“It’s the next move. It makes sense.” He shook his head. “It’s actually more than the next move. It’s…it’s the kind of job I’d thought I’d get in ten years. Maybe fifteen. I still can’t believe they’re really considering me.”
Meghna leaned back in her seat. It sounded like a big deal. And even though it sounded incredibly boring to her, it was obviously important to him. No wonder he was so stressed about the party. “Will you miss any of the day-to-day work? If you’ll be spending all your time managing?” If her school asked her to be the vice principal, she’d miss being in the classroom.
He blinked. “I won’t miss it. I’ll still be involved. But this is what I’ve been working toward. Where everything has been leading.”
“All right, then,” she said, deciding to drop it. “What do you do for fun?”
He stared at her blankly.
“For fun?” she asked again. “I write plays, like I mentioned earlier. And I swim. I also watch an unhealthy amount of reality television, but everyone has their vices. What about you?”
He looked away for a long moment. “I run,” he finally said.
Of course. He justhadto be one of those people who liked to run. Not that she had anything against people who ran. She did it too, but couldn’t imagine describing it asfun. Though she had to admit that it suited him. She could almost picture his perfect hair flying in the breeze, his muscles showcased in his tight running clothes. If she saw him jogging past her in the park, she’d definitely take another look. Maybe more than one. She’d probably smile at him, and he’d just stare right back, his eyes dark and intense, just like they were now. And then…
Suddenly, his voice cut through, shattering her daydream.
“Who’s Seth?” he asked.
Meghna jumped, but tried to hide it by sipping her drink. Unfortunately, in her haste she choked on the water, accidentally swallowing an ice cube. It slid uncomfortably down her throat.
“Who told you about Seth?” she asked once she recovered.
“Your brother,” he said, watching her closely. “Seth’s the one who called you at the party, right?”
“Right.” She mentally added another thing to fight with Samir about whenever she gathered the nerve to confront him. “He’s the one getting married.”
Karthik leaned forward, his eyes trained on hers. “He must be important to you.”
Her heartbeat doubled. What did he know?
“Why would you say that?” she asked as casually as she could manage.
“Well, didn’t you say you were part of the wedding party?”
God, did he remembereverythingshe said? She couldn’t even remember telling him that.
“I am,” she said, making an effort to appear composed and collected. “I’m the best man.”
She expected some kind of response to that. Raised eyebrows. A shocked exclamation. Maybe even aYou? The best man?But he did none of that. He just looked at her thoughtfully and took a sip of his water. She found it unnerving.
“Do you have any plans while you’re in the city?” he asked after a moment.
“Not really,” she said, relieved that any questioning about Seth was over. “I know we have that dinner with your parents tonight, but I don’t have anything else figured out. I’ll probably just walk around and find a bookstore. Go to the park.”
“You’re not seeing a show?”
“I looked into it, but didn’t buy any tickets.” She hadn’t been sure of their schedule for the weekend.
“We should go to one,” he said.
“You like theater?” For some reason, she hadn’t imagined that he was a fan.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been.”
“Really? My parents always took me and Samir whenever the shows on tour stopped in Dallas. They were good, but I would have died to have grown up in New York. To see performances with the original casts. I can’t believe you live here and have never been.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “Yeah, well, I grew up in Queens. We weren’t exactly next door to Broadway. My dad would have thought going all that way for some singing and dancing was a waste of time.” He shook his head in disgust, making it clear he felt the same way too.
