She gave a breathless laugh, flattered. He’d watchedallher content? The highest of compliments. “I wish I had a cheat sheet like that for you.”
Dev stroked his finger over her cheek, the most intimately he’d touched her yet. She stilled, out of fear he would stop. “You knew me before you met me. You read my words.”
What? She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, you mean your dialogue.”
“Yes. But I wrote it. I did a lot of the writing for my own character onKyunki Mere Sanam Ke Liye Kuch Bhi. I wrote some in English. Rohan and Arjun translated the rest from Hindi. Poorly, I might add.”
“So... I was talking to you?”
“So to speak.”
It was like a hundred butterflies exploded in her chest. “Dev. You should have told me. Also, I want to throw more milk in Arjun’s face. But this is very romantic.”
His chuckle was wry. “In a certain light, I suppose.”
“You’re a good writer! And you’re a romantic. Those were some mushy lines.”
He ducked his head. “Only on paper, I fear.”
“You can be mushy in real life, too. That Scrabble win made my heart flutter.”
Dev lifted her hand to his lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Her whole hand tingled. What would it feel like when they kissed for real?
His thumb played over her knuckles, like he knew. “Jia?”
“Yes.”
“We can’t get married right now.”
His words were a splash of cold water, halting all tingling. “What?” She pressed her hands against his chest, and he backed up. “You’re going to say all those beautiful things and then reject me?”
“I’m not rejecting you.” His chest rose and fell. “I realized what’s been bothering me.”
“What?”
He grimaced. “This feels like blackmail. Like you have no choice but to be engaged to me or marry me, because you don’t want your family to find out about everything that’s gone on. I don’t want that, not for either of us.”
She struggled to speak. “So that’s your objection? Youronly hesitation.”
“Yes. Are you annoyed? You sound annoyed.”
“Oh, I’m annoyed, that you think I don’t know my own mind. I wouldn’t tie myself to somebody for life, just to please my parents.”
“I’ve known many people who would do exactly that.”
She pursed her lips and tried to think.Be fair.He didn’t know that this was the new and improved Jia, one who was focused on her own happiness. “So if that concern was gone, if you knew I wasn’t doing this to keep my parents from finding out about the catfishing, we could get married tomorrow?”
“Yes, but—”
“Yes or no.”
“Yes.”
She nodded, still annoyed. “Cool. Move aside.” Jia stalked past him and jerked open the door.
Everyone in the room stopped talking when she walked in.The heroine stands in the spotlight, about to make her grand gesture for her fiancé.This went against everything she’d wanted her whole life. Her family would never respect her after this.
