“Who needs food?” she asked, climbing on top of him.
Hours later, he woke again, their legs entwined, her head on his chest, soft hair everywhere. A sense of calm, no,contentmentsettled over him.
She turned her head to him and opened her eyes. “We haven’t showered yet.” There was a sparkle in her eyes.
He pulled her on top of him. “That’s a problem.”
They showered together, slow and thorough, before finally conceding to clothes and eating breakfast, even cold.
Nimi curled up on the sofa, again in his T-shirt, holding a mug of coffee. Her hair was still damp from the shower, her face fresh and makeup free.
“That was fun,” she said over the mug.
He grinned. “That was fun.” He had completely forgotten about the patient charts he needed to review.
“I guess I should have mentioned this before…but damn can you kiss.” She grinned at him, her eyes darkening. He felt a power he had never really felt before. “But I feel like I should be honest with you. I can’t really do a relationship right now.”
He snapped his eyes to her over his coffee mug. He agreed with her. He wasn’t really looking for a relationship, either. So why did her words hit so hard? “Yeah. No. Me, too. I’m not in a relationship-y kind of place.”
She seemed to relax. “So we agree. This is just fun. Until I leave?”
He crawled over the bed to where she sat. “Right.” That was all he could really commit to—some fun. His schedule did not allow for anything serious. “In which case, we should not waste time.” He put down her coffee and pulled her into his lap. “I’m going to get as much of you as I can.”
She started to lift the T-shirt off again. Lucky he hadn’t bother to put one on. He moved to kiss her.
* * *
They dressed and took care of the guys before walking to the bookstore and picking up the book Malini recommended. “You sure your foot is okay?” He glanced at Nimi’s feet. Nimi still had a slight limp, but she didn’t seem to need the crutches.
“Yes. It still hurts a bit, but I was hoping to take the bandage off.”
“I’ll take a look at the hotel.” He nodded. “I’m impressed they had two copies of the book.”
“I was hoping to get my hands on this. It’s so popular right now.” Nimi’s eyes lit up, hugging the book as they walked back. She looked like a kid in a candy store.
“You really do love to read, don’t you?”
“Yes. When I was a kid, it was really the only vacation I could get. I’d lock myself in my room and get lost in all these different worlds…” Her gaze softened as if she were actually losing herself in a book.
“Why do I feel like there’s more to that?” He focused on her as they waited for the light to change.
She inhaled, and the light turned. Roshan stayed silent. Something about her body movement told him that he was right, and she might need to share.
They walked a few minutes in silence. When she spoke, there was a wistfulness to her voice. “My dad was my hero. He was tall and strong and brilliant. He always challenged me to be my best, to question the status quo. Then he was diagnosed with MS.”
Roshan kept quiet though he had questions. He hadn’t known about the MS.
“He lost his sight just before the diagnosis. It was a pretty scary time. My mom, my sister and I did everything we could for him. But he hated being dependent on us for every little thing.” She paused. “His sight came back after a month or so, and then he almost immediately was unable to use one arm. That cleared up more quickly, but the whole experience terrified him. It terrified us all, quite frankly. My dad was a giant to us, the foundation in our lives—in my life—and now all of a sudden, he was fragile. At any time, his body could betray him again, and we lived in fear of that. My mom and my sister treated him like an invalid, even when he was healthy. I disagreed with them. I tried to coax my dad into being fearless again, but my father had been spooked by his sudden blindness and paralysis and was inclined to follow Reena and my mom’s lead.”
“You became the outcast.”
She nodded, hugging the book tighter. “Books, especially books with strong South Asian female leads, didn’t become my escape, they became my teachers. If these characters, who were written by women who were like me, could be strong and fight not only for themselves but for others, then so could I. These books gave me the strength to defy my mom when she pushed for marriage. They were a comfort when she died and provided courage when I opted to leave home.” She paused, then chuckled. “Pretty screwed up, huh? I guess you didn’t sign up for that story.”
He stopped walking to look her in the eye. “I’m signed up for whatever you want or need. I’m honored you shared that with me.”
She stared at him, disbelief all over her face. As if no one had ever said these things to her before. “I need to keep this light,” she finally said, gesturing between them.
“I’m light,” he said, adding actual lightness to his voice.
