“I can get that.” He held his hand out. There was a knock at the door. When he answered it, a hotel employee stood there.
“You requested these, sir?”
“I did. Thank you.” Roshan took the item and closed the door, turning to face Nimita. “Surprise.” He held out adjustable crutches to her.
She stared at him.
“To keep the weight off that foot.”
“Yes. I understand.” She softened, looking slightly confused.
“What?”
“I guess I’ve been taking care of myself for so long…” She shrugged.
He helped her adjust the height. “Doctor’s orders.”
“The guys are right. You do like to remind people that you’re a doctor.”
“Yup.” He took her bag. “Ready?”
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yes.” Wasn’t that obvious? “I said so, earlier.”
She rolled her eyes in amusement but did not fight him, though she held onto to her bag.
He chuckled, grabbed a bag for himself, quickly tossing in sunscreen and his reading material, and followed her to the beach.
They found a spot on the slightly packed sand with an umbrella and two lounge chairs, not too far from the water. It was early, but the air was already warm. Roshan insisted on putting towels on both chairs before allowing Nimita to sit.
She huffed a bit as she finally sat down, but it didn’t have much power behind it. Almost as if she was softening toward him.
She placed her water bottle on the small table between them as he leaned over to pull out a book.
She glanced over at him as she pulled out her own book. “NO WAY!”
* * *
No effing way.Roshan Dave was not in fact reading medical journals. He was readingObsidian Rain. It was the hottest romantasy book out right now. The third in a five-book series, it had just been released a week ago, and Nimita had only just had time to start it. She was holding the six-hundred-and-fifty-page tome in her hands.
And so was Roshan Dave.
“You read romantasy?” She didn’t even bother trying to hide her surprise.
“Yes,” he said, his gaze flicking to the hotel as if Vishal and Karan could see him. “Who doesn’t like dragons and warriors and…” he shot her a flirty smile “…sex?”
She tried and failed to control the flush that heated her face. Not because she was embarrassed, but because when Roshan saidsex, it made her think of him. Naked. She turned her head to follow his glance. “They don’t know, do they?”
“They don’t know everything about me,” he quipped.
She doubted that. These three were clearly up in each other’s business. Roshan was purposely keeping it from them. “You should be proud of whatever you’re reading,” she chided him.
“I am,” he stated, indignation oozing from him. He relaxed. “It’s just that they wouldn’t get it, so I keep it to myself. Besides, my sister is a fan.”
“Are you a true romantasy reader? Or did you pick this up to be ‘trendy’?” She made the air quotes.
He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t do trendy. My sister and I have a two-person book club. And it was her turn to choose. We read the other two already.”
