“I’ll walk you back,” he said, his tone inflexible. “I don’t want you going back alone.”
Why? Because she wasn’t capable of keeping herself safe? Because of what she’d said to him earlier tonight? She didn’t sayanything, keeping her gaze on their feet, watching his large flip flops with the frog patterns on them kick up sand as they moved. She could sense him looking at her, that intense gaze burning through the top of her head and leaving her even more flustered.
He helped me feel safe again.
Oh God, why was she such a weirdo? Why did she always make things so awkward and embarrassing? They’d made it to the floor with their rooms by now. She’d barely noticed the trip back, her mind churning over all the bad choices she’d made that night. Her stomach twisted, a sharp, familiar, pain knifing through her.
“You’re thinking about what I said, aren’t you?” she said as they reached her door. She stopped in front of it, turning to face him, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
“You’ve said many things tonight,” he replied, not looking away from her. “Which one are you obsessing over?”
“You’re thinking about why I said Ashish helped me feel safe again. You’re wondering what he’s done to make me feel safe.” She felt strangely lightheaded, almost like she was floating out of her body, disassociated from the embarrassing scene playing out. For once, she was grateful for it.
“I’m not thinking about that at all.”
“I can feel you looking at me, trying to figure me out. That’s why you walked me back because I said Ashish helped me feel safe and-“
“I walked you back,” he broke through her escalating tirade, his voice calm and flexible, “because I am capable of basic manners, despite what you obviously think of me.”
Oh.
The balloon of her insecurities deflated slowly, leaving her feeling drained and exhausted.
“I guess,” she said in a whisper, “I’ll get some sleep now. Goodnight. And thank you for the dinner.”
He didn’t reply, just watched her with those implacable eyes. Vedika swiped her room card, unlocking her door and pushing it open.
“Vedika.”
She froze, the sound of her name in his deep, husky voice strangely foreign and yet, arresting.
“I wasn’t thinking about what Ashish did to help you feel safe,” he murmured. “I was thinking about why you felt unsafe to begin with.”
Her breath caught in her chest, tears sprang to her eyes and her hand trembled on the doorframe. But she didn’t answer him, nor did she look back, as she slipped into her room, shutting the door behind her.
Shutting the world out and finding, like she always did, sanctuary in solitude.
CHAPTER 10
DAKSH
The early morningbreeze blew over his face as Daksh took his morning cup of coffee out on to the tiny balcony adjoining his hotel room. There was nothing he loved more than these quiet moments in the morning, just him and his thoughts. The salty tang of the sea breeze brought with it the peace and calm that nature always afforded him.
He took a small sip of his coffee and looked out at the ocean, the horizon stretching endlessly ahead of him. This was what life was all about.
Peace. Quiet. Calm.
And then he heard her.
“What do you mean the paperwork isn’t there?” Her voice was sharp, anxiety or stress giving it an edge.
His mind mentally ran through the hotel layout, mapping her room location. Dammit. She was diagonally to his right, a floor below, and clearly also on her balcony. Unlike him though, she wasn’t enjoying the calming effect of nature.
A bird screeched suddenly, startling him as it flew overhead. The woman was stressing nature out too. He wouldn’t be surprised if a coconut fell on his head next. Or a tsunami came rushing towards him.
“That cannot be possible!” Vedika’s angry voice cut through the air.
Daksh shut his eyes, mentally groaning. Would it be asking for too much for her to shut up? Just this once?
