Chapter Eight
Nimita had been prepared to ignore all three of them for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow.
Then she’d be out of their hair. She’d given them a detailed itinerary, taken them to all the best spots.
Surely now that she was injured and two of them were ill, they could call it square.
It seemed like it should be easy to avoid them…
except that now she was sharing a room with Roshan.
He’d made up the sofa bed and was currently in the bathroom. She glanced at the lumpy-looking thing. It couldn’t be comfortable, but she was not sharing a bed with him.
Had they had a moment out there in the warm ocean water? Possibly.
Were there things about him she might even like? Possibly again.
She might have overreacted about the minor accident.
The reality was that being in the passenger seat was anxiety--inducing to above normal levels.
She had never stayed in one place long enough to go to therapy.
After her mom passed, she had simply left to travel the world.
Which had seemed to work just fine as therapy… until now.
She was sure that Reena would push the subject when she got to San Diego.
Reena had gone to therapy diligently. But then, Reena really liked following the rules.
Maybe Nimita would find a therapist in San Diego when she got herself a place of her own.
She had a hard time calling the city, or Reena’s house, home, even though there was a room that had been designated as hers when Reena had moved out there with her husband and their father.
Her phone buzzed. Reena, as if she’d been summoned. Nimita sighed and took the call.
“I need your flight info,” Reena said without preamble.
“I’m not coming home yet,” Nimita told her, surprising herself in the process.
“Why not?” There was no surprise in her sister’s voice or even annoyance. Instead there was a resigned acceptance, as if she had expected this from Nimita, which felt worse.
“I couldn’t get a flight out,” Nimita fibbed, already reaching for her laptop.
She had indeed booked a flight. She was going to do this.
Go home. Face Reena. Make things right… But she could still reschedule her flight.
Reena would still be there in a few days.
“Tourist season, you know how it is. I’ll let you know when I get a flight.
It might be a few days.” She needed a few more days to collect herself before dealing with her sister.
“Yeah. Whatever.”
“And I’ll just Uber. You don’t have to pick me up,” Nimita offered quickly.
“Fine. Just let me know when you know.”
“Will do.” Reena hung up.
Nimita put down her phone to find Roshan watching her. He had on old shorts and a well-worn University of Maryland T-shirt. How did he manage to look amazing in ratty sleep clothes?
“Why did you lie to your sister?” he asked.
“Eavesdrop much?”
“It wasn’t one of the rules,” he needled.
“I didn’t lie.”
“Yes. You did.” He pointed to her laptop, which was open at the table with the airline’s webpage pulled up. “You’re changing your flight.”
She inhaled deeply and exhaled. “Fine. I lied. I just need a bit more time before I can deal with her.” She nodded at her ankle. “Besides, it would be annoying to try to get on a plane tomorrow with this ankle.”
Roshan studied her for a moment. “I get it. Sometimes, it’s nice to escape into paradise.”
She was shocked. No snark. Just some…understanding. “Yes.” She nodded. “We should get some sleep.”
Roshan walked over to the sofa bed while rolling his shoulder. “I might have banged myself up a bit when we went into the ditch.”
Her senses became heightened again as she felt herself falling.
Images from another incident flashed through her brain.
Her heart raced, and her breath came shallow.
She closed her eyes and willed her breathing to slow, her heart to come back to normal.
If she hadn’t had a panic attack at the site, she was certainly not going to have one now.
But her heart continued to thud in her chest. She started sweating.
Silence floated uncomfortable and thick between them.
He looked over at her, then squinted. “Why are you having a panic attack?”
“I’m not—”
“You’re sweaty and pale. Your breathing is shallow, and I can see your pulse jumping in your neck. If you’re not having a panic attack, you must be really attracted to me.” Roshan looked her in the eye, no humor on his face.
“I’m having a panic attack, then,” she said softly. “I get them when I’m in scary situations.”
“Like in a car accident?”
She nodded.
He came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “My sister gets them occasionally as well. Breathe with me,” he said softly as he moved the laptop aside and reached for her hands. His own hands were warm and calloused. Interesting. She’d always thought him pampered.
“Calluses? Aren’t you a surgeon?”
He inhaled deeply, and she did the same. He did it again, and she followed suit. Over and over, patiently, until her heart rate slowed and the sweating stopped.
