Dev nearly groaned. It had only been a few texts that had leaked, thank God. Now he kind of regretted not taking Jia up on her offer to see the rest of the lines his brother and cousin had sent.
“It would have been the girl who took the brunt of that abuse, Dev,” Chandu reminded him. “But if you’re engaged, it doesn’t matter. Now it’s a love story, not a tawdry affair or a seduction.”
Dev grimaced. Chandu wasn’t... wrong. He glanced over his shoulder. Jia’s face was buried in her hands. Her phone was on the coffee table in front of her. “Do you know... do you know how the reporters got the texts?” He hadn’t thought Arjun would do something like this, but then again, he hadn’t thought his own family was capable of a cruel prank like catfishing someone to begin with.
“I spoke with the tabloid who broke it.” Chandu had good relationships with every tabloid in Mumbai. “They said it was leaked via a mass phone hack. If you’d told me thetruth in the beginning, Dev, I would have been prepared. I assumed that photo of you embracing a girl was a publicity stunt.”
“It’s not—” He broke off as he heard a feminine voice in the background calling for Chandu, which was odd. His agent wasn’t married. He was extremely dedicated to his clients, which, for the last thirty years, had consisted entirely of the Dixit family.
The older man cleared his throat. “Your grandmother wishes to speak with you.”
Dev pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a second. “Why is my grandmother at your house?”
“I am at the compound.” The gated mansion his grandparents lived in. “We had some work to do. You know we’re both night owls.”
Then why hadn’t Chandu picked up the phone for the last few hours, while he’d been calling?
Dear God, were his agent and his grandmother... no. Impossible. Also, irrelevant right now.
“Devanand,” his grandmother said briskly, taking the phone from Chandu. “You lied to me.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hello, Aji.”
The soft murmurs went silent behind him. He glanced around to find Jia watching with a furrowed brow. She must have realized who he was talking to.
“You have your grandfather’s blood in you after all, running around and having affairs.”
He turned away from Jia again. “That is not what is happening.”
“Oh? I read those texts. You are lucky Chandu thought quick and de-escalated the situation.”
“He didn’t de-escalate anything. I am engaged—”
“And not seducing some American sweetheart, ruining her reputation. You should thank him. I don’t see why this is such an issue. If these messages are to be believed, you have feelings for this girl.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Damn it all. That bloody Arjun. If Dev said he hadn’t sent those messages, then his grandmother—or the world—would ask who did. Then he’d have to explain about Arjun.
Shweta doted on Arjun as much as she could dote on anyone, but Dev didn’t care about tanking that relationship. Oh no, he was concerned about spreading the news that Arjun had catfished Jia. He didn’t think she was a fool, but she hadn’t liked that he’d told Adil Uncle, he could tell. He couldn’t allow anyone to make her feel bad.
He hesitated a second too long, because his grandmother hmphed. “I knew it. I will not tolerate you seducing your way through another country. We have our name to consider.”
A stab of irritation hit Dev, but he shoved it down. Like their name wasn’t the only thing that was constantly considered. “I never seduced my way through the first one,” he pointed out.
“Which is why I’m surprised that it’s you I have to be having this talk with. In any case, this is all for the best. It’s time you settle down, you have the will to consider, and Chandu tells me this girl has a career, which means she is hopefully not chasing you for the money. Of course, I’ll givemy final approval after I meet her. If she’s not acceptable, well, a broken engagement will still be better than an affair.”
Oh no. “What are you talking about?”
“I am coming there. I want to see you, and you will bring this girl to me.”
He stiffened. “There is no need for that, Aji.”
“There is every need.”
Dev’s eye twitched. He dropped his voice. “This isn’t seriously going to happen.” He meant the engagement, but he also meant his grandmother dropping into their lives.
“You will not change my mind. I’ve already chartered a plane and had the servants air out the Malibu house.”
He looked out toward the slice of the ocean he could see from Jia’s living room. “What Malibu house?”
