“Time to cut the cake.” She reached up, and he stilled, but she was only brushing something off his shoulder. Nonetheless, the wifely gesture pleased him.
He looked down at his niece. “Luna, I’m not sure I told you how pretty you look tonight.”
Luna preened. She was beautiful, in a pale yellow dress Aji had brought for her. “Thank you. Jia taught me how to bring out my curls and minimize frizz.”
It was thanks to his hundreds of hours of watching Jia’s channel that Dev even knew what that meant. “Ah. Interesting.”
His niece edged closer to him. “Did Aji speak to you?”
“Yes.” He turned to his wife—wife! “Luna and Adil Uncle will be staying here for the week.”
“Oh. Nice.”
“I was thinking I’d go get their clothes from the house tonight and come back. You don’t mind, do you? I’ll be back late, so we can see each other in the morning.”
Jia’s brow furrowed for a second. “Um, sure. That’s great.”
“Good.” He lowered his voice as Luna wandered away. “Are you happy?”
Her frown cleared. “Very.”
“HE SEEMS CUTE.”
“Cute? He’s hot.”
“Can you get me Arjun’s autograph? It’s not for me, it’s for a friend.”
Jia smiled at the screen of her tablet. She’d come into the bedroom to plug it in and say goodbye to her sisters. Though it had been her idea, she was sad that they hadn’t been able to be here. “Thank you guys for staying up so late.” They’d dressed up, too, though they were all the way across the country in their own homes.
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Noor said warmly, and then yawned. “But I do have to get to bed.”
“Me too,” Zara said.
She said her goodbyes to the two of them and their screens winked off. Sadia took a sip of her lemonade and studied Jia. “Um, do we need to have a talk tonight?”
“A talk about what?”
Sadia cleared her throat. “You know. Birds and bees.”
Jia’s eyes widened. “For crying out loud. I was in medical school, Sadia. And I’ve had internet access forever. I know about the birds and bees.”
Sadia fiddled with her shirt. “But you’ve never...”
“I’ve never wanted to,” Jia pointed out. “Don’t worry. I’m looking forward to this and know what to expect.”
“Okay, but... if it’s not that great the first time, that’s okay. Sometimes it takes practice to get in the groove of things. And if he’s not that good, but eager to please, you can work with that, as well. There’s toys! And lots of material about—”
Jia nearly threw her tablet away. “Can we stop, please?”
“You’re happy with this, right?”
Jia smiled softly. Everyone was asking her that tonight. “Iknow it’s sudden, but yes. I’m happy.”
“I’m not worried about it being sudden for you. You always did make faster decisions than anyone. I used to worry about it, but I don’t any longer. You know what you’re doing.” Sadia gave her a warm grin. “Good night. Sneak away and kiss your handsome husband at least once tonight when Mom and Daddy aren’t looking.”
Her handsome husband was going to leave soon to go get Luna’s things, and Jia probably wouldn’t see him until tomorrow. Actually, she probably wouldn’t have a private meeting with him until tomorrow night, after her parents left for the airport. Which was disappointing as heck.
She wasn’t sure what she’d envisioned for her wedding night, but certainly, she’d hoped for at least a kiss. And more.
