Chapter 16
TANISHA
He was here.
Of course, he was here. There was no universe in which Kabir and she could avoid each other indefinitely.
She stood on the sidewalk, looking through the window that framed the entire length of the restaurant.
He was laughing, that gorgeous, mobile mouth of his tipping up into a smile, teeth flashing, head thrown back as he chuckled.
Whatever story Kimi and Rehan were feeding him, it was tickling his funny bone.
Fifteen days since the night at the farmhouse when she’d told him she wanted him gone. Fifteen days since she’d last seen him. Fifteen days since she’d breathed the same air as him.
She’d had fifteen Kabir free days and she should be grateful for it. Instead, when she walked in to the restaurant, she felt like she was taking her first full breath in days. Fifteen days to be exact.
She walked in, the ma?tre d taking down her name and leading her into the cordoned off VIP section they were sitting in.
Bodyguards lined the little gap that led to the table, ensuring the fans and fanatics couldn’t get too close.
All around her people whispered, snuck glances and took surreptitious photos and videos of him.
His head lifted the minute she walked in, turning to watch her enter.
Sunglasses shaded his face. His stubble had grown into a full beard, his shaggy hair lay mussed and chaotic, looking like it needed a trim.
The tight, faded denims and the plain black t-shirt that accentuated his muscles did nothing to dim his aura.
This was Kabir Kashyap, the rockstar.
And somewhere behind those sexy sunglasses was her Kabir.
The boy who’d drank watery tea from miniature tea cups at every stupid tea party of hers, the one who’d bandaged her grazed knees, who’d fought her childish battles, who’d stood between her and the world, every single time.
The boy who’d convinced her parents to let her move to New York, telling them that he was there.
He’d keep her safe. He’d ensure she never missed home. And he had.
The man who’d held her so gently, so tenderly, who’d kissed her like she was the answer to his every prayer and pushed her away like she was his eternal damnation.
Her Kabir. And yet, not hers.
She reached the table and allowed herself to be enveloped in hugs and squealed greetings. She slipped into a chair beside Kimi, forcing herself to take a seat at the other end of the table to Kabir.
His eyes tracked her every move until Rehan said something to draw his attention away.
“What do you want to order, Tan Tan?” Aayushi asked, sliding the menu over to her.
“Just a little of whatever everyone has ordered is fine,” she said, still feeling hot and flustered. “I’m not really hungry.”
“No butter naan and laal maas?” Rehan asked, sounding shocked. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
Tani rolled her eyes at him, ignoring his antics.
Kabir was watching her again. As was she…
watching him. His phone rang and he pulled it out.
She saw the corners of his mouth tighten at whatever he saw on the display before he slipped it back into his pocket.
She looked away, forcing herself to speak to Maya Maasi who sat directly opposite her.
The waiter appeared with a tray laden with dishes, setting them out before starting to serve them. The noise around their table was wild, chaotic and joyful. As she soaked it all in, Tani felt her heart expanding in her chest, slowly healing from the stress of the past few days.
“Tani?” Ved said quietly from next to her.
“Ya Chachu?” Tani scooped up some paneer makhani with a piece of her roti and shoved it in her mouth. Her favourite cuisine in the whole, wide world was Indian.
“Did something happen between Kabir and you?”
She choked, shock causing the paneer to lodge firmly in her throat.
She saw Kabir half rise out of his chair even as Ved thumped her on her back, dislodging the paneer before offering her a glass of water.
When she gasped, breathing heavily and taking the glass, Kabir sank back into his seat, his gaze still fixed on her from behind those sexy, mysterious Chopard shades.
“I’m sorry,” Ved murmured. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?”
She nodded, waving embarrassedly at the others to continue eating. Rehan, she noticed, already was.
“I’m, um,” she faltered, her cheeks fire engine red. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Did you guys have a fight or something? You’ve been avoiding each other this whole trip.”
Oh! Tani shook her head, her heated cheeks feeling like they were steaming. “No, no fight. We just…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence.
Ved’s eyes were sympathetic. “Does Jay have a problem with how close you guys are?”
