They didn’t really need a picture, and honestly Meghna didn’t reallywanta picture of this moment, but it felt too awkward to refuse. She handed her phone over, posed with Karthik, and took it back without even checking to see how the picture had turned out.
They continued to their destination and paid to get inside the building, but once there, she didn’t enjoy any of it. She kept getting distracted by the new weight on her hand. By the way it caught the light and cast sparkles on the floor. After a few minutes, they went back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.
Once dressed, she pulled up the wedding website to check the address for tonight, freezing when pictures of Seth and Julie filled her screen. She dropped onto the edge of the bed. She’d remembered that Seth had proposed to Julie in that park, but now that she’d been there herself, she recognized the background of these pictures.
Seth had proposed on the steps of the Parthenon. Very close to the spot where Karthik had given her the ring.
She zoomed in. Seth knelt in front of Julie, a large grin on his face. Julie’s hands were plastered against her cheeks in surprise. The light hit both of them just right, illuminating their skin, setting them aglow.
Meghna continued scrolling. Seth must have hidden some photographer right before he popped the question because all of these pictures looked professional. Like something out of a magazine. Glossy and bright and perfect.
Nothing like the sad, quick, phone-camera-quality picture she and Karthik had just taken. She left the website, pulling the picture up for the first time. The day had been cloudy, so the image had turned out a little grainy. Shadows played across their bodies. Still, it hadn’tcome outthatbadly. Karthik’s arm was loose around her shoulders, and she leaned into him, looking directly at the camera with a decent smile.
But the expression on Karthik’s face took her by surprise. His lips curved up, the gesture small but genuine. As if he was actually happy in that moment. As if he was content. But he wasn’t facing the camera. His head was tilted down and to the side. He was looking at her.
She stared at the picture for several more moments. She knew it was fake. That he was just pretending. But for a second, she wished that it could all actually be real.
She imagined that moment as a real proposal. He would be awkward. With shaky hands and uncertainty. And she’d laugh, soaking up every moment. She’d probably stop him mid-speech, making him smile in relief. He’d slide the ring onto her finger and kiss her. A back-bending, passionate, straight-out-of-a-movie kiss. And that same stranger would come up and take this grainy, imperfect picture. Karthik would smile down at her, just like he had then, but this smile would be real.
Meghna’s phone chimed, disrupting her daydream. Karthik was downstairs waiting for her. She got off the bed, took a final look in the mirror, then went down to meet him.
Karthik pulled at his cuffs, and Meghna drank in one of her favorite sights: Karthik in a suit. He always looked impeccable. Put together in a way she never managed to be. But tonight, she felt an…awareness that she never had before.
His gaze tracked over her body, pausing where the ring sat on her finger.
“It looks good on you,” he said.
She flushed, glancing down at the ring, then back at him. “Thanks.”
They continued to the rehearsal dinner. Meghna had taken only a few steps inside when someone swept her into a hug.
“Hey, girl,” the man said warmly, squeezing her tighter.
Meghna pulled herself out of the heavy arms around her and turned to see who it was. “Eric?”
“Who else?”
She laughed. “Hi. You’re here early.”
He checked his phone and frowned. “I’m right on time.”
“Exactly. That’s early for you,” she teased.
He snorted, then reached a hand toward her, clearly intending to ruffle her hair in retaliation. She took a large step backward, her back bumping against Karthik’s chest.
“Don’t touch the curls,” she said. “Seriously. You know how easily they frizz.”
Karthik’s arms came around her waist, pulling her firmly against him.
“I like when they frizz,” Karthik said into her ear, loud enough to be overheard, making it clear he was only saying it for Eric’s benefit.
Still, Meghna’s face warmed as she remembered what Karthik had said back in Dallas. How he’d liked the way her hair had looked first thing in the morning. How her frizzy curls had made him imagine messing her hair up even more.
She absently touched a piece of hair, tucking it behind her ear.
“Holy hell,” Eric said.
Meghna’s hand froze mid-movement. “What?”
