& Then They Loved (Ampersand Love #3)

21. Promise

21

Promise

Vera

Fourteen years ago.

“ W hat is this?”

Vihaan raked a hand through his hair, ruffling it in an inherently boyish move. Since surprise had rendered her immobile, he backtracked and held his hand out, waiting till she slipped her fingers into his palm.

“This is an apology,” he confessed, leading her into the grove that was their private meeting spot. Vera canvassed the area around her, noting the bouquet of wildflowers wrapped prettily in a red bow. With candles already lit inside glass holders, and a picnic blanket laid beneath the scented canopy of the rosewood tree, the woodland area she’d become used to visiting looked idyllic. The serene waters of the lake beside them glimmered as the drowsily setting sun cast a golden glow upon every surface.

She turned to see Vihaan watching her with cautious optimism lighting his cinnamon eyes. When they’d last met a few days ago, Vera had unloaded her frustrations on him. Her unstable emotions had caused her to react harshly to his words. She’d ruminated over it since then, coming to the conclusion that while she wasn’t wrong, neither was he. Vihaan didn’t know any differently after all. And he’d changed a lot in a few months. She hadn’t been fair to him in that interaction.

“You don’t need to apologise. I overreacted.”

His shoulders relaxed visibly when she said that, and she felt worse.

“I know how hard you work,” Vihaan acknowledged, lifting her hand up to drop a kiss on her knuckles. “I didn’t mean to belittle your efforts when I asked you to leave the library.”

She squeezed the hand he still held. “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re spoiled.”

“I am.”

“You’re more than that.” She wrapped her arms about his waist and pressed her lips into his shoulder, mumbling, “I’m sorry.”

“No harm done,” Vihaan chuckled, kissing her cheek. “Maybe this is better.”

Frowning, she leaned back, staring up at his handsome face. “Better?”

Vihaan nodded, helping her sit down before plunking himself next to her. “I got a chance to figure out a good apology and practise what I wanted to say.”

Before she could ask what that was, he reached into the basket he’d brought with him, pulling out a rectangular box wrapped in a shiny silver wrap. Bashfully, he extended the gift to her.

“It’s not my birthday,” Vera quietly said, making no attempt to accept his offer .

“I know that. I wanted to give you something anyway.”

“I don’t have a gift for you.”

He groaned in exasperation. “Princess, I’m begging you right now. Please take it before you make me cry.”

The idea that he’d burst into tears was so absurd, it made her giggle. Finally, she plucked the gift from his hand, weighing it gently. She turned it around, wondering what it could be.

Vera tore into the packaging as carefully as possible, catching a glimpse of a blood-red box underneath. Her snail speed caused Vihaan to sigh restlessly. She hazarded a glance at him, confused why he looked so nervous. She would love anything he gave her. The thought mattered more than the gift itself.

Or so she believed, until she propped the lid of the box open and gasped.

“Th. . . this?” With trembling fingers, she lifted the bangle that lay within the velvet case. The waning sunlight highlighted the designs on its raised edges, making the gold shine orange. She’d remembered pointing it out through the display glass outside one of the oldest jewellery stores in town. It looked identical to the one her grandmother had left for her, that Nanaji had misplaced. She’d made an offhand comment to Vihaan many months ago about how nice it would be to afford it someday.

“I know it doesn’t replace the one your nani had,” Vihaan said, drawing his finger from her temple downwards to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “But I wanted you to have this anyway. From me.”

It took effort for Vera to put the thick bracelet back into its case and snap the lid shut. “I can’t take this. It’s too much.”

Vihaan’s smile ebbed, his expression turning mulish. “You can thank me too much then. But this is yours.”

“But. . .”

“I paid for it with my own money,” he informed her, his revelation robbing her of her words. “I didn’t take money from my dad. Are you going to reject it even then? ”

“You’ve been working?”

He nodded, nose scrunching in sweet embarrassment.