Tani nodded, taking the out he was giving her. It was true after all. Jay had a massive problem with her relationship with Kabir and that was without him knowing the true nature of her feelings.
“That’s got to be hard on you guys,” Ved said quietly. “But I understand that you have to prioritise the man you’re in love with.”
But she wasn’t doing that, Tani thought. The man she was in love with was sitting at the end of this table, not touching his plate, looking at her.
“It explains Kabir’s mood also.”
Don’t ask, she warned herself. DON’T ASK!
“Kabir’s mood?” she asked, keeping her voice low enough to not be heard at the other end of the table.
Ved sighed. “He’s like a bear with a sore head. Angry, bitter, reclusive…it’s almost like he’s regressing to his childhood. Maybe losing you as a friend is taking him back to that time in his life.”
“No,” she whispered. “He’s come so far from those days. Why would it?”
“Because you’re the first friend he ever made, Tan Tan. Losing you probably makes him feel like he’s losing his grip on this life and who he’s become.” Ved sighed. “But this is not your problem. You focus on your marriage and the life you’re building with Jay. Leave Kabir to me.”
“So, are we going shopping now?” Maya’s voice broke into their hushed conversation. “Post lunch?”
“Yeah.” Tanisha nodded. “I need an outfit for the haldi. Ma has got the rest of it under control.”
“And Kabir needs clothes too,” Kimi put in bossily from the other end of the table. “And I’m going to choose them. I know the perfect colour palette for his outfit.”
Advik raised an eyebrow. “I thought Kabir’s colour palette was black or was it shades of black?”
“Midnight, an hour past midnight, the sooty ink, and,” Rehan pretended to think it through, “oh yeah, darker than dark black.”
Kabir reached over and smacked the back of his head, almost sending him face first into his food.
“But you can’t wear black,” Kimi declared.
“Why not?” Kabir sipped from his glass of fresh lime soda.
“Because Tani isn’t,” Kimi said blithely. “And you always twin with Tani.”
Time slowed at the table, sound fading away, as Tani met Kabir’s gaze.
“Not anymore,” Kabir said slowly. “Tani’s twinning with Jay now.”
“Oh shit, yeah!” Kimi exclaimed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t still twin with her.”
“That’s exactly what it means, Kimi,” Tani said quietly but firmly. “Don’t cause trouble, Shit Stirrer.”
“Hell yeah,” Rehan agreed. “We wouldn’t want to put Jay’s porky nose out of joint.”
The adults at the table got very quiet before Maya Maasi said, “Rehan! Apologise!”
“Why?” He made his eyes comically round. “He does have that big, fat nose. It looks porky. You all know it. I’m just stating a fact and you don’t apologise for facts. And why am I apologising to her? I didn’t say she has an ugly nose.”
“Rehan.” Ved’s voice crackled with authority.
“I’m sorry, Tani,” Rehan muttered sulkily.
“Sorry for?” Maya demanded, unwilling to let it go.
“I’m sorry your husband has a fat, piggish nose.” Rehan took an unconcerned sip of his virulently pink drink, spluttering a minute later when Kabir smacked him on the back of his head. Again.
“Watch your mouth. That’s your jiju,” he said mildly.
“Seriously?” Rehan gaped at Kabir. “You too?” The utter betrayal of having his coolest cousin turn on him silenced Rehan for once in his life.
“So, Tani,” Yash asked from where he’d been watching everything quietly. “Is your father going to wear his leather jacket to the wedding?”
Tani forced a small smile to her lips. “Try and stop him.”
From the other end of the table, Kabir’s phone rang, a loud buzzing noise filling the awkward silence around the table. He frowned, silencing it and putting it face down on the table.
“Who is it?” Ved asked him. “Whoever it is has been calling nonstop for over half an hour now. It might be important.”
“It’s not,” Kabir muttered sulkily.
“How do you know?”
“I just do okay?” Kabir snapped. “Is the interrogation over or would you like to start pulling out my fingernails next?”
And now, the silence was extra awkward. They should have stayed on the topic of Jay’s porky nose for a little longer.
As the silence ballooned and grew, the buzzing noise began again.
Kabir’s phone vibrated in rage on the table, channelling its master’s irritated fury.