Chapter 21 #2
His thoughts stuttered to an abrupt halt as the door to the bedroom opened and Reshma walked in. She’d been gone since after breakfast, getting her hair and make-up done, and he was supposed to meet her at the main villa with Daadi.
Now here she was and she looked … God. She looked incredible.
She was wearing a dark red outfit which he thought might look familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on why.
Maybe she’d worn it before to some event they’d been to together.
Her hair was half up, half down and she had heavy gold jewellery on.
Her eyes looked big and smoky and her lips were an inviting shade of red.
‘You look … wow. Mashallah.’
She smiled as she blushed, closing the distance between them. She came to a stop an arm’s length away and twirled once, her skirt flaring out slightly below her knees and her bangles and anklets chiming.
‘Do you recognise this?’ She held her kameez out and Zafar stared at it, his mind going utterly blank.
‘It looks familiar, but I can’t pinpoint exactly where I’ve seen you wear it.’ He couldn’t be sure, but he thought the light in her eyes dimmed a fraction at his answer, though it could be a play of the light. It was late afternoon and the room wasn’t all that bright.
‘It’s my wedding gharara, Zafar. I wore this at our wedding.’
Oh . That explained why he had thought he had seen it before.
‘You’re wearing your wedding dress to your cousin’s wedding? Is that allowed?’
‘Yes.’ Her brow was furrowed as she responded to him. ‘I’m not dressed like a bride. Saleema asked me to wear it and since hers isn’t red, we won’t clash. Auntie Ruqayyah, Auntie Bilqis and Daadi were all in agreement. Do you … do you not like it? You think I should have worn something else?’
His stomach dropped to his knees at the sudden vulnerability on Reshma’s face and the nervousness that had crept into her voice instantly.
He closed the distance between them in two steps, gently cupping her cheeks in his palms, mindful of her make-up.
‘No, sweetheart. I’m sorry. So sorry. That all came out completely wrong, I promise.
Let me start again, OK?’ Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t say anything or move.
‘You look absolutely stunning. There’s no part of you that isn’t perfect, Reshma.
I didn’t know that it was OK to wear your wedding dress again, but now that you’ve explained it, I get it.
I think it’s actually really nice that you get to wear it again.
Gives me a chance to appreciate you in it anew. ’
He both felt and saw her cheeks go warm and a tentative smile came through on her face, helping restore his equilibrium.
‘I’d show you how good you look, but you’d need to see the make-up artist again.’
Her smile was fuller as she pushed him away playfully and then her expression sobered again. ‘Where’s your tie? You’re not ready yet and we need to leave in ten minutes.’ She turned and made her way to the dressing room and came back with his tie, holding it out for him.
‘I’ve tried three times, I can’t get the knot right. I also can’t find my bloody cufflinks.’
He took the tie from her and she went back into the dressing room, returning seconds later with his cufflinks in the centre of her palm. ‘They were in my jewellery box. I saw them lying in your suitcase the other day, so I locked them with my jewellery in my case.’
‘Oh.’
Silently, she put one in place and like an obedient schoolboy, Zafar presented his other cuff and she secured that one too. He held out the tie for her and she raised an eyebrow at him.
‘I don’t know how to knot a tie. I’ve never done that before. Uncle Jawad always did my school ties for me and I never untied it, I just loosened it and tightened it to put it on and take it off.’
‘In that case, let me show you.’
‘Zafar, we don’t have time. We need to leave.’
‘It won’t take long.’ He stood in front of her and looped the tie around his neck until the ends were exactly where he needed them.
He took her through the steps, shuffling a tiny bit closer each time.
Halfway through, he rested his hands on her waist but she didn’t seem to realise, focusing on her task instead.
‘Take the wide end and cross it over the narrow end. Just a bit higher. Perfect.’
She finishing knotting the tie and slowly tightened it, adjusting it so it sat in just the right place. Her teeth rested on her lower lip, leaving the slightest depression there as she concentrated on the job.
‘You need to stop doing that.’ His voice came out gravelly as he lifted his hand and rested his thumb just under her lower lip.
She immediately lifted her teeth off her lip.
‘You’re going to ruin what the make-up artist has done and if you’re going to ruin the make-up anyway, then maybe I can …
’ He lowered his head, ready to close his lips over hers, but she turned her face and his lips landed on her cheek as she giggled softly.
‘We are not messing up my make-up, thank you very much. Besides, we are going to be late if you don’t hurry.’ She pushed at his chest gently and stepped back and he let her. Only because she was right, they were going to be late and it’d be his fault.
She picked his jacket up off the bed and helped him into it, running her hands across his shoulders from behind and making his pulse jump.
He added the finishing touches to his appearance while Reshma changed her shoes into heels that brought her up to his shoulders, and then together, they made their way downstairs, thoughts of work and his phone call with Murad slipping to the back of his mind.