“What? You. Are. Thirty.” She emphasized Riya’s age as if she were an old lady. Which, as far as her masi was concerned, Riya was. “Roshni has a three-year-old and one on the way.”
If not for the fact that Riya loved her masi so much, she would have bristled and possibly left the room. “I haven’t found anyone yet.”
“That can be easily remedied, huh?” Varsha Masi’s eyes held a gleam that Riya did not care for.
“No. No.” Riya shook her head. This conversation was taking a turn she didn’t want. Maybe they needed to talk more about Mom and her fried food. “I’m not ready.”
“Think about it, Riya. We know you have dated, and we said nothing. After all, you grew up in this country, and that’s how things are done here. But now? Now it is time to try the Indian way.” Varsha Masi raised a finger to silence Riya as she opened her mouth to protest. “What is the harm in a simple introduction? Meeting for a coffee? That’s how Roshni met Sebastian.”
“Sebastian was the barista where Roshni went for coffee every day in college!” Riya protested.
Varsha Masi waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever. Coffee was involved.”
Riya pressed her lips together to suppress her laugh as she caught her mother’s eye. There was laughter in her mother’s eyes, and she too was clamping her mouth shut. Varsha Masi had started to list all the eligible young men she knew who might be interested in Riya, even if she was a firefighter.
Riya was not going to win this. She figured Varsha Masi’s list of men who wanted to be married to a firefighter would be short. She sighed, resigned. “Fine. Whatever.” It might not kill her to have coffee with a guy, whereas this argument might. Besides, it wasn’t like anything was ever going to happen with Dhillon. And it would make her mom happy. It would be a nice change to do something that actually made her mom happy.
Varsha Masi grinned wolfishly. “Aren’t there single men at the fire station?”
Oh, fuck.
ten
DHILLON
“So just try a bit of plain rice with boiled chicken for tonight, and see how it goes. If she’s not better in the morning, call the office. We’ll squeeze you in,” Dhillon said into his phone as he entered the rehab facility, nearly bumping into Riya as she was leaving. He nodded at her, and she stopped. The sick dog’s owner was worried, so he was asking questions, and it was another few minutes before Dhillon was able to calm him enough to end the conversation.
Riya fidgeted with her wallet, keys and phone while she waited for him to finish his call. He was surprised she had waited, considering their argument the previous day.
“Hey. Sorry. A patient.” He analyzed her face as he had so many times before. He would like to be able to say he could read her completely, but the truth was she was still an enigma to him. He might be able to read her expressions, but only the ones she was unable to shield from him. Though, right now, she looked distracted, apprehensive. “How is she?”
“She’s recovering well.” She spoke to his shoulder, her voice clinical. Not a good sign.
“But...?” He dipped his head, trying to catch her eyes with his.
“But nothing.” Riya shrugged, still not meeting his eyes.
“What aren’t you saying?” He softened his voice and moved closer to her.
Riya shook her head but did not move away from him. “I’m fine.” She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. She still wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“You don’t have to be fine. Your mother just had a heart attack.” The urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight fell over him in a tidal wave, but he stopped just short of actually touching her. She didn’t need him.
“She’s going to be okay. I understand that. I’m fine.” She paused. “I think I’ll need to move home for a bit, however.”
And there it was. “I assumed so.”
“You did?” Her surprise sounded genuine. As if she believed that he didn’t think her capable of caring for her mother.
“Of course.” He grinned. “Youareher daughter.”
If Riya was at all put off by his proximity, she did not show it.
“Mom seemed surprised.” She looked at her fingernails. “Like she was nervous about me being home.”
Dhillon nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Your past haunts you.”
She finally made eye contact with him. Pathetic man that he was, his heart actually leaped for a moment even though she was glaring at him.
