Chapter 29
“Okay, okay, can you just go over it one more time? I need to picture it better,” Deena said, stretching out on Manisha’s bed, her legs sprawled across the comforter.
The afternoon rays streamed through the window, concentrating on the bedspread, but Deena barely noticed, her attention completely fixed on the latest gossip.
“Deena, we’ve gone over this, like, six times already,” Manisha replied, holding up a dress to her body and checking herself out in the mirror. She was getting ready for her date later, but even without Deena’s prompting, her mind kept drifting back to the drama with Lucky.
Deena raised an eyebrow. “You’re really telling me Lucky just stood there while you called her out on all her lies?
And then she just…walked off without a word?
” Her voice had a hint of disbelief, her eyes wide as if she still couldn’t quite believe it.
“I wish I’d been there. That must’ve been wild. ”
Manisha sighed, smoothing the dress as she studied herself. “Yeah, she muttered something about hating Baskin, and then—poof!—she just walked out. Like, no comeback. Nothing. Just her waving her designer diaper bag around.”
Deena sat up, resting on one elbow, clearly hooked on every detail. “And the whole crew—aunties, uncles—just stood there, staring, watching it all go down?”
Manisha paused for a second, letting the weight of the moment sink in again. “Yeah. They were all just…silent. And then the whispers started, of course. But at least now they know the truth.” She tossed the dress onto the bed, narrowly avoiding Deena, and started rummaging through her closet again.
Deena sighed, a proud smile tugging at her lips. “Manisha, you’re a legend. Seriously. And I’m so glad Rohit finally told you what really happened.”
“Me too,” Manisha said, her voice quieter now, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
The room fell into a comfortable silence, save for the faint buzzing sound of Manisha’s curling iron warming up. The soft hum was oddly soothing, but Deena wasn’t done yet.
“You don’t think there’s a chance that maybe…” Deena trailed off, her eyes flickering toward Manisha with a mischievous glint. But before she could finish her thought, she quickly backtracked. “Never mind.”
Manisha spun around, narrowing her eyes playfully. “Deena, don’t even think about saying it.”
Deena raised her hands in mock surrender. “I know, I stopped myself.” She leaned back, propping herself up on her elbows again, a teasing smile still on her lips.
Manisha shook her head, half smiling. “Rohit is happy with Suzy. And even if Suzy weren’t in the picture—which she is—Rohit and I would still be friends. And that’s a good place for us, considering where we started.”
The room fell quiet again, except for the soft click of the curling iron as Manisha set it down. Deena gave her a long look, but Manisha didn’t meet her gaze this time, silently zhuzhing her curls.
“Just making sure. What kind of matchmaking auntie would I be if I wasn’t considering all possible suitors?”
“Between you and my mom, even my dad, I’m tired of hearing about it.”
“Alright, fine. Back to your dates. I need you to take the next several minutes to study each of these profiles, so you don’t mess them up. I got some feedback that you referred to one of the men by another name?”
“I know. I’m sorry. Going on dates back to back has been a lot harder than I thought,” Manisha said, trying to justify being so distracted by Sunil’s email that she called one of her dates by his name.
“Study up and it’ll get easier.” Deena gave Manisha a playful swat on her back as she watched her twist a few pieces of her hair.
“Oh, dear cousin, how little faith you have in me. I passed my driver’s test after twenty-four hours of ‘studying’ time.”
Deena gave her a dubious look. “You barely passed it.”
“Sometimes I tell you too much,” she groaned before giggling.
“We need to kick it up a notch. I’m totally serious about this now. The first few were trial and error. We were just getting warmed up.”
“You’re starting to sound like Vikas.”
“We had so many new applications today. I swear Rohit must have handed the Curry and Cupid flyers I made to every customer that entered the coffee shop,” Deena said jokingly.
“You gave some to him?” Manisha asked, surprised.
“Just a few to put around in the café and maybe hand out to some trusted customers. Don’t worry, he thinks my distant cousin is launching a new dating site.”
“As long as he doesn’t find out we’re behind it—can you imagine if he knew we were running a fake matchmaking site?” Manisha shuddered at the thought, then held up a cute green top with a plunging neckline. “What do you think?”
Deena raised an eyebrow, studying the shirt. “Looks more like a window to your cleavage than a top. How about we show off some shoulder instead of that much boob?”
Manisha rolled her eyes but grinned. “Okay, find me something, then.”
Deena dove into the closet, pulling out a red strappy dress from Reformation. She held it up and gave it a dramatic twirl. “How about this one?”
