She took a sip of her water. “I know, I don’t come off as smart enough for that. But yeah, I went for a couple years before I decided to go full-time on the beauty stuff.”
“Who said you’re not smart? I think you’re quite clever.”
“You do?”
“Yes. You’d have to be to come up with fresh content as often as you do. You’re not only an actress. You’re a writer, director, and producer as well. Requires quite a few brain cells.”
She stared at him, and a slow smile split over her face. “You’ve watched my videos?”
Was it her imagination, or were his cheeks dark red? “A few. Here and there.”
“Thank you.” She winked. “Hope you let the ads play.”
“So you’re the proper youngest then.”
Dev was changing the subject, but she’d allow it. She didn’t want to tell him how many episodes of his soap she’dwatched when she became infatuated with him. Not that he was infatuated with her, of course.
Yeesh. Now she was going to blush. “I am.” Jia smiled fondly and put down her phone. “Sometimes I feel like Ayesha and I have two extra moms and a cool aunt.”
“Speaking as a responsible oldest child, I can assure you they probably mean well.”
“I tell myself that a lot.” She paused. “I’m sorry about your brother, by the way.” It felt weird that she’d talked to Rohan shortly before he died. She was glad they’d only conversed a little before it had petered out.
“Thank you.”
“And your grandfather as well.”
He nodded. Their drinks arrived. “Are you ready to order?” their waiter asked.
“Yes, I’ll have the crab cakes,” she said.
Dev ordered a pasta dish, using flawless Italian pronunciation. Jia sipped on her iced tea when the waiter left. “Your Italian’s good.”
“I spent a few months there a couple years ago. Languages are a family skill. My niece is more facile than I am.”
“Can you tell me about your niece?” For fake dating scam purposes, not because she was interested. Like she’d brought him to a romantic Italian restaurant for the scam.
Dev’s shoulders relaxed, and a warm smile crossed his face, transforming it. He tapped on his phone, spinning it around to show her. “That’s her. Luna. I’ve had custody of her since my brother passed.”
The photo had been taken on the Santa Monica pier, soit must be recent. The girl in the photo wore a pair of black jeans and a dark gray tank top. She was lanky and pretty, her hair curling cutely around her round face. “I didn’t know your brother had a child.” She hadn’t done a deep dive on Dev’s family, but she had cursory knowledge.
“He kept her well shielded from the press.”
“That’s thoughtful.”
“Yes.” He sounded mildly bemused and shook his head when she glanced up. “My brother wasn’t the most thoughtful man in the world. But he had her young, and her mother disappeared, so I give him some credit for not just shipping her off to some boarding school. Or ignoring her altogether.”
“She looks sweet. How is she adjusting to America?”
Dev tucked the phone back into his pocket. “Very well. She had her first day of school today. I was worried, but she seems to be pretty excited about it.”
“Why were you worried?”
“She’s never been to a real school before. Only tutors.”
“I hated school. But it’s probably good for her to have the experience, at least.”
He nodded. “That’s what she said.”