After all the worry about their differences, and whether they could change enough to be together as a couple, it was becoming clear that Vihaan was ahead of her in terms of growth.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Is that why you’ve been busier than usual? I thought your parents were keeping you occupied.”

Vihaan scratched the top of his thick brow sheepishly. “I had to lie. I wanted to surprise you. As it turns out, I’m not half bad at trading. Between doing extra assignments for the other rich kids and investing my money, I turned a tidy profit.”

He said it so nonchalantly, one would think it didn’t matter. But it did to Vera. He’d put in time and effort to buy her this gift. More than anything, it was clear proof of his understanding of what mattered to her. Hope bloomed in her heart; her previous worries swept away by a wave of indescribable happiness.

“You went through all that for me?” she asked, her voice on the verge of cracking.

Vihaan picked up one dainty hand and shimmied the bracelet on, needing a moment to prepare himself to speak again. He bent his head and pressed a kiss on top of her wrist, where gold glinted against brown skin. “This bangle is to show that you can trust me to take care of you, Princess. Because I love you.”

Every other noise around her faded, and Vera’s focus remained solely on the last words she’d heard. She stared at him, taking in the warmth of his hand, the tremulous grin on his face, the way his eyes were soft with worry even as he tried to remain silent, waiting for her to speak. What could she say? She’d never been good with expressing her love with words and now, nothing seemed like it would appropriately convey all that she felt.

“It can’t be this much of a surprise, Vera,” Vihaan finally sighed, concerned by how she kept staring at him. “We’ve been dating for over six months now. I think I’ve waited long enough to tell you I love you, considering I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since I was five.”

Silence.

“Babe, I’m starting to panic a little so now would be a great time to say something. Anything. Just blink if words are too much.”

Vera launched herself at him, toppling them both onto the ground. She buried her face in the nook of his neck and tightened her hug as though she couldn’t get close enough. Her breath heated his skin when she mumbled something unintelligible that caused his arms to loop tighter around her, holding her safely to his chest.

“What did you say?”

She lifted her head, eyes glimmering like jewels in a mine, her cheeks flushed. She felt like a wild child who’d been freed from confinement. “I love you.”

She wanted to say more, but those three little words alone were sufficient for him. A huff of relief escaped him as he reached up, brushing her hair off her face and holding them back so he could see her.

“Yeah?” he softly confirmed, clearly elated when she nodded shyly.

He pulled her down towards him, capturing her mouth with his. With a familiarity that was comforting, he drew her lips between his, suckling her, nudging her to give him a little more today. Urgency and heat built quickly when her lips parted to let him in, the tip of her tongue dancing with his, teasing him but never fully submitting to his demand. The grip on her hair tightened, but instead of deepening the kiss, Vihaan broke it off with a groan. “We have to stop, Princess.”

“Why?” she asked, sitting up, straddling his hips.

“Because I’m trying to be on my best behaviour,” he said. Colour rushed up his skin when she quietly began to unbutton the front of her dress .

“Vera,” he croaked, his eyes widening when she popped two more buttons loose, the neckline of her dress seconds away from falling off her shoulders.

“I won’t be able to stop if you keep teasing me,” he warned her, his bare hands burning the skin of her thighs as the edges of her dress kissed his knuckles.

Leaning forward to drop a peck on his chin, she ran the tips of her fingers along the underside of his jaw, his slow-growing stubble prickling her skin. “You’ve been patient long enough, Charming. I’m ready. I want my first time to be with you.”

Vihaan’s brows shot up. Before she could take her next breath, Vera found herself swung over and lying under her fully aroused boyfriend who was staring at her like she was a waterfall of ambrosia in the midst of the Sahara.

“It won’t be just your first I take from you,” Vihaan said seriously. “I’ll want everything, and I won’t stop even after that.”

She smiled, starry eyed, reaching up to loop her arms around his neck before whispering against his lips, “Promise?”