37. Dev
thirty-seven
dev
Cue The Record Scratch
“ P iper hasn’t arrived yet, sweetheart. Don’t you think you should call her and make sure everything is okay?”
Mom’s anxious voice has my eyes flicking from the cufflinks I’m fumbling with to her. She’s sitting in her wheelchair, wearing a soft pink lace dress that compliments her short and sparse silver hair. A tan-colored shawl is draped over her shoulders, hiding the frailty of her small frame.
I force a smile, even as my chest burns at the sight of hope and concern intermingling on my mother’s face. “I’m sure she’ll be here any minute now, Mom. Don’t worry.”
But the words sit heavy on my tongue because, the truth is, I don’t know if she will.
It’s been an entire week since I’ve heard from my wife-to-be. Radio silence has never been more deafening. And though I was practically crawling out of my skin, I’ve done my best to give her the space she needed.
But was the past week enough time for her to work through her fears? Was it enough time for her to decide she wants something real with me, too?
I suppose the next thirty minutes will be quite telling since I’ll be at the end of the aisle, waiting for her there. Unfortunately, my guess is as good as anyone else’s as to if she’ll actually show.
Dad nods to one of the nurses on standby in the room before looking at Mom. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go wait with the guests? I have a couple of things I’d like to speak to Dev about. I’ll meet you out there in a few minutes.”
Mom looks between the two of us before nodding, allowing the nurse to wheel her out of the room.
When the door shuts behind her, I watch as Dad closes the distance between us, taking the cufflink out of my hand and looping it through the hole at the end of my sleeve.
He keeps his head down, focused on his task, as he speaks. “I wanted to tell you . . .” He gazes up at me. “I thought about what you said to me the last time we spoke.”
I stiffen, expecting a rebuke. Apart from Piper, I haven’t spoken to my dad since that night, either.
“I have been rather one-dimensional—strict and calloused at times—when it came to you. And,” he swallows thickly, stepping back once my cufflinks are looped, “I want to apologize for that.”
I stare at him silently, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard my father apologize to anyone but my mother.
He takes a deep breath. “I fell into a lot of responsibility early on in my life after my dad died. Responsibility for my younger siblings and my mother. I put a lot on myself to make sure no one felt the loss of our dad, at least not financially. And somehow, the continuous pursuit of success got ingrained in my personality. Somewhere between the pressure I placed on myself and the hard-fought success of the company, I lost sight of what was important.”
Dad’s eyes meet mine, filled with a vulnerability I haven’t seen before. “I lost sight of you and Deena. I lost sight of your successes and achievements, and I became the stereotypical draconian dad from a Bollywood film.”
I can’t help but smile.
He places a hand on my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son. Not only for the businessman you’ve become—handling our company better than I could have ever imagined, given all the pressure and responsibility on you—but also for speaking up for your beliefs, your love.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sorry about the things I’ve said about Piper. She didn’t deserve my hasty judgment, and neither did you. I can see how happy she makes you, how deeply you love her . . . similar to the way I love your mom.”
Both our eyes glisten at those words, and I place a hand on his shoulder, knowing he needs it. I can imagine the pain of preparing to lose the one you’ve loved for over thirty-five years must be insurmountable.
His voice catches as he speaks again. “I promise to support both you and Piper from this day forward. And as far as Menon Inc . is concerned?” He gives me one of his intense looks. “Son, it’s always been yours. I just needed to step out of your way, and I promise to do so.”
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate that,” I say, my voice rough before he pulls me in for a hug, giving me a pat on the back.
He’s almost at the door when I stop him. “Hey, Dad? You know that bit about you being a dad from a Bollywood movie? Can you just promise you won’t break into song and dance in front of the guests?”
His lips twitch as the tension fades between us.
He feigns disappointment. “But I have five outfit changes ready for it. I even practiced my slow-motion running through Mom’s roses.”
At this, we both throw back our heads, laughing, and I feel years of pent-up resentment melting under a renewed relationship on the horizon. God knows, our tiny family that’ll be left in Mom’s wake will need each other.
