“What areyoudoing here?” My aunt glanced at Sebastian, a speculative gleam lighting up her eyes. “With Sebastian Laurent, no less.”
Double shit.My pulse pounded. Sebastian and I weren’t trying to keep our new status a secret, per se, but if my aunt spilled the news to my mother before I did, all hell would break loose.
“Work research.” Sebastian saved me from answering. “There are some great food shops here that we’re considering as vendors for the launch event in June.”
“Our companies are collaborating on a frozen foods line,” I added in case Meera Aunty didn’t know what he was talking about. She wasn’t really involved or interested in the business.
“Yes, I know,” she said. “I read the news and the family group chat.” She clucked her tongue. “I heard about Priya’s engagement. I can’t believe it. I always thought she’d elope or join a cult, whichever happened first.”
I forced a laugh. “No, no cult unless you consider Pilates a cult. Which some people do, I guess.”
My aunt peered down at me. She was just shy of five feet, but she had a way of looking at me that made me feel about two inches tall. “What about you? Any marital prospects? Your deadline will be here before you know it.”
Dideveryoneknow my business? I’d muted the Singh Squad, our extended family group chat, but maybe I needed to check it more often. God knew what they were saying about me in there.
“Oh, you know,” I mumbled, trying my best not to look at Sebastian. If I did, my aunt would surely pick up on our romantic vibes. It was like an aunty superpower. That was assuming she hadn’t caught us almost kissing earlier, though if she had, she would’ve mentioned it by now. “We’ll see.”
“Clock’s ticking,” she warned. For someone who was famously single, she seemed perfectly content to pester me about marriageas much as my other, married family members.
Thankfully, she didn’t stay much longer. After a few more pointed questions and vague answers on my part, she left.
“That was close,” I said after she disappeared down the block. I slumped against the bench, my adrenaline pounding.
“Do you think she’ll tell your mom she saw us?” Sebastian asked. He sounded worried.
“Maybe. I don’t know. They don’t talk much, but…” I grimaced. Ireallydidn’t want my family to know about us yet. I wasn’t ashamed of Sebastian—far from it—but the last thing we needed was my mother bombarding him with engagement ring options and wedding plans before we even hit our one-month anniversary. The pressure alone was enough to kill most new relationships.
I’d already told Sebastian all this, which was why he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“It’ll be fine,” he said. “It won’t be the end of the world if your parents find out early. We’ll deal with itifit comes up.”
“You’re right.” I attempted to find the silver lining. “But please tell me we’re going somewhere less crowded for dinner. With our luck, we’ll run into Neha, and youknowshe’ll blab.”
“Don’t worry.” The mischief reentered his eyes. “Dinner is amuchmore private spot.”
CHAPTER 32
Maya
“WELCOME TO CHEZ LAURENT.” SEBASTIAN SWEPT HISarm around his kitchen. It was a chef’s dream—top-of-the-line appliances, gleaming cookware, and a giant marble island anchoring the room. “I’ll be personally cooking your dinner. I thought it would be a nice way to end the tour—as long as you don’t mind hanging out for a bit until the food comes out.”
I melted a little at how much thought he’d put into our date. I’d expected another hidden gem restaurant for our last meal of the day, but this was even better.
“That sounds perfect,” I said.
“Great.” Sebastian smiled, a hint of relief crossing his face. “Feel free to explore the house or sit back and relax. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so.”
“Can I help? I’d rather do something more useful than lounge around.”
“As long as you stick to food prep,” he said. “I still remember the bake sale cookie disaster.”
My jaw dropped. “Okay, that’s unfair because I wasten. We had to replace the oven, but I didn’t burn the house down, did I?”
“No, you just burned a dozen perfectly good cookies.”
I responded to his good-natured teasing with a few obligatory grumbles, but my lips curled into an involuntary smile as we prepped for dinner together. I stuck to chopping vegetables and mixing sauces while Sebastian did the bulk of the work, and we quickly fell into an easy rhythm.
Some people might chafe at making their own dinner for a firstdate, but this was turning out to be my favorite part of the day. It felt so domestic, and seeing Sebastian cook wasincrediblyhot.