Manisha’s eyes lit up. “I forgot about that dress. It’s been ages!”
“It’s casual but hot, and the red? It brings out the fierce woman in you,” Deena said with a wink.
Manisha laughed, tugging the dress closer to her. “Maybe I should try changing outfits between dates, like they do at Indian weddings. Keep things fresh.”
Deena’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “I’m just hoping to have you out of clothes by the end of one of these dates.”
Manisha laughed again. “As long as it’s not halfway through a date, like Vikas wanted.”
“Maybe I should give Vikas a call and see what he’s doing later,” she joked.
“Oh my gosh, Deena. Get out of here.”
Deena started to make her way out of Manisha’s bedroom.
“You know, that guy on your vision board looks a lot like someone we know. Someone whose name starts with an R…”
“Oh give me a break. It was just meant as a placeholder.”
“Just saying.” Deena shrugged as she headed out the door.
Manisha adjusted her outfit before reaching for her phone. Her heart stuttered when she saw a new message from Sunil—he’d gone quiet after her last email yesterday.
I have a confession to make.
Manisha’s stomach did a somersault. Taking a deep breath, she read on:
There’s this woman in my life that I really care about.
She’s a good friend of mine and has supported me through a lot.
But, well, she’s come to mean more to me than that…
I’ve developed feelings for her. The thing is, I’m not sure I’m ready for the possibility of being turned down.
I’m worried that might jeopardize our friendship. I need your help, Isha. What do I do?
She tried her best to ignore the nagging twinge in her chest. Isha’s role was to support Sunil and cheer him on. To him, Manisha didn’t exist. And she never could.
Inwardly, she was kicking herself with regret for playing into the false narrative that she worked for Curry and Cupid.
It felt far messier than simply bending the truth with the fake matchmaking site to set up a few dates.
After all, the guy of her dreams was already looking for love—he just didn’t know yet that Manisha was his perfect and only match.
She imagined that someday, when they were happily together, she’d confess the whole scheme over a bottle of wine, and they’d laugh about it like a charming inside joke.
But her ongoing deception with Sunil wasn’t the kind of thing that could easily be smoothed over with even the finest Barolo.
She knew with absolute certainty that coming clean about the premise on which their connection was founded would break his trust and make him see her in a completely different, awful light.
Manisha closed her eyes and drew in the deepest breath she possibly could. With an audible exhale, she ordered herself back to reality.
Batting open her eyes, she got to reassuring Sunil.
Listen, no girl in her right mind would turn you down.
Trust me on this one. If you unleash that Sunil charm of yours, she won’t be able to resist. Seriously.
Just look at me—you won me over in a matter of days, and we’ve never even met in real life!
But whether you knew it or not, you helped me work through so much. She would be a fool to refuse you.
You’ve got this, S!
Manisha’s eyes caught the colour-coded Dates folder Deena had left on her bed, and her heart skipped a beat back to reality.
The reality was that Sunil was interested in someone else, and Manisha needed to get interested in the guys Deena had gone to the trouble of finding for her.
They were putting in the effort, and she knew it was time for her to do the same.
With a determined breath, she opened the folder.
Dentist. Check.
Played varsity football. Check.
Enjoys pizza, reality TV, and shopping. Triple check.
Manisha smiled softly as she read through the notes that Deena had written for her. Her cousin was thorough, that was for sure. And she really was the best of friends. She’d been poring over the details for half an hour when Sunil’s answer came through.
I’m just feeling a bit nervous about this whole thing.
Maybe you’re right—maybe it’s time to just go for it.
I haven’t felt like this in a long time, but there’s something about her…
I’m thinking about her non-stop. I’m finally in a place where I’m really focused on my future—on pursuing my dreams, finding someone to share that passion with, and building something together.
I know she wants the same thing. I just feel like I need to tell her how I feel, or I’ll regret it forever.
Manisha typed back.
Are you trying to convince me? Because I don’t need convincing. She sounds like the perfect woman for you, Sunil.
The email brought a bittersweet smile to Manisha’s face as she wrestled with a mix of emotions.
On the one hand, she was genuinely happy for her friend, knowing he’d found someone who made him so happy.
But on the other, a part of her couldn’t shake the thought that the closest she’d come to something similar was with the very man who had filled her inbox.
She quickly pushed the feeling aside, focusing on the optimism she’d felt just moments ago about her upcoming dates. She was committed to finding her own Prince Charming.