A minute later, Brandy, the wedding planner, ushers Dad out to join the guests before coming back to my room. Her heels click frantically on the hardwood floor while she clutches a walkie-talkie.
She looks like she’s seconds from tears, her usually professional facade cracking under the weight of the situation. “I can’t get a hold of Piper or her bridesmaids, Dev. I’ve tried their phones and the salon. As a last-ditch effort, I even spoke to her brother to see if he could get a hold of her. But no luck.”
She bites her nails as her eyes dart around the room, searching for a solution. “Do you think you could call her again? We’re literally twenty minutes away from?—”
A sharp knock halts her words before the door opens and the face of the woman I’ve been dying to see—to talk to and hold—all fucking week appears on the other side.
The air stills and the world narrows as she steps into the room. Everything fades away—-the ornate decorations of this guest bedroom in my parents’ mansion, the muffled sounds of the guests outside, and even Brandy’s jittery presence. All I see is Piper and the storm of emotion in her eyes I can’t quite read.
Brandy starts to speak when Piper clears her throat. “Could you give us a few minutes, Brandy?”
Our wedding planner mumbles an agreement before she rushes out of the room, holding her walkie-talkie like a lifeline. And with the thud of the door closing behind her, my heart lurches against my ribs.
What am I seeing here? Why does the air feel so . . . different? Why does she seem so different?
My eyes scan her briefly, looking for some sort of clue, as that same thudding heart starts to sink all the way down to my stomach when the realization hits.
She’s not wearing her bridal gown.
Instead, she’s here in a plain cream blouse and jeans, dressed for a casual outing rather than the day she promised me.
The understanding of why she’s here hits me like a ton of bricks. She’s not here to get married; she’s here to let me down gently and walk away.
It’s a shock as to how I manage to stay standing.
Piper lifts her chin, reaching for my hand. Numbly, I allow her to intertwine our fingers. Her eyes glisten with emotion, determination, and something else—regret, perhaps?—and I brace myself for the words I know are coming.
Her voice cracks like the thunder inside my chest. “I can’t do this, Dev.”
And there it is.
My world tilts on its axis.
My heart shatters beyond repair.
Every hope, every fucking dream turning to dust with sounds of those four words. I can’t do this.
I take in a shallow breath as tears gather behind my eyes, knowing I’m going to have to give the news to my mother. My sweet, kind, gentle soul of a mother who will die with a broken heart. Just like I will one day.
I struggle to stand here with my hand in Piper’s, her soft touch a reminder of just one more thing I’m losing.
“I underst?—”
“What I mean, Dev, is I can’t do this—not the wedding, or the living together, or the sharing you with my cat, or the breeding of our rabbits that potentially leads to us breeding too, and making adorable Dev and Piper babies—if I don’t get something off my chest.”
Cue the record scratch.
Wait, huh?
I blink, wondering if she’s said what I think she’s said, or if I’ve somehow projected my hopes on her and dreamt it all.
“I . . . Wait . . . What?” I stammer, hoping this isn’t some sort of brain malfunction. My heart, which was taking a nosedive into the pits of my stomach, is now lodged inside my throat. “I don’t . . . I don’t think I heard you properly.”
Her hands fall on my chest as she erases the distance between us. “I fucking love you, Dev Menon. Wholly. Truly. One hundred percent. I want to live out the rest of my life with you, have great sex with you, and be your sugar-momma, because it’s clear you need one.”
I stare dumbfounded at her, unable to form a response.
She loves me?
Piper cups my jaw, her golden-flecked green eyes gazing into mine. “I’m sorry I took off like that last week and that I gave you a heart attack today. Vajayjay was being a real bitch about getting into her carrier, but then I gave her one of your dirty socks and she seemed to get that we were coming to marry you.” She waves a hand dismissively. “I have a few of your unmatched socks in our Socks Without Partners donation bin, but there was one that was dirty and?—”
“Piper,” I say, snapping her out of her rambling. The woman would literally keep going and we would miss our entire wedding.
“Anyway.” She smiles. “What I was trying to say is, I’m sorry for the way I’ve been the past week. I just had to realize a few things.”