“Better?” He looked at her, presumably to see if she would offer an explanation, but she didn’t.
She simply nodded.
“The calluses are from gardening.” She caught a hint of a flush, as if he were revealing too much.
She filed away the information for later. He stood and turned off the light. “Good night, Nimi.”
“Good night, Dave.”
* * *
Roshan was out of bed before the sun and before Nimi woke. He’d been awake most of the night. Then when he did catch some sleep, all he dreamed about was kissing Nimita. How her lips would feel against his. How soft her skin would feel. How all he wanted to do was—
He needed this to stop. He quickly slipped through the dark room into the bathroom and changed into his bathing trunks and a T-shirt.
She was still sleeping, so he went over to check on the guys, pulling his shirt over his mouth and nose to keep the germs at bay as he walked in.
“What?” Vishal groaned.
“Any better?” Roshan asked.
“No.” That was Karan.
“I’ll get you water and toast and see what happens.”
“That’s it? You don’t have a magic pill? Didn’t you say you were a doctor?” Karan said.
He grinned. “Nope. Just has to run its course.”
“That’s what eight years of school and five years of training are for? It’ll run its course?” Vishal groaned. “You got ripped off, dude.”
Dual groaning. Then Karan threw back the sheets and bolted for the bathroom.
Roshan went back to Nimita’s room.
The shower was on. Worry about her balance on one good foot came to him, unbidden.
What if she slipped? And hit her head? Talk about having a panic attack.
Roshan stared at the bathroom door. He should go in.
Just to check on her. As a physician. But she was naked in there. And wet. He backed away from the door.
Nope.
He walked to the suite’s entryway. He would just stand here. That way he could hear any loud sounds and rush in only if needed. But now all he could think about was the fact that she was naked and wet.
The door opened, and Nimita stood before him in a bathing suit. Her wet hair was in a tight ponytail. She looked up at him. “Can I help you?”
“Just wanted to be here in case you slipped…or something.”
She stared at him without speaking.
“So…” He thumbed in the direction of the guys’ room. “The guys are still sick. Looks like just you and me today.”
She limped past him. But already he could see she was getting around better. “It’s just you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I sent you the day’s itinerary. I’m going to sit on the beach and read.” She looked at him. “Undisturbed.”
“Okay.” He grinned at her. “I’ll do the same. I have a book I need to finish.”
She shrugged. “Don’t you mean medical journals?”
He ignored her poke. “Let me take a look at your ankle, then I can wrap it up.”
She clearly wanted to protest, but she sat down on the chair in the little sitting area and handed him the bandage.
He knelt in front of her, taking her foot onto his thigh. He gently moved her toe. “How’s that?”
“Feels better.” She grinned.
He moved her ankle. “And this?”
She winced. “About the same as yesterday.”
“The swelling’s come down a little. Looks like some improvement, but it’ll take a while. Keep taking painkillers today as needed, okay? The good news is that I do not think that the toe is broken.”
“Great,” she managed.
He took his time wrapping her ankle, enjoying the softness of her skin, keenly aware of her gaze on him the entire time. He focused on the ankle, not sure what he would find in her eyes and not ready for whatever was there.
“Look, I’m really sorry that I didn’t take you more seriously last night, about driving that road in the dark,” he said, risking a quick glance at her face.
She lifted her chin to him, clearly surprised, and he pushed on, “You are clearly experienced, and I should have considered that when you warned us.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she stood and grabbed her bag.
“I can get that.” He held his hand out. There was a knock at the door. When he answered it, a hotel employee stood there.
“You requested these, sir?”
“I did. Thank you.” Roshan took the item and closed the door, turning to face Nimita. “Surprise.” He held out adjustable crutches to her.
She stared at him.
“To keep the weight off that foot.”
“Yes. I understand.” She softened, looking slightly confused.
“What?”
“I guess I’ve been taking care of myself for so long…” She shrugged.
He helped her adjust the height. “Doctor’s orders.”
“The guys are right. You do like to remind people that you’re a doctor.”
“Yup.” He took her bag. “Ready?”
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yes.” Wasn’t that obvious? “I said so, earlier.”
She rolled her eyes in amusement but did not fight him, though she held onto to her bag.
He chuckled, grabbed a bag for himself, quickly tossing in sunscreen and his reading material, and followed her to the beach.