Page 46 of Since You Stole My Heart

Kashvi turned abruptly, her gaze finally landing on him. She walked straight up to him and nudged a finger against his chest. ‘No. You listen to me. Swayam, we can’t make a lifelong commitment just because we’re in a crisis and need a quick fix.’

He started, ‘I understand—’

She dug her finger deeper against his chest. ‘No, you don’t. If you did, you would know this is a terrible idea. So drop this.’

‘I can’t. I won’t,’ Swayam said, refusing to budge.

‘You don’t even…’ she faltered, searching for the right words. ‘We haven’t even talked about last… we don’t even know what this would mean.’

He replied, his tone measured, almost frustratingly so. ‘If you give us a chance, we can figure that out. Together.’

Kashvi exhaled sharply, dragging her hands down her face. ‘This is a bad idea.’

‘But why?’

Because you won’t let it stay meaningless.

Instead, she shot back, ‘You’ve gone completely and absolutely mad. You’re asking me to marry you like you’re asking me out for coffee.’

‘I can get you one of those too, if it sweetens the deal for me,’ he said, flashing her a grin.

‘If you think that smile is going to work on me, you’re even more delusional than I thought,’ Kashvi warned, swatting at his chest.

‘Then tell me what will convince you, and I’ll make it happen,’ he said, lifting a shoulder in an unbothered shrug.

‘I don’t understand you, Swayam. This could go wrong in so many ways. It could complicate everything. It could ruin what we already have, and you’re acting like none of that matters.’

‘That’s not true. It does matter,’ he said.

‘Then why are you willing to risk it?’ she pressed.

‘Because I know what I’m risking it for. I’m okay with the possibility of getting hurt because being with you makes the pain worth it.’

‘Nothing can be worth going through that,’ she murmured.

‘Want to bet?’ Swayam asked with a hesitant smile.

Kashvi immediately shook her head. ‘I’m never making bets with you again. You literally kissed me to distract me into losing.’

‘Oh, what a glorious distraction it was,’ Swayam said, tapping her lower lip once. ‘By the way, you kissed me back, baby.’

‘That was clearly a lapse in my judgement, but it was temporary. I know you only did it to steal the pendant,’ Kashvi said, waving it off. The less she focused on how she had pulled him closer and never wanted to let go, the better.

Suddenly, his hand closed around her wrist and he pulled her into his arms. Her breath caught as she collided softly against his hard chest, his other arm coming around her waist, anchoring her to him.

‘Do you really believe I’d do that to you?’

She repeated what she’d been telling herself through the long, restless night, hoping that if she said it enough, it would become true. ‘You’ve always liked winning, even the stupid bets or pranks we do, and that pendant was a part of it, so you just… found a way to distract me. I know it was just a kiss.’

‘For someone who is so perceptive, you can be so clueless sometimes,’ he said softly, a quiet trace of sadness in his voice. ‘It was not just a kiss for me.’

‘What do you mean?’

He cupped her jaw, his thumb brushing slowly along the line of it. ‘Kash, I kissed you because I think about you more than I have ever thought about anyone else in my life. I kissed you because if I spend another day pretending I’m not consumed bythe thought of kissing you, I’ll probably lose what little sanity I have left.’

The soft contact made her gasp. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, and the quiet certainty in his voice made her heart stumble.

‘And when you kissed me back, I stopped being able to lie to myself about it. I know I joke around, I know I don’t take a lot of things seriously when I probably should, but I’m not cruel enough to kiss you just to win something.’