CHAPTER 24 #2
She had no idea how he could help but she didn’t want any of his sisters to help. Especially Aravinda, she didn’t want her to think she didn’t know how to handle a traditional outfit.
Ashok was dressed in his usual work clothes, a pair of pressed khakis with a button-down shirt. His hair seemed slightly damp from the shower. His expression was still cold even as he listened to his sisters talk amongst themselves.
As if he sensed her eyes on him, he looked at her and she saw his expression warm up as he looked at her through the sheer curtain.
He excused himself from his sisters and walked toward her.
“Sorry Isha,” Amuktha said and added, “Didn’t mean to disturb you guys but mom said the three of us have to invite you guys to lunch formally.”
“Thank you,” Isha chirped and added, “I will be right out as soon as my husband helps out with my outfit.”
Ashok’s gaze met hers when he pushed aside the curtain, and for a split second, she thought she saw something flicker in his dark eyes. And just like that it was gone in a flash.
Unsure of what was going on in his mind and unable to bear the suspense of it, and as if to make his cold front break, she unwrapped the fabric and stood in front of him. Her chest strutted out, shoulders square and her stomach sucked in.
To her utter shock there was no change in his expression or his breathing. When in the past she had noticed how hissy his breath had gotten when they were close or he laid eyes on her in a traditional outfit.
“I’m not sure how to drape this as per the island traditions.” The local style wasn’t too different from a regular saree drape but it had an endless fabric look to it.
Like he was unaffected by the way she stood and her proximity, he stood in front of her. It was torturous for her to not see a reaction from him and hard for her not to show it.
“Why don’t you try a diff outfit?” His tone was cold.
“No.” She held out the fabric to him. “Hold this edge and I can figure it out.”
Isha remembered what he had said about how she looked like a sea goddess at her brother’s wedding. There was a certain wrap she had on that covered one side of her body while it fully exposed her other side.
She hadn’t worn an outfit like that in years and if it was time now, then it had to be it.
She gave him instructions as she pleated and wrapped the scarf and when it was his task to tuck the peats in the back she knew it would be torturous for her, but she refused to show any of it, especially when he had the Arctic Tundra on.
She held her breath, closed her eyes tightly and shut down every sensation that threatened to roar inside her in response to how close he was. She only hoped Ashok didn’t notice how rampant her heart beat was and how much she craved his touch.
Moments passed and she could feel him move behind her and there was no missing the way her body trembled in response to his fingers grazing her bare skin.
She was still reeling from the moment of sheer emotions when she heard him walk away from her telling her she had ten minutes before they left for lunch.
Shortly after, she walked next to him toward the large family dining area. She didn’t realize they were close to their destination until Ashok reached out and took her hand in his.
Great! When it’s show time, does he want to touch her?
His aloofness made her wonder if there was another woman he wanted to marry last night at the ceremony? Could he still marry them?
Her stomach twisted and she automatically leaned closer as they walked hand in hand past the two double doors that were opened upon their arrival. To her utter shock, what was to be a somewhat small family only gathering was a much larger affair.
It was all Ashok’s family, his uncles and aunts with their families. She noticed some distinguished members of the community were present and noticeably the other brides who were at the ceremony yesterday were in attendance.
Isha was so glad she had chosen a dress that was not too simple. She was also proud of herself that her spiteful act of showing off her body to tease Ashok came in handy as even the beautiful women were casting admiring looks her way.
Unless they were for Ashok
The moment she realized that possibility, she ran her free hand up his arm as she tightened the hold on their clasped hands. As if that was a signal she sent him, she looked up at him and he looked at her at the same time and the way he smiled, she thought she was going to melt to the ground.
How the heck did he get her to feel like a lovesick puppy?
In spite of how jittery he made her feel; she didn’t fail to catch the unhappy looks on the potential brides from the ceremony. Never once did she think she could be irrational, never in a million years for a man or his attention.
As they walked through the long dining area greeting people along the way, she noticed Amuktha and Sasikala were holding the twins and that gave her a new found confidence.
In that moment, she didn’t care that the man who she longed for was faking his affection as part of the charade but the fact that the kids have found the part of the family who can give them the much needed love, she felt like there was nothing else to be bothered about.