“ ‘Cheersing’ is not a word,” Eric cut in from across the table.
“Well, it should be,” Meghna said. “What would you call it?”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about toasting?”
Meghna rolled her eyes. Eric replied by sticking his tongue out at her.
“All right, children. That’s enough. But for the record, she’s right,” Mark said to Karthik. “You’re supposed to make eye contact.”
“Otherwise it’s seven years of bad luck,” Meghna said.
“No, it’s seven years of bad sex,” Mark said.
“So that explains it,” Eric muttered loudly.
Meghna laughed, but stopped quickly when Karthik didn’t join in. He sat very still with no sign of amusement on his face.
She waited for the conversation to shift to another topic, then dropped her voice.
“Hey, is something wrong?”
Surprise and a touch of guilt crossed his face. “No. Nothing’s wrong,” he said quickly.
Meghna frowned. “Is this about last night? Because really, it’s okay. And I—”
“Do you want to dance?” he asked.
Meghna looked at the dance floor. “Right now?” Seth and Julie were still in the middle of their first dance.
“No. Later. Whenever.”
“Umm. Sure. But are you sure you’re okay? Because you seem—”
“I’m fine,” he said curtly.
The hair on the back of Meghna’s neck stood up straight. Something was definitely wrong.
“I think we should talk about whatever’s bothering you,” she said quietly. “Did you get some news about your parents?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it?”
Applause broke out as Seth and Julie’s first dance ended, and Meghna instinctively clapped her hands together. A voice invited everyone onto the dance floor, and Karthik stood up, extending his hand to her.
“You coming?”
She got up, lifting her head so she could look him straight in the eye. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing’s going on.”
“I don’t believe that.”
He didn’t say anything in response. He just stood there. Stubbornly. His hand was still in front of his body, palm up.
“Fine,” she said. She put her hand in his. “We’ll dance, but we need to talk later.”
He led her past the tables to the edge of the dance floor, then held her the same way he had in Miami: his arms around her body, both hands pressed against her lower back, his face right above hers.
