Turn around? Did someone steal Roshan’s phone? Vishal. Of course. She let out a breath. Vishal was messing with her. Disappointment, strong and sudden, overwhelmed her.
She sighed as her body collapsed under weight of it.
Turn around. Please!
What? Okay. Now Vishal was going too far. A shadow fell across her, and she did turn around to see who was walking so close to her. But as she turned, Finn jumped and started barking and wagging so hard she thought he might fall over.
“Aw. Hey, Finn!”
That warm deep voice reached into her heart and set it thudding. She fully turned around to see Roshan kneeling next to Finn, covering him with his whole body while Finn tried to lick every part of Roshan, his tail a blur of doggie joy.
Roshan let himself be pushed over into the sand by the dog, who proceeded to lick his face to his heart’s content. Roshan’s deep laugh was a balm to her soul.
“Hey, buddy,” Roshan continued. “You did miss me, didn’t you?” He managed to sit up.
Nimita was met with that smile and those eyes that haunted her nights and days. She could not believe what she was seeing. As if her heart hadn’t been getting a workout, hearing Roshan use babytalk for Finn was the last straw. She melted, still very, very confused. She knelt, still facing him.
“This…is…your dog?” That was really all she could manage.
Roshan grinned at her and then at the golden retriever currently showing them his belly. “Yes. Finn is my dog.”
“I…” She paused. “What…?”
Roshan nodded. “Yeah. That’s about how I felt when I saw this, this morning.” He turned his phone to her, and she saw the picture Molly had taken of the two of them and Finn.
“What?” Her brain was not functioning correctly.
Finn calmed down and sat beside where Roshan was still kneeling. He was really here. Finn was really his dog.
“Surprise,” he said softly.
Then she got it. “Molly is your sister? Malini, oh,Mali.”
She rose on her knees and moved to him. She didn’t think. Sure, not thinking, acting on her gut had gotten her into trouble before, but right now, she didn’t care. And she could not have stopped herself anyway. She leaned in and kissed him.
His scent transported her back to the island. He was familiar and new all at the same time. No sooner had her lips touched his than he pulled her close and kissed her back. They both ignored Finn’s yelp for attention.
As much as she tried to fight it, as much as she did not want to admit it, kissing Roshan was like coming home. Whether he felt the same way or not, Nimita was home in his arms.
* * *
This was where he belonged. On the beach with Nimita. Truth was, he belonged anywhere Nimita was. The fact that she was kissing him right now was a relief and a joy.
“So Molly is your sister?” Nimita asked for the third time, as they walked back to his place, hand in hand, Finn trotting along peacefully beside him. “Mali, rather,” she corrected her slight mispronunciation.
“Yes.”
They’d reached his place. Which was Mali’s place.
“Those are gorgeous flowers,” Nimita said, noting the yellow-orange blooms that were planted along the walk. “You planted them,” she said with sudden realization.
“Yes. California poppy. Come in.” He led her in and to the breakfast bar. He wanted to strip both of them of clothing and lock them in his bedroom, but he was suddenly nervous, quite unsure of how to proceed. He put water out for Finn, who lapped it up and curled himself up in the sitting room.
Roshan really had not thought past finding her. “Um…are you hungry, I can make us something.” He opened the fridge. It was empty. Weird. Malini usually kept it stocked. “Or I can order takeout.”
“I’m good,” she said.
“Okay. Good.” He turned back to her. “Coffee? Tea? Water?”