As much as I want to lay my hands on her hips and pull her to me, I don’t. Perhaps because I still don’t believe she’s here or that this is real.
“What did you have to realize?”
“That taking space and time away from you really meant nothing when all I thought about was you every waking moment. That loving you was no longer a rule I couldn’t break or an option I could live without, because I couldn’t see my world without you right next to me. ”
She swallows. “I didn’t believe I deserved your love, Dev. Or any real love, for that matter. I’ve seen so many failed relationships that I’d convinced myself love was just a shallow word meant to be broken one day. But what I didn’t focus on was the incredible and enduring love around me. The way your dad cherishes every moment with your mom, the way Shay became Rowan’s entire world, the way my mother found new long-lasting love. I was so tangled in my web of fear, I wasn’t ready to at the time.”
She takes a shaky breath. “It took being away from you to realize those things and to recognize how deeply I’d fallen for you. I realized I had that rare, precious love all along, but instead of embracing it and pushing away my fears, I did the opposite.”
Her eyes, brimming with tears, meet mine with raw vulnerability, her soul laid bare. “What I realized this week, without your touch, your words, and that dimple I’m so in love with, was that the risk of loving you pales in comparison to the misery of living without you. There’s nothing I want more than to be your wife, to spend the rest of my life loving you. You’re my home, my safe place, my world, Dev Menon. I don’t know if I deserve your forgiveness, but I’ll do anything to earn it.”
My jaw clenches as I try to keep my emotions at bay.
She’s here. And she’s mine.
My hands work on their own accord to bring her closer to me. “Baby, there’s no forgiveness to be given. You are the most precious thing in my life. Nothing is worth as much as one moment with you. You’ve taught me to laugh, to take life a little less seriously, and to live in complete chaos.”
“Admit it, you’ve loved having your cabinets and bookshelves rearranged.”
“Putting my shaving tools in the vegetable crisper went a little too far. ”
“It was because I’m still upset you haven’t come into the salon for another haircut.”
“I promise to, now that my face is all over the walls and commercials for it. Any chance you can lay off the sleeping pills that day?”
She pinches my side. “It was to stop an oncoming migraine, but yes, I’ll be extra careful with your billion-dollar hair this time, Mr. Luther.”
I smile, resting my forehead against hers. “I was fucking miserable without you, baby.”
“Big Daddy Hudson told me you were bathing in alcohol.”
Palm threading through her hair, I cup the back of her neck. “Is it bad that I want to murder my best friend because you call him Big Daddy?”
Her hand drops to where my dick is springing to life. “Ah, but I know who the real big daddy is.”
“My dick is not sharing a name with Hudson Case, so think of something else. Now please, for the love of God, just kiss me.”
She closes the distance between our lips and my world rightens.
My heart settles back into a normal rhythm, full from the emotion of having her in my arms again. A woman I truly thought I’d lost.
She fought her demons and came back stronger. To be mine.
Piper moans as our lips fuse, and I part my mouth to let our tongues touch, taking her in deeper. Her body melts against mine and I tighten my hand around her hip to bring her closer. Her taste, her arms looped around my neck, and her sweet citrus scent are the heaven I could get lost in.
We’re completely immersed in the feel of one another when there’s another sharp knock on the door that forces us apart.
Piper’s stunned eyes look up at me. “Shit! I need to put on my dress!”
I smile, unconcerned, because time feels irrelevant when you have forever.
“I’ll let Brandy know to keep the guest entertained. Go get ready and don’t rush.”
Piper’s brows furrow. “Don’t rush?! Babe, our guests are waiting for?—”
I cover her lips with my finger. “The only person you need to worry about waiting is me. And, meri jaan , I’ll wait my whole life at the end of that aisle for you if I have to.”
Except, a moment later, there’s another knock on the door. It’s not Brandy, but someone from my security team who opens the door.
“Don’t mean to disturb, sir,” he says, looking perturbed. “But you both might need to come out to address a little problem.”
My hackles rise. “What is it?”
“Sir, a man who says he’s your wife’s father is here, threatening to go to the media with a photograph.”