference to our new involvement, he gets most of it on my chest. But he’s still laughing like a loon. And running away from me. How can he laugh and run at the same time? Not fair.
Taking chase, I dig into my own fanny pack.
I have to make it look believable.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After a few hours of attacking each other with powder and taking chai and samosa breaks, everyone is slumped in their chairs, exhausted.
“Hi, everyone.” I stand to get everyone’s attention. “I hope you enjoyed the event today.”
I get a chorus of cheers that make me as proud as when I get more than the upper estimate during a sale.
And now Harrison has seen firsthand how well I can put on an event.
“Thank you for celebrating Holi with me. Harrison, thank you for giving me the day. And, Sarah, thank you again for putting all this together for us.” I clap in everyone’s direction.
“And Sarah asked the staff to make some Indian dishes for dinner tonight, so we’ll be enjoying chaat, butter chicken, tandoori chicken, garlic naan and kaali daal. And some kulfi to round out the night.” All my favorites, coincidently. It’s no crime to enjoy my work.
And with the smiles I’m getting, everyone else will enjoy my work too.
“But first, showers. There’re hoses set up with towels near the house so we don’t track too much powder into Harrison’s beautiful home.”
That gets even more smiles. Wait till they discover that they’re going to be finding powder in weird places for weeks.
After hosing down, Gavin and I fall back behind Cindy and Pari, making the last of the group to walk into the house.
Gavin extends his arm out, the crook of his elbow waiting for me to tuck my hand in. There’s no one watching us, and I can already feel the heat radiating from him, so I take him up on the offer. The hose water was cold, and it’s still early spring.
Don’t people on estates have heated hoses for their exotic, delicate flowers?
“So you get to do that every year?” Gavin asks.
“We actually didn’t do it when I was young. Mom and Dad were too busy and there was no one else to celebrate with. Would have just been me, Ajay and Sonia throwing powder in a local public park. But I’m trying to get an annual Loot sponsored event started. It’ll be great publicity.”
“You really do always think about business.”
“You already knew that.”
“Yes, but not the scope of it. Monetizing a cultural festival.” He exaggerates a scandalized tone, but the corners of his mouth are tilted up, telling me it’s more banter than real judgment.
