Still jet-lagged and sore from his beating, Roshan was ready for bed. The guys insisted they have just one drink. Karan ordered three mai tais to a round of groans.
“It’s Hawaii. You have to have at least one,” Karan insisted.
Roshan had acquiesced.
“What is with you, Roshan? You don’t even talk to Nimita. She is smart and funny and hot. You could be civil,” Karan said. “I thought you were friends in high school.”
Roshan studied his mai tai. They had been friendly. Friends even. Until he’d messed it up. Something no one knew about, except for him. And Nimita. As far as he was concerned, he deserved that beating she had given him, for reasons other than defending herself from an intruder.
He downed his mai tai. “I’ll have a bourbon. One rock,” he told the bartender. “I talk to her,” he defended himself to his friends. “Besides, I don’t date, remember?”
“Passenger seat driving is not the same as talking. Listen, just because it didn’t work out with one woman does not mean you’re a bachelor for life. You and Simmy just wanted different things,” Karan said.
“Have you been talking to my mom?” Roshan asked, half joking. His friends clammed up. He shifted his gaze from one guilty friend to the other. “Oh my God, youhavebeen talking to her. She called you?”
Vishal collapsed. He never could keep a secret. “She did. She knew we were going to see you, and she wanted us to talk to you.”
“You should have said no.”
Their eyes widened. “Are you crazy? You don’t say no to an auntie. Especiallyyourmom.”
“So you’ll set me up with the first woman who comes along?” Roshan shook his head at his friends.
Vishal tutted. “We weren’t going to set you up with anyone. But then, Nimita showed up, and come on. She’s smart, well-traveled, beautiful—”
“And she has no interest in Roshan whatsoever,” Karan said. “In fact, it seems like she hates you.”
“Yeah…” mused Vishal. “There is that. And she did kick his ass. Which was amusing.”
Karan laughed. “It really was.” He paused. “Ooh—maybe that’s a sign!”
Vishal rolled his eyes.
Roshan glared at his friends. “I don’t see either of you getting in line to get married.”
“Why do you think we want the focus on you?” Vishal said.
Roshan gave what must have been the first real smile of the day. “You two suck, you know that?” And because he already knew their response, he said, “I need new friends.”
“Go ahead. Make all the friends you want,” Vishal said.
“’Cause we’re your brothers. We are here for life.” Karan downed his drink. “Come on. Surf lessons at sunrise.”
Roshan finished his own drink and stood. These idiotswerehis brothers.
They always had his back. So maybe there was something to the whole Nimita thing. But Roshan knew what the guys didn’t. Roshan knew how poorly he had treated Nimita on graduation day. Any thoughts of romance with her had been washed away long ago.
Chapter Four
“So the thing we’ll work on first is paddling out and getting the pop-up.” Nimita was definitely a morning person. She had come to the beach with a pep in her step and energy for days.
The air was already warm, and the sun was up. Roshan still winced a bit when he moved. She’d left bruises.
“We’ll start on waves that have already broken and then try catching some waves.” She rested her gaze on him. “Basics first. Like chemistry.”
There was no judgment in her tone or expression. In fact, he recognized her neutrality—if he wasn’t actually on a white sand beach in Hawaii, he would have sworn he was sitting at his parents’ kitchen island in Maryland getting ready to balance chemical equations.
It was surprisingly easy for Roshan to lean back into the role of student. Especially when Nimita had always proven herself to be a fabulous teacher.
