“Uh, hi.”
He blinked, took stock of their position, then scrambled out from under her. “I’m so sorry.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them. “No, I’m sorry. I’m the one who, uh, rolled over in the night. It was my fault.”
He cleared his throat, getting out of bed. “It’s fine.” He walked over to his suitcase, then gestured toward the bathroom without looking in her direction. “I’m just going to take a shower. I’ll, uh, be right back.”
When the bathroom door closed, Meghna jumped out of bed, rushing to change out of her pajamas. She didn’t want to look all disheveled when he emerged from the shower looking fresh and put together and…She started to sweat. Why did he have to be so good-looking? She was shucking off her pajama shorts and searching for her jeans when the bathroom door opened.
“I just wanted to say—” Karthik stopped, his eyes growing wide, and Meghna shrieked.
“Turn around!”
He slapped a hand over his eyes. “Why are you in your underwear?”
“I’m changing! Why weren’t you in the shower?”
“I was just going to say, umm, that it wasn’t your fault. It was nice of you to share the bed. So, thank you. And uh, it’s fine that you…that we…”
“Oh my God,” she groaned.
“Okay. I’m going back in.” He shut the door behind him.
She sat back down on the bed, punching the pillows. It was all their fault.
Ten minutes later, Karthik opened the bathroom door, clearing his throat loudly before stepping outside. Meghna rolled her eyes.
“I’m decent,” she called, zipping her suitcase closed.
He finished packing, and they left the room with their luggage in tow. They met up with Seth and the rest of the guys for a quick breakfast, but avoided making eye contact with each other. Thankfully, no one else seemed to sense anything was off. Seth monopolized her time with questions about a song he was working on, and Meghna appreciated the distraction. This was probably the last time she’d see him before the wedding. Her chest constricted but she pushed the thought to the side, trying to soak up every minute of his attention. The way he listened to her. Responded to her feedback. Asked for her opinion like he really cared what she thought.
He tried out a new line and it was so bad it made her laugh. She shook her head, grinning widely, and caught Karthik looking at her, his eyes dark and focused. Her mouth went dry. She couldn’t help but remember the way he’d looked first thing in the morning. That moment his eyes had snapped open. The way his arm had tightened around her before he’d jumped away like she was on fire.
She sipped her orange juice. It tasted acidic and bitter as it traveled down her throat. He probably regretted everything about this morning. The same way he had regretted their kiss.
She’d been flustered. Mortified. But she didn’t regret it. In another set of circumstances, in some imaginary fantasy where they wanted the same things, she would have loved to have woken up to Karthik’s arms around her. To his scratchy stubble against her cheek. To a good-morning kiss. Maybe more.
The waiter came by with everyone’s checks, dragging her back to reality. She reached for her purse but caught Karthik out of the corner of her eye, dropping a credit card to cover his bill and hers. She gave him a quizzical look, and he subtly nodded toward Seth.
She flushed. Of course. He was just keeping up appearances. Behaving like her fiancé. She took a deep breath and straightened in her seat. It didn’t matter that she found him wildly attractive. Didn’t matter that she had wanted the kiss to be real. They had an agreement, and she couldn’t lose sight of that. If Karthik could push past the lingering embarrassment and stick to the plan, so could she.
They said their goodbyes to everyone, Seth swept her up in one last hug, and then she and Karthik shared a cab to the airport.
“So…” he started, once the two of them were alone in the car.
“So,” she said, doing her best to sound calm. “We’re going to pretend like none of that happened.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
He nodded. “Okay, then.”
They were silent for the rest of the drive. And when they parted ways for their separate flights, Meghna stuck out her hand.
Karthik reached out to shake it, a bemused expression on his face.
“See you at the wedding,” she said firmly.
