“About practicing.”
Karthik blanched, his face turning ashen.
“Are you okay?”
Karthik coughed. “I’m fine.”
He reached for the unopened bottle of water sitting on the dresser and gulped a good chunk of it down.
Meghna’s eyebrows rose. “Are you sure you’re fine? You just opened a five-dollar bottle of water.”
He reared his head back and looked at the bottle, seeing the fancy brand name and the hanging price tag the hotel had added to it. He coughed again.
“Here, come sit down,” Meghna said, guiding him to the edge of the bed. He took a seat and she moved to stand in front of him, placing the back of her hand on his forehead.
He shivered.
“Do you have chills? You don’t feel warm.”
“I’m fine,” he said, his eyes glued to the floor. She leaned back and gave him an assessing look. He didn’t have a fever, but his face was flushed.
“Are you sure? Maybe it’s the weather change. Sometimes the humidity can make it harder to breathe.”
“That must be it,” he said. “I’ll be fine once I get used to the difference.” He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
Meghna grabbed the water bottle and handed it back to him. He let out a thankful grunt, but his eyes remained closed. As he drank the water, her thoughts drifted to the conversation she had tried to start earlier.
Ever since Ankita had planted the idea of kissing Karthik in her brain, Meghna hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Images of “the kiss” kept popping into her head during inopportune times. While she was teaching. Or talking to her mother. Or trying to work on her play. On the flight to Miami, she’d decided that she just needed to get it out of her system. Just one kiss. And once it was over, she’d be able to put it out of her mind and continue her fake engagement in peace.
She’d started brainstorming ways to convince Karthik that a kiss would be necessary to keep up their charade, but she had never imagined that an opportunity would present itself this neatly. That he would be the one to suggest “practicing.” But of course, the second she brought it up, he became visibly sick. Her stomach sank. Had the idea of kissing her made him physically ill?
“Let’s go down,” Karthik suddenly said, standing up and making his way to the door.
“You sure you’re feeling up to it?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” He glanced back at the bed, his throat moving in a hard swallow. “I think it’ll get better once I’m out of this room.”
“Sure. I guess the fresh air could help.”
They took the elevator back down to the lobby, stopped at the front desk to grab some towels, then followed the signs to the resort beach.
It wasn’t too hard to find Seth and the rest of the guys. They had rented a cabana and were playing loud dance music on a portable speaker. She immediately spotted Eric and Mark, two of Seth’sgroomsmen, playing beach volleyball a few feet away from everyone else. Back in college, everyone had affectionately referred to them as “the twins,” even though they weren’t related in any way.
The two of them still looked remarkably alike, standing at the same height, with dark-brown hair and deep-set dimples. Almost all of her friends had been in love with them at one point or another, but she’d never considered them anything more than Seth’s annoying roommates. She waved at the guys, and they headed over once they spotted her.
“Meghna!” Eric shouted, bumping his fist against hers. “We need to get you a shot. Mark, did you forget the Patrón in the room or did we bring it down with us?”
Meghna laughed. “Okay, guys, it’s still bright out. I’m not ready to get wild yet.”
Mark grinned goofily. “Hasn’t stopped us!”
She shook her head in mock disapproval. “Well, I’m going to need to pace myself.” She grabbed a soda out of a nearby cooler, then dropped her bag and towel on an open lounger. Karthik mirrored her movements, dropping his towel onto the lounger beside hers.
“Guys, this is Karthik,” she said, grabbing his hand and interlocking their fingers. “My fiancé.”
“Nice to meet you, man,” Mark said.
Eric groaned. “I can’t believe all of you are getting married. We’re not old enough for that yet.”
