“I told you. I wanted to see what was left.” Riya frowned.
Dhillon raised an eyebrow in her direction. They stood in silence for a moment.
She sighed. “I was thinking about the time I babysat Hetal and we climbed the tree.” She watched Dhillon study the ruins.
He didn’t miss a beat. “Sprained Hetal’s ankle.”
“She’ll get through this.” Riya swallowed her tears.She has to.
Dhillon finally turned to look at her. “It’s not exactly the same thing, Riya.” The accusation was clear.
“I’m sorry, Dhillon. I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t think—”
“Damn right you didn’t think.” He raised his voice. “Always so gung ho to move ahead and do the next exciting thing, no matter what the risk. Or the cost.” Waves of anger and disbelief emitted from him. “You want to risk your own life, you go ahead and do that. Stop risking the lives of people I love.”
His dark eyes bored through her, paralyzing her. He had never spoken to her like that. In all these years, with all the things that had happened, he had always included her when he spoke about the people he loved.
She should tell him. Tell him he was right, that she was dangerous to the people she cared about. Tell him he was right not to be with her. The words wouldn’t come.
Instead she looked around at the ash-covered remnants of Dhillon’s dream. “You’ve been saying you wanted to modernize the office, be more efficient. Here’s your chance. Don’t blow it.” She gave a sharp nod, the last of their bond turning to ash as she turned on her heel and walked away.
Things between them would never be as innocent as they had been before the first fire. This fire had burned away more than Dhillon’s clinic. She might have saved Dhillon’s life, but the fire had taken him from her just the same.
thirty-five
DHILLON
Dhillon strode through the hospital corridors, his heart heavy and his mind racing. His run-in with Riya a few mornings ago had drained him of the last of his energy. But she was right about one thing. He had a chance to make his practice into everything he’d ever wanted. This may not have been how he would have chosen to go about it, but it was a chance nonetheless.
Dhillon walked in to Hetal’s room without knocking and stopped in his tracks. Lieutenant Ambrose—Riya’s boss—was seated at his sister’s bedside. He was on the edge of the bed, holding her hand in his, leaning over and talking softly to her, a smile on his face. As Dhillon reeled from what he was seeing, the lieutenant—Jeff?—tucked a strand of Hetal’s hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek.
His stomach filled with acid.
“What the hell is going on here?” Dhillon demanded.
The lieutenant turned to look at him and stood, still holding Hetal’s hand. “Oh, uh, Doc...”
Hetal was glaring at Dhillon. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Hetal?”
Ambrose moved closer to the bed. The action infuriated Dhillon further; his sister did not need protection fromhim. But then he recalled Rohun moving closer to his mother as Hiral Mama fumed at her.
But this was different.
Isn’t it?
His sister met his eyes and spoke clearly. “We’re dating.”
Dhillon knew his jaw had dropped. There was a part of him that registered that his sister being in love was a good thing, but he ignored that. “Excuse me? How is that even possible?”
“Well, Bhaiya,” she said, as if speaking to a toddler, “when two people meet, they get to know each other—”
“Not funny.” Dhillon folded his arms across his chest.
Hetal smirked at him. “I don’t know. I thought it was pretty—”
“He’s a firefighter!” They were talking about Ambrose like he wasn’t even there, but Dhillon did not care.
Hetal’s eyes blazed as she sat up in her bed. “This, Bhaiya,thiswould be one of those times you could be a brother to me.” Her breath came hard and fast. “Just because you won’t allow yourself to love Riya Didi—”
