The thought of her tugged hard at my chest. I’d caught glimpses of her throughout the week, but there were so many people and so much going on that I hadn’t gotten the chance to… what, apologize? Make amends? Set aside my pride like Dante had with Vivian and tell her the truth?
Another wave of restlessness rolled through me, but I regrouped and continued to make small talk with Neel.
“I’m happy to see the collaboration is going well,” he said. “Your father is also quite happy with the progress.”
“Is he.” It wasn’t a question.
My father and I hadn’t discussed work since I walked into his office and forced him to give in to my demands. In fact, we hadn’t discussed much at all. My mother acted as our buffer, her chatter about physical therapy and the latest society gossip covering up the underlying tension between us.
Neel believed my father was happy with the progress we were making, but I knew he was just waiting for me to fail with the launch event.
“Of course.” Maya’s father gave me a speculative look. “Everyone is excited for the launch event. It looks like it’s shaping up to be quite a night.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said. “I’m excited for it as well.”
He had to know about my deal with my father. They were best friends. But I couldn’t tell by his tone whether he was rooting forme to fail or succeed, or if he cared at all.
He glanced over my shoulder and flinched. “Uh-oh. Incoming,” he said. “Nice talking to you, Seb. Good luck.”
With that, the Fortune 500 CEO—one of the most powerful businessmen in the world—bolted off like the hounds of hell themselves were after him.
I understood why a second later, when Maya’s grandmother glided over. She was decked out in a richly embroidered saree and glittering heaps of jewelry.
“Sebastian,” she said. “Just the person I was looking for.”
“Good evening, Mrs. Gupta. You look wonderful. Green is your color,” I said with a smile. “How can I help?”
“Hmm. You were always a smooth talker.” She clucked her tongue, but she blushed with pleasure, nonetheless. “I hope you’re enjoying the festivities?”
“Of course. Like I was telling Mr. Singh, there’s—”
“No wedding like a Singh wedding. Yes, yes.” She waved a hand in the air. “I have to admit, this is quite the spectacle. However, you’ll never believe what happened earlier.”
A thread of amusement wound through me. “What?”
“I lost one of my rings.” Maya’s grandmother held out her hand. It was positively weighed down by gold. “It was abeautifulruby that my late husband bought for my birthday. I’m absolutely devastated.”
“I see. I assume it has as much sentimental value as the diamond earring you lost at Maya’s birthday?”
“Why, yes! It does!” She beamed, her smile suspiciously bright for someone who wasabsolutely devastated. “Could you be a dear and help me find it? I last saw it somewhere near the dance floor.” She pointed toward the floor in question. “I hate to ask, but you were so helpful with the diamond earring.”
“I didn’t find the earring,” I pointed out. I suspected she’dnever lost it to begin with, but I wasn’t dumb enough to say that out loud.
“No, but you helped rule out the conservatory, which made Diya’s search easier later,” she said without missing a beat.
I glanced at the dance floor, torn. I would bet my last dollar Maya was over there.
Her grandmother was obviously trying to set us up, but I couldn’t figure out how I felt about it. Our history was too complicated for a simple matchmaking scheme to smooth it over.
And yet…
“I’m happy to help, Mrs. Gupta,” I said. “I hope I have better luck finding the ruby than the diamond.”
“Wonderful. I hope so too.” Her eyes twinkled as she patted my arm. “Take as much time as you need. I’m going to make myself feel better at the dessert station.”
She left, and I pivoted in the other direction, toward the dance floor.
I passed by my parents, who were deep in conversation with some of my father’s business associates and their wives. Dante and Vivian stayed home because Josie was still sick, but I spotted a few of my other friends in the crowd—Vuk taking photos of Ayana in the corner, Dominic and Alessandra swaying to one of the musical performances, Kai and Isabella piling up their plates at the various food stations, which served everything from biryani to chaat and kebabs.